Continued increase in foot pain/burning.
 

I've been experiencing an increase in foot pain and burning since early December, but the last couple of days, my toes have been burning constantly and they only let up for a matter of minutes sometimes and then escalate back to a higher level of discomfort. Is this normal for PN to act like this? Prior to this I seemed to stay at the same level of pain and numbness but I've also noticed an increase in the numbness. I probably shouldn't ask if its normal, but I'm hoping you understand what I mean by that, maybe it would be best to say is this a flare up, I don't know.

I have the exact same symptoms, I am at my wits end.

At least you're not alone. Have you found anything that gives you some relief? I have lidocaine patches but I can't put them on my toes :confused:

Did you try putting 1/2 patch on each instep? The top of the foot?

That is where most of the nerves are that go to the toes.
That will stop some pain. I've put them there and it works.

Lidoderms typically need to hit the longer axons to work, and not the end spot where you feel the pain.

Give that a try. They may increase numbness tho..and make walking a bit tricky. So be careful. I use them at night when I need to. But I don't often put on my feet.

I also use Biofreeze on my feet when they burn. Lately the burning has gone way down. The R-lipoic seems to really help with that. Also the theanine must be working too (started that in Aug).

I get Lidocaine Infusions, an Infusion lasts for 90mins and I get moderate pain relief for approx 3 weeks, but I only get them every 6-8 weeks! When this has worn off the pain is terrible, i have just called my doc and he has prescribed Tramadol, I have started weaning myself off gabapentin to switch to Lyrica - the pain is horrific:(. It is good to know we are not alone:D.
Have you tried alkaseltzer, they generally give me around 1hr relief, normally enough to get over to sleep. Epsom salt footbaths are good too.
Are you putting lidocaine patches on your back, I think this works for some but not me.

RE:Unusual
 

It is unusual for PN Pain and Numbness to vary that much during a day but you may be either improving or getting worse. Have you tried meds. Lyrica sounds just right for you.
Good Luck

Seasonal? From Thanksgiving on, our diet, stress levels, activities... often change significantly from the rest of the year. I know that for me, things like dairy & carbohydrates can flare my PN noticeably, and with all the parties and holiday goodies... We try to be good, but we gotta live too. Then there's the stress of shopping, relatives, rush-rush-rush.... and the change of season/weather - cold/damp (or dry). It's been a struggle since New Years to settle back down to my pre-Turkey Day levels, but this week I finally feel better again.

Have you been through any changes in routine, whether by choice or life happening, that could be at least partly responsible?

Doc

Mrs. D out of desperation last night I used biofreeze and it worked enough to let me get to sleep. I've not been instructed on how to use the lido patches for this so I'm off to put them on the instep. I already have a lot of numbness in my feet so I don't think it will give me any trouble walking but I'll watch for it. Thank you.

I had an attack of burning over a year ago...and wore the patches cut in 1/2 applied the long way over the top of the foot.

I did this for 3-5 days... in a row. (I've found in the past that pulsing Lidoderms works best for me).... I would expect you will find some relief within a couple of days. It may not be immediate, so don't give up too quickly.

I didn't expect the walking problem, and only noticed it when we visited an IKEA store. That place is a huge walking stressor IMO.
So it was an extreme test I think. Just walking around the house I didn't notice anything.

I've tried lyrica before and I can't tolerate it.

im also having burning again the last few weeks, much worse than ever before. hopefully its just a flare. funny how we are having them at the same time.

Yes it is, I wonder if its tied to the weather or changes in pressures, etc...

I am convinced the high winds are playing a part with me, we have had the worst storms in well over a decade:(

Severe drops in barometric pressure are horrible and make pain issues much worse. I get this effect and I think the majority in pain do also.

Can you further explain that theory. Is it that there is a large change in barometric pressure or just low pressure and more dense air?

I have been keeping a pain log with weather and there are websites that show you the barometric pressure for each day based on zipcode. I would like to see if there is any correlation as my pain burning pain is different from day to day with no other change in regime.

Cyclelops put up a link to a TV demonstration of marshmallows in a jar that expanded when pressure went down. This was to
illustrate, swelling of tissues and perhaps nerve pressure.

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archive...orm-is-coming/

Europe seems to track and believe this phenomenon more than US. But I always feel quite awful when there are severe LOWS...one time last winter there were FIVE of them all over the US map and I could barely walk! I totally believe it.

You can search "barometric pressure pain" and find lots of discussion about it.

My husband has SFN and with the weather changinghe is hurting really bad. Sometimes so bad he doesn't want to be touched which makes him very angry. I just don't know what to do. It is killing me that there is nothing I can do for him to make him feel better. Anything you can tell me that I could do to help him is greatly appreciated.:(

Have you tried ice packs for your nerve pain and burning? I don't know why it helps - relief should take place within 20 minutes.

I have been very good of late but actually got the worst Flare in 4 years last night exactly 1 min after drinking a can of zero coke. It was chronic and resorted to putting feet in ice water for as long and as cold as I could stand it. This calmed things down which kind of makes sense and then took a valium to sleep and some extra tramadol and this morning Nothing, no pain whatsoever easy a 1-2

Ice water when flares are chronic and meds dont help seems to work by reducing the shocks and burn back to a more comfortable level 6 or so for me anyway.

at this time of year i just go out the back door and stand on the cold stone steps for a few minutes in bare feet. feels good. 18F right now outside.