Incidentally, I am in contact with a fellow who I served in the Navy with, who also has it, and is also experiencing the "folded sock". He also started very recently on the Nortriptyline, as he wasn't able to tolerate the gabapentin. He believes our neuropathy may have been caused by possible exposure to Agent Orange, but I have reason to doubt that my own was. It will be another few days before I'm down to 300mg 3x daily on the gabapentine & want to stay at that level for a week or 10 days, just for a reference. Then I'll call my Neuro & he will phone in a prescription for the Nortriptyline for me. So, keep an eye on this thread, and thru me, you can see how another fellow is doing. Might pick up someone else on the way. You never know.

FYI: During my latest increases on the gabapentin, in search of relief, I went from 300mg 3x daily to 400mg 3x daily and again to 600mg 3x daily. During the last 2 increases, I had new strange feelings in my feet. Also some foot joint pains during my last increase & again during the reduction. After my nerves settled down, I felt little change in the "folded sock". The tingling, pins and needles, and burning wee less bothersome to me than the "folded sock", but don't care to get them back until I'm ready to try the N.

Hi Groucho,

I have been taking noritryptline for well over a week now and I still have the folded sock syndrome as you put it. But, it seems to be less often and not as bad. Only time will tell.
Again, could also be the R Lipoic Acid helping too.
One thinkI noticed last night is that I had the folded sock feeling in the left foot and it was red/purple and puffy on the bottom of my foot.
Have you noticed that your foot is discolored when you experience the folded sock syndrome?

I haven't noticed any discoloring on my foot. Are you wearing athletic, or comfortable shoes? I find that running shoes feel better, for me, than walking shoes. Less pressure on the folded sock area. My Navy buddy seems to be happy with the Nortrypteline, & since he's willing to consider upping the dose (he's on 10mg), that's saying something, as he hates to take pills for anything. He also has the folded sock. I understand the Nortryp makes you drowsy, & that's why it's taken in the evening. How long does it take before you're ready to call it a night?

I have symptoms any time I'm on my feet. I've cut back on the gabapentin from 1800mb daily to 900. My feet hurt extra while raising the dose & lowering it, too. Maybe because I unknowingly went beyond what actually was giving me maximum relief. Pretty uncomfortable today & it may stay that way until my nerves settle back down. I really want to hold off a little bit until I call the Neuro for a med change.

The drowsiness wears off in about couple of weeks to a month.

Being in the military, you should Google, "toxic bases".

There is Agent Orange, Agent Purple, arsenic and who knows what else at military installations! Previous and current.

I assumed the drowsiness might be an ongoing thing, since you normally take it at night, for pain.

Thanks for trying to steer me to Agent Orange websites, but being a Vietnam Vet and also being my Ship's Association's webmaster, I am very aware of them. The Navy buddy that I mention, whose PN is worse than mine, believes his may have been caused by possible Agent Orange exposure.

I might be wrong, but rather than go into a very long story, I have reason to believe that my PN might be self-inflicted. I'll give you a hint, though, footwear with lousy padding on the insoles that I was too stubborn to stop wearing, as that was what I was wearing when this all flared up. LOL

So...if you suspect a mechanical reason for your foot pain, have you had a good podiatrist work you up? There may be a solution for you, there.

There are just so many things that can affect our feet. Over the more than 10 yrs I have been posting on PN forums, I have seen so many different combinations, and situations. One has to remain open to just about everything where PN is concerned.

I'm way ahead of you. I went to a podiatrist, and she made some test insoles with metatarsal pads. They just redistributed the pain & she told me I might have better luck going back to the chiropractor (in just 2 visits). She said she could give me cortisone injections, but they wouldn't do anything for the "folded sock syndrome".

I'm not a small person & I spent a lot of time in my lousy footwear. I probably really messed up the nerves pretty good. I hate most vegetables, so I have a really lousy diet, & have been taking the vitamins in hopes that the nerves may eventually repair themselves. Don't try to tell me if I want to feel better I need to eat my vegetables. I don't call eating foods that make me want to spit them out any way of (possibly) improving quality of life. More likely just adding to my misery. LOL

Hi groucho,

I am wearing athletic shoes with soft inserts all the time and showering in teva sandals. My feet hurt too bad to hit the ground. Sometimes I take the noritryptline before bed and fall asleep within 20 minutes. If I watch tv, depending on how exciting it is, it could take an hour. There is gotta be something that alleviates the folded sock syndrome.

I have my doubts that any drug is going to give you complete or near complete relief. From what I've read, the Nortriptyline has the best patient reviews, and you're still talking about in the neighborhood of 40% relief. Adding gabapentin to it may add another 10-15% more relief. You probably need to see where this is going first, & talk to your Neuro about combination therapy, if you have that much pain. There are more things you could probably try, such as capsicum cream, but I'm not going to try to take the place of your DR.

Hey Nervous1,

Now that you've been on the Nortrypteline for awhile, how do you feel it's doing for you? My buddy is still on 10mg daily, but mainly because he forgot all about his Neuro's appointment. LOL. I don't know just when he's going back, now. I've decided to stay on the Gabapentin another month, Mainly so the neuro won't think I'm just a nut who can't make up his mind about the meds. LOL.

In the meantime, I'm experimenting with my dosage, as I hate taking it 3 times a day. Just started taking it twice daily right now, but not sure I'll have a bad spot between doses. And my buddy did say, by the way, that the "folded sock" is consistent with him, as it is with me, and always there, but the Nortrypt helps. The Gabapentin helps, too, but still wonder which is better, and will likely ask to make the meds change next month, to find out for myself.