| Many secondary diseases can develop from diabetes. | | | | warning: if you drink alcohol, be advised that even a |
| One example is nerve disease or damage. This can | | | | small amount, of any type at all, can increase and |
| be caused by a persons maintaining high blood sugar | | | | worsen the symptoms of your neuropathy. |
| levels for ten years or more. Nerve damage can | | | | Testing Your Nerve Function |
| cause pain and feelings like electric shocks in the | | | | Your doctor can test your nerve function to discover |
| toes, and less commonly in the fingers. Another sign | | | | whether you have diabetic neuropathy. In the body, |
| of nerve disease is loss of sensation in the toes and | | | | different nerve fibers are responsible for varying |
| the soles of the feet. If nerve disease is determined | | | | kinds of sensation (temperature, touch, light, and |
| to have its root in diabetes, it is called diabetic | | | | vibration). A doctor can test the connections |
| neuropathy. | | | | between your nerves and those sensations, and then |
| One way that a nerve disorder can be diagnosed is | | | | analyze his findings. |
| to test a persons nerve conduction velocity (NCV). | | | | 1. Testing by Vibration: A tuning fork is used in |
| Nerve conduction velocity refers to the speed at | | | | vibration testing. Doctors like to use vibration testing |
| which nervous impulses travel along a nerve fiber. If | | | | to discover any abnormalities of larger nerve fibers in |
| this speed is severely slowed, it means that a nerve | | | | the body. |
| disorder exists. Even though a persons body is | | | | 2. Testing by Temperature: The importance of |
| experiencing slow NCV, the person may not | | | | temperature testing is that it can determine whether |
| experience any symptoms at all, for a long time. It is | | | | the body's smaller nerve fibers are intact. It is vital to |
| therefore useful to test the NCV of diabetics; | | | | know the status of the small fibers, because if these |
| neuropathy may be diagnosed in individuals who are | | | | are damaged, you may lose your ability to feel |
| not yet showing any signs of nerve damage. There | | | | sensations of extremely hot temperatures (e.g., |
| are a few medications available to treat neuropathy, | | | | boiling water). |
| and with early diagnosis, patients can be treated so | | | | 3. Testing by Light Touch: Doctors use a filament tool |
| that the nerve symptoms improve. | | | | to touch the skin very lightly. Large nerve fibers in |
| Diabetic neuropathy occurs most frequently in | | | | the body can sense anything touching the skin, and |
| persons older than 40. In addition, people who are | | | | send signals to the brain that we're having a |
| taller than average suffer from this condition much | | | | sensation. The filament tool can determine if any |
| more often than shorter people. This may be | | | | large fibers are damaged, and if so, which. Someone |
| because those who are taller have longer nerve | | | | without any nerve damage who is in good health can |
| fibers, with more opportunity for damage. One more | | | | feel a filament tool with only one gram of force used. |