DIABETIC NEUROPATHY

Are you a patient of diabetes? Do you experience symptoms of pain and numbness in your legs and feet? Do you experience frequent issues related to the digestive system, urinary system, blood vessels, and heart? Then, there are high chances that your diabetes is affecting your nerves. This condition is known as diabetic neuropathy.
Although the high blood sugar can affect nerves throughout the body, diabetic neuropathy commonly involves the nerves present in the legs and feet. Diabetic neuropathy is one of the most common and serious complications of diabetes.

Diabetic neuropathy can be briefly classified into the following two types:

1Peripheral Neuropathy

• Peripheral neuropathy is a type of nerve affection seen in the feet and legs and rarely does it affect the abdomen, back, and arms.
• Symptoms such as tingling, burning, numbness, and pain in the feet are a common presentation of peripheral neuropathy.
• Usually, the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy settle down when the blood sugar level is under control. However, in case symptoms aggravate, it can be managed with medications.

2Autonomic Neuropathy

You might be wondering that autonomic sounds like automatic! You are right!

In fact, autonomic neuropathy refers to an affection of those nerves which control the automatic processes of our body, such as digestion, blood circulation, urination, and even sexual functions.

The prominent symptoms of autonomic neuropathy:

• Involving the digestive system: diarrhea, constipation, bloating, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, and fullness after meals.
• Involving the blood vessels: dizziness, low blood pressure, blackouts, faster heartbeats, nausea and vomiting.
• Involving the sex organs: inability to keep erections and reduced ejaculations in men. Fewer or no orgasms (feelings of intense sexual pleasure) in women along with less vaginal lubrication.
• Involving the urinary system: difficulty in emptying the bladder, more number of trips to the bathroom, leaking of urine, and bloating.

In case you have autonomic neuropathy then there is possibility that you may not experience any symptoms of low blood glucose (hypoglycemia). This is dangerous as you will not be alerted that you are experiencing hypoglycemia.