Diabetic Neuropathy
Facts vs Fiction and New Hope
My diabetic patients know that in my almost 30 years of practice I have made the treatment of diabetic neuropathy a cornerstone of my of diabetic foot care clinic. It is a debilitating condition that robs patients of their quality of life. Traditional treatments consisted initially of anti-depressants. Later on anti seizure medication drugs such gabapentin and regabalin (Lyrica) were shown to be a more targeted relief of the symptoms of neuropathy.
However, these medications can have crippling side effects and require increasing dosages in order to be effective. Furthermore, these medications don’t really treat the neuropathy. They simply help “mask” the symptoms. The failure of traditional medicine to address this crippling condition has spawned an entire “alternative medical cure” industry.
There are so called “Neuropathy Treatment Centers” popping up that are made to look like legitimate medical centers. However, when you take a closer look at what they are selling; they are unproven treatments such as LED, Class 3 or 4 laser and nutritional supplement treatments. These treatments are not covered by traditional insurances. Thus the desperate patient shells out thousands of dollars in what can only be described as “snake oil” treatments. Don’t get me wrong there is legitimate research going on into alternative treatments for neuropathy. However, many of these centers claim to have a “cure”. This is simply not true. There is as of yet, no medical “cure” for diabetic neuropathy. I advise patients to stay away from any center that advertises itself as having a cure or permanently reversing the effects of diabetic neuropathy.
We can however, now offer patients a legitimate non invasive treatment that can deliver REAL hope.
Let’s briefly review what we do know about diabetic neuropathy. The condition occurs when peripheral nerves are damaged due to diabetes. The damaged nerves can not correctly transmit signals from the skin to the brain, causing signals to become exaggerated. Thus, creating chronic pain the patient feels at any given time. Although diabetic neuropathy can affect any nerve, it’s most commonly felt in the feet. Patients have described diabetic neuropathy pain of the feet as “shooting” or “stabbing” in nature. If your are suffering from this condition. You are not alone. Out of the 35 million diabetics in the U.S., 10 million suffer from diabetic neuropathy of their feet with 2.5 million out of this group who suffer with severe diabetic neuropathy of the feet, despite multiple treatments.
QUTENZA
There is now hope for these patients using a new cutting edge treatment modality, called QUTENZA, that has been medically proven to provide real relief from this condition. QUTENZA is a topical system that contains capsaicin (an FDA approved medication) that may provide up to 3 months of pain relief for patients suffering from diabetic neuropathy pain of the feet. QUTENZA is applied in your doctor’s office during a 30 minute treatment session. Patients usually report pain relief after 19 days versus 72 days with traditional treatments. There are no serious side effects associated with QUTENZA, unlike those seen with the traditional treatments. It is a non opioid and thus is non addictive. Furthermore, because this is a topical treatment, there is a less likelihood of counter reactions with any other medication the patient is taking.
We are currently the only podiatric practice in the Miami Dade area offering the QUTENZA topical system for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The treatment is covered by many insurance carriers. Patient’s are invited to make an appointment for a complimentary evaluation. If it is determined that the patient can benefit from this treatment, we have a streamlined process allowing us to determine if the patient’s insurance will cover the QUTENZA treatment and if there are any out of pocket costs to the patient. I view our clinic’s implementation of this treatment regimen as a pilot program that will eventually influence other medical providers to offer this advance treatment to their patients.
Additionally, if you are simply curious as to the connection between diabetes and how it could affect your feet, I invite you to read my earlier post, Surviving COVID-19 without my Podiatrist: Diabetic Foot Care. The post was originally written as a series for in-home care during the pandemic, but there are many elements that provide you additional information and advice.
Please contact us for your complimentary evaluation and let’s talk about how what treatment is right for you!