How Diabetes Causes Nerve Damage and Why You Should Be Concerned

For the more than 38 million Americans with diabetes (that represents about 11.6% of the population), nerve damage is a clear and present danger. Called diabetic or peripheral neuropathy, this diabetes complication is very common and affects about half of adults with this chronic condition.

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, our team at Pain Medicine Consultants considers the following a must-read. While diabetic neuropathy might not sound all that concerning, consider that nerve damage is the first step on a road that can lead to amputation.

So, with that in mind, let's take a closer look at diabetes-related peripheral nerve damage.

Why your nerves are affected by diabetes

As you probably already know, when you have diabetes, the levels of glucose in your bloodstream are unregulated due to a lack of insulin and/or insulin resistance. 

When you have high levels of sugar in your blood, it can damage the tiny blood vessels that deliver oxygen and critical nutrients to your nerves. As a result, these nerves can malfunction and die off.

This tends to happen in areas that are far from your heart, such as in your lower legs and feet, and less so in your arms and hands. 

As the nerves die off and misfire, you can experience symptoms that include:

• Pain
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Muscle weakness

Unfortunately, this type of peripheral nerve damage can’t be undone, so it’s important to take steps to prevent neuropathy or at least slow its progression.

Complications of diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy

If you develop diabetic neuropathy in your lower limbs, it can set the stage for some very serious issues. The lack of nerves and blood flow to your legs and feet can lead to diabetic foot ulcers, which affect about one-third of people with diabetes. 

More alarming is the fact that half of these ulcers will become infected thanks to the lack of resources to fight the infection, and 20% of these infections will lead to amputation.

Managing diabetic neuropathy

While we hesitate to use scare tactics, you should take the reality surrounding diabetic neuropathy very seriously.

Our team works with patients to not only manage the symptoms of their diabetic neuropathy, we also work toward containing the problem as quickly as possible.

So, at the first signs of nerve damage, we want you to tell your primary diabetes team and us so that we can all work together to prevent further complications. Your first order of business will be to manage your blood sugar levels to prevent more nerve damage.

To address existing nerve damage, our team can try pain medications or neuromodulation. With the neuromodulation approach, we implant a spinal cord stimulator that disrupts the overactive pain messaging between your damaged nerves and your brain.

The bottom line is that early intervention with diabetic neuropathy can make all the difference and improve the course of your health. 

So, if you suspect that you’re developing diabetes-related nerve damage, please contact us at one of our offices in Pleasant Hill, Corte Madera, or Pleasanton, California, at your earliest convenience to schedule a consultation.