I've had idiopathic SFN for years. It's been mostly numbness and steady pain until last night. Last night I woke up with a sharp, stabbing pain on the top of my foot. It lasts for about 3 seconds, stops and then like clock-work does it again in about 3-4 minutes. Over and over again. And it hasn't stopped since it started last night.
Any suggestions?

I have idiopathic SFN diagnosed last summer, but my foot symptoms actually started 2 years ago with that kind of stabbing, electric pain on the top of my right foot. I still get it sometimes and has occurred in my other foot as well. It hits like a lightning strike and is difficult to cope with! My doctor prescribed a topical lidocaine gel to apply and I find it helps a lot in times where it's a targeted pain in a specific place. Unfortunately its the only time the gel helps cuz most of my pain is spread over many, many places.

This may be coming from the knee area. I have commonly pains like you describe on the instep of the foot. These nerves come down from the knee in my case, and I put Aspercreme Lidocaine from both sides of the knee and just below the knee, and that tends to stop them.

I'd also check your shoes. Tight lacing will compress the nerves there and irritate them. So will tight socks around the ankles.

Hi, LMPinkereton. Here's one of my early posts (sometime in 2013). I think you'll find other reports like this if you search for "foot pain," though there would probably be a lot of irrelevant hits too.
------------------
One of the early signs of my idiopathic PN was pain in my left metatarsals so severe that the orthopedist thought I had stress fractures. Did a full body bone scan--no fractures. Meanwhile he had me put into a "cam boot" which I used for almost two months to keep weight off that foot, and it did relieve the pain. And the pain was still gone when the boot came off (in June) and hasn't returned. The PN is still with me, but it seems to have moved past that particular phase, to my GREAT relief. So I hope that happens for you too.

I've had foot pain where it feels like my foot is spasming, drawing inward like a hand will claw in a spasm, though I suppose that is not what you are speaking of. It mostly seems to come from over exertion from me, the definition of which has become rather thin.

I hope they either find a cause or it passes. My best.

I've had every imaginable foot pain, including the pain you describe. Thinking back, I had it even before my SFN fully presented itself. I don't get it too often though.