Diabetic Nerve Problems

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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• Patient Handouts

Summary

If you have diabetes, your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. Over time, this can damage the covering on your nerves or the blood vessels that bring oxygen to your nerves. Damaged nerves may stop sending messages, or may send messages slowly or at the wrong times.

This damage is called diabetic neuropathy. Over half of people with diabetes get it. Symptoms may include:

• Numbness in your hands, legs, or feet
• Shooting pains, burning, or tingling
• Nausea, vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea
• Problems with sexual function
• Urinary problems
• Dizziness when you change positions quickly

Your doctor will diagnose diabetic neuropathy with a physical exam and nerve tests. Controlling your blood sugar can help prevent nerve problems, or keep them from getting worse. Treatment may include pain relief and other medicines.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Start Here

• Nerve Damage (Diabetic Neuropathies) (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Peripheral Neuropathy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Symptoms

• Symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy (Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Autonomic Testing (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Therapies for Treating Diabetic Nerve Pain (American Academy of Neurology) - PDF

Related Issues

• Your Feet and Diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Specifics

• Additional Types of Neuropathy (American Diabetes Association)
• Autonomic Neuropathy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Diabetes, Sexual, and Bladder Problems (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Gastroparesis (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Diabetic Neuropathies (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Dietary Docosahexaenoic Acid-Rich Supplementation Decreases Neurotoxic Lipid Mediators in Participants with...
• Article: Painful Diabetic Neuropathy: Sex-Specific Mechanisms and Differences from Animal Models to...
• Article: Nerve ultrasound helps to distinguish CIDP patients with diabetes from patients...
• Diabetic Nerve Problems -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American Diabetes Association
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish
• NIDDK Information Clearinghouses and Health Information Center (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Patient Handouts

• Cranial mononeuropathy III - diabetic type (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Diabetes and nerve damage (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Nerve damage from diabetes - self-care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish