If you have diabetes, you can also experience an extremely painful condition referred to as diabetic neuropathy. This condition requires expert care as soon as possible as it can lead to life-threatening complications such as digestion issues, heart attack, amputations, low blood sugars, and foot ulcers. That is why Choice Pain & Rehabilitation Center’s team is dedicated to helping patients manage diabetic neuropathy in Baltimore. This is a fortunate thing that your condition can be diagnosed and treated.
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Types of Diabetic Neuropathy
This being a type of nerve damage that can affect your body’s different parts and organs, the symptoms you experience depend on the affected parts and the type of condition you have. There are four principal kinds of diabetic neuropathy, namely:
Peripheral distal symmetric polyneuropathy. The most popular form of neuropathy affects your nerves to your feet, IQ, legs, arms, and hands.
Autonomic neuropathy. This condition affects your autonomic nerves controlling the majority of your body’s functions.
Proximal motor neuropathy. A form of diabetic neuropathy that causes muscle weaknesses; your hips, buttocks, and leg muscles are mainly affected.
Focal Mononeuropathy. This is a condition that only affects one specific type of nerve.
Symptoms of Diabetic Neuropathy
As mentioned earlier, you can experience different symptoms depending on the type of diabetic neuropathy you have. They include:
- Tingling.
- Numbness.
- Pain.
- Or burning sensations for peripheral neuropathy, particularly in the evening.
For the autonomic neuropathy that affects your digestive system, you can experience diarrhea, bloating, heartburn, constipation, vomiting, and nausea. If the condition affects your blood vessels, you can experience faster heartbeat, low blood pressure, dizziness, and blacking out if you stand up quickly. If your urinary system is affected, you will experience frequent urination, incomplete bladder emptying, and leaking urine. Where your sex organs are affected, you can experience the inability to orgasm, vaginal dryness, and reduced ejaculations.
You can experience leg weakness and pain IQ on one side for proximal neuropathy, which can be in your thigh, buttocks, or hips.
When you have cranial neuropathy, you can have chest or abdomen pain, paralysis on one side of your face, eye pain, or double vision.
Diabetic Neuropathy Risk Factors
The chances of having diabetic neuropathy are not even. Several factors increase your chances of developing the condition. They include:
- High blood pressure
- Smoking
- Overweight
- Increased cholesterol levels
- Heart disease
Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetic Neuropathy
Diagnosis
If you are experiencing any symptoms mentioned earlier, you should seek immediate care as soon as possible. Your provider will carefully review and examine your condition and medical history. They can check your muscles’ reflexes and strength as well as your sensitivity to touch. Your provider can also use electrodiagnosis tests to assess your nerve functioning.
Treatment
Once your condition is accurately diagnosed, a treatment plan can be designed to help manage your condition for you to get back to your quality of life. Depending on your condition, your provider can recommend the following treatment options:
- Alternative treatments such as acupuncture
- Regular exercises
- Pain-relieving medications
- Injection Therapy
You can get a multidisciplinary approach that can combine several treatment options to improve your quality of life.
Please contact your provider at Choice Pain and Rehabilitation Center to learn more about diabetic neuropathy and also learn your options for managing the condition.