other types of antidepressants, such as duloxetine, venlafaxine, paroxetine, and citalopram.tricyclic antidepressants, such as nortriptyline, desipramine, imipramine, and amitriptyline.Your doctor may prescribe medicines to help with pain, such as certain types of How do doctors treat peripheral neuropathy?ĭoctors may prescribe medicine and other treatments for pain. Your doctor may send you to a podiatrist. See your doctor for a foot exam at least once a year-more often if you have foot problems. Remove your socks and shoes in the exam room to remind your doctor to check your feet at every office visit. If you notice any foot problems, call or see your doctor right away. If you have diabetes, check your feet for problems every day and take good care of your feet. Staying close to your goal numbers can keep nerve damage from getting worse. You can prevent the problems caused by peripheral neuropathy by managing your diabetes, which means managing your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol. How can I prevent the problems caused by peripheral neuropathy? If B12 deficiency is due to metformin, metformin can be continued with B12 supplementation. Metformin use is among several causes of low vitamin B12 levels. If low B12 levels are found, your doctor will do additional tests to determine the cause. Your doctor may perform tests to rule out other causes of nerve damage, such as a blood test to check for thyroid problems, kidney disease, or low vitamin B12 levels. What tests do doctors use to diagnose peripheral neuropathy? Your doctor may also check if you can feel temperature changes in your feet. reviewing your gait, or the patterns you make when you walk.touching each foot and some toes with a nylon strand to see if you can feel it-a procedure called a monofilament test.placing a tuning fork against your great toes and higher on your feet to check whether you can feel vibration.During this exam, your doctor will look at your feet for signs of problems and check the blood flow and feeling, or sensation, in your feet by If you have diabetes, you should get a thorough exam to test how you feel in your feet and legs at least once a year. A physical exam will include a neurological exam and a foot exam. How do doctors diagnose peripheral neuropathy?ĭoctors diagnose peripheral neuropathy based on your symptoms, family and medical history, a physical exam, and tests. The chronic pain of peripheral neuropathy can also lead to grief, anxiety, and depression. Peripheral neuropathy can make you more likely to lose your balance and fall, which can increase your chance of fractures and other injuries. A rare condition that can occur in some people with diabetes is Charcot’s foot, a problem in which the bones and tissue in your foot are damaged. This type of diabetes-related nerve damage can also cause changes to the shape of your feet and toes. Finding and treating foot problems early can lower the chances that you will develop serious infections.

These sores and infections can lead to the loss of a toe, foot, or part of your leg. Diabetes can make these wounds difficult to heal and increase the chance of infections. If peripheral neuropathy causes you to lose feeling in your feet, you may not notice pressure or injuries that lead to blisters and sores. Peripheral neuropathy can cause foot problems that lead to blisters and sores. What problems does peripheral neuropathy cause?

loss of muscle tone in your hands and feet.

loss of balance, which could make you fall more often.

If you have peripheral neuropathy, you might experience: However, you may have symptoms only on one side. Most of the time, you will have symptoms on both sides of your body. If you have peripheral neuropathy, you may feel burning or tingling, like “pins and needles,” in your feet.

You may also have problems sensing pain or temperature in these parts of your body. You may feel extreme pain in your feet, legs, hands, and arms, even when they are touched lightly. If you have peripheral neuropathy, your feet, legs, hands, or arms may feel What are the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy? Over time, high blood glucose, also called blood sugar, and high levels of fats, such as triglycerides, in the blood from diabetes can damage your nerves and the small blood vessels that nourish your nerves, leading to peripheral neuropathy. Up to one-half of people with diabetes have peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy is a type of nerve damage that typically affects the feet and legs and sometimes affects the hands and arms. How do doctors treat peripheral neuropathy?.How can I prevent the problems caused by peripheral neuropathy?.What tests do doctors use to diagnose peripheral neuropathy?.How do doctors diagnose peripheral neuropathy?.What problems does peripheral neuropathy cause?.What are the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy?.

Toe pins and needles