People with diabetes can have nerve problems. This is called diabetic neuropathy.
Diabetic neuropathy happens when you have high blood sugar levels over a long time. This causes damage to the nerves that go to your legs, arms, digestive tract, heart, and bladder.
The nerve damage can cause many different problems in your body.
Tingling or burning in the arms and legs may be an early sign of nerve damage. These feelings often start in your toes and feet. You may have deep pain. This often happens in the feet and legs.
Nerve damage may cause you to lose feeling in your legs and arms. Because of this, you may:
People with diabetes may have problems digesting food. These problems can make your diabetes harder to control. Symptoms of this problem are:
Heart-related problems may include:
Neuropathy may "hide" angina. This is the warning chest pain for heart disease and heart attack. People with diabetes should learn other warning signs of a heart attack. They are sudden fatigue, sweating, shortness of breath, nausea, and vomiting.
Other symptoms of nerve damage are:
Treating diabetic neuropathy can make some symptoms of nerve problems better. The best way to keep the problem from getting worse is to have tight control of your blood sugar.
Your doctor can give you medicines to help with some of these symptoms.
You should also:
American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes -- 2010. Diabetes Care. 2010 Jan;33 Suppl 1:S11-61.
In the clinic. Type 2 diabetes. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:ITC-1-15.
Updated by: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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