Hi Mrs. D!

No, the burning is not confined to my hands alone, although that is the location that has bothered me the most over the years.

My odyssey began in the spring of 2005, when I first developed facial discomfort that ultimately turned out to be irritation of my 5th Trigeminal Nerve. I experenced burning and numbness in my cheeks, forehead, along my Eustachian Tubes, ect.

This was also approximately three months after successful sinus surgery.

We never found a cause, and it eventually cleared-up several years later.

During the winter and spring of 2007 (and after a very stressful period in my life), I developed burning in my hands, forearms, burning over and in my knees, mild numbness bilaterally in my feet and toes that came and went, and sometimes in the middle of my back. My first symptoms were arms and legs that went to sleep easily, and the sensation of isolated "nerve pulling" in individual fingers and toes!

I should also mention that one very early symptom (begining circa 2006) was that my feet would both have a tendency to go numb on me AS I was walking. This would occur only afer I had walked several miles nonstop.

I was finally dignosed with Small Fiber Neuropathy in April, 2008 after my Neurologist at the University of Washington did the excellent Therapath skin biopsy, which showed a bilaterial length-dependent distal small fiber neuropathy of unknown cause.

Fortunately, my neuropathy overall has gotten much better since August of 2009, and when I do have flairs (generally due to stress) it tends to now be primarily in my hands.

I have had complete neurological workups with multiple normal brain MRIs, normal EMG and Nerve Conduction studies, and essentially normal bloodwork.

The only differentials we have turned-up are an "IGG Para-Protein in the Kappa Band", which first appeared at the 0.2 level in July, 2006. It has since since slowly risen to 0.6 as of my latest annual exam in December, 2010.

I had it evaluated at the Mayo Clinic, and was told that it was likely not contributing to my neuropathy (and especially at that low titer). Further, I learned that it is the "IGM" varient and not the "IGG" that can cause neuropathy (like CIDP).

As an aside, I am now 51 and understand my risk for Multiple Myeloma is only 11% in the next 25 years, so I am not losing sleep over it.

I also have mildly elivated blood sugar, with an average A1C of around 5.7 - 5.9, fasting blood sugar of around 100, and two-hour readings of around 140.

As my small-fiber neuropathy has subsided in recent years, it was replaced by nerve pain bilaterially in both large and small joints (finger joints, toe joints, both wrists, bilaterally in both knees, both elbows, ect.), yet with clean X-Rays that do not show any Osto-Arthritis or swelling.

I also have considerable joint "cracking", especially in both wrists and both knees.

My Sedimentation Rate is also normal along with consistantly negative ANAs.

Over the years, I have also suffered from considerable bodywide twitching and nerve "buzzing", which became much better after I began using "Mag-Tab SR" Magnesium daily (thank you, by the way, for that helpful suggestion!).

However, this also suggests that something was depleting my Magnesium (perhaps the low-dose AZT water pill that I take for blood pressure?). I am also 5'8" and weigh 180 pounds (20% overweight).

I also have some photophobia (light sensivitity) and considerable "veiled-glare", which may be due to early-stage (Stage 1) cateracts. However, these vision issues also began around 2007 - 2008 when I was only in my late 40s.

I also developed a big flair in bilaterial Tinnitus in the spring of 2010 that slowly resolved several months later.

Well, you really got me going, and with that said does any of this sound familiar?

Thank you!

David