Originally Posted by mrsD

Yes, craving salt may point to an adrenal dysfunction (low).

Have you had your adrenal hormones measured?

Here is an overview about salt:
Salt Cravings: What they Mean and Why They’re Important. | Paleo Leap

and a more medical article from Mayo:
Salt craving: A symptom of Addison's disease? - Mayo Clinic

Originally Posted by janieg

I was all but hopeless and helpless until I found this forum. The people here are smart, helpful and very well informed. That's more than I can say for some of the doctors I've seen.

I gave up dairy at one point, and my reward seemed to be much worse cramping. I can't say definitively that not drinking my nightly glass of milk was to blame, but as soon as I started back, the cramping frequency returned to occasional versus every night. That being said, I'm now drinking unsweetened, organic soy milk. I know some people don't like that idea either, but I'm comfortable with it. I also don't avoid any other dairy products.

My coffee consumption has actually gone up pretty significantly since I went back to work, and my symptoms definitely have not worsened.

The one thing I know is not good for the SFN symptoms is salt, and it's probably the biggest dietary problem I have at this point. When I really overdo it, there's hell to pay. I cramped up so badly one time when I was out shopping, I could barely drive. I had just enough water to get my feet and legs to a point where they were mostly functional, and then guzzled water and popped supplements when I got home. The cramping quickly resolved, but I know it was high the intake of salt that caused it. I'm much more careful about it now, but I have a New Year's Resolution to cut back and try to retrain my taste buds. That should be interesting.

The symptoms you describe are pretty much where I was in 2014, although it was so bad some nights I'd never get to sleep. The anxiety of not knowing what was wrong made things 100 times worse. Finding this forum and researching helped calm me down, and I'm sure that alone was responsible for some of my decrease in symptoms.

I continue to search for a cause, but I know the odds are slim for that happening. Regardless, I'll fight the good fight.

Originally Posted by Healthgirl

This just goes to show the difference in how different the metabolic problems associated with nerve damage are despite how similar the symptoms are. Low sodium diet would probably kill me. The amount of salt I have to consume to keep my blood pressure in the (still to low) normal range is embarrassing. I have to eat it, and chug electrolyte tabs. Today I had a spinach chia protein smoothie for breakfast and I'm already crashing due to the fact that I had no salt. Feel terrible. I literally have found that I feel better after a pile of chips over a low sodium grilled chicken salad, so I've learned how to use that salt shaker. My doctor says I should be on 10-20g of salt a day. It doesn't fix me, but it keeps me off the floor a little longer.