Diabetes and Neuropathy By Ray Attebery At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The link between diabetes and nerve damage due to high glucose levels in the blood stream is now a well know fact. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about 2/3 rd's of those with diabetes have some form of this complication.

Generally, diabetic neuropathy doesn't produce obvious symptoms in its beginning stages, that's what makes it so dangerous. Once you begin to experience numbness, tingling or pain in your feet, it could very well be the beginning of neuropathy.

Other symptoms include:

* Numbness in any part of you arms, legs, or feet to include weak muscles in the feet and/or hands.
* Indigestion, diarrhea or constipation for no apparent reason
* Sexual dysfunction
* Problems urinating

The cause? High blood sugar levels are causing damage to nerve coverings and blood vessels that is essential to bringing essential oxygen to the nerves. Without adequate blood flow and oxygen, discomfort or even severe pain may result. This damage causes the nerves to send messages to the spinal cord and eventually to the brain, too slowly or at the wrong times, or simply send no message at all.

When neuropathy becomes more severe, chronic pain, loss of motion, and injuries occur that can lead to amputation.

Progress is being made against the challenge of nerve damage caused by diabetic neuropathy.

A major study conducted by the NIH, "The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial" found that people who kept their blood glucose levels close to normal can lower the risk of nerve damage by as much as 60%.

The process of testing glucose levels 4X a day; 4X metformin or glucophage tablets (Type II) or 3X-4X daily injections of insulin (Type I); adjustments of both according to food intake and exercise; and monthly visits to a doctor and health-care team have proven effective toward blood glucose control.

Dr. Aaron Vinik, M.D., Ph.D., director of research at the Strelitz Diabetes Institutes states that "Blood glucose control is the single most important issue for people with diabetes, and with good education about diabetes and the use of new treatments as they become available, people with diabetes may be able to reduce their risk of nerve damage and even partially restore nerve function."

Things you can do to help your situation:

* Keep you blood sugar level as close to normal as possible
* Limit how much alcohol you drink to no more than one a day
* Take good care of your feet and have them checked regularly
* Let you doctor know if you are having any problems with your feet, legs, stomach, bowels or bladder.
* Frequent sexual dysfunction, discuss with your doctor
* Feel dizzy when going from lying down to standing up, consult your doctor

If you have pain, pain relief from diabetic neuropathy complications can be dealt with through homeopathic, non-addictive drugs such as Menastil, available from The Centre for Pain Relief in Burlington, New Jersey.

Neuropathy can not always be prevented but if you work closely with your doctor and medical team, you can lower the complication risk quite dramatically.

Then there is the issue of self-denial. When you have the above symptoms, and chose to ignore the signals to the point of not discussing any or all of them with your doctor, you are taking the risk of no return with your health. If Neuropathy becomes so severe, to where any or all of the majority of conditions discussed in the article come into play, you will enter into an arena of severe pain, possible amputation, and even death.

The most effective pain relief medications for diabetic neuropathy cause the nerve ends to relax and allow the blood and oxygen to flow back into the infected area to effectively cut-off the signals to the spinal cord and therefore to the brain resulting in pain relief. You still have the problem, you just do not feel it as much.

Non-narcotic, non-addictive, all natural ingredient pain relief medications for diabetic neuropathy are available from The Centre for Pain Relief. Check out their website to determine if Menastil can help you with your painful condition.

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