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What is diabetic peripheral neuropathy?
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is a condition caused by long-term high blood sugar levels, which causes nerve damage. Some people will not have any symptoms. But for others symptoms may be debilitating. Between 60 and 70 percent of people with diabetes have some form of neuropathy.
Peripheral neuropathy, the most common form of diabetic neuropathy, affects the legs, feet, toes, hands, and arms.
Many people do not know that they have diabetes. People unaware of their diabetes may not know what’s causing some of the unusual sensations they’re experiencing.
Symptoms of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
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Feeling numbness
A common symptom of diabetic peripheral neuropathy is numbness. Sometimes you may be unable to feel your feet while walking.
Other times, your hands or feet will tingle or burn. Or it may feel like you’re wearing a sock or glove when you’re not.
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Shooting pain
Sometimes you may experience sudden, sharp pains that feel like an electrical current. Other times, you may feel cramping, like when you’re grasping something like a piece of silverware.
You also may sometimes unintentionally drop items you’re holding as a result of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
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Loss of balance
Walking with a wobbly motion or even losing your balance can result from diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Wearing orthopedic shoes often helps with this.
Loss of coordination is a common sign of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Often, muscle weakness affects the ankle, which can affect your gait. Numbness in the feet can also contribute to loss of balance.
Natural Remedies for Diabetic Neuropathy.
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Manage Blood Sugar Levels
The very best thing you can do to help prevent or control neuropathy is to manage your blood sugar levels. Maintaining blood sugar consistently within a healthy range is the most important thing to prevent permanent damage to the nerves, blood vessels, eyes, skin and other body parts before complications develop.
Studies have found that poor blood sugar greatly increases risk for peripheral neuropathy, which accounts for hospitalizations more frequently than other complications of diabetes and also is the most frequent cause of non‐traumatic amputations.
The best way to do this is through a combination of frequent blood glucose testing, eating a healthy diet, exercising, and working with your health consultant to determine if you need diabetes relievers and/or insulin therapy.
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Follow a Healthy Diet
Your diet has a direct impact on your blood sugar levels, so it’s the first place to start in order to manage diabetic symptoms and complications. Focus your diet around unprocessed, whole foods, and limit or reduce your intake of refined carbs, added sugars and sugary drinks to help stabilize blood sugar.
Some simple ways to do this include drinking water/herbal tea over soda, juice and other sweetened drinks; eating plenty of healthy fats and lean proteins over refined carbohydrates; buying less packaged foods and always checking labels for added ingredients or sugars when you do; and managing your weight more easily by cooking at home and using techniques like roasting, baking, steaming or broiling over frying.
As part of your diabetic diet plan, eat plenty high-fiber foods that are packed with nutrients but low in sugar/artificial ingredients, including:
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vegetables and whole fruits: all kinds, which are high in antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and essential electrolytes like minerals and potassium
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wild-caught fish: omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil benefit diabetics by lowering triglycerides and apoproteins that raise risk for diabetic complications
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healthy fats: coconut oil/coconut milk, olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocado
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lean protein foods: grass-fed beef, pasture-raised poultry and sprouted beans/legumes, which are also high in fiber
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you can also use stevia, a natural no-calorie sweetener, in place of table sugar.
Other helpful tips for managing blood sugar with your diet include:
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Cut out most grains if possible, but especially those made with refined wheat flours.
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Limit your intake of high-sodium foods. Keep sodium to no more than 2,300 milligrams per day to help control blood pressure.
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Drink six to eight eight-ounce glasses of water each day to stay hydrated, plus fill up on more fiber-rich and water-rich foods like fresh veggies and fruit to feel satisfied on less.
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Watch your portions, and try measuring things for a bit to learn proper serving sizes.
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If it helps you, try keeping track of your daily food intake in a food journal for several weeks to monitor your progress and get a better picture of how you’re doing.
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Exercise and Try Physical Therapy
Exercising regularly is one of the simplest ways to manage your diabetes symptoms, help you maintain a healthy weight, control blood sugar and high blood pressure symptoms, increase strength, and improve range of motion in addition to all the other benefits of exercise.
Work your way up to exercising for 30–60 minutes daily, doing low-impact exercises like cycling, swimming or walking. This helps your body respond to insulin better and lower blood glucose, possibly even to the point where you can take less relievers. Exercise also helps protect nerves by improving circulation, reducing cholesterol and lowering stress, which can raise your glucose levels and increase inflammation.
Physical therapy can also be helpful because it increases muscle strength, mobility and daily functioning. You can talk to your physical therapist about any pain you’re experiencing and try special orthopedic inserts or shoes, which can help reduce symptoms and improve your ability to get around normally.
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Reduce Exposure to Toxins and Quit Harmful Addictions
People with neuropathy are more likely to develop kidney stone symptoms and other kidney problems, including kidney disease, which is why it’s important to take added stress off your kidneys in order to prevent an accumulation of toxins in the blood that worsens the problem. Lower your exposure to chemicals sprayed on non-organic crops, chemical household cleaners and beauty products, unnecessary supplements, and too much intoxicant drinks or any other harmful addictions. Quit harmful addictions as quickly as possible, since it can develop into a nerve damage and even have a heart attack or stroke.
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Manage Stress
Stress makes inflammation worse and raises the risk for diabetics complications of all sorts. Exercising, meditating or practicing healing prayer, spending more time doing hobbies or being in nature, and being around family and friends are all natural stress relievers you should try. Acupuncture is another beneficial treatment that not only helps lower stress and pain, but also has been shown to be ease symptoms of neuropathy safely with very few, if any, side effects.
