Has anyone heard of or possibly even had Neuropathy of the hand? I sure would like to hear from you!!! I need to speak with someone who has had this complication. I always thought Neuropathy occurred only in the lower limbs, so was surprised when I was told that I "may" have Neuropathy in my right hand. There are other pieces of this story, so that "possible" diagnoses may not stand in the end. But I sure would like to hear from you about your symptoms and treatment. Thanks.
Whoever told you it was only in the legs (that's what I gather from your posting) was mistaken, and has misled you.
Peripheral neuropathy can occur in any limb. It usually occurs in toes and feet first, because these nerve endings are the farthest from their cell body, contained in the spinal cord. However, it is not unusual at all for PN to present in the fingers and hands while being asymptomatic in the feet. Indeed, this is how PN first presented with me -- numbness/tingling in fingers, ulnar nerve sensitivity leading to ring & pinky finger being dead to any feeling.
Eventually, I started having issues in my feet too.
This was all at the end of a period of about a 18 months of completely out of control BG. The good news is, after 10 months of very tight control, all neuropathy has resolved, and I have no apparent permanent loss of sensation.
If your control is fair (a1c 7-8%) poor (8-9%) or disasterous (>9%) you may be able to resolve or improve the PN by substantially improving your control. It takes months for the nerves to heal, so you have to be patient. And there's no guarantee they will. But you can be pretty sure they won't if BG control isn't good.
For reference, I went from an a1C last June of >11% to a recent 6%. My BG treatment goals are staying under 140 mg/dl postprandial, <100 fasting (fasting defined as >3hrs after eating).
To add to what Dave said, any nerves that innervate tissues outside of the CNS can be affected. Not to get you overly concerned, but this is why PWD have regular EKGs and are susceptible to conditions like gastroparesis. Indeed, keeping tight control is your best course of action.