My neurologist wrote mine; and I got a portable Empi unit, with two electrodes that are independently programmable, twelve different pulse patterns, and an intensity scale that ranges from zero to fifty. it runs off a rechargable nickel-cadmium 9-volt "transistor" battery. It's not one of those huge contraptions that one finds in physicl therapy offices, but it is good for what it is.

I originally got it to help with the thigh pain of meralgia parasthetica (a great addition to my neuropathy symptoms), but have used it all over my body. The pads at the end of the electrode wires come with a sticky gel already on them, to aid in the impulse conduction, although that means you can only use the pads a few times each before they lose gel and conductivity. Empi calls me each month to see if I need more sets of pads, and sends them by express mail.

I find the unit effective as long as I am using it--the electrical impulses mask the pain or tingling, as they are conducted to the brain more quickly than those sensations. After I shut the unit down and remove the pads, thouhg, the sensations come back fairly quickly. There are times, however, when they do not, almost as if the pulses have "re-programmed" the fifirng patterns of the nerves in that area. That happens only after really long session (hours), though, and not consistently.