“Understanding Exactly How High Blood Glucose Levels Causes Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy."
BY: Neuropathy Specialists
Date: 04/22/2024
The Link Between High Blood Glucose Levels and Diabetic Neuropathy: Unraveling the Connection
Diabetic neuropathy is a serious complication of diabetes, affecting millions worldwide. It's a type of nerve damage that can occur in people with diabetes due to prolonged high blood sugar levels. Understanding the intricate relationship between elevated blood glucose and neuropathy is crucial for both prevention and management. In this article, we delve into the mechanisms through which high blood glucose levels cause diabetic neuropathy.
Before delving into the connection with blood glucose levels, let's briefly review what diabetic neuropathy entails. Neuropathy refers to damage or dysfunction of one or more nerves, commonly affecting the peripheral nerves in diabetes. Peripheral nerves are responsible for transmitting signals between the body, the spinal cord, and the brain. When these nerves are damaged, it can lead to various symptoms, including pain, numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness, often starting in the feet and legs and progressing to the hands and arms.
High blood glucose levels, or hyperglycemia, are the hallmark of diabetes. Over time, persistently elevated blood sugar levels can wreak havoc on various organs and systems in the body, including the peripheral nerves. Several mechanisms contribute to the development of diabetic neuropathy:
Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs): Elevated blood glucose levels lead to the formation of advanced glycation end products, or AGEs. These compounds result from the binding of sugars with proteins, altering their structure and impairing their function. AGEs accumulate in nerve tissues, contributing to nerve damage and dysfunction.
Oxidative Stress: Hyperglycemia induces oxidative stress, an imbalance between free radicals (reactive oxygen species) and antioxidants in the body. Oxidative stress can damage cell membranes, proteins, and DNA, including those in nerve cells. This oxidative damage contributes to the progression of diabetic neuropathy.
Inflammation: Chronic inflammation is a hallmark of diabetes and plays a significant role in the development of diabetic complications, including neuropathy. High blood glucose levels trigger inflammatory responses in the body, leading to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and other mediators that damage nerve tissues.
Microvascular Damage: Diabetes also affects the small blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to nerves. High blood sugar levels damage the walls of these blood vessels, leading to impaired blood flow (microvascular damage) to nerve tissues. Without an adequate blood supply, nerves become deprived of essential nutrients and oxygen, leading to nerve injury and dysfunction.
The effects of high blood glucose levels on nerve tissues manifest in various forms of diabetic neuropathy, including:
Peripheral Neuropathy: This is the most common form of diabetic neuropathy, affecting the peripheral nerves, particularly those in the feet and legs. Symptoms may include pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness.
Autonomic Neuropathy: This type affects the nerves that control involuntary functions such as heart rate, digestion, bladder function, and blood pressure regulation. Autonomic neuropathy can lead to complications such as gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying), cardiovascular abnormalities, and sexual dysfunction.
Proximal Neuropathy: Also known as diabetic amyotrophy, this type affects nerves in the thighs, hips, or buttocks, causing weakness and pain in these areas.
Focal Neuropathy: This type results from damage to specific nerves, leading to sudden, localized symptoms such as muscle weakness or pain. Focal neuropathy often resolves on its own but can cause significant discomfort in the affected area.
High blood glucose levels play a central role in the development and progression of diabetic neuropathy. The mechanisms through which hyperglycemia induces nerve damage are multifaceted, involving the formation of AGEs, oxidative stress, inflammation, and microvascular damage. Understanding these mechanisms is essential for devising strategies to prevent, delay, or manage diabetic neuropathy effectively. Tight glycemic control, along with lifestyle modifications and appropriate medical interventions, remains the cornerstone of diabetic neuropathy management, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive diabetes care in preserving nerve health and overall well-being.
All of our patients will undergo a comprehensive virtual consultation to ensure they are a candidate for our at home neuropathy treatment. After your consultation your at home neuropathy kit will be shipped directly to you. You will be guided through the use of the easy at home kit via video tutorials or live virtual support.
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FAQS
Our treatment program uses a combination of the 3 most studied and successful treatments available. These therapies have been shown to be the most successful with Diabetic Neuropathy, Peripheral Neuropathy, and Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy. We have seen truly amazing results in many different types of neuropathy patients. Our passion is helping those with neuropathy using the latest and most effective treatments, all from the comfort of your own home, and we want it to be affordable.
First we use water immersion electrotherapy and neuronal stimulation to get your damaged nerves to fire again. Using water immersion ensures that every neuron and nerve in the foot and lower leg are activated. Patients with severe neuropathy symptoms may feel little to no sensation for the first few treatments, but gradually sensation will return as the damaged nerves begin to rebridge and repair. Most patients will feel the tingling and electrical impulses immediately. By the second week of daily treatments 85% of patients report seeing significant improvement in their neuropathy symptoms.
Second the feet and lower leg are wrapped in a power Photobiomodulation unit which delivers multiple wavelengths of healing infrared light and this stimulates mitochondria activation in your cells. Mitochondria are your cells power plants, they produce energy to help your cells conduct vital activities such as repair. These wavelengths also stimulate your nerves regrow and repair damage neuronal connections, and to regrow the microvasculature and blood vessels that feed your nerves and tissues.
