Thanks for the welcome and the replies everybody. I will check into gluten intolerance, vitamins etc. I have a terrible diet so I always suspect vitamin deficiency. When I had my first "episode" of numbness the neurologist ran a whole bunch of blood tests, I'm not sure for what vitamins but everything came back normal. Everything resolved itself so I didn't pursue what exactly I was tested for and what the numbers were, pretty dumb of me I must say. I was just so happy to be better.

As for having symptoms in other parts of my body... the last couple days I feel like there might be something going on in my legs/toes/feet as well. Little twitches of coldness etc. But I'm not sure if that isn't my anxiety taking over and magnifying normal every day feelings. Certainly they are NOTHING like what I feel in my hands.

Today when I woke up I had a good 20 mins or so without any odd sensations at all. Is that normal for PN? For them to come and go? Or is it more usual for it to be constant zappiness? When they say it "progresses" does that mean it goes from intermittant to constant? Or just that the location of pain advances? Lately I haven't had any of the "waves" of pin prickliness I had in the beginning. Where it sort of has a burny feeling. Instead it's just individual zaps on this finger or that.

Sorry for all the questions... I agree I need to be going to see my doctor. I am going to see my PCP first, although I guess I should call my neurologist. On the Neuropathy.org site, the one doctor listed in my area is actually the neurologist I've already seen, which is great, except I'm afraid he has me listed as a psych case from last time. The worst thing is when doctors don't listen to you or dismiss your symptoms. Back then (couple months ago) I had an EMG and an MRI of the head, to rule out MS, but not of the cervical spine. Since my neck has been causing me pain maybe that is the culprit?? Something in the upper vertebrae? My EMG was fabulous (doctor said I had better nerves than HE did) so could systemic PN develop in the course of just 8 weeks? Then again if it is SFN it wouldn't show on an EMG...

I do need to stop going down the "doom, doooooom" road. I am reading too much on the Internet I think. My sister, who has ulcerative colitis and had to have her colon out, cautioned me on this, when she had her surgery she googled and most of the stories she read were of procedures gone wrong or just plain old didn't help. Her surgery went great and she feels 100% better. Do most people get to live full, active lives with PN? Is it the majority or the minority who struggle with pain control etc? After all millions of people have it and most of them can't be totally disabled can they? I'm just grasping at straws...