Diabetic Neuropathy Is Neuropathy By Any Other Name

It's just the cause that's different. Today's post from blog.diabetv.com (see link below) looks at the main types of neuropathy and attaches them to diabetes, when in fact everything mentioned here applies to most forms of neuropathy and the categories apply to all, irrespective of the cause. It can be confusing for other neuropathy patients but if you bear in mind that you will miss out on lots of useful information if you ignore the tag 'diabetes-related neuropathy' just because it's not the cause of your own form of nerve damage. The reason for this is that the vast majority of people with neuropathy, contract it as a result of diabetes but there are over 100 other causes and over 100 other forms. This article does provide a useful summary of the main sorts of neuropathy and is worth a read.

TYPES OF DIABETIC NEUROPATHY
Posted by DiabeTV - 30 July, 2014 

Diabetes Neuropathy is diagnosed when someone with diabetes starts to develop signs of nerve damage somewhere within their body. The term neuropathy defines nerve damage; however, there are many different forms of neuropathy that depend on which nerves are affected within our bodies. Let’s take a look at the relationship diabetes has with different types of neuropathies and what makes them so different from one another.

There are four main classes of neuropathy that are associated with diabetes.  
The first and most common type of neuropathy found in diabetics is peripheral neuropathy or polyneuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy affects the nerves of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). What that means is that the nerves connected to your extremities such as your feet and hands, are those being affected since those nerves are part of the PNS. Some signs and symptoms that may indicate peripheral neuropathy include:

Numbness or increased pain tolerance usually starting off in your feet or toes
Tingling or burning sensation
Lose the ability to detect temperature
Muscle weakness or difficulties/pain when walking
Foot complications such as slow healing, infections or bone and join pain

The next type of neuropathy found in diabetics is autonomic neuropathy. These nerves control the parts of your body that work subconsciously like your heart, bladder, lungs etc. Symptoms for autonomic neuropathy may not be as direct as the others but there are some signs and even concerns that are associated with people with autonomic neuropathy which include:

Bladder problems also known as neurogenic bladder
Erectile dysfunction in men and vaginal dryness in women
Problems regulating body temperature
Difficulty swallowing
Hypoglycemia unawareness (when you cannot tell when your sugar is low or dropping)
Increased heart rate even at rest

Next is the form of neuropathy called radiculoplexus neuropathy, or diabetic amyotrophy. This type of neuropathy is mainly found in older adults and people with type 2 diabetes. Radiculoplexus neuropathy affects nerves in the legs, thighs, hips and butt. It is said that only one side of your body is affected but that is not always the case. Some signs of radiculoplexus neuropathy include:

Severe pain in your hip, thigh or butt
Problems standing after being seated for a while
Weight loss
Sometimes abdominal swelling

The final type of neuropathy associated with diabetes is mononeuropathy or focal neuropathy. This type of neuropathy focuses on damage to a single nerve or small group of nerves. This type of nerve damage comes on suddenly and is very painful. On the bright side, mononeuropathy does not cause any long term problems since the nerve damage doesn’t spread like the other types do; however, you should not dismiss the severity of it because it can cause life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks or even a stroke (due to potentially high pain levels). Some symptoms of mononeuropathy include:

Pain in either your chest, shin or foot, thigh or abdomen
Paralysis on one side of your face (bell’s palsy)
Double vision or problems focusing

Having a better understanding about the different types of neuropathy can help give people a better understanding about the mechanisms behind neuropathy and what is going on with people who suffer from it. To learn more about diabetic neuropathy in general, check out DIABETIC NEUROPATHY.

Note: The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek medical advice for any questions regarding a medical condition or changes in your treatment.

http://blog.diabetv.com/types-of-diabetic-neuropathy/