Either way, you'll want to do all you can to avoid developing neuropathy. But if it does develop, there are ways to treat it. There are many causes of diabetic nerve disease in the feet and legs, and they can work alone or in combination to produce neuropathy. You know that insulin helps glucose get into muscle cells and fat cells. But some types of cells don't require insulin to take in glucose.
Nerve cells are one example.
When there's too much glucose in the blood, a lot of glucose goes into these cells. Once inside the nerve cells, the excess glucose forms sugar alcohols. The sugar alcohols build up. This can affect the production of other nutrients that the nerve cells need to function. The nerves slow down.