Diabetic Neuropathy: Causes, Symptoms, and What You Can Do

When you have diabetes, high blood sugar over time can damage your nerves — this is called diabetic neuropathy, a type of nerve damage caused by prolonged high blood glucose levels that often affects the feet and hands. Also known as peripheral neuropathy, it’s one of the most common long-term complications of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. It doesn’t happen overnight, but if your blood sugar stays high for months or years, those tiny nerve fibers start to misfire or stop working altogether.

What does that feel like? For many, it’s a burning or tingling in the feet, like walking on broken glass. Others lose feeling — they don’t notice a blister, a cut, or a sore until it’s infected. Some get sharp, shooting pains at night. And it’s not just the feet — nerves in the digestive system, heart, and bladder can be affected too. This isn’t just discomfort — it’s a warning sign your body is under stress from uncontrolled sugar. The good news? Slowing down nerve damage starts with what you do every day: managing your blood sugar, checking your feet, and talking to your doctor about symptoms early.

Diabetic neuropathy doesn’t happen to everyone with diabetes, but it’s far more likely if you’ve had diabetes for over 10 years, if your A1C is consistently above 7%, or if you also have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. It’s not just about insulin or pills — lifestyle matters. Smoking, alcohol, and being overweight make nerve damage worse. And while there’s no cure yet, treatments exist to ease pain, prevent ulcers, and stop it from getting worse. You’ll find real stories here about people who learned to manage it, medications that help with nerve pain, and how simple habits like daily foot checks can prevent hospital visits.

Below, you’ll see posts that dig into the real-world side of living with this condition — from how certain drugs might make nerve pain better or worse, to what foods help or hurt, and how other health issues like kidney disease or infections can complicate things. This isn’t theory. It’s what people are actually dealing with, and what works for them.