I noticed after reading many posts on this board that it's common for people with PN to feel several different symptoms, including burning, tingling, numbness, and loss of motor control. What about just burning? Has anyone here had that? What was your diagnosis?

Also, is it true that if you feel burning, that's a sign the nerve hasn't completely been destroyed (as it could be with numbness/where there is no feeling)?

I don't think there is a firm answer to your question.

1) I believe motor loss is significant and needs immediate medical intervention. Motor loss occurs with some autoimmune types of PN, and severe types like GBS. IVIG and immune suppressing treatments typically are used. I know someone who had severe GBS and had plasmapheresis to remove the attacking antibodies.

2) When it comes to burning... one needs to understand that there are two types of temperature nerves in the periphery.
Cold sensing and heat sensing. The heat ones seem to go nuts more commonly, and start firing willy nilly in response to diet and other triggers. Using cold stimulating menthol, will block the heat response, for a temporary time period, and give relief of burning.
I find that burning is my main problem. But occasionally I get pain in my feet too. This week, I've been having some GI problems, and of all things, my surgical scar on my left instep, flared up and hurt like mad! It does not do this often. It had been numb for almost 20 yrs after all the nerves were cut to remove that hemangioma which bled every day until then.
Since the nerves have grown back, I get discomfort from many types of shoes now, and like 2 nights ago, the deep pain in that scar. I rubbed magnesium lotion into it, and it was better in 1/2 hr.
Biofreeze was going to be next. But I didn't have to do it. The foot is not swollen either (which it does sometimes).
So I just experiment with things, and discover what works and what does not. I get blank looks from my doctors, and I won't accept that at all!

3) I think tingling happens in two ways. Waking up and going numb. Dr. Oz,(who I don't really like much) used one of his Science fair illustrations once on a show that said tingling was due to minute bubbles in the blood forming when circulation is restored to an affected are that was constricted. Like fizzing, is how he described it. I don't know about THAT. I would like to see proof of that.

4) Nerves in general seem to be very fragile. And we don't know that because we don't have problems usually until the problems come on. We take everything for granted inside us, in a rather naive way. But because nerves are designed to signal the person of danger, warning of things temperature wise or injury wise, they are very sensitive and fragile. Looking at it this way, sort of explains why some people get the symptoms they do. Whatever the trigger is, it must be setting off alarms that the nerves are supposed to pick up. I do think that sometimes they do not "turn off". I saw that with Lidoderms and my MP. Once I got that 15yr old nerve turned off, it stayed off for the most part. It will twinge with application of any kind of heat or over-extension of the leg ..but not like it was before the Lidoderms!

I agree there is no clear cut answer.

I usually experience combinations of tingling, numbness, and cold ( or sometimes even burning too) in various degrees and durations. Burning is the least of my problems. Also, sometimes I just have one of the above PN symptoms or a mixture of two or more occurring together.

Oddly enough I get mild to moderate numbness in the soles of my feet anywhere from a half day to a couple weeks at a time. Thankfully , It always diminishes. My flare ups are not so regular as they have been, however, I'm experiencing a flare up right now that started a couple of days ago. Sometimes the symptoms reduce to the point where it is barely noticeable. These are the times that fill me with hope that I'm doing the right things. Only more time will tell.

Tingling for me occurs in two ways. The first is a random effect that just lasts for a few minutes or seconds. The second is waking up and feeling a tingling/numbness sensation on the side I sleep on. Probably due to compression issues. It goes away in a few minutes as well.

All of us are similar yet different at the sime time. Makes it very hard to determine if burning points to less axonal damage than intermittent numbness.

You know how you've said in the past that food allergies can cause burning sensations?

I've found a local naturopath whose schedule isn't extreme and who does a lot of testing. She uses a lab that makes the following comment:

Does that sound reasonable?

I stopped eating foods to which tests showed I was allergic, but if my gut was leaking, I could now have new food allergies?

I know that my gut wasn't in the best condition when the last tests were done. I made some progress a few months afterwards when I drank a little magnesium chloride with water. (I didn't have another loose stool for six months.) However, I can't know if it solved any and all possible leaking gut issues.

I seem to have progressive inflammation. I don't know what is causing it. It's not causing redness or swelling, just heat. It may be some kind of vasoconstriction and/or ATP deficiency leading to failed sweating. The heat gets trapped. It's too permanent it seems to be a food-related flush attempt or a hormonal-related 'hot flash.'

Maybe it's some kind of glucose problem (related to food). The skin needs glucose to get heat, right? The nerves aren't coming up with the energy to get high heat.

A book on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) has an interesting section on trapped heat:

What do you know about acupuncture and peripheral neuropathy/trapped heat? The last thing anyone with PN that causes burning sensation on its own needs is trapped heat right next to/direct on those nerves. Which is what I think I may have. It seems my nerves are getting friend by the trapped heat.

A site on acupuncture says:

I don't eat dairy, wheat, or fried foods.

Leaky gut is real. The openings are called Zonulin channels.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/200...-identity.aspx

http://gut.bmj.com/content/49/2/159.full

I noticed that with Lidoderm patch the pain of tingling and prickling are helped quite a bit even after patch is removed for the day.

How many Lidoderms did you use per day?

I've never used more than one patch a day.

I used them mostly for my meralgia paresthetica in my right thigh, several years ago.

For my feet, I cut one in half and use on both insteps for terrible
times, which are few this past year. I've also used 1/2 behind my knee, for several days at a time...that is my bad knee.

And a few times on my back, and lower sacral area, when I had that groin pull that was so painful.

So I've been quite conservative with them. I do think they stop the nerves from firing eventually perhaps in some cases.
The MP needed daily patch for 2 weeks (it was a very severe pain thing of years longstanding), and now I don't need it anymore! The feet 2 or 3 days, per flare, and the knee up to 5 days in a row. I think based on my experience nerves may stop firing and the pain goes way down.
Then you don't need the patch anymore until a flare again.

When I first started them, for the MP... I had some palpitations and fast heart rate... and that sort of scared me into being cautious with them. But over time I don't see others complain about it and it is not showing up much in the studies etc.
It might have been "just me".

I think they are very valuable, for sharp identifiable nerve pain.
I've never used them for general burning. I use the Biofreeze for that, because it can go up my lower leg about 1/2 up to the knee.
I don't know which nerves are supplying that more global symptom so I haven't used the patches for that type.

Hi,Im 47 and Have Burning mouth Syndrome. Is this what you have?I feel like Im dying,cant eat, its so painful.Any suggestions or If I can be more of a help let me know,I care

I was interested in reading this post as I just have the burning in feet and lower legs but none of the other symptons. Thanks for the input