I'm so sorry for your losses. And yes, most certainly, stress plays a huge part in my pain spikes.

The good news for me is that my pain in controlled fairly well with 30mg's of Cymbalta (pain and depression) and 50-100 mgs of Ultram a day as needed. I can't take Gabapentin, it made me suicidal so related drugs such as Lyrica are out for me as well. The Ultram I can take as often as 100 mg every 6 hours if I need it. It might be something for you to ask about and give a try. It's the *only* thing I've found that mutes my PN pain. I have an awesome Nurse Practioner and she says the Ultram is one of the first line drugs for pain in PN. I discovered it quite by accident when I was given Ultracet (has Tylenol in it) for carpal tunnel surgery pain. I've been taking it for about 4 years now. Ultram, that is, without the Tylenol as it does nothing for me and only adds to the liver burden. I seem to be one of the lucky ones in that I've not had to constantly keep increasing my dose to achieve the same level of pain control. Cymbalta, it was discovered, helped to control pain in addition to being an anti-depressant. Oh, the nice thing about the Ultram is it doesn't make me groggy like some drugs such as Vicodin will do.

I think the PN is spreading to my hands as well. With no insurance I'm pretty much stuck where I am at the moment.

I really do hope this helps and that you're able to find a little relief as the days go forward through this sadness. My heart goes out to you.