Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
Suggest Treatment For Diabetic Neuropathy
Question: My doctor just said I have diabetic neuropathy. I aso have very little balance and lots of doctors have been trying to fix it, including physical therapy. Is there any way to "fix" this neuropathy so that my balance improves? I see by ads on TV that there is a drug for the "pain" of diabetes.I have no pain involved. Will getting and keeping blood sugar normal reduce the lack of balance and improve the neuropathy? I know I should reduce my blood sugar. But would reducing it improve the neuropathy, or is that a lost cause? Once you have neuropathy is it a permanent condition with no cure?
Brief Answer:
Neuropathy
Detailed Answer:
Sorry to learn about your bothersome symptoms. Diabetic neuropathy can be irreversible if it reaches an advanced stage. However until it reaches that point, controlling the diabetes can help improve the condition and most likely prevent it from progressing. Diabetic neuropathy is a diagnosis of exclusion. This means that other possible causes of neuropathy first need to be ruled before atttributing the neuropathy to a diabetes related complication.Examples include alcohol and vitamin B12 / folate deficiency. When I see someone like you in my practice, I typically order the following blood tests in addition to a detailed physical examination:
CBC (Complete Blood Count, also known as Hemogram; includes Hemoglobin, WBC and Platelet counts)
Electrolytes (Sodium and Potassium in particular)
HbA1c (Glycosylated Hemoglobin = your last 3 months' glucose average). Also known by other names such as GlycoHemoglobin or Glycated Hemoglobin or A1c
Liver function tests (SGOT , SGPT, Albumin, Bilirubin, Alkaline Phosphatase)
Kidney function tests (BUN, Creatinine)
TSH (checks your thyroid)
12 hour Fasting Lipid profile
Urine albumin to Creatinine Ratio (early sign of diabetes affecting the kidney)
25 hydroxy Vitamin D levels (ideal range 40 to 60 ng/ml = 100 to 150 nmol/liter). Vitamin B12 levels Folate levels
Neuropathy
Detailed Answer:
Sorry to learn about your bothersome symptoms. Diabetic neuropathy can be irreversible if it reaches an advanced stage. However until it reaches that point, controlling the diabetes can help improve the condition and most likely prevent it from progressing. Diabetic neuropathy is a diagnosis of exclusion. This means that other possible causes of neuropathy first need to be ruled before atttributing the neuropathy to a diabetes related complication.Examples include alcohol and vitamin B12 / folate deficiency. When I see someone like you in my practice, I typically order the following blood tests in addition to a detailed physical examination:
CBC (Complete Blood Count, also known as Hemogram; includes Hemoglobin, WBC and Platelet counts)
Electrolytes (Sodium and Potassium in particular)
HbA1c (Glycosylated Hemoglobin = your last 3 months' glucose average). Also known by other names such as GlycoHemoglobin or Glycated Hemoglobin or A1c
Liver function tests (SGOT , SGPT, Albumin, Bilirubin, Alkaline Phosphatase)
Kidney function tests (BUN, Creatinine)
TSH (checks your thyroid)
12 hour Fasting Lipid profile
Urine albumin to Creatinine Ratio (early sign of diabetes affecting the kidney)
25 hydroxy Vitamin D levels (ideal range 40 to 60 ng/ml = 100 to 150 nmol/liter). Vitamin B12 levels Folate levels
Note: For further follow-up, discuss your blood glucose reports with our diabetologist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
