I have been dealing with symptoms for years. Being born into poverty did not help. I rarely went to the dr. As for family history, who the heck knows! I know my immediate family. My great grandmother may have had it, but being poor, she only had special shoes. She died when I was 8 yrs old. I have little faith in doctors because of misdiagnosis through the years. I have kept active through the years with weight training. I could not run. I have been to podiatrists and physicians that had not ever put 2 and 2 together. The onset of the neuropathy in midlife has been a nightmare. It has been midwrist through my fingers and midcalf through my toes since December. I have not been able to drive or work since Dec. CMT has many faces and the testing is very expensive. My current neurologist stated that since there is no cure, additional testing is not necessary. I am currently talking with the insurance company and the Mayo clinic in Rochester pleading my case. I will be the first documented case in my family (that I know of). The nerve and muscle biopsies revealed large axon loss with scwann cells increased. The mayo clinic performed the testing. There is much more, but the end result is that I have to live with this for the entirety of my life. I am just coming to terms and adjusting to the facts.