harka

Hi Amy!

Diabetic NEUROPATHY doesn't affect your kidneys, but diabetes itself does. The effect of poorly controlled diabetes is that the glucose in the blood and the toxic byproducts which are made when the glucose hangs around too long in too high concentrations results in damage to small blood vessels. These types of blood vessels are contained in the eyes, the kidneys and the small nerve fibers. This is also the reason why patients with uncontrolled diabetes for years develop a decrease in vision, poor feeling and pins/needles in their feet and kidney failure.

In your case, your diabetes--to some extent--has been under suboptimal control for many years and you are showing the first signs of damage to the small nerves in your feet hence the neuropathy. Hopefully your doctor is following you regularly to make sure your kidneys are not already damaged. You should also make sure you check the bottoms of your feet every morning when you get out of bed and every night when you get back in to it because the neuropathy keeps you from feeling everything, and it's possible for you to have sharp objects embedded in to the soles of your feet and not know it! This can lead to chronic diabetic foot infections.

...one other thing: you mentioned your stomach has "slowed down". I am assuming you mean that your stomach doesn't empty as quickly as it did before. This is another example of the diabetes affecting small blood vessels/nerves, but in this case doing so in the wall of the stomach causing something known as diabetic gastroparesis.