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Diabetic Neuropathy - Treatment Overview
There is currently no cure for diabetic neuropathy. When you have it, treatment is done to keep the disease from getting worse. Good control of diabetes over time is the key to treating neuropathy. Getting to and staying at a healthy weight is a good start.
To help control your diabetes, eat food that is good for you and exercise. Controlling diabetes means maintaining blood sugar levels within the target range-near normal hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels. This will do more than anything else to help prevent diabetic neuropathy from getting worse.
For more information on good diabetes control, see the topics Type 1 Diabetes: Living With the Disease or Type 2 Diabetes: Living With the Disease.
Initial treatment
Treatment for diabetic neuropathy depends on your symptoms and the type of neuropathy that you have. In general, treatment focuses on reducing current symptoms and preventing the condition from getting worse by keeping your blood sugar level within a narrow target range-hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels near normal. You can keep your blood sugar levels within the target range by taking your insulin or oral diabetes medicine as prescribed, checking your blood sugar levels, following your diet for diabetes, exercising, and seeing your doctor regularly. For more information, see the topics Type 1 Diabetes: Living With the Disease or Type 2 Diabetes: Living With the Disease.
Also, it is important to properly care for your feet when you have diabetic neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy may cause a loss of feeling in your feet. It is possible for a sore or other foot problem to go unnoticed. Without proper foot care, an untreated foot sore can lead to a serious infection or possibly amputation.3 For more information, see:
It is also wise to maintain healthy habits such as seeing your doctor regularly, controlling your blood pressure, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, not smoking, and limiting or avoiding alcohol. Additional treatment depends on the specific type of diabetic neuropathy that you have along with your current symptoms.
Many people with peripheral neuropathy have mild to severe pain in specific parts of their bodies. Talk with your doctor about treatment that can reduce your pain and improve your physical functioning, mood, and mental well-being. These treatments may include:
- Medicines such as pain relievers or creams to relieve pain. Prescription medicines often used to reduce pain from diabetic neuropathy may include medicines that are more commonly used to treat depression, such as tricyclic antidepressants and the antidepressant duloxetine hydrochloride, and medicines that control seizures, such as pregabalin and gabapentin. These medicines may be tried to reduce your pain even though you do not have depression or seizures.
- Complementary therapies such as acupuncture. Acupuncture has not been well studied as a treatment for diabetic neuropathy. But some studies show that it may help with pain.4
- Physical therapy such as exercises, stretching, and massage. If you are told to use heat or ice, be careful. Neuropathy can make it hard for you to feel changes in temperature.
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), which is a type of therapy that attempts to reduce pain by applying brief pulses of electricity to nerve endings in the skin.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Diabetic Neuropathy Topics
Indication
Uroxatral® (alfuzosin HCl 10 mg extended-release tablets) is an alpha1-blocker for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of BPH.
Important Safety Information
Do not take UROXATRAL if you have liver problems or if you are taking antifungal drugs like ketoconazole or itraconazole, or HIV drugs like ritonavir.
UROXATRAL can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, especially when starting treatment. This may lead to fainting, dizziness, and lightheadedness. Do not drive, operate machinery, or do any dangerous activity until you know how UROXATRAL will affect you. This is especially important if you already have a problem with low blood pressure or take medicines to treat high blood pressure. There may be an increased risk of low blood pressure and fainting when taking UROXATRAL in combination with blood pressure medication or nitrates, or erectile dysfunction medication.
If considering cataract surgery (clouding of the eyes), tell your eye surgeon that you are currently taking UROXATRAL or have previously been treated with an alpha-blocker.
Before taking UROXATRAL, tell your doctor if you have kidney problems.
Also, tell your doctor if you or any family member(s) have or take medications for a rare heart condition known as congenital prolongation of the QT interval.
BPH and prostate cancer can cause the same symptoms. However, UROXATRAL is not a treatment for prostate cancer.
The most common side effects with UROXATRAL are dizziness, upper respiratory tract infection, headache, and tiredness.
Please see UROXATRAL full prescribing information.
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