Do numbness, tingling, and burning pain from diabetic nerve damage interfere with your everyday life? Are you one of the millions suffering from diabetic neuropathy?
Diabetes can cause nerve damage that results in numbness, pain, and tingling in the hands, feet, and other areas. This can greatly impact one's quality of life.
Millions with diabetes develop this uncomfortable complication called diabetic neuropathy. The good news is you can take control with simple, practical methods for relief.
In this article, we'll explore five straightforward ways to manage neuropathy. Implementing just a few of these can lead to real improvement in your neuropathic symptoms.
The following tips to reduce neuropathic discomfort are easy add-ons to your routine.
Get ready to feel better!
Managing Diabetic Neuropathy: 5 Effective Methods
Most find substantial relief from uncomfortable symptoms by proactively implementing lifestyle changes and treatments. Consistency with a management plan provides the best odds of minimizing neuropathy's daily impacts so you can keep participating in activities you love.
1.Optimize Blood Sugar Levels
Getting blood glucose under tight control can majorly benefit diabetic neuropathy. Work closely with your medical team to better control carb quantity at meals, take medications consistently and frequently check blood sugar readings.
Maintaining lowered HbA1c levels as close to normal ranges as possible is critical - even slightly high levels, around 6-7%, can worsen nerve damage year after year.
Getting optimized numbers helps nerves and prevents complications across your whole body over time.
2.Incorporate B-Vitamins
Consuming enough B vitamins, particularly B12 and B6, helps maintain and repair nerve fibres. However, those with diabetes often have absorption issues that inhibit the full use of these nutrients.
Seek out highly bioavailable forms like sublingual B12 (placed under the tongue) or liquid B complex rather than pills. Enhanced uptake from proper forms provides vital antioxidant support to oxygen-starved nerves, energizing them.
For best results, supplement with dietary sources like eggs, liver, fish, avocado, spinach, and nuts.
3.Increase Circulation
One of the most soothing things for damaged nerves is increasing blood flow to deliver fresh oxygen and cell nutrients.
Some easy ways include wearing compression socks and gloves to stimulate vessels, doing simple leg exercises like ankle rolls or kicks while sitting, and soaking your feet in warm-to-hot Epsom salt water at night.
Practising circulation-boosting habits daily reduces inflammation and nurtures nerve repair.
4.Reduce Inflammation
Too much inflammation torments delicate nerves already struggling to function correctly in diabetes. Avoiding inflammatory foods like refined carbs and oils can make a difference, while anti-inflammatory foods do the opposite.
Increasing omega-3s from fatty fish, turmeric, ginger, tart cherry juice or capsules naturally reduces essential pain compounds like cytokines.
Over time, adopting an anti-inflammatory diet centred on plants - vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds and their oils - better controls neuropathy.
5.Alternative Therapies
Incorporating alternative treatments calms the nervous system while stimulating blood flow to aid recovery.
Gentle therapies bring relief by addressing triggers like anxiety tension, inadequate sleep, muscle spasms, and spinal misalignments that can magnify nerve discomfort.
Acupuncture, massage, chiropractic care, and even biofeedback training teach relaxation while releasing endorphins that block pain signals for several hours post-treatment.
Conclusion
While living with diabetic nerve damage may seem daunting, implementing just a couple of these simple, drug-free tactics can help you better manage symptoms.
Working to balance blood sugars, increase circulation, reduce inflammation, and incorporate supplements and therapies yields accurate results.
Partner with your healthcare team to determine the best approaches for your unique neuropathy challenges.
Consistency with the methods you choose is vital - stick with them! Here's to less pain and more function as you overcome this common diabetes complication. You've got this!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What foods help repair nerve damage from diabetes?
Ans: Foods high in B vitamins, zinc, magnesium, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory polyphenols, and omega-3 fatty acids aid nerve regeneration and health. Whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, greens, citrus, fatty fish, and healthy oils taproot shine daily.
Q. How can I rapidly boost circulation in my hands and feet?
Ans: Hand and foot circulation quickly improves through simple activities like taking a warm bath, dipping extremities in warm water, using compression gloves and socks, doing light exercises like ankle rolls, wrist curls or leg kicks, and massage.
Q. What natural supplements support diabetic nerve health?
Ans: Key supplements to improve diabetic neuropathy include a liquid or sublingual B complex with methylated B12, alpha lipoic acid, acetyl L carnitine, omega-3 fish oils, curcumin, evening primrose oil, and benfotiamine, a bioavailable form of thiamine.
