A Case Study in the Treatment of Diabetic Neuropathy

Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in the country.

With the increase in the number of patients developing diabetes comes an increase in the number of patients developing complications.

One of those complications is diabetic neuropathy.

The good news is that with proper treatment and a compliant patient, diabetic neuropathy can be managed and quality of life vastly improved.

Meet "Evelyn"

"Evelyn" is a 62 year old woman who presented to our office with progressive and severe diabetic neuropathy. She suffered from diabetic neuropathy symptoms in her hands and feet, intense cramping in her legs and tingling in both feet. The range of motion in her back was severely limited from the middle of her back to her hips. She was no longer able to sleep and could not exercise due to the painful neuropathy symptoms in her legs and feet. Even the easiest exercise, such as walking, was no longer a possibility. At the time she came to us, she had been suffering with these symptoms for 8 to 10 years. Even after 10 years of medical and podiatric care, she was getting worse instead of better.

Treatment

After a thorough history & physical and evaluation, we took her into the treatment program. Her customized treatment program consisted of our three pronged approach - manual therapies, in clinic therapy using both the basin with the feet and gloves with the hands, daily blood sugar monitoring and charting (four times per day) and metabolic and dietary counseling and treatment.

With the combined therapies, treatment, unique combinations of nutritional supplements, counseling and exercise as tolerated (the combined supervised approach to "metabolic rehabilitation" as we call it in the clinic), we were able to drop her blood sugars by 120 points, without changing or increasing her medication. The drop in her blood sugars ultimately led to a decrease in her prescription medication needs.

Results

As a result of the metabolic and nutritional work we did with Evelyn, her blood sugar was down by 120 points, without any medication changes or additions. After 5 weeks of treatment, her numbness and tingling levels on a 0 to 10 scale, with 10 being the highest, went from 10 before treatment down to 5 after treatment. She reported overall improvement of 25 - 30%. The tingling in her feet was significantly reduced.

Her leg cramps were markedly better as was her back pain.

With the improvement in her leg and foot pain, she was able to start increasing walking again.

Every day that she can exercise puts her one more day closer to a normal life.

While Evelyn's results are significant, they're not perfect. She is very happy with her progress and her condition is significantly improved.

The success of her treatment is as much a testament to the patient as the treatment.

She followed our orders diligently and was extremely compliant with our treatment program.

Evelyn used her home care kit, treating herself at home concurrently with the office care, took her supplements, did the blood sugar monitoring and did her exercise and rehab too.

While there are no miracle cures, this case illustrates the results that can be achieved with a solid treatment strategy and patient compliance.

Without a strong partnership between patient and clinician, these results would not have been possible.

Dr. John Hayes, Jr. is an Evvy Award Nominee and author of "Living and Practicing by Design" and "Beating Neuropathy-Taking Misery to Miracles in Just 5 Weeks!"

Neuropathy patients, doctors and physical therapists can find lots more about the neuropathy treatments and systems of Dr John Hayes Jr by going to http://neuropathydr.com. Peripheral neuropathy doctors, physical therapists and patients will find more information as well as post comments and questions at this site as well.

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