Nerve Involvement in Diabetes

Diabetes involves all the nerves and muscles of body. Numbness in feet, tingling, burning, sensations, pain in legs specially at night are all features of diabetic Neuropathy. Some patients will not be able to walk due to pain in legs or weakness once they sit down they can't get up without support.

Some people may feel difficulty in typing or writing and all movements of body become painful.

These are all signs of involvement of Nerves called as Neuropathy or Diabetic Neuritis. This damage is due to poor control and longer durations of diabetes. These symptoms are both Sensory (Burning, tingling, numbness) and Motor (weakness and wasting of muscles).

All these symptoms, i.e. Sensory and Motor are the result of uncontrolled Diabetes and patient usually responds well once Blood Sugar is controlled either by Medicines or by Insulin injections.

Some persons may have diminished sweating in the feet or increased sweating over upper part of body.

Some persons will have constipation. Others will have intermittent watery diarrhoea especially at night or other will have distension of abdomen.

Some Diabetic patients have Urinary and sexual problems also like:

• Difficulty in passing urine.
• Repeated urine infections.
• Difficulty in holding urine.

Impotence, i.e. unability to achieve or sustain erection satisfactorily for sexual intercourse. This is one of the commonest problem, diabetic patient face. Yet for months and years they won't discuss it with their doctor. Most of the time either doctor is too busy or patient is with family members so he is not able to express the problem to doctor. Longer the duration of uncontrolled Diabetes more and more would be Sexual problems. Some patients may request their doctor for some magic pill or injection. Some people may try Alcohol or other drugs-but all these may aggravate the agony of patient.

Treatment

1. Psychological counselling to both partners.
2. Stop use of Alcohol.
3. Strict Diabetes control.
4. There are certain devices-suction technique erection can be maintained-(suction pumps are available).
5. Injections of Papaverine before intercourse can cause sustained erection. However, these all techniques have side effects of infections etc., and should be under strict medical supervision.

For all Neruological problems arising due to uncontrolled diabetes the best treatment is to keep Blood Sugar under control and consult your doctor before trying for any magic pill.