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Diabetes & Nerves
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| High blood glucose can cause
nerve problems. |
Too much glucose (sugar) in the blood for a long time can cause
diabetes problems. This high blood glucose (also called blood sugar)
can damage many parts of the body, such as the heart, blood vessels,
eyes, and kidneys. Heart and blood vessel disease can lead to heart
attacks and strokes. You can do a lot to prevent or slow down
diabetes problems.
This booklet is about nerve problems that can be caused by
diabetes. You will learn the things you can do each day and during
each year to stay healthy and prevent diabetes problems.
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| Follow the healthy eating plan that you and your doctor or dietitian
have worked out. |
| Be active a total of 30 minutes most days. Ask your doctor what activities
are best for you. |
| Take your diabetes medicines at the same times each day. |
| Check your blood glucose every day. Each time you check your blood
glucose, write the number in your record book. |
| Check your feet every day for cuts, blisters, sores, swelling, redness,
or sore toenails. |
| Brush and floss your teeth and gums every day. |
| Don't smoke. |
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Research has shown that people who kept their blood glucose close
to normal were able to lower their risk of nerve damage.
Here is what you can do to prevent nerve damage:
- Keep your blood glucose as close to normal as you can.
- Limit the amount of alcohol you drink.
- Don't smoke.
- Take care of your feet.
- Tell your doctor about any problems you have with
- your hands, arms, feet, and legs
- your stomach, bowels, or bladder
- Also tell your doctor if you
- have problems when you have sex
- cannot always tell when your blood glucose is too
low
- feel dizzy when you go from lying down to sitting or
standing
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- Wash your feet in warm water every day. Make sure the
water is not too hot by testing the temperature with your elbow.
Do not soak your feet. Dry your feet well, especially between your
toes.
- Look at your feet every day to check for cuts, sores,
blisters, redness, calluses, or other problems. Checking every
day is even more important if you have nerve damage or poor blood
flow. If you cannot bend over or pull your feet up to check them,
use a mirror. If you cannot see well, ask someone else to check
your feet.
- If your skin is dry, rub lotion on your feet after you wash
and dry them. Do not put lotion between your toes.
- File corns and calluses gently with an emery board or
pumice stone. Do this after your bath or shower.
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| Always wear slippers or shoes to protect your feet. |
- Cut your toenails once a week or when needed. Cut
toenails when they are soft from washing. Cut them to the shape of
the toe and not too short. File the edges with an emery board. If
you cannot cut your own toenails, ask someone who can or go to a
foot doctor.
- Always wear shoes or slippers to protect your feet from
injuries.
- Always wear socks or stockings to avoid blisters. Do
not wear socks or knee-high stockings that are too tight below
your knee.
- Wear shoes that fit well. Shop for shoes at the end of
the day when your feet are bigger. Break in shoes slowly. Wear
them 1 to 2 hours each day for the first 1 to 2 weeks.
- Make sure your doctor checks your feet at each checkup.
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Nerves carry messages back and forth between the brain and other
parts of the body. All of your nerves together make up the nervous
system.
Some nerves tell the brain what is happening in the body. For
example, when you step on a tack, the nerve in your foot tells the
brain about the pain. Other nerves tell the body what to do. For
example, nerves from the brain tell your stomach when it is time to
move food into your intestines.
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The nervous system has four main
parts--cranial, central, peripheral, and autonomic. Diabetes
can damage the peripheral, autonomic, and cranial
nerves. |
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Having high blood glucose for many years can damage the blood
vessels that bring oxygen to some nerves. High blood glucose can
also hurt the covering on the nerves. Damaged nerves may stop
sending messages. Or they may send messages too slowly or at the
wrong times.
Diabetic neuropathy (ne-ROP-uh-thee) is the medical term for
damage to the nervous system from diabetes.
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- Peripheral nerves go to the arms, hands, legs, and
feet. Damage to these nerves can make your arms, hands, legs,
or feet feel numb. Also, you might not be able to feel pain, heat,
or cold when you should. You may feel shooting pains or burning or
tingling, like "pins and needles." These feelings are often worse
at night. They can make it hard to sleep. Most of the time these
feelings are on both sides of your body, like in both of your
feet. But they can be on just one side.
Peripheral nerve
damage can change the shape of your feet. Foot muscles get weak
and the tendons in the foot get shorter. You can get special shoes
that are made to fit softly around your sore feet or feet that
have changed shape. These special shoes help protect your feet.
Medicare and other health insurance programs may pay for special
shoes. Talk to your doctor about how and where to get these
shoes.
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Peripheral nerves go from your spinal cord
to your arms, hands, legs, and
feet. |
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- Autonomic nerves help you know your blood glucose is
low. Some people take diabetes medicines that can accidentally
make their blood glucose too low. Damage to the autonomic nerves
can make it hard for them to feel the symptoms of hypoglycemia
(hy-po-gly-SEE-mee-uh), also called low blood glucose.
This
kind of damage is more likely to happen if you have had diabetes
for a long time. It can also happen if your blood glucose has been
too low very often.
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Autonomic nerves go from your spinal cord
to your lungs, heart, stomach, intestines, bladder, and sex
organs. |
- Autonomic nerves go to the stomach, intestines, and other
parts of the digestive system. Damage to these nerves can make
food pass through the digestive system too slowly or too quickly.
Nerve problems can cause nausea (feeling sick to your stomach),
vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea.
Nerve damage to your
stomach is called gastroparesis (gas-tro-puh-REE-sis). When nerves
to the stomach are damaged, the muscles of the stomach do not work
well and food may stay in the stomach too long. Gastroparesis
makes it hard to keep blood glucose under control.
- Autonomic nerves go to the penis. Damage to these
nerves can prevent a man's penis from getting firm when he wants
to have sex. This condition is called erectile dysfunction or
impotence (IM-po-tents). Many men who have had diabetes for many
years experience it.
- Autonomic nerves go to the vagina. Damage to these
nerves prevents a woman's vagina from getting wet when she wants
to have sex. A woman might also have less feeling around her
vagina.
- Autonomic nerves go to the heart. Damage to these
nerves might make your heart beat faster or at different
speeds.
- Autonomic nerves go to the bladder. Damage to these
nerves can make it hard to know when you should go to the
bathroom. The damage can also make it hard to feel when your
bladder is empty. Both problems can cause you to hold urine for
too long, which can lead to bladder infections. Another problem
can be leaking drops of urine accidentally.
- Autonomic nerves go to the blood vessels that keep your
blood pressure steady. Damage to these nerves makes your blood
move too slowly to keep your blood pressure steady when you change
position. When you go from lying down to standing up or when you
exercise a lot, the sudden changes in blood pressure can make you
dizzy.
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- Cranial nerves go to the eye muscles. Damage to these
nerves usually happens in one eye, causing double vision. This
problem happens all of a sudden and usually lasts for a short
time.
- Cranial nerves go to the sides of the face. Damage to
these nerves usually happens on only one side of the face. This
nerve damage causes that side of the face to hang lower or sag.
Usually the lower eyelid and lips sag. This problem is called
Bell's palsy. It happens all of a sudden and tends to correct
itself.
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Cranial nerves go from your brain to your
eyes, mouth, ears, and other parts of your
head. |
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If you have one or more of the problems mentioned in this
booklet, you may have some nerve damage from diabetes. Tell your
doctor about the problem. Ask your doctor what you can do to make
the problem better and to stop it from getting worse.
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National Diabetes
Information Clearinghouse
National Diabetes Education
Program
American Diabetes Association
Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation International
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