Diabetic Neuropathy Can Affect Your Marriage
Peripheral Neuropathy is a condition that develops from damaged nerves. Diabetes is a disease in the blood that is caused by an imbalance of blood sugar level in the body. Both conditions can cause a tremendous amount of stress for a person and even more stress for their family, but the effects of having diabetic neuropathy can also be overwhelming to one’s marriage.
Often times the partner of a person with diabetic neuropathy is also tasked with the duties of caregiver, which can be stressful in it of itself. Most people that have a partner who is suffering from diabetic neuropathy may observe a tremendous change in their well-being as they endure the painful symptoms of this condition. However, what do you do when this condition begins impeding on other parts of your marriage such as those private intimate moments that you spend with each other?
Unfortunately, sexual dysfunction is very common in people with diabetic neuropathy. This can affect men and women equally. Blood flow to certain areas of the body is affected by a person’s diabetic condition, and the neuropathy component can affect nerves that connect to the stomach, urinary tract, and other organs in that area. As a result, sexual stimulation decreases rapidly and the feeling of pleasure no longer exists.
In today’s society, people may automatically think that sexual dysfunction only happens in men. They would be wrong, of course. Both men and women are susceptible to sexual dysfunction based inadequate maintenance of their diabetes and lack of treatment for peripheral neuropathy. Sometimes, sexual dysfunction can happen in people who stay up to date with their treatments and medications. For men, nerve damage, artery damage, and decreased blood flow may be the main causes for disrupted performance. Women with diabetes, however, may have issues producing fluids, which acts as lubrication during intercourse, based on high blood sugar levels, and glucose levels may affect genital stimulation. Although the sensory receptors in a man’s private areas are not nearly as many as a woman’s, both organs are severely affected by diabetic neuropathy based on the impact to blood vessels that feed the nerves and allow men and women to experience a wide spectrum of intimate sensations.
Whether you are a man or woman, if you are suffering from diabetic neuropathy, these types of intimate moments will probably not be the first thing on your mind, as is the case with most people who are in pain. Unfortunately, pain is not a common conductor of arousal. Fortunately, treatment is available for those with diabetic neuropathy that can help promote blood flow and reduced pain, so those intimate moments can once again be enjoyable, and your marriage will no longer suffer from the stress caused by this condition.
