Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is an underdiagnosed health probem in our community. But doctors have several promising weapons to fight the painful condition.
Foot pain due to nerve damage is common, but it doesn’t have to go untreated. Doctors have many different ways to treat the numbness, tingling and burning that go along with the condition.
81-year-old Stella Arias of San Antonio knows the pain of diabetic neuropathy. Sometimes, the simple act of standing can knock her off her nerve-damaged feet.
“This pain is coming on and I feel like a stabbing pain on my leg,” she explained. “And there have been times when I’ve had to sit down because the pain has been so severe.”
The high blood sugar that’s the hallmark of diabetes damages nerves over time. Almost half of diabetic suffer with it.
Pain specialist Dr. Arnulfo Carrasco says too many diabetics don’t know about the risk or the various ways to treat neuropathy.
“Peripheral neuropathy is what we call neuropathic pain, related to nerve damage,” Carrasco said. “And it doesn’t respond to pain killers, morphine and the codeines of the world. It responds to a class of medications that are anti-seizures and anti-depressant medications.”
The FDA has cleared drugs like Cymbalta and Lyrica to treat diabetic nerve damage. For some patients, that’s enough to keep their symptoms in check.
For others, Carrasco may take more drastic measures. In a procedure called a lumbar sympathetic block, he injects a medicine into the back that can block the uncomfortable nerve sensation for four to six months, providing lasting relief.
But Carrasco stresses, this is a condition for which there is no cure. “Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is about keeping pain under control,” he stated. “It’s not about during it, because it’s not going to happen.”
Arias wears special shoes and keep up her regular exercise. She said anyone who’s suffering should seek professional help. “Try to get started on something because it doesn’t get any better and it doesn’t go away.”
16 million American with diabetes suffer from neuropathy. It’s a condition that translates into 15 million lost work days each year and an annual cost of $58 billion.
