--there'd be a complete pooh-pooing of the possibility of developing edema of the extremities with peripheral neuropathy; since proper circulation is mediated to a great extent by the autonomic nervous system, anything that might compromise those (primarily) small fibers might predispose to edema.

People with small fiber syndromes often report some degree of autonomic dysfunction in the areas of blood pressure, fluid retention, sweating, and the like--though thankfully in the majority of cases it seems to be fairly minor and often subclinical. There are, of course, people with full blown dysautonomia.

Then, too, edema is a common enough side effect of many of the medications used for neuropathy--especially the anti-epileptics--that it may be difficult to distinguish that side effect from edema related to the neuropathy.

Nevertheless, as you've shown, there are strategies for self-help for this symptom. The simplest is the "raising feet above heart level" approach. But I'm not that surprised that active mechanical pressure to the area (to tolerance) helped somewhat--it does help to get things "flowing" more efficiently. I think most of us could use more foot massages (or massages of any kind).