Free Diabetic Supplies

Diabetes comes with a long list of side effects – some extremely serious, such as kidney problems, possible blindness, cardiovascular issues, and more.  Some of the side effects are not as severe, however, they are often painful and extremely difficult to deal with.

Peripheral Neuropathy is one of the issues that many individuals with diabetes have to deal with on a daily basis.  Peripheral Neuropathy is nerve pain associated with diabetes.

There are many ways to deal with Peripheral Neuropathy.  The first and most important part of dealing with Peripheral Neuropathy is to be sure you are checking and controlling your blood glucose levels, taking your insulin and other medication and making sure that you are doing all you can to control your diabetes.

Peripheral Neuropathy can take many forms – from mild tingling of legs, hands and feet to burning of the legs, hands and feet or outright pain in those main areas.  These symptoms range from irritating to downright painful and debilitating.  There are, however, ways to cope with the symptoms.

Most of the over the counter medications for pain can help mild neuropathy, however, a person with diabetes needs to be quite careful using medicines such as Aleve, Motrin and Advil because these can affect the kidneys and many people with diabetes have either sensitivity with their kidneys or other kidney problems.

There is also Tylenol, which can help with the pain.  The Tylenol will not affect the kidneys in a negative way, however it is not as effective against pain as the other medications mentioned, so the situation becomes a catch-22.

There are creams available to help with the pain.  If the pain is relatively mild, creams such as Capsaicin. Capzasin-P and Zostrix (capsaicin), made of crushed chili peppers, the pain can be minimized – at least to a degree.  Other creams, such as Ben-Gay and Aspercreme are not effective against Peripheral Neuropathy.

There are various types of prescription medications available that can help with the pain.  Some are very effective.  Some of the prescription strength medicines such as Motrin, Aleve and Advil may help the pain, but also are harsh on the kidneys – harsher than the over-the-counter strength.

There are numerous effective prescription pain relievers that do not have the same ingredients (NSAIDs).  Some of these are antidepressants, which is surprising to many.  Medications such as Paxil, Prozac, Cymbalta and others help stop the pain.  There are also specific pain medications from morphine on down to lower levels and doses of prescription medications that address pain but are not as strong, and often not narcotic.

When making decisions about how to deal with Peripheral Neuropathy it is important to discuss your specific situation and pain issues with your doctor, healthcare provider or pain specialist.  There are ways for them to help you control or possibly eliminate your pain.