Question: My dad has just been diagnosed with diabetic sensory and motor neuropathy. What can we do to help him Doctors say there are no treatments. I am sure something must be out there. What is the prognosis please? The Neurologist doesn't want to see my Dad again I feel we have been left on the shelf

My dad is insulin dependent type II diabetic and had it for 20 years.
Can dad get any mobility back and if so how? He has seen Neurologist but I think I am better getting in touch with Endocrinology Team Dad was under as I think they may be able to help more do you agree?
Dad needs to lose a bit of weight and blood sugar is now under control averaging around 6.2
This isn't classed as a terminal illness like motor neurone disease is it?

Can dad gain any kind of mobility back and if so how? Will Physio or acupuncture or anything like that help?

Dad keeps falling has to walk with a zimmer frame. Struggles to get from sitting to standing position and both legs feel weak with quadriceps wasting. I have no test reports yet. Dad couldnt feel vibration test on feet

2 months on a zimmer frame

My dad has had a bad fall legs completely gone underneath him. He says they are feeling numb please help what can we do

Please find below the letter received from hospital. Is there really nothing we can do I would like your opinion please as I feel my Dad has been written off;

Diagnosis: likely diabetic motor sensory neuropathy
Thank you for referring this 68 year old right handed gentleman to the Neurology clinic. He has had diabetes since 2000. His control was previosuly poor though has improved in the last 9 months. Mr Bridge has a previous history of osteomyelitis for which he was treated long term antibiotics. He now describes a 3 month history of progressive weakness of both legs. Although he can stand he feels unsteady and his legs quite often give way. He also described numbness in the legs. His arms bowel bladder speech and swallowing is unaffected.

On examination today his cranial nerves were unremarkable. Examination of limbs revealed normal tone. Power was normal in both arms and legs. Hip flexion was reduced to 3/5 bilaterally. Reflexes were absent in the legs but present in the arms. Sensation to pinprick was reduced distally in the legs but was present in the arms. Vibration sense was absent up to the hips. There were no fasiculations visible.

I suspect this gentleman has quite a severe axonal motor sensory neuropathy secondary to his diabetes. I have explained that this is not a treatable condition but we need to do some further investigations to exclude any more treatable causes. I am areanging MRI scan of lumbar spine to make sure there is no cord pathology or nerve root compression and some nerve conduction studies to quantify the extent of his nerve damage. I will write with the results once they are available.

Please help me there must be something I can do to help my dad I am really upset

Can dad gain enough mobility to be able to stand to transfer to a wheelchair? At the moment dad cant even do that. No one willing to help so thought of try acupuncture or massage or something

Until we get appointments through acupuncture will do no harm in us trying will it?
Is there any hope we can get dad walking to even using just a zimmer without falling I do realise he will never walk independently again, though this would be great and if so how can we achieve this please?