Hi. I just posted in the general discussion group and a member suggested I post here. My story is a bit long so please bear with me.

My symptoms came swiftly the end of February following a year of horrible stress that started with me being mugged and ended with my brother's unsuccessful cancer surgery also including other pretty stressful events in between. Two weeks after I came home from helping my brother they began. I have pretty constant burning, pins & needles, itching, bug crawling, random stabbing which occasionally includes my head. I have late night twitching- fasciculations in my legs that really disrupt my sleep at night. They are often more of a problem then the burning. I started researching and initially thought I had Restless Leg Syndrome. I began medicating most nights with Ambien, Xanax and or Ativan. Prior to this I had never taken anything except Ambien for sleep when needed.

I gave in and went to see a Neurologist in May and have been given a diagnosis of Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy after a Nerve Conduction Study which showed Neuropathy in my feet, MRI of my lumbar spine which showed issues I've had for years (stenosis and spondylolisthesis) and some very basic blood tests to rule out some of the autoimmune diseases. (There are so many!!) The doctor basically told me that he cannot cure me because he doesn't know what's causing my PN! He will gladly medicate my symptoms but that's it. From researching my symptoms it looks like I have both Motor and Sensory Neuropathy. Does that make sense and does anyone out there have both forms? A member thought that might be Polyneuropathy? In addition, I am very troubled by a shaking I got in my arms when I tried to work out my upper body with 3 lb weights. This also happened in my legs when I was taking my regular Pilates class. Some say it's from not working out as I stopped most of the things I was doing to try and figure out the cause, but I know my body and that is not what's going on.

I went to another doctor out of network and she ordered more tests (ANA, CRP-HS, TPO and numerous vitamins and some heavy metals) I do not have those results yet. I tested negative for Lymes Disease. I have an appointment with a PN specialist in September and I hope and pray we can get further then my original doctor was willing to go.

I have started taking a low dosage of gabapentin 2 hrs before bed. It works some nights and some night not. I realize I'm going to need to up my dose but it's only been 2 ½ weeks and I'm being overly cautious because I hate that brain fog that comes with these drugs. If any of you take this drug please share the side effects you have experienced. (BTW I just read that Ambien has PN side effects after long term use!)

I worked with a Neuro-muscular PT who told me some of my symptoms did not match up with my diagnosis. She urged me to try some things I love to get more data, so I went to my dance class. A few minutes into the warm up my calf started burning and felt like it weighed 100 lbs.

Life is very difficult as I never know how I’ll feel or if I’ll sleep. I've put off making plans and am afraid to exercise since my dance experience. I try to stay positive but it is so difficult. I worry that unchecked my symptoms will continue to worsen and I can’t imagine how I’ll deal with it.

I am so glad that I have found this group and hope that I can help some of you out there as well. Thanks for any input you can give.