A reader writes: “Carolyn, I have diabetes and was diagnosed over seven years ago. I take the oral medications and a sliding scale shot every day. Over the last several years I have noticed the tingling in my hands and feet, and the doctor called it diabetic neuropathy. Sometimes parts of my feet feel numb — what is this and how can I get rid of it? I have done everything my doctor said for me to do, but it seems that this diabetes is steadily getting worse.”
Diabetic neuropathy is the damage to nerves in the body that occurs in persons with diabetes, due to high blood sugar. This nerve injury is caused by decreased blood flow and the resultant decrease in oxygen and nutrients for the nerves and to the body parts served by those nerves.
More than half of all people with diabetes will develop this type of nerve damage. Diabetic neuropathy is usually diagnosed after years of diabetes, even when medication seems to be providing sufficient controls.
This neuropathy may affect nerves of the cranium, spinal column and branches leading to hands and feet, as well as to organs such as the heart, stomach, bladder and also the intestines.
Symptoms will depend on which nerves are affected and could interfere with one’s digestion, causing heartburn, nausea, diarrhea and constipation, problems swallowing and or the inability to eat normally.
The more common symptoms include the sensation of burning and tingling in the arms and legs along with pain in the feet and toes. Because of the sense of numbness in the arms, hands and feet, you may not notice a blister or cut or even the sensation of cold and hot.
Damage to nerves serving the heart and blood vessels may cause you to feel light-headed when you stand up quickly, may mask chest pain that could warn of an impending heart attack or hide a change in the cardiac rate or rhythm.
Additional symptoms of nerve damage may include the inability to fully empty the bladder or control urine flow, sweating even in cooler temperatures or at rest, erectile dysfunction, vaginal dryness and more.
The treatment to eliminate the risk of diabetic neuropathy, or to truly halt diabetic neuropathy, is to take steps to reverse the diabetes and to return your body to a healthy state. Diabetes maintenance is simply not curative. In maintaining the illness you continue to support the problem and can never get well.
It is very important to keep your blood sugar in a healthy range; however, artificially lowering the blood sugar will not prevent nerve damage or make symptoms less severe.
A group of clients taking a combination of supplements in a local wellness study found substantial relief from the pain and tingling sensation with a regime of nutrients that included the simple and often overlooked cod liver oil, along with some basic lifestyle changes.
The best way to create health, reverse diabetes and avoid its complications is to embrace the fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle. These steps include eating a clean diet, exercising for 45 to 60 minutes most days, fresh air and sunshine, clean water, sufficient rest and play time, close connections with family, friends and the spirit within.
And if you have diabetes, part of your daily self care should include checking and caring for your feet. Check for red spots, abrasions, cuts, swelling, dryness and cracking. Wash, dry and moisturize feet daily, have your nails professionally trimmed every couple of months, and have your feet examined about twice a year. Local podiatrist Dr. Tucker Brawner also advises, in regard to nail trimming, “Diabetic patients should be very careful going to nail parlors, and should certainly warn the technician of their diabetic condition.” Additionally, be sure to wear correct and well-fitting shoes.
Carolyn Guilford is a nutrition consultant, health and wellness advocate, author and workshop organizer. Several of her publications are available in the Kindle format at https://www.amazon.com/author/carolynguilford. She holds monthly forums at the Bull Street Public Library, which are free and open to all. If you have a question you’d like answered in “Toward True Health,” please send it to firstname.lastname@example.org. Call to reserve your spot in our March diabetes class by calling 912-236-8987, “Like” us on Facebook and get new health tips www.facebook.com/healthrestoration101 or write to Health Restoration Consulting Post Office Box 2814, Savannah, GA 31402.