Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is caused by nerve damage in the arms and/or legs and is often associated with fluctuating glucose levels in diabetic patients. However, many diabetic patients keep their glucose levels in check but still get the diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms.

This article will walk through the most common diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms.
The second part of this article provides an overview of available diabetic peripheral neuropathy treatments.

The reason for this article

We received several emails from a lady who had already lost one leg to diabetic peripheral neuropathy. She decided to use TPR 20 for the excruciating pain caused by neuropathy in the big toe of her remaining leg. TPR 20 did more for her than just relieving the pain, it helped her body to heal a sore that had been on her toe for 4-5 months. To read her story, please visit Diabetic Neuropathy of Feet – A Success Story

Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy Symptoms

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is most common in toes, feet and legs, but it can also occur in the hand and arms. The symptoms depend on what nerve has been affected. Symptoms can last from days to many years. The most common diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms are:

• Pain
• Muscle weakness

Other diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms are more degenerative changes like:

• Muscle loss
• Muscle twitching (often visible)
• Painful muscle cramps
• Bone degeneration
• Changes in skin, hair and nails

These symptoms are a result of sensory or autonomic fiber loss. This article will focus on the sensory fiber loss since it causes most of the diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms.

The pain caused by diabetic peripheral neuropathy can be mild to moderate and for some people the pain is excruciating. The pain tends to get worse at night.

As mentioned, the type of diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms depends on what nerves have been damaged or deteriorated and the location of the damaged nerves (hands, feet, etc).  There are smaller and larger sensory fibers, the loss of each cause different symptoms.

The damage or loss of sensory fibers usually starts in the place with the greatest distance from the brain: toes, feet and legs.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms caused by smaller sensory fibers

Numbness is a common symptom when nerve damage in the toes occurs, you will not feel pain or temperature on the numb area. As a result infections develop more easily. When an infection reaches the bone, doctors amputate the affected area. People with diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms undergo more than half of all amputations performed in the US, about 86,000 amputations per year. Toes, feet and legs are the most commonly amputated.

Instead of numbness, some people become overly sensitive to touch. This can make it unbearable to wear shoes or even socks. Walking becomes excruciatingly painful. Even the touch of a sheet on the skin can become painful.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms caused by larger sensory fibers

Damage or loss of the larger sensory fibers often result in debilitating problems. It can cause a fast deterioration of mobility and quality of life. A quick overview:

Loss of position sense

If it occurs in the feet or legs, walking becomes hard or impossible. It can also become harder to maintain balance, especially in the dark or with closed eyes. If the loss of position sense occurs in the hands it becomes harder to for example tie laces or fasten buttons.

Muscle Weakness and Loss of Reflexes

Muscle weakness and loss of reflexes especially occurs in the ankles. This in turn can cause a person to start walking in a different manner. In the longer term it can result in foot deformities like hammertoes and a collapse of the midfoot.

Numbing hands and feet

The numbing of hands and feet can cause the same issues as described for the smaller sensory fibers. Also, not feeling ones hand and feet makes it harder to use the hands and feet in a controlled manner.

The next section will look into diabetic peripheral neuropathy treatments >>

For a more in-depth look at Diabetic peripheral neuropathy symptoms, visit the following links:

About.com:  What are the symptoms of peripheral nerve damage
Wikipedia: Diabetic neuropathy – Signs and Symptoms
MedicineNet: Diabetic Neuropathy: Symptoms
NDIC: What are the symptoms of diabetic neuropathies