--And you should definitely come on over to the Peripheral Neuropathy section here, and read and read and read:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum20.html

By the way, small fiber sensory neuropathy is far from rare. It is the most common presentation of neuropathy among those who are diabetic, and it is also the most common idiopathic presentation (as many as a third of those with small fiber neuropathy have no discernable cause for it).

When you were diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, you were just being diagnosed with damage to nerves outside the brain and spinal cord--the term doesn't indicate type or cause. Small-fiber neuropathy, which is by definition sensory and/or autonomic (unmyelinated or "small-fiber" nerves are not involved in motor functions) is a bit more descriptive, but not much more.

See:

http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/sensory-small.html

http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/senso...tml#idiopathic