I have heard some say that the tingling feeling is good because it means the nerves are healing, and anything is better than pain and/or numbness. I'm not so sure. I think it is just a different variant of the signals sent to the brain. I can definitely state that Pain is Bad. So is Numb. I have never experienced tingling.

When you live with pain 24/7, eventually it is no longer a conscious thought. It only surfaces to the conscious level when you think about it, or something changes – it gets worse, better, moves, etc. But on the unconscious level it is playing havoc with your life. You don’t get a deep restful sleep, you can’t focus and concentrate, and you are more short-tempered than you once were, etc.

But how do you explain that your extremities are numb, but you feel a constant burning pain? I could stick a needle in my big toe and not feel it, but when I think about my big toe, there is a constant burning. Perfect example: My husband now insists on cutting my toe nails, because a couple of weeks ago he noticed a trail of blood leading from my bathroom. When cutting my toe nails, I had clipped right through the skin underneath. I do remember the clippers being harder to use than before, but just attributed that to the strength in my hands. Never realized that I was trying to clip through skin. I never even felt it.

I think whether it is pain, numbness, or tingling, eventually you don’t notice it at the conscious level. And, no matter what the variant is, it is Bad.