Mr. Cui, who is less than 50 years old, has gastrointestinal discomfort recently. He often feels that his abdomen is full and his appetite is not good. More importantly, he has alternating constipation and diarrhea. In the first week, he could not get rid of constipation, but the next one. He went to the toilet three times a day. He thought it was a problem with his gastrointestinal tract. After taking some medicine, the effect was good at first, but it stopped later.

He had to go to the hospital for a check-up, but the doctor asked him to go to the endocrinology department for a check-up. He didn’t expect that he was diabetic and had already developed neuropathy. These gastrointestinal problems were caused by neuropathy.

Mr. Cui’s head is a little big. How can he have a digestive problem and be linked to diabetes?

Diabetic neuropathy is actually a kind of nerve damage caused by long-term high blood sugar, and it is also the most common chronic diabetic complication among diabetics . According to statistics, about 70% of diabetics are more or more Few have encountered neuropathy, and more importantly, neuropathy is mostly a long-term persistent pain, and the pain it brings to people with diabetes far exceeds other complications.

Types of diabetic neuropathy

There are four main types of neuropathy: peripheral neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy, localized neuropathy, and proximal neuropathy, which we will discuss separately below.

1. Peripheral neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy is the most common type of diabetes-related neuropathy. It is the longest found in changes in the legs and feet. Of course, it can also occur in the arms, palms, waist and abdomen. This type of neuropathy is mainly caused by patients with varying degrees of pain. , There may also be a burning sensation, or a feeling of needle pricks. These parts may be more sensitive to certain sensations in the initial stage, but the sensation will be lost over time, and in severe cases, permanent sensory loss will occur.

The well-known foot pathology of diabetics is also a kind of peripheral neuropathy, which can lead to diabetic foot, foot infection, ulcer, necrosis, deformity and so on. Peripheral neuropathy usually occurs at night.

2. Autonomic neuropathy

Autonomic neuropathy is also a relatively common complication of diabetes. We can also know from the name that this disease mainly occurs on the autonomic nerve, which is the nervous system that controls the human internal organs, including digestive organs, sexual organs, and cardiovascular systems. , urinary system, and sweat glands.

Generally speaking, people with diabetes are more common symptoms of the digestive system, such as dysphagia, constipation, diarrhea, gastroparesis, that is, delayed gastric emptying. The alternating situation of constipation and diarrhea is the problem faced by Mr. Cui; if it is a problem of the cardiovascular system, it may cause abnormal blood pressure and heart rate in the human body, so dizziness, fainting, and severe stroke may occur , myocardial infarction.

In addition, the lesions can affect the sexual organs, causing dysfunction in men and problems in women, such as vaginal dryness and pain.

3. Localized neuropathy

Localized neuropathy, as the name suggests, is an abnormality in a certain nerve, also known as a single neuropathy, which generally occurs in certain nerves, such as the legs, face, etc. of the human body. Once the onset is more sudden, And the pain is severe and excruciatingly painful.

But these symptoms will disappear after a few weeks, but will reappear after a period of relief, just not persistent pain. The symptoms of this disease are related to the nerves that appear. For example, the nerves in the face may cause pain, facial hemiplegia, etc. If it is in the legs, it is pain in the legs. Others may include pain in the waist, legs, buttocks, and eyeballs. Pain, etc., may also lead to double vision problems.

4. Proximal neuropathy

Proximal neuropathy is relatively rare, but if it occurs, it will have a greater impact. There will be obvious changes in one side of the body of the sugar friend, such as pain in the waist and legs on one side, buttock pain, etc. In this case, there will be changes in the femur, and also Lead to muscle wasting, these diseases are prone to type 2 diabetes in the elderly.

High-risk groups for diabetic neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy is first related to diabetes, such as patients with diabetes, people with poor blood sugar control, prediabetes, and people with diabetes who have developed retinopathy. In addition, older men are also high-risk groups.

The important thing is that, because it is a complication of diabetes, neuropathy is positively correlated with the progress of diabetes. The longer the disease, the poorer the blood sugar control, the greater the chance of the disease. Therefore, good blood sugar control is to avoid. The first priority of sickness.

Treatment of diabetic neuropathy

In fact, diabetic neuropathy is incurable. If people with abnormal sensitivity in the early stage are found to have the possibility of reversal, once they are formed, they can only be improved or delayed through treatment.

However, we can improve the symptoms of neuropathy, such as pain, digestive problems, bowel problems, etc., through treatment.

For example, if a person with diabetes has severe and persistent pain with neuropathy, it can be relieved by taking over-the-counter medicines, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc. These medicines can relieve pain below moderate, if the pain If it is severe, it may require prescription painkillers, but when using painkillers, pay attention to whether the patient has kidney disease to avoid kidney damage.

Other pain relief methods can also relieve pain through physical therapy, such as acupuncture, electrotherapy, light therapy, etc.

If you want to reduce the risk of diabetic neuropathy, the most important thing is to control the blood sugar level within the target range, that is, within 7mmol/L on an empty stomach, within 11.1mmol/L after meals, and within 6% of glycosylated hemoglobin. Quit smoking to reduce future neuropathy.