I have, after 15 months of tests and pain, been diagnosed with idiopathic small fiber neuropathy. I am on Cymbalta, Neurotin, Amatriptyline and vicodin. Have been on this since October. New symptoms seem to be showing up daily. My ankles and feet are like balloons today, it hurts to bend my feet because the skin is so tight from being swollen. My vision is blurry (have always had perfect vision), my hair is falling out, my short-term memory is bad, I sweat profusely from my head, I am hot all the time, and the heartburn is awful! Considering using a cane when I leave the house, which is not often since I lost my job due to my symptoms a week before christmas. My dreams are so vivid, they are not nightmares, just dreams, therefore, my quality of sleep is affected. It is worse in my right arm than anywhere else, and of course I am right handed. I cannot stand for more than about 15 minutes it hurts the heels of my feet and my hips/lower back. The little things are the worst! Buttoning a shirt, picking up small objects like coins, holding cards, reading, eating, wiping after using the restroom. I do not seem to have the problem with hot or cold sensations I can feel that just fine. My doc at the cleveland clinic is very nice. I think it is either rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. My family dr thinks it is carpel tunnel and my neurologist just does not seem to care why I have it. I am getting tired of these two seeing who can pound their chest harder! There are days I can barely function, and I also have good days but they a far and few between. I have a wonderful supportive family and friends that wait on me hand and foot like the Queen that I am (haha) and my pets seem to be the best therapy for me, it is like they know I am not feeling well. I guess I am not asking anything, venting helps a little!

Karen, I am right across the border in Pa, and have SFN also, it is a miserable disease, you dont get any good sleep, wake up al the time in pain, and I also have doctors who pound on there chest seeing who is right while we suffer,, I cant do almost anything that I used to do,, and extensive work and I am out of commision for a week from pain, even taking the dog out is a problem since I am cold sensitive and sit around in a sweatshirt all day,, my eyes blur too, the hands are the worst, just numb and burn at the same time, IBS , least the gastro said that it what it is, I think the stomach is just slowing down to nothing from nerve damage,, dont know what to do about it anymore

Welcome to NeuroTalk....

If I were you I'd discuss the value (if any) from the Neurontin you are using. This drug causes edema and swelling of the legs and feet in many people. It can even affect the hands.

If you have been on it for a while, and you decide to discontinue it after talking to your doctor, you might have to taper off slowly.

Some drugs doctors just hand out...and they don't consider what the patient goes thru. It is very possible Neurontin is contributing to your problems.

FWIW, one of my doctors prescribed Cymbalta for me and and I developed severe stomach pain which would wake the dead(and me). Apparently the makers discovered that it can cause stomach problems and they had to ammend their fine print, so I bet your stomach issues are from the drug or being aggravated by it.

I got off of it and the stomach pain disappeared. You might want to run it by your doctors.

Especially DREAMS! Many docs ignore this portion? Make it an either/or situation:
Pain relief-no dreams/pain+dreams.
DO carefully look up any and all meds...on-line. What I do? is ask for samples say 10 days worth? To see IF IT and I can get along. In the meantime, looking up the FULL PRESCRIBING INFORMATION and going down the lists of common and uncommon side effects? Plus my being on a 'new' med? Well, you can figger out IF it's got plusses and minuses and to which degree the + or the - is worth it all.
I chose good sleep, ultimately over pain relief. WHY? Because I'd not really slept well at the time- for 3+ years? And because I was going on other meds for other med-issues that could complicate it all further.
Once you've been put on full morpheine for an injury? And it doesn't do a THING for your pain? You must make a decision to just live with it. Or cope.
But then, we are each different PEOPLE, and as such, act/react differrently to all sorts of meds.
Thus learn about the meds? And deal with the pros and cons once known.
Further? Once off meds? Dreams can and do become well? 'STRANGE'. Your body is 'acting out' for not being able to 'dream' and you are getting some 'pay back'. Likely big time. Some of the dreams I had once off meds? Well, they were doozies! and beyond! But better than horror movies times 17!
Good luck and keep faith! 's - j

I am finding this forum very useful for my piece of mind and the information is helpful. Went to see my family physician today about the swelling. I am swollen from my toes to my knees. It is not too painful but my Dr did not seem the least bit interested, almost as if he was sick of seeing me! He gave me a new medicine, I go get it and get home and read about it, it is chlorpromazine...what the heck? It does nothing to help the swelling or pain! I feel as if every dr I have seen thinks this is all in my head? I have got to find a better dr that cares about helping me. But that is going to be kind of difficult as my insurance ends on friday. Cannot afford the cobra program so what is there for me to do. Smile and keep moving on The gabapentin has helped with the buring for the most part, the cymbalta is tearing up my stomach, and I am not sure if the amitryptline is doing anything because I take it then go to bed? Has anyone here been given the chlorpromazine?

WOW.... I'd find another doctor ASAP....

The only non psychiatric use of this very old medicine is for nausea and hiccups in very low dose...like 10mg.

What dose did he give you? I am curious.

That is a major psyche drug for psychosis. It is not even used much anymore for THAT!. It can cause tardive, which is a movement disorder that is terrible and incurable once it manifests.

I think it is YOUR DOCTOR who needs that drug, NOT YOU.

Run, don't walk to another doctor ASAP... Please!

At the very least I would call back and ask the doctor why he is prescribing this drug, what he expects/hopes it will do for you, and any other questions you have about it.

Doc

you will want to double check the pharmacy too. they could have
made an error interpreting his handwriting.

cyclobenzeprine 10mg may resemble that other drug..

That's the one. I was thinking promethazine, but the spelling seemed too different. Chlorphenamine? Chlorphenesin? They got a million of 'em...