Diabetic Neuropathy Medication- A GuideDiabetic neuropathy is a condition where diabetic patients suffer from numbness or loss of sensation in their feet. This condition can even spread up to the hands. As regards diabetic neuropathy medication there are lots of them. But any medication for diabetic neuropathy should be taken only under the supervision of a good medical practitioner. Diabetic neuropathy brings along pain also. This pain can be sometimes so severe that people cannot even perform their daily activities. So the first aim of the treatment for Diabetic neuropathy is basically reducing the pain. For this standard pain relief drugs like ibuprofen, aspirin, and acetaminophen are prescribed. They are required to be taken on a daily basis. These medications can exhibit some side effects so they should be taken only under the supervision of a doctor. Sometimes even narcotics are suggested to reduce pain in the most severe cases. But narcotics should be strictly avoided by people who have much milder kind of neuropathy. Narcotics are very effective initially but as time goes by their effectiveness wears off and people need to increase their dosage in order to get rid of pain. Topical anesthetics and analgesics are also regarded as diabetic neuropathy treatments. Pain blockers are another kind of treatment for diabetic neuropathy. These are not exactly pain killers. In fact they were first developed to treat other medical conditions but somehow they even seem to cure diabetic neuropathy. There is no guarantee that the pain blockers will work for each and every patient. They have severe side effects also. Generally two kinds of pain blockers are given for diabetic neuropathy treatment. The first one includes anti-depressant medications like Elavil and Prozac while the second one includes anti-seizure medications like Dilantin, Tegretol and Neurontin. A number of new medications also have come up for treating diabetic neuropathy. The first is the Cymbata or Duloxetine Hydrochloride. This drug is approved in the United States as a treatment of depression as well as a diabetic peripheral neuropathy treatment. The European Union has also approved Cymbata for treating depression as well as neuropathy. But this drug should be strictly avoided by people who are below 18 years of age. Lyrica is the second medication that has recently come up for the management of diabetic neuropathy as well as postherpetic neuralgia. Interestingly taking too much of medications can also be a cause of diabetic neuropathy. HIV patients are more prone to get diabetic neuropathy in this way as they are prescribed to take a number of medications like Didanosine, Zalcitabine and Stavudine. Another interesting diabetic neuropathy medication is pepper cream. This cream if applied to the painful area to get relief from pain. Although the burning effect of the cream would remain for certain days after the application, however it does not have severe side effects. |