Originally Posted by Glenna

--but we've got to clear up some doctor misconceptions for you.

"Peripheral Neuropathy" is just the term for diseases/conditions of the peripheral (not central--brain and spinal cord) part of the nervous system. Small-fiber neuropathy is just one sub-type of peripheral neuropathy--the type that affects the thinly myelinated and non-myelinated ("free" nerve endings) that are very thin and subsume the sensations of pain and temperature, and also control many autonomic functions (such as sweating and blood pressure). This is in contrast to the "larger", myelinated nerves that control all motor functions and and the sensory modalities of position in space, vibration and mechanical touch.

And no doctor should be foolish enough to say that neuropathy cannot affect the hands--you'll find many people on our boards whose hands (and lots of other parts) are affected. Moreover, carpal tunnel is just a neuropathy that effects a particular place (the narrow passages of the wrist).