Neuropathy is a life-altering condition that should not be taken lightly. Learn just how severe it can get.
German-born Kathrina found a home in New York. While she’s now making artisanal jam for a living, she previously had a prosperous career in advertising and marketing.
Unfortunately, she developed neuropathy. And it threatened to put a stop to her jam-making business.
It started out as a general weakness and numbness. Then she began experiencing severe nerve pain, particularly on her neck and hands.
Kathrina knew that neuropathy may spread to the rest of her body.
And like other neuropathy patients, she experienced stabbing and burning sensations. Sometimes it felt as if someone was sending electric shocks down her neck and hands.
The condition got so bad to a point that she had to endure constant pain every day. And it would start in the morning and stay with her throughout the day.
Before going to her physician, Kathrina tried various remedies to try to alleviate the pain. But it wasn’t until she found a mix of alternative therapy and prescription medicine that she had some relief.
And a few weeks into the treatment, she started feeling much more comfortable - the pain was almost gone.
It’s safe to assume that neuropathy surprised Kathrina, but you can prevent it from catching you off-guard. Find out some of the most common neuropathy signs so you can detect the condition early.
The Signs
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You Feel Numbness or Tingling
Burning, numbness, and tingling are some of the earliest signs of neuropathy. People may experience the sensation radiating from their hands or feet to their arms or legs.
The U.S. National Library of Medicine states that it’s common to experience nerve compression, particularly during sleep. And this causes tingling and numbness, though it’s only temporary. The feeling should go away only after a few minutes or a quick stretch.
But if the feeling doesn’t go away that quickly, it could be an early sign of neuropathy. Persistent pins and needles can indicate nerve damage. Or it could point to inflammation exerting pressure onto the nerves, causing numbness or pain.
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You Find It Extremely Difficult to Move Certain Parts of Your Body
Neuropathy can affect motor nerves, so you can feel muscle weakness as a result. And some people even experience partial paralysis in certain areas.
More importantly, limited mobility that doesn’t go away on its own may signal a more severe underlying condition.
For example, it could be an early sign of a stroke, especially in people with high blood pressure. This is even more likely if limited mobility is accompanied by eyesight problems, general confusion, and a throbbing headache. Some people who suffered a stroke would struggle to walk. But usually, this isn’t the case with neuropathic patients.
In any event, it’s best to seek medical help as soon as you notice persistent symptoms. Should you suspect that it’s a stroke, visit the ER immediately.
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You’re Experiencing Motor Issues
It might be surprising to hear, but some people with neuropathy stress that they’ve become much clumsier. They begin to stumble and regularly fall since nerve damage affects their coordination and sense of space.
Neuropathic motor issues occur when there’s damage to the nerves that control the corresponding systems. For example, people may feel numbness in both feet, rather than one. This causes them to walk improperly, which increases the risk of stumbling.
The condition may also result in loss of balance and difficulty wielding utensils and door handles. And it’s also not uncommon for the disease to come with occasional muscle cramps.
However, motor issues are also associated with other conditions. When accompanied by muscle stiffness, tremor, or speech difficulties, it could be a sign of Parkinson’s disease.
With this condition, damage occurs on the nerves in the brain. All systems connected to the affected nerves begin to malfunction or shut down completely as a result.
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You’re Going to the Bathroom More Frequently
As a result of nerve damage, your bladder could be getting the wrong messages. Some people feel the need to run to the restroom more often. Others struggle to reach the toilet before it’s too late.
And that’s not the end of it.
Some neuropathic patients feel like they can’t empty their bladder. Or, they struggle to tell if their bladder is full or not.
This symptom may affect both men and women. However, women who have had vaginal childbirth are at a higher risk. The same goes for those who have diabetes type 1 and 2.
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You Find Yourself Sweating More Than Normal
If there’s damage on the nerves that relay signals from the brain to the sweat glands, you’ll sweat more. And there’s also the possibility that you might not sweat at all.
Nonetheless, it happens because a part of your neural network became compromised, causing the body temperature to go up and down more often. Plus, damage to your nerves may confuse the body as to when it’s supposed to sweat.