Third, Alpha Lipoic Acid is used which helps to repair the myelin sheath surrounding the nerves and increases nerve conductivity. Some research studies have suggested that Alpha Lipoic Acid be used in place of other common prescription medications for relief of neuropathy pain.
The combination of these three therapies together is what produces the long term healing effects that we have seen with 1000's of our patients. Our goal is to heal the damaged nerves and restore vital circulation.
All guided by our live virtual tele-health consultations with our Neuropathy Experts. Our support team is here to help 24/7 with technical questions or anything you need.
In the world of neuropathy scammers are everywhere. We have built our business and our reputation on providing real relief to our patients at affordable prices.
Similar treatment programs to ours can be found in many neuropathy clinics across the United States. However, these clinics charge anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 for the exact same treatments we provide. The equipment is the same, and yes those patients will see results as well, but the inflated cost is taking huge advantage of those patients that are in pain and looking for relief.
Many people on social media will tout Alpha Lipoic Acid as "all" you need to "cure" neuropathy. We too wish it were that easy, and yes Alpha Lipoic Acid can help drastically but it alone can not cure neuropathy. Most of these social media doctors are actually selling their own brand of ALA, and will make wild claims as to its effectiveness. ALA is crucial to our treatment program, but it is not the only tool in the tool box.
Beware the clinics and doctors selling the "Rebuilder", The Rebuilder is a brand of electrotherapy device that is insanely expensive and does nothing more magical than any other electrotherapy device. In fact it is the exact same technology we use in our electrotherapy device. Many clinics charge an average of $5,000.00 for their "neuropathy program" with the rebuilder as the star of the show. Our electrotherapy device costs us about $50.00, and our entire program is only $399.00. Hardly seems fair to charge $5,000 for the same thing? That's what we thought.
Many patients that come to us are confused because their doctor put them on medication for their neuropathy, and their neuropathy is not getting better. That is because these medications do not treat neuropathy, reverse it, or even help it in the littlest bit. Instead these medications deaden the neuronal impulses of the already damaged nerves, causing them to be "quieter." This quieting of the nerves only helps to speed up their decline and already decreased functionality, in fact worsening and speeding up the neuropathy. This is hardly ever explained accurately to patients. Instead, they are typically told that nothing more can be done. That is not the case.
In short, there is no cure for neuropathy. Especially not for $29.99 and certainly not for $5,000.... Our clinically proven treatments are not a cure, but they repair and regenerate the damage done to the nerves. This reverses neuropathy but in most cases the underlying cause is still present, and constantly attacking the nerves. Our treatment repairs this damage and then fights the causative agents to prevent further and future damage. In the case of diabetic neuropathy, we can't cure the diabetes of the patient, so the damage from diabetes will still try and attack the nerves, our treatments will repair the damage, relieve the patients symptoms, and then continued treatment will ensure the damage can not accumulate to a point where it causes more symptoms. Effectively managing the condition. The same is true for many other types of peripheral neuropathy. In some cases like Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy, the damage can be repaired and the nerves regenerated, and so long as the patient is not undergoing chemotherapy, then yes that case can be effectively cured.
We strive to offer patients transparency, effective treatment, and affordability. We have been treating neuropathy since 1999 and we have consistently improved our therapies, decreased our prices, been an industry leader in both clinical excellent and business ethics. Don't be fooled by the many on social media preaching cures. Even our treatment is not 100% effective in all patients. We have over an 85% success rate with our patients, and we don't stop until we ensure every patient gets the relief they are looking for.
No prescription is required for this at home treatment kit. Our neuropathy experts are licensed providers and will work with you and your current providers to ensure you receive the latest in neuropathy care.
Yes. These forms of treatment have been cleared by the FDA for treatment of peripheral neuropathy. Though these devices are cleared by the FDA for use. The FDA has not evaluated their efficacy in the treatment of neuropathy and the FDA does not endorse or evaluate the statements made about the effectiveness of their treatment, only that they are approved to treat those specific conditions.
Unfortunately insurance does not directly cover the purchase of these treatments. However, you can submit a copy of your receipt to your insurance company for reimbursement or have it applied to your deductible. These devices are also HSA and FSA eligible purchases.
Unfortunately these devices are not covered by medicare or medicaid.
Absolutely! These devices are HSA and FSA eligible. If you require assistance with submitting these purchases for reimbursement just contact our support team!
Absolutely. These advanced at home treatments can not interfere with any other neuropathy treatments and can absolutely be performed simultaneously with other treatments. These treatments can only help to improve the results of other combined treatments. These treatments will not effect any current neuropathy medications you may be taking.
Our goal is to help you safely get off your medications for neuropathy. This treatment is designed to actually regrow your nerves and the blood vessels that feed them. Restoring circulation and feeling to the damaged areas. Our goal is to help you safely get off your medications for neuropathy. We will work with you and your prescribing physician when the time is right to decrease and hopefully eventually the use of these medications.
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