Thanks for your replies!

No, there's no neuropathy in my family that I know of and as far as I know I am not diabetic (though I've heard that you can have it despite negative diagnosis). I've have had most of the standard tests including a muscle biopsy and no definitive cause has been suggested, so I guess we'll call it idiopathic.

I've been taking b-12 injections, folic acid, l-carnitine, lipoic acid, co-q10, lots of omegas and anti oxidants, etc. in varying amounts and combinations but over the long run nothing seems to have helped (though of course I couldn't say for sure that it would not have been much worse in the absence of all the above).

Mrs. D, when you say it will progress, what is the ultimate outcome? In other words, I'm wondering, at the rate I'm going, does it become impossible to walk at some point? What exactly should I be expecting?