Why You Should Never Delay Diabetic Neuropathy Treatment

For the millions of Americans who have diabetes — the chronic condition affects more than 12% of the population in the United States (about 40 million people) — one of the biggest threats is diabetic neuropathy.

Neuropathy is the medical term for nerve damage, and it develops in about half of people with diabetes, usually in the lower legs and feet.

Since November is National Diabetes Month, board-certified neurologist Dr. Paul Gill and our team at Gill Neuroscience want to take this opportunity to discuss diabetic peripheral neuropathy, which has the potential to become a very serious and life-changing  complication.

Diabetes and your nerve health

Let’s start with some basics to connect the dots between having diabetes and developing nerve damage.

As you likely already know, when you have diabetes, your body is unable to regulate the glucose levels in your blood due to insulin resistance and lack of sufficient insulin production to overcome the resistance.

The direct impact of this is that you can have dangerously high levels of glucose, or sugar, in your blood. These high levels, in turn, can damage the delicate blood vessels that bring nutrients and oxygen to your peripheral sensory nerves, causing them to malfunction and die off.

Key signs of diabetic neuropathy 

Diabetic neuropathy tends to develop in areas where your blood vessels have to work the hardest to deliver resources. For example, most cases of diabetic neuropathy affect the lower limbs and feet, where vessels have to fight distance and gravity to circulate blood back up to your heart and lungs. 

This same effect can happen less frequently in your arms and hands.

So, when discussing the signs of neuropathy related to diabetes, look for symptoms in your extremities, such as:

• Numbness
• Tingling
• Muscle weakness
• Pain

The pain that comes from peripheral neuropathy is often described as shooting, stabbing, or burning, so this is one symptom that's hard to ignore.

Complications of diabetic neuropathy

Now let’s discuss why we’re so adamant about the importance of early intervention with diabetic neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy sets the stage for diabetic foot ulcers, which develop in about one-third of people with diabetes.

Unfortunately, the same conditions that led to the nerve damage can also prevent resources from acting quickly to heal the wound. As a result, about half of these foot ulcers become infected and 20% of the infections end in amputation.

When we say that the complications of diabetic neuropathy are life-changing, it's no exaggeration.

Early intervention matters

To prevent the cascade we just outlined, it’s important to take action at the first signs of trouble. In the early stages of neuropathy, most people experience numbness and tingling, and it’s at this stage that we can do the most good.

If Dr. Gill finds that you have early stage neuropathy through his extensive nerve studies, we can take steps to control and even reverse the nerve damage. These steps often involve better managing your glucose levels and protecting your feet.

As the neuropathy advances, some nerve damage can become permanent, but you can still take steps to protect yourself against ulcers and to prevent further damage. 

Again, these steps mostly boil down to being more vigilant about your glucose control, but we can also prescribe medications, such as gabapentin, to control any discomfort you might be feeling.

As a specialist in nerve health, Dr. Gill can assess your neuropathy and come up with the most effective plan for your circumstances, and the earlier he can intervene, the better your outcome.

For expert care of diabetic neuropathy, please call our Houston, Texas, office at 832-912-7777, to schedule a consultation. You can also use our online form to request an appointment.