The difference between.....
 

Peripheral Neuropathy and neuropathic pain (burning, buzzing, electrical currents, icy sensations, etc)?

Peripheral Neuropathy has diminished reflexes whereas neuropathic pain does not??? The presence or absence of knee and ankle reflexes determines whether one has PN, as a simple rule of thumb???? I don't know, I'm just asking!

Can anyone clarify the demarcation between the two.....please?

I am clueless but thought PN was a type of neuropathic pain. My PN was dx in my emg/nc/ssep not with my reflexes cause they can never get them as I am too tense and now I don't allow it.

I thought neuropathic pain was a pain that essentially was all in your head, but still quite painful.
(pain with no known cause)

Peripheral neuropathy causes pain as well.. like the small fiber neuropathies are quite common with burning pain.
I know a lot of the diabetic neuropathies cause the burning.
From what I have read anyway.

My own neuropathy doesn't cause any pain.. just numbness.

And someone please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
I'm just going by things that I think I recall.

Neuropathic pain--
 

--is different from "normal" or nociceptive pain in that the pain is not a response to other damaged tissue, but is due to damage of dysfunction to the nerves themselves. Abnormal firing patterns caused by demyelination or axonal damage can well be interpreted as pain by the brain--or as numbness, tingling, or a host of other weird sensations (parastheses) depending on the location and severity of the damage.

Neuropathic pain can be generated either through peripheral nerve dysfunction of through brain/spinal cord dysfunction (such as in multiple sclerosis); it's often difficult to distinguish the source of the pain unless there's extensive investigation, as they can "feel" the same.

Moreover, peripheral nerve dysfuction is NOT necessarily characterized by disruption in reflexes--again, it depends on where the damage is. Many small-fiber syndromes leave reflexes intact (reflexes involve larger fibers). And certainly brain/spinal cord dysfunction can cause reflex disruption (or not, again based on location).