Understanding Diabetic Nerve Pain & Symptoms

Diabetes is connected to nerve pain

You may realize that the pain in your feet and hands is related to your diabetes. But did you know this type of pain is actually caused by nerve damage? It starts with uncontrolled blood sugar. People with diabetes have high blood sugar levels. And over time this may cause permanent damage to the nerves. This nerve damage may cause a distinct pain called diabetic nerve pain.

Diabetic nerve pain goes by many names

Your doctor may call it painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Diabetic nerve pain from damaged nerves is a form of nerve pain. Nerve pain is a unique type of pain that is different from the pain you may experience from a headache or sprained ankle. For many people with diabetes, this is felt as pain in the feet and hands.

More than 25 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes. About half of them have some form of nerve damage from the disease. Not everyone will feel this nerve damage. But about a quarter of people with diabetes feel shooting, burning, pins and needles pain in their feet and hands.

Nerve damage can progress over time and can be permanent

You may have nerve damage well before you experience its symptoms. The first time you may notice diabetic nerve pain symptoms is when the nerve damage has already progressed. While this nerve damage can cause pain, it can also result in a loss of feeling in the feet and hands. Numbness can cause cuts and foot ulcers to go unnoticed. These cuts can lead to an infection. In severe cases, an untreated infection can even result in amputation. This is why it is important to examine your feet often. This is also why a doctor may ask to look at your feet.

Understand your symptoms

If you have diabetes and pain in your feet and hands, it may be diabetic nerve pain. And while diabetic nerve pain may come and go over time, it’s actually caused by permanent damage to your nerves.

In general, there are 2 types of pain: nerve pain and muscle pain. Muscle pain usually has a clear cause (injury or inflammation) and tends to go away over time. Nerve pain has many different causes. Nerve pain resulting from diabetes is the result of damaged nerves and can be long-lasting. LYRICA is a daily prescription treatment that can relieve diabetic nerve pain.

It is important to understand your symptoms and what causes them. Remember, diabetic nerve pain symptoms are a result of nerve damage caused by diabetes, and not a result of aging, weight gain, or other conditions.

Chronic pain in your feet and hands

People have many ways of describing the distinct feelings of diabetic nerve pain. Here are a few of the most common diabetic nerve pain symptoms:

Shooting	Tingling
Burning	Stinging
Pins and needles	Stabbing
Numbness	Radiating
Electric shock-like	Sensitivity to touch
Throbbing

For most people, this pain affects the extremities—the feet and hands.

Diabetic nerve pain can impact your daily life

Simple, everyday tasks can be a challenge if you’re suffering from diabetic nerve pain symptoms. Painful tingling in the toes and ankles can make it painful just to stand up, walk a short distance, or even get in and out of a car. Some people with diabetic nerve pain even feel pain when sleeping.

Find out if your pain is diabetic nerve pain today

Describe your symptoms to your doctor. He or she can determine if your pain is diabetic nerve pain. Fill out the Diabetic Nerve Pain Assessment Checklist. Then take your answers to your doctor.

You may have to live with your diabetes, but you may not have to live with diabetic nerve pain

It’s important to get your blood sugar under control. This will help prevent further nerve damage and loss of sensation. But you can also treat your diabetic nerve pain, a specific type of pain that requires a specific type of treatment. Make it a priority to ask your doctor about your diabetic nerve pain symptoms and available treatments. LYRICA is FDA approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. LYRICA can provide significant relief from diabetic nerve pain, so patients feel better.*

On the next page, you will learn how diabetic nerve pain is diagnosed.

*Individual results may vary.