The medical term for diabetic nerve damage is diabetic neuropathy. It is one of the most common complications in diabetes.
In type 1 diabetes, nerve damage may occur 10–15 years after the diagnosis. After roughly 20 years of living with diabetes, approximately one in five people with diabetes have nerve damage. In type 2 diabetes, nerve damage is more common. In some people, nerve dysfunction is already there when diabetes is first diagnosed as the condition may have been latent for some time.
Recent diabetes and the quick correction of the blood sugar level may include acute painful nerve damage.
People with diabetes are also more likely to have nerve compression syndrome, colloquially referred to as a trapped nerve. The most common type is when the median nerve in your arm is trapped, resulting in carpal tunnel syndrome.
It is necessary to investigate other potential causes before the symptoms can be deemed to result from diabetes. Many other medical conditions or pharmaceutical products can cause nerve dysfunction or similar symptoms. Usually, other reasons for neural symptoms can be established or ruled out by interviewing the patient and performing standard laboratory tests.
Other causes of neural symptoms include a vitamin B12 deficiency, hypothyroidism and excessive alcohol use.