I suffer from this hypersensitive skin. I am a woman find it difficult to wear pants. I have been wearing cotton or nylon dresses. I have some nylon exercise pants that I can wear over a dress if I have to be out in cold weather. I get pants in one size larger than I normally wear.

On the Fibro board, some say silky material. Nothing tight, no elastic anywhere. Draw string type pants, loose tops.

I have not suffered from this until the last few days. I have small and large fiber neuropathy, hereditary, most symptoms confined to lower legs and arms but a skin biopsy two years ago did show nerve fibers breaking down at upper thigh. I have recently been experiencing pins and needles in thighs and bottom, but that was all.

In the past week I have developed severe burning and sensitivity over all of my legs and hips, to the extent that sitting in a chair or the car is unbearable, my softest clothes are irritating, I can feel the seams in my sweatpants, and I am fully conscious of the elastic on my featherweight nylon panties. It is driving me crazy. I am using a lot more of my Percoset than usual, and I am still only getting partial relief. I had the idea when this started that it was a temporary situation, but as the days go on I am beginning to panic.

It feels exactly like a severe brush burn or sunburn over the area, but there is no visible rash. I would love to hear more fom anyone with this experience, in particular about pain relief. I will have to move my doctor's appointment up because of using up my meds, and I am nervous about explaining this development, it seems so extreme.

I am on gabapentin, Tramadol pills for pain relief. I use Lidoderm patch in most painful areas.

You mentioned underwear. I went to Victoria's Secret and asked young saleslady which underpants were the most comfortable. I said I had nerve condition. She said she had one, too, and used Lyrica meds.

I was surprised that some one so young had this. This led me to ask "Were you in an accident?" She said yes that she broke her neck.

I am on Gabapentin and of course the supplements listed in the "supplements thread".

I could not wear anything that is tight (thermal clothes, leggings, etc). The seams of my skirts and shorts bother me, even the tags at the back or sides of the dress. When I sit on my recliner made of swede, the fibers really give me pain in my arms. It seem something small fine needles sticking out of the sofa. When I lie down, I try to minimize movements of my feet because any new contacts to the skin will give me the sensation of like a "sunburn being rubbed". I am using now silk pajama, its fine with me (but of course this will not hold come winter). I have to wear seamless socks and underwears because the garter bothers me.

I put Lidoderm patch, it gives me temporary relief. SInce the sensitive skin is all over my body, I have to be patient cutting it into little patches. Also, I had to limit the number of patches being used at one time. The patches dont hold much so I used the soft 3M Medipore to hold them. Of course, this makes me look funny with all those little patches all over my skin (but who cares).

I am on 1800mg gabapentin and am currently taking about 3 325/5 oxycodone daily in two doses to try and get through this. That is double my usual usage of 1 or 2 per day. I am still in considerable pain and unable to carry out my usual responsibilities which include teaching part time. This has come up so suddenly I am hoping it goes away like it came.
For those of you who are experiencing this, and the burning in my hips and thighs is awful, did it happen slowly or all at once? Has anyone had the symptoms subside? The gabapentin was controlling the burning and zaps in my feet and legs quite well. Should I ask for Tramadol rather than a stronger oxycodone? My doctor has encouraged me to try the Butrans patch before. At this point I would take anything not to be able to feel my pajama pants laying like a 30 pound housecat on my lap.
I am also experiencing some burning sensation in my shoulders and upper arms, not nearly as severe. If i put on a sweater or jacket it feels like it weighs a ton.Does this sound familiar?
I would appreciate any advice.

I am fascinated by your mention of the suede sofa bothering you. We just got a new microfiber reclining loveseat which has a faux suede finish. My symptoms date from eerily close to its arrival. Is there any possibility that the upholstery is causing this? The symptoms are consistent with my CMT, but the sudden onset is not.

Several mentioned PJs. I have worn nightgowns even before PN. I also removed clothing tags before PN. I started out with noticeable pain in abdomen. It has let up somewhere, but it has spread to other areas of body. I do notice leather in car seat. I have been wearing a large silk scarf when I go about the day and wrap it around my legs if chair bothers me.

I find knit clothes are more comfortable.Also, gaucho style pants are more comfortable as they flare away from body.

The only times my skin "hurts" is when I am having a serious infection. Often with the flu or a fever.

Have you tried an antihistamine? A strong one like Benadryl or Zyrtec? That seems to help me when I am ill. Its been a while for me... when I increased my Vit D...I stopped getting colds/flu.
I still get allergies however.

I am so sorry to know about your hurting. One of the values of this forum is when someone talks about a specific symptom and another has it, we completely and deeply understand what we are talking about.

My skin sensitivity came up so suddenly. I just woke up with the severe itchiness all over my body, mostly in my legs and arms (with no rashes or anything). In fact, it was the first major symptom that I experienced. At that time (a little over 6 months ago), I thought it was a reaction to Plaquenil, which at that time I was taking. The rheumatologist told me to stop it and take Benadryl. After two weeks, the itchiness did not improve. My primary care physician gave me Vistaril (which is stronger than Benadryl). It did not help me either, instead, the itchiness turned into pain. It was like a sensation of "pins and needles". It was deep and stabbing pins and needles. Last winter was very difficult for me because of having to wear thick clothes (and it was my first winter with the PN symptoms so I was adjusting!!!).

My burning sensation has now been significantly reduced. I still feel it once in a while but I could live with it. What is very very challenging is coping with this hypersensitive skin and of course the painful feet. I dont experience that feeling of "weights" in my skin. According to my doctor, the pain will reach a plateau. He has been encouraging me to try Lyrica, but I think I prefer Gabapentin. They both have unpleasant side effects, but given our pain, we have to bite the bullet.