There is no cure for diabetes-related neuropathy. However, you can control it with medications, therapy, and tighter blood sugar control. Diabetes-related neuropathy is nerve damage that affects people with diabetes. The most common type is peripheral neuropathy, which often affects the feet.
Although diabetes-related neuropathy cannot be reversed or cured, it is possible to control the complication of diabetes and prevent it from worsening. Sometimes neuropathy can improve over time if the cause is treated, but in some people the damage may be permanent or worsen over time. Often, treatment for neuropathy focuses on symptoms, not on the nerve damage itself. Your symptoms depend on the type of diabetic neuropathy you have and which nerves are affected. Symptoms usually come on slowly over time.
You may not notice that anything is wrong until serious nerve damage has occurred. Diabetic neuropathy may worsen over a period of many years. If it continues to progress, it can lead to potentially serious complications. Controlling blood sugar can help slow progression, especially in the case of type 1 diabetes. Peripheral neuropathy is more likely to be permanent in chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and genetic conditions.
However, this can still vary, so it's best to ask your healthcare provider what is most likely in your case. Talk to your healthcare team that specializes in diabetes for advice if you think you're developing any signs of neuropathy. The primary concern of a person with diabetes related to sensory neuropathy is the loss of feeling in their feet, especially if they don't realize that this has happened. There are several different types of neuropathies that can appear as a long-term complication of diabetes.
About 6% of adults with type 1 diabetes develop a type of neuropathy called peripheral neuropathy (PN) at the time of the onset of diabetes. You can help avoid diabetic neuropathy by getting support for physical activity and following a healthy, balanced diet. To start, a healthcare provider will ask you detailed questions about your medical history and diabetes management. Managing diabetes well and keeping cholesterol and blood pressure within ideal limits can also help improve symptoms of neuropathy and prevent nerve damage from worsening.
Research is also underway to determine if the use of electrical stimulation (TENS) can help in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. Maintaining control of blood sugar and diabetes is the most effective way to prevent diabetes complications in general. Healthcare providers diagnose neuropathy as diabetes-related if you have diabetes and can't find another cause for it. Your doctor or nurse who specializes in diabetes will evaluate you for signs of diabetic neuropathy during your annual exam.
Your health care and diabetes team can best advise you on how to manage this complication of diabetes, on possible treatments or medications that may help, and on how diabetes management is a key element in preventing or treating nerve damage caused by diabetes. With better blood sugar control, symptoms of diabetes-related neuropathy, such as numbness and other abnormal sensations, may disappear within a year. According to the American Diabetes Association, about half of people with diabetes have some form of neuropathy. Because nerve damage can occur gradually over time, you may not notice any symptoms of neuropathy until many years after a diabetes diagnosis.
You'll also need to visit your diabetes professional (such as an endocrinologist) regularly to make adjustments to your diabetes management plan...
