Symptoms of Diabetic Nerve Pain

Diabetes is not a diagnosis that anyone really wants to face, but it is not necessarily the constant worry about sugar and carbohydrate intake that concerns diabetic patients the most. Often it is the related health issues that can arise that are more problematic. This includes nerve pain.

It is estimated that approximately two-thirds of all diabetics suffer from some level of nerve damage. This is thought to be caused by several factors related to the disease included the nerves’ extended exposure to high glucose levels and the body’s natural inflammatory response.

There are many symptoms that are related to diabetic nerve pain. These can include sadness or depression, tingling in fingers or toes, and dull aches in one area or all over the body. Burning, stabbing, or throbbing pain is often described by patients and certain areas may even be sensitive to touch, to heat, or cold. If an area goes numb and has little or no feeling at all, the nerve damage may be more extensive. This is also true is the area loses the able to sense heat or cold. To learn more about how our pain clinic can help you with nerve pain, visit us.

Occasionally nerve pain can cause temporary muscle weakness making it difficult to do normal daily activities. Being able to describe your pain and also how you deal with it is important to the diagnosis and treatment process.

• Where is the pain?
• Is one area more affected than others?
• Does the pain get worse at night or first thing in the morning?
• Does the numbness or tingling come and go or is it constant?
• Are you having difficulty managing your daily tasks as a result of the pain?
• Is weakness becoming apparent?
• Is there anything that you do, which make the pain more bearable?