Top Warning Signs of Diabetic Nerve Pain

If you’re living with diabetes and have experienced a tingling, burning sensation in your hands or feet, you may be suffering from diabetic nerve pain.

Diabetic nerve pain or “damaged nerves” are a result of an injury or disease. The restriction of blood flow to the damaged nerves leads to the chronic, debilitating pain. Nerve pain can make doing the simplest things very painful. 

Diabetes develops in children and adults typically as a result of the body not producing enough insulin. What is insulin? It’s a hormone produced by your pancreas. The purpose of insulin is to help cells use glucose or sugar found in food to produce energy.

Now, if there is too much sugar in the blood, this can lead to complications, such as diabetes. Often times affecting the kidneys, heart, nerves and eyes. Diabetes affects as many as 29 million people in the U.S. More than 8 million people are either unware or have yet to be diagnosed with the condition.

Patients with high blood sugar can experience a variety of health conditions, including diabetic nerve pain, often seen in the feet and legs first.

Here are the more common signs of diabetic nerve pain:

• Numbness
• Sharp and burning pain
• Pins and needles pain
• Deformities on the foot (i.e. hammertoe)
• Sores or blisters
• Sensitivity to touch
• Tingling or stabbing pain

Diabetic nerve pain will vary for each individual based on the severity of nerve damage. For those suffering with sensitivity to touch, trying to get a good night’s rest can be difficult. It can seem like even the bed sheets are heavy and painful to lay down on.

Don’t be surprised if you experience difficulty standing or walking. You may also experience difficulty picking up a spoon or fork to eat your meal or drop items on a regular basis. Most of this is contributed to diabetic nerve pain.

For individuals who may have trouble feeling at all, it’s important to carefully monitor your feet and hands. It can be challenging at times to know if something you’re holding is hot or cold. You don’t want to burn yourself or cause further harm.

If you’d like to live free of diabetic nerve pain, there is hope. To learn more or to schedule your evaluation, call us today.