What happens if I don’t treat my neuropathy?
More than 20 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy. It can lead to chronic pain as well as chronic nerve symptoms such as numbness, burning and tingling.
Unfortunately, many people don’t know the causes of these symptoms and get diagnosed with idiopathic peripheral neuropathy. People who are familiar with the mysterious way of symptoms coming and going with neuropathy can attest to the difficulty of finding meaningful treatment to mitigate its painful symptoms.
What happens if neuropathy isn’t treated?
Neuropathy can start as sporadic tingling and it may be easy to ignore at first. However, if your neuropathy isn’t treated, you run the risk of the following:
Nerve damage can become permanent
At first, neuropathy may cause occasional numbness and pain, but as it progresses, your symptoms may become more persistent. The symptoms may be intermittent and variable in intensity before reaching a state of constant, intense pain or constant numbness. Once your nerves become damaged, they can no longer send adequate signals to your brain. The constant state of pain or numbness can impair daily activities and make things like sleeping or walking difficult 一 if not impossible.
The earlier you address your neuropathy, the more likely you can avoid permanent nerve damage.
Untreated neuropathy leads to complications
Numbness may seem innocuous compared to constant pain, but constant numbness can lead to serious complications such as a foot ulcers. You might scratch your foot or step on a child’s toy and, without properly functioning sensory nerves, you may not realize the extent of your injury. Foot ulcers are slow-healing wounds that can easily become infected.
Unfortunately, foot ulcers can increase your risk of developing gangrene (tissue death) or having to undergo an amputation. Sensory nerves aren’t the only ones affected by neuropathy. If your autonomic nerves are damaged, you may experience complications with your gastrointestinal system, have difficulty regulating blood pressure or even have issues when swallowing.
Neuropathy Puts Your Life On Hold
Lastly, if you don’t treat neuropathy, you may start to feel isolated and depressed. People with neuropathy may no longer participate in social or recreational activities due to constant pain and nerve symptoms. Left untreated, neuropathy can have a significant impact on your quality of life and make it hard for you to enjoy activities you love.
Finding pain relief for your neuropathy
Let US help YOU! Because there are so many underlying causes of neuropathy, it’s important to understand that you CAN reverse the nerve damage. Our pain management plan includes our Nerve Reviver neuropathy treatment program that can be done in the comfort of your home OR in combination with physical therapy in one of our clinics.
