I've only been dealing with this for 8 months now, so still trying to figure things out.

I'd thought I had the PN in my feet under control with Gabapentin. It was at least tolerable. Suddenly, both legs became very sensitive. Can't hardly stand to wear jeans, even those soft sweat pants that used to feel so comfortable, suddenly feel abrasive.

Can very dry/cold weather possibly be a contributer? I live in a northern climate and its been a rough winter that way.

How do you all cope with this? The thought of how far this has gone in 8 short months is quite depressing. One starts to feel very "defeated". I've been following this forum since the very beginning and have been trying alot of the suggestions.

If other skin areas are not acting this way...only the legs, I'd suspect it is neuropathic.

Skin is replenished by omega-3 fats, and some nutrients, like zinc and Vit C, Vit A etc... so if you are low in these, it doesn't form strong tissue to protect you.

Dry skin may result from over washing with strong soaps which defat the skin and make it sensitive to touch. But if you don't have this on your arms or trunk, as well, I'd not suspect a nutrient problem.

How do we cope? The 7 stages of grief pretty much applies for me. After over 3 years Im exactly at point 5.
Depression and anger were the hardest to deal with. Im already feeling point 7 being acceptance.

1. SHOCK & DENIAL-

2. PAIN & GUILT-

3. ANGER

4. "DEPRESSION", REFLECTION, LONELINESS
-
5. THE UPWARD TURN-

6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH-

7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE-

Thanks Zorro.

I think I'm somewhere between 3-4 after 8 months. I keep thinking I'm beyond that, then something else will rear it's ugly head and torpedo me. You wonder how it will be a month from now...much less 10 years!

I'm still trying to blame things like the dry weather...so maybe i'm really stuck in a 1-4 loop.

Mike around 3 years in and I still blame it on the weather if I can get away with it

The best "mental" advice I have aquired here is to live in the moment. To much dwelling of in the past (why me) and the furture (more why me's) leads to a cycle of depression thats hard to break.

In time either we will kill ourselves with denial or give our minds the strengh to heal with acceptance. easier said than done yeah?

Realistic, short term goals and plans-once achieved
puts one between a 6 & 7 on that scale.
A true 7 would mean there is a cure
and that's not gonna happen anytime soon,
I'm sorry to say.

Hi Mike,

I can't say if this will work for anyone else; I've noticed it works for me sometimes. Even though it's usually disagreeable to have shoes on, or covers touching my feet, the sensations are lessened with socks on, especially in the cold weather. So if my legs were affected, I think I might try some long underwear. YMMV.

Doc

There's an upward turn‽

Mike,

(Apologies for multiple replies - sometimes the thoughts come in clusters....)

I'm at around 15 months. Not much for PN; horrible for pregnancy. I can commiserate with early progression; scares the cuss out of me. Depression comes & goes, and the way I've found to deal with that is to ignore it (the depression) by focusing elsewhere. Defeat is a bit more complicated. As human/living beings, we're all imbued with a will to survive, compete, and persevere; we have no choice in this - it's hardwired. We do have a choice in how we view things, whether we're going to deal with the cuss thrown at us, and how we're going to deal with it. It's not easy - it's hard. But it's still our choice.

Many of us have a lot more on our plates than just PN - maybe you too(?) Some are worse - some not as bad. Looking at the big picture, there's still more worth enjoying/experiencing/celebrating/what-have-you than not. I'm going to suck everything out of this life that I can as long as I can because it's the only one I've got, and anything else would be a lot of regret later. We all have regrets, and IMO, they can suck a lot worse than PN.

Doc

Thanks for the replies Dr. Smith.

I've tried the long underwear thing. It does help. Certainly better than blue jeans touching me anyplace below the waste! Not going to be very pleasant once the weather turns warmer...but then hopefully it will be shorts weather. Looser, lighter pants help, but still are irritating at times. I guess I just have to learn to live with "irritating" and hope it doesn't become intolerable.

The attitude part of this is hard to lock down. I think I have it, and then the next day, out of the blue, my skin is sensitive from the waste down. One has to emotionally/mentally deal with the new pain, figure out what to do about wardrobe (for all occasions!), etc. I spent a small fortune just to find the style of socks that are tolerable....now pants.

I'm also facing shoulder surgery, and my wife has fibromyalgia, so we make quite a pair.