Diabetic neuropathy most often damages nerves in the legs and feet.
Diabetic neuropathy is a serious diabetes complication that may affect as many as 50\% of people with diabetes.
But you can often prevent diabetic neuropathy or slow its progress with consistent blood sugar management and a healthy lifestyle.
Symptoms
Peripheral neuropathy
This type of neuropathy may also be called distal symmetric peripheral neuropathy. It's the most common type of diabetic neuropathy.
Numbness or reduced ability to feel pain or temperature changes
Tingling or burning feeling
Sharp pains or cramps
Muscle weakness
Extreme sensitivity to touch — for some people, even a bedsheet's weight can be painful
Serious foot problems, such as ulcers, infections, and bone and joint damage
Autonomic neuropathy
Bladder or bowel problems
Slow stomach emptying (gastroparesis), causing nausea, vomiting, sensation of fullness and loss of appetite
Difficulty swallowing
Changes in the way the eyes adjust from light to dark or far to near
Increased or decreased sweating
Problems with sexual response, such as vaginal dryness in women and erectile dysfunction in men
Proximal neuropathy (diabetic polyradiculopathy
Difficulty focusing or double vision
Paralysis on one side of the face
Numbness or tingling in the hand or fingers
Weakness in the hand that may result in dropping things
Pain in the shin or foot
Weakness causing difficulty lifting the front part of the foot (foot drop)
Pain in the front of the thigh
Causes:
The exact cause of each type of neuropathy is unknown. Researchers think that over time, uncontrolled high blood sugar damages nerves and interferes with their ability to send signals, leading to diabetic neuropathy. High blood sugar also weakens the walls of the small blood vessels (capillaries) that supply the nerves with oxygen and nutrients.
Risk factors
Poor blood sugar control. Uncontrolled blood sugar increases the risk of every diabetes complication, including nerve damage.
Diabetes history. The risk of diabetic neuropathy increases the longer a person has diabetes, especially if blood sugar isn't well controlled.
Kidney disease. Diabetes can damage the kidneys. Kidney damage sends toxins into the blood, which can lead to nerve damage.