what does diabetic neuropathy feel like -peripheral neuropathy and your quality of life?

If you are suffering from peripheral neuropathy, you know how much it whatdoes diabetic neuropathy feel like affects your life. Every single day…even the simplest tasks can be difficult if not impossible… to anyone unfamiliar with peripheral neuropathy and its symptoms; they might just think your nerves hurt a little…

But as a peripheral neuropathy sufferer, you know better…peripheral neuropathy not only affects your health, it can wreck your quality of life.

Howdo you define quality of life?

Generally speaking, quality of life is a term used to measure a person’s overall well-being. In medical terms, it usually means how well a patient has adopted to a medical condition. It measures:

·       Your physical and material well being.

·       Your social relationships- how you interact with others.

·       Your social activities.

·       Your personal fulfillment-your career, any creative outlets you may have, how involved you are with other interests

·       Your recreational activities- your hobbies, sports, etc.

·       Your actual health-what your healthy is really like and how healthy your believe you are.

How do you feel about these aspects of your life? Your attitude and approach to your illness, both your neuropathy and the underlying cause of neuropathy i.e. diabetes, HIV/AIDS, lupus etc can make a huge difference in how well you adapt to your neuropathy symptoms.

Neuropathy symptoms aren’t just physical

The pain of peripheral neuropathy falls into the category of what is considered chronic pain.  It usually doesn’t just come and go. You can’t just pop a couple of aspirin and forget about it. Its pain is with the root cause in nerve damage.

The nerves that actually register pain are the actual cause of the pain. When you are in that kind of pain on a consistent basis, it affects you in many different ways:

·       You become depressed and anxious.

·       Your productivity and interest at work is disrupted.

·       You can’t sleep

·       It’s difficult for you to get out and interact with other people so you feel isolated.

·       You sometimes don’t understand why you are not getting better.

What you can do to improve your quality of life?

You may feel like your situation is hopeless, especially if you have become mired in depression. But it isn’t. There are thing you can do to lessen the physical and emotional effects of peripheral neuropathy and help your function as normally as possible:

·       Pay special attention to caring for your feet. Inspect them daily for cuts, pressure, spots, blisters or calluses. Use a mirror to look at the bottom of your feet. The minute you notice anything out of the ordinary, call your doctor or your local neuropathy clinician for help. Never go barefoot anywhere.

·         Treat yourself to a good foot massage to improve your circulation and reduce pain. Check with your insurance company-if massage is actually prescribed by your doctor, they may cover some of the cost.

·       Only wear shoes that are padded, supportive and comfortable and never tight socks.

·       If you smoke, quit. Nicotine decreases circulation and if you are in peripheral neuropathy patient, you can’t risk that.

·       Cut back on your caffeine intake. Several studies have found that caffeine may actually make your neuropathy pain worse.

·       If you sit at a desk, never cross your knees or lean on your elbows. The pressure will only make your damage worse.

·       Be really careful when using hot water. Your peripheral neuropathy may affect the way you register changes in temperature and it’s really easy for you to burn yourself and not even realize it.

·       Use a bed cradle to keep your sheets away from your feet if you experience pain when trying to sleep. That will help you rest.

·       Try to be as active as possible. Moderate exercise is great for circulation and it can work wonders for your emotional and mental health.

·       Make your home as injury proof as possible-install bath assists and or hand rails and never leave anything on the floor that you can trip over.

·       Eat a healthy, balanced diet. If you don’t know what you should and shouldn’t eat, talk to your neuropathy clinician about a personalized diet plan to maintain proper weight and give your body what it needs to heal.

·       Try to get out as often as possible to socialize with others.

We hope this information helps you better manage your peripheral neuropathy symptoms. Take a look at the list above and see how many things you are already doing to help yourself. Then talk to your local neuropathy clinician about the help with adding with others to your daily life.

For more information on improving your quality of life when dealing with neuropathy visit   what does diabetic neuropathy feel like .peripheral neuropathy doctors, physical therapists and patients will find more information as well as post comments and questions at this site as well.