For as long as I can remember my Grandma struggled with diabetes. As a child I didn’t realize all of the ways that this affected her life, but as I got older it became more apparent. Problems with her feet were one of the things that I remember. She always has on socks that couldn’t be too tight around her ankles. She walked so carefully and was at times unsteady as she put her foot to the ground. A recent webinar shed more light on what she was struggling with and put a reason behind many of the things that I saw. The technical term is diabetic neuropathy and it is a chronic complication for many patients. When it starts out it isn’t necessarily a pain. The symptom is more a numbness and with lack of feeling comes the problem of being unsure when you put to the ground or even stepping on things that you can’t feel. It is these things that later cause all types of diabetics. I was surprised to hear the large number of people who end up as amputees because of this.
One of the biggest problems it seems is that patients aren’t mentioning the problem. They may not realize that it is a major concern or the change may be so gradual that they don’t think it merits bringing up. When things get worse and the symptom moves onto a painful feeling, there is a real problem. Also, doctors aren’t necessarily asking patients about this or checking their feet each and every time they come in for an appointment.
Aside from having their feet checked regularly diabetics now have an option to help manage the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. Metanx, a medical food regulated by the FDA, doesn’t just mask the issue. It works to address the underlying condition. When you aren’t suffering with numbness and eventually pain your quality of life is higher and you are able to prevent the common problems that many diabetics have.
If someone that you know is in the midst of struggling with diabetes, there are two important things to take away from this.
· Take your shoes off at every visit and talk to your doctor about any sensory loss or numbness that you feel.
· If you are already feeling these things, consider asking about Metanx and find out how it can help.
Image by mensatic at morgueFile.com
1 comment:
Excellent article and explanation about how diabetic neuropathy can sneak up on patients and become a major problem before they act on it. I work with Metanx to increase awareness of neuropathy, how devastating it can become, and how Metanx can help patients restore normal sensation to the effected areas. If you would like to learns more go to www.Metanx.com or let me know and can get you involved in a webinar. Thank You for this blog and all that you are doing.
Post a Comment