We offer comprehensive Neuropathy Treatment near Greenville DE that follows the course of the disease in five different stages. At this stage, you'll start to notice it sooner. Usually, we trace the course of the disease in five distinct stages. In the third stage, the patient will experience the worst of their pain, which usually occurs every day. Many patients will have trouble performing tasks they could previously complete without hesitation, such as walking barefoot on the beach. This stage has an enormous impact on the patient's daily life and is truly unbearable.
This is the stage where many of our patients decide to undergo surgery and have our surgeons perform nerve decompression surgery. Peripheral neuropathy is not something that can be self-diagnosed. A qualified and trained health care provider can diagnose you, but the diagnostic process almost always involves some type of diagnosis, imaging, or laboratory tests. You may suspect that you have peripheral neuropathy based on your symptoms, but you should see a healthcare provider to be sure.
This first stage includes subtle symptoms that are easy to overlook. You may experience periods of pain or numbness in your hands or feet. Keep in mind that these symptoms can be easily controlled at this stage. Neuropathy at this juncture is usually due to excessive sugar consumption. Change your diet right away if you notice these symptoms.
Avoid junk food, candy, simple carbohydrates, and hyperglycemic foods. The third stage regularly marks the point of on the way back. You will experience unbearable pain often every day. The numbness reaches dangerous levels to the point of loss of nerve sensation.
After this, you will mainly move on to the sub-stage of constant numbness. Serious nerve damage causes the legs and feet to feel extremely numb. The body no longer has enough healthy nerves to send messages to the brain. Because of serious nerve damage, the pain will appear to have subsided.
However, this is a sign that the worst is yet to come. Walking will become extremely difficult and you may not be able to keep your balance. The pain will intensify into a more intense and constant pain that will be more difficult to ignore. This is usually the stage where many seek treatment, as it can be intolerable to live with constant pain.
The sooner you seek treatment, the less permanent nerve damage will occur. In the early stage of neuropathy, you may only feel symptoms once in a while. It's common to feel a little pain, a little tingling, and even occasional numbness. You may also notice that you lose your balance a little more easily or that your reflexes seem to be out of place.
You may wonder if these feelings are worth the hassle of going to a doctor's appointment. Because it's so common, it's important to stay informed about the causes of peripheral neuropathy and all the stages that neuropathy is in. People who seek medical care at this stage and discover the cause are more likely to receive treatment and nerve damage is not progressing. The pain is most severe in stage 3 neuropathy and can prevent you from doing normal daily tasks, such as walking, driving and working.
One important thing to keep in mind is that, while stage 1 neuropathy is usually caused by excessive sugar consumption, most people are not yet diagnosed with diabetes at this stage and, in fact, a fasting blood sugar test can return normal results. However, there are general stages of progression that most types of neuropathy follow, and it's important to know them in order to recognize symptoms. If a patient begins treatments to control pain at this stage, the chances of improving symptoms and even neuropathy itself are increased. Stage 2 is the last “safe” (relatively speaking) chance to reverse course before neuropathy becomes significantly more dangerous, expensive and difficult to treat. This stage is a good time to seek medical treatment and get to the root of neuropathy before the nerves suffer more permanent damage.
If you somehow endure pain and other symptoms of neuropathy and let it progress to stage 4 without treatment, you may end up feeling nothing.
