Neuropathy affects your bowels by disrupting the signals between your brain and your gut, which impacts the normal functions of your bowel movements and elimination of waste.
Neuropathy is nerve damage and can cause bowel issues as well as other symptoms including numbness and tingling.
When neuropathy affects your bowels it can lead to diarrhea, constipation and even bowel incontinence.
Your bowels being affected and leading to bowel incontinence, diarrhea or constipation occur when the nerves that control your digestive system become damaged by neuropathy.
The problems arise due to the disruption of the signals between your gut and your brain, which impacts the normal functioning of your bowels and bowel movements as well as waste elimination.
Neurogenic bowel is the loss of normal bowel function due to a nerve problem which can manifest as stool leakage, constipation or even incontinence.
Autonomic neuropathy is damage to your autonomic nerves, that control your automatic body functions such as digestion and can lead to gastrointestinal issues.
These gastrointestinal issues can include problems with stomach emptying, "gastroparesis", problems with bowel movments and problems with swallowing.
Causes of neuropathy include inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes as well as some medications and other medical conditions.
Symptoms of neuropathy include numbness and tingling of the feet and hands and sometimes even phantom pain.
Other symptoms of neuropathy, especially when it affects your bowels are constipation, diarrhea, especially during the night, fecal or bowel incontinence, bloating and fullness, nausea and vomiting and even difficulty swallowing.
Neuropathy is often diagnosed through MRI and CT cans of hte brain and spinal cord as well as an ultrasound to your anus to diagnose neurogenic bowel or identify the cause of the neuropathy.
Managing your bowel issues when you have neuropathy often involves bowel management programs, medications to help with diarrhea or constipation and even dietary modifications.
And in some cases if you have trouble with regulating bowel movements or stomach emptying some medications can be prescribed.
Numbness and tingling, which is often described as pins and needles, are common symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, a condition resulting from nerve damage in the peripheral nervous system.
It can affect hands and feet, but other areas of the body may also be involved.
Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can range from mild tingling to burning pain or even loss of sensation.