ABC Medical Center > Diseases > Diabetic neuropathy

What is diabetic neuropathy?

4 May 2021

It is a condition in which there is nerve damage due to diabetes because high blood sugar levels, over time, can seriously damage the body’s nerves, especially those of the lower limbs.

Depending on which nerves are damaged, diabetic neuropathy can show symptoms that range from mild to severe, so that sometimes there is only discomfort and numbness in the feet and legs; while in severe cases there can be cardiac, vascular, digestive, and urinary complications, which cause intense and disabling pain.

About half of diabetics suffer from neuropathy, so it is important that if you have diabetes, you adopt healthy eating and physical activity habits, as well as keep your blood sugar level within the appropriate parameters and see your doctor at the first symptoms of this complication.

Signs and symptoms Diabetic neuropathy

There are several types of diabetic neuropathy, so the symptoms will manifest according to the class you suffer from and the nerves that are damaged. In some cases, more than two types appear simultaneously.

Types of diabetic neuropathy:

Peripheral: it is the most frequent. It damages the nerves of the feet and hands, arms, and legs.

  • Insensitivity to pain and temperature.
  • Tingling.
  • Stitches or cramps.
  • Numbness.
  • Stiffness.
  • Hypersensitivity to touch that can be painful.
  • Wounds, sores, and infections on the feet.
  • Bone and joint pain.

Autonomic: causes cardiac, digestive, intestinal, ocular, bladder, and genital nerve damage.

  • Gastroparesis.
  • Nausea.
  • Vomit.
  • Lack of appetite.
  • Asymptomatic hypoglycemia.
  • Intestinal and bladder disorders.
  • Photosensitivity.
  • Decreased sexual desire.

Proximal: damages the abdominal and pectoral nerves, as well as those of the legs, hips, and buttocks.

  • Problems getting up after periods of immobility lying down or sitting.
  • Abdomen with intense pain.
  • Sore hip, legs, and buttocks.
  • Muscle weakness.

Focal: the damage is focused on a certain nerve.

  • Bell’s palsy on one side of the face.
  • Numbness of the fingers.
  • Lack of strength in the hand.
  • Double vision.
  • Blurred vision.
  • Sore eyes.

Diagnosis and treatment Diabetic neuropathy

Once your doctor analyzes your symptoms and clinical history, they will perform a physical examination and perform sensory, filamentation, nerve conduction, autonomic, and electromyography tests.

Diabetic neuropathy is a chronic disease, so it is not curable. However, treatment focuses on slowing down the condition’s evolution, controlling symptoms, and avoiding complications, so the most frequently used drugs are painkillers, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants.

If there are already complications, these should be treated simultaneously by the specialist indicated to attend to the specific damage.

At Saludora Medical Center’s Internal Medicine Department, we offer health care services with the highest quality and safety, from the prevention, diagnosis, timely treatment, and monitoring of infectious, respiratory, endocrinological, dermatological, rheumatic, nephrological, gastrointestinal, and hematological pathologies of both chronic-degenerative diseases and acute conditions, through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary model.

Related centers and departments Diabetic neuropathy

Internal medicine
Radiology and Molecular Imaging
Clinical Laboratory

Fuentes:

  • cun.es
  • medlineplus.gov
  • topdoctors.es
  • mayoclinic.org
  • msdmanuals.com
  • cigna.com
  • medigraphic.com
  • Tinoco-Samos A, Córdova-Pérez N, Arenas-Téllez JM, et al. Clinical improvement of diabetic neuropathy with carbamazepine or diclofenac treatment. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2013;51(5):496-501.
  • Díaz-Rodríguez JJ. Clinical and pathophysiologic aspects of diabetic foot. Med Int Mex. 2021;37(4):540-550.
  • Núñez ÁD, Martinella PI, Cruz SR, et al. Caracterización clínico epidemiológica de pacientes afectados por pie diabético. Rev Cub Med Mil . 2017;46(4):337-348.
  • Jardón-Reyes A, Hernández-Amaro H, Hernández-Torres G, et al. Actualidades en la correlación de hallazgos electroneuromiográficos en polineuropatía diabética. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2018;56(4):354-359.

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