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  • With Mayo Clinic diabetes educators

    Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.

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  • July 30, 2010

    Pain relief difficult with neuropathies

    By Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.

17 comments posted

Hi folks, this will complete my series on neuropathies of diabetes:

  • Proximal neuropathy includes femoral, amyotrophy and radiculopathy neuropathies. These types of neuropathies can cause severe pain in the hip, thigh, trunk or buttock and usually begin on one side of the body. Proximal neuropathy weakens and decreases muscle size, making it difficult to move.
  • Focal/cranial neuropathies will often come on suddenly and involve a single nerve. These types of neuropathies usually go away in a few weeks or months. Focal neuropathies include difficulty with focusing vision, double vision, eye ache, paralysis on one side of the face, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Pain relief can be one of the most difficult parts of managing neuropathy and often several treatments or combinations of treatment are tried before adequate relief can be found. For some people the pain never seems to go away completely.

In some cases the pain is relieved when the nerves causing the pain burn out, but then other issues become a concern. For example, as in peripheral neuropathy where you aren't able to sense where you're placing your feet because you have no sensations/feeling, you have an increased potential for foot injuries and falls.

If you are suffering from neuropathy, what are ways you have found that help you deal with the pain and disabilities of neuropathy?

Regards,

Nancy

17 comments posted

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MY01379 July 30, 2010

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