alot depends on your age, and experience.

It is easy to get discouraged/depressed. I have been there and done that.

When my foot PN was at its worst I was hypothyroid, but my tests did not
show it clearly. That was over 25 yrs ago before my son was born. Then after him, I was so tired, but busy with the new baby. My carpal tunnel resolved after the pregnancy, but my feet did not. In time I finally got the thyroid fixed, and my feet really woke up and the walking on cut glass went away.

For me PN has been a changing thing. It has been mixed in with arthritis and
MP (a side effect from my C-section), then it was overwhelmed by my right knee issues (for several years), then my leg injury.

Each time I pass thru a transition, I have been lucky that my pain has
ebbed and that experience has always given me HOPE. When I started supplements, EFAs and Thiamine years ago, I had another remission.
So I see waxing and waning in my own experience, and I think that keeps me going. I never have felt truly stuck...with no hope of improvement. This may take a while, years, in some cases, but I have always rallied. When I have a bad day/week, or month, I just hang in there and expect it to fade. Many new patients with PN get discouraged or trapped by this syndromes elusive character, or wish for the magic pill/potion to make it go away. And that just does not happen, for most people.

It can take a LONG time to develop PN. So one must understand that one must try many things, before targeting their own situation. It can take a while to get better. Or it may take a while to find the most effective pain treatment that works for you. This is more of a commitment than with blood pressure control, or antibiotics, or several other disorders. PN makes us have to cope and deal, and be more involved I think.

It is this aspect that keeps me going!
P.S. I expected to be off next week... duh? But I just got more shifts, and since this place was so good to me when I was disabled, and let me work, with adjustments, I haven't the nerve to decline! But that means I will be sleeping, and resting much more than usual. No more 13 hr shifts for me, standing anymore however. That is definitely off the table!