Excessive sweating may or may not come with nerve pain, and there are effective treatments either way. But you should consult your doctor, who may then order specific tests to gauge your sweating and determine if your heart rate is okay.
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You Feel Stabbing Pains in an Extremity
As mentioned, tingling and burning sensations, as well as sharp pain, are signs of neuropathy. Commonly, the pain begins in your lower back then starts shooting down one leg.
The sensation may feel like someone stabbing you from inside out. Or it could feel as if your extremity is pulsating with pain. But that kind of pain in one lower extremity could indicate that you’re suffering from sciatica.
This means you damaged or compressed the sciatic nerve, which spreads from the lower back and into the hips and then moves down both legs. And that is why people report that pain and discomforting sensations extend down their bodies.
With people who are otherwise healthy, the likely cause of sciatica could be a herniated disk. And this type of neuropathic pain also affects people with diabetes.
Luckily, a combination of guided physical treatment and remedies usually helps remove the pain and discomfort. Diabetics, in particular, also need to check their glucose levels regularly to prevent further nerve damage.
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You’re More Sensitive to Hot and Cold Sensations
Neuropathy may affect autonomic nerves and cause people to become intolerant to heat and cold. This symptom could be accompanied by excessive sweating since there’s damage to the nerves that regulate heat.
What happens is that sufferers feel intense cold or heat even when they briefly touch a cold or hot item. Again, this disproportionate sensation is caused by the wrong message sent from damaged nerves to the brain.
But if you receive timely treatment, your ability to regulate and sense heat or cold should come back. And yes, this symptom can come with nerve pain, most likely in the neck or hands.
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Foot Ulcers
Numbness and loss of sensation in the feet are signs of neuropathy. But these sensations may also indicate damage to the small blood vessels in the area.
If so, the combination of faulty nerve signals and inadequate blood supply may cause foot ulcers. This commonly affects neuropathic patients who also suffer from advanced diabetes. And the condition requires immediate medical treatment.
That said, foot ulcers rarely appear suddenly or on their own. There’s often a small injury that may have gone unnoticed and developed into an ulcer. Unfortunately, many people get the right diagnosis only when it’s too late.
So if there are strange discolourations and tissue formation on your feet, make sure to visit a physician as soon as possible.
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Erectile Dysfunction
Neuropathic pain and numbness that begins in the lower back may cause erectile dysfunction. This happens when the intricate web of nerves in the male lower back sustains damage or severe pressure due to inflammation.
The signals from the lower body have a hard time reaching the brain, and vice versa. As a result, men may struggle to get or sustain an erection.
If caught early, the symptom may be eliminated with the right treatment. And it could be somewhat easier to fix if there’s only pressure on the nerves with little to no nerve damage.
Discomfort Be Gone
Neuropathic symptoms generally don’t come all at once.
As shown in Katherine’s story, the problems begin with persistent numbness and overall weakness that’s not to be confused with common numbness after sleep or sitting too long. And the sensations may not be isolated to the upper part of your body. In fact, a lot of people get the sensation in their lower back before it starts spreading to the lower extremities.
The given symptoms are stubborn and you might feel like you can’t do anything to make it better.
But is it really like that?
Of course not.
With proper diagnosis and treatment, you should be able to get rid of the pain. And there are over-the-counter remedies that have the right combination of ingredients to offer much-needed help.
Take Nervitalize, for example. Its mix of antioxidants, herbs, and vitamins creates potent pain relief.
Stop enduring discomfort and pain. Visit our website right now and check out the Nervitalize Advanced Nerve Relief Support
Resources:
https://siren.care/blog/diabetes-tips-10-symptoms-peripheral-neuropathy/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/peripheral-neuropathy/symptoms/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/peripheral-neuropathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20352061
https://ntc.lluh.org/blog/12-signs-of-peripheral-neuropathy
https://www.prevention.com/health/g20486907/8-signs-you-might-have-nerve-damage/
https://www.jennysbakedathome.com/cbd-for-neuropathy-one-womans-story/