The Link Between Diabetes and Neuropathic Pain

 For the more than 38 million Americans who have diabetes, life has its challenges. This disease can cast a wide net over your health and wellness. From vision issues to slow-healing foot wounds, the complications from diabetes stretch from head to toe.

Since November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, Dr. Neal Taub and the team here at Charlotte Ketamine Center look at one of the most common and painful side effects of diabetes — peripheral neuropathy, the medical term for nerve damage.

Here, we dive into why diabetes leads to neuropathic pain and how we can help you get much-needed relief with ketamine therapy.

How diabetes leads to nerve damage in your body

Diabetes is a condition in which the glucose levels in your bloodstream are too high thanks to a lack of insulin and insulin resistance (insulin is a hormone that delivers glucose to your cells). 

These higher-than-normal blood sugar levels can lead to serious complications, and nerve damage tops this list — as many as half of people with diabetes develop peripheral neuropathy. 

The nerve damage associated with diabetes typically affects the lower limbs, though it can also strike your upper limbs. 

Signs of diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy refers to damage to your sensory nerves. Given that these nerves are responsible for what you feel, it makes sense that symptoms are hard to ignore.

We’re discussing the symptoms in terms of your lower limbs, but you can apply them to your arms and hands just as easily.

The most common side effects of diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy include:

• Pain, often described as shooting, stabbing, or burning
• Numbness and tingling
• Unusual sensations
• Weakness in your muscles (your feet can drag, for example)
• Slow-healing ulcers on your feet, ankles, or lower legs

Since we’re spotlighting neuropathic pain, we want to flesh out this symptom a bit. 

We mentioned burning, shooting, and stabbing, adjectives we hear often. Bear in mind that people can feel different types of pain with nerve damage — we’ve also heard it described as shock-like sensations in your lower legs and feet, for example.

No matter how the discomfort presents, it affects your quality of life, and you want relief. 

Treating peripheral neuropathy

It’s important to note that peripheral neuropathy is mostly irreversible, and it’s progressive. Act quickly to contain the nerve damage. Your most important step is working with your provider on managing your blood sugar levels to prevent further nerve damage. 

When it comes to your comfort, that's where we come in. Ketamine treatments are great for people struggling with chronic pain, and peripheral neuropathy certainly qualifies. 

One study concludes, “There is a statistically significant pain reduction by adding ketamine to the treatment of chronic [neuropathic pain] when compared to the standard treatment.”

Our own experiences are equally as positive. We’ve helped many people with diabetes resolve their neuropathic pain, and we feel confident we can do the same for you.

To get on the road to nerve pain relief through ketamine treatments, please call our office in Charlotte, North Carolina, at 704-519-6918 to schedule a consultation today.