When you have type 2 diabetes, your wellbeing is at an increased risk to multiple complications. If your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, this causes damage to blood vessels in your body over time, and the longer this happens, the more damage is done to your wellness. Nerve damage, or diabetic neuropathy, is one of the most common consequences of this.
Neuropathy occurs when your blood vessels are damaged and your nerves can’t carry clear messages from your feet or other body parts. This means that you may feel numb or painful tingling, or you won’t feel as much pain as you should when you get cut. You can also have difficulty digesting food, less strength in various parts of your body, heart function abnormalities and erectile problems if you’re a man. Robert Ruxin, MD, an endocrinologist in Connecticut adds ‘With aging, other factors such as [poor] circulation, vitamin B-12 level, average blood sugar, and the use of alcohol may all contribute to the development of neuropathy’.
According to Ronald Brazg, MD, an endocrinologist at Valley Medical Centre and an assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, ‘Diabetic neuropathy is common in patients with type 2 diabetes because many patients go undiagnosed and untreated for many years prior to seeking medical attention.’ This is because you don’t feel symptoms at first, and won’t until ‘either the blood sugar is very high or the patient already has complications related to the diabetes.’
However, there are ways you can catch and limit the progression of diabetic neuropathy, besides controlling your blood sugar. Ruxin advises that you don’t smoke and only drink alcohol in moderation, and with the consent of your doctor. You should also examine your feet closely and regularly, and get your doctor to check them too for signs of neuropathy, as well as visiting your diabetes clinician or doctor a few times a year to review your recent medical history. Medical health professionals can test for sensation, nerve pain and how well and how quickly nerve impulses are travelling through various parts of your body.
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