one more questions.. some people have said their neuropathies are inflammatory. How do you know this? Which tests are done that show a neuropathy as being inflammatory or not.
Sorry, my neuros have just sent me for some blood tests without explaining what they are and what they are looking for. As such, I don't really know if I have had proper testing or not. I would like to go to my pcp and review which blood tests I have had to see if I have been tested for inflammatory and autoimmune causes (but I need to know what those tests are before I can do that)

--of blood tests for neuropathy causes, autoimmune and otherwise, comes form this Quest clinical paper written in consultation with Dr. Norman Latov, long one of the world's leading researchers in the field (especially immune-mediated neuropathies):

http://www.questdiagnostics.com/test...ripheralNeurop

Thanks, I'll bring this to my doc

Inflammation is always present in the body to some extent.
It is expressed by the Cox-2 family of cytokines. These may become overly produced due to neglect of Omega-3 intake of essential fats, which are Cox-1 favorable, and keep the inflammatory ones down.

There are markers for inflammation;
Sed rate, and C-reactive protein are two of them.
These however only show disease elevations.

In general if aspirin and/or NSAIDs help with symptoms, that indicates inflammation of some sort. It is a hint as to triggers or cause.

There are specific diets to keep inflammation down.. One is the Zone Diet, and also Dr. Wahl's mitochondrial diet, and some others.

example:
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02012...lammatory-diet

Diets of this type are very popular now. They focus on good fats, (olive oil, and Omega-3's), vegetables, fruit, lean protein and fish, nuts. They limit or remove carbs from pastas, bread as a rule. They also limit and discourage saturated fats.

Some of these diets are called "pain" diets, because they help reduce inflammatory pain. Some people with specific food intolerances may find pain increased when using a triggering food. Citrus for example, is implicated in joint pain. Some people cannot tolerate nightshade veggies.(myself included).
Gluten, dairy, are also commonly reported for some.