Outside the diabetes community the issue of diabetic neuropathy is one that seems to not be given the awareness it needs. It is potentially one of the most serious complications of diabetes.

It is vital that diabetics deal with diabetic neuropathy. According to the US governments ‘The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases’ (NIDDK) diabetic neuropathy is responsible for 86,000 lower limb amputations each year.

We have looked at Neuropathic pain more generally in a previous blog which you can check out here https://patienttalk.org/?p=281. In this blog we are going to look more closely at diabetic neuropathy which affects people with both Type One Diabetes and Type Two Diabetes.

As the name suggests diabetic neuropathy is associated with diabetes. Because it affects the nerves symptoms may appear in any part of the body. Simply put diabetic neuropathy is a family of nerve disorders cause by diabetes. They sign and symptoms can include:-

• Erectile dysfunction in men
• Loss of bladder control
• Burning pain in the limbs
• Pins and needles
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Speech impediments
• Muscle contractions.

How is diabetic neuropathy treated?

Well firstly prevention is always better than a cure. So diabetics are recommended to keep their blood glucose levels as normal as possible. This helps to prevent nerve damage.

But if treatments are needed you can expect to meet some of the following:-

• Pain medications such as anti-depressants and analgesics
• Tens machines and other physical therapy
• Foot care is most important because they are of course part of the body’s extremities. Foot care and ulcer treatment information can be found here http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/complications_feet/index.aspx.

One of the aims of this diabetes blog is to give our readers the opportunity to share your experiences of diabetic neuropathy with others. Please share anything you think may be of interest in the comments boxes below. This might include any links you think will be having value. That being said you may want to focus on the following question?

1. How long have you been a diabetic and what sort of diabetes do you have?
2. Do you suffer from diabetic neuropathy? What were you symptoms?
3. What impact did it have on your lifestyle?
4. What treatments did you receive for diabetic neuropathy and how successful were those treatments?

Many thanks in advance for your help.