Anyone here dealing with peripheral neuropathy?

I am 71 and have had PN since I was in my late 30s. It is familial. It has been progressive over the years. Years ago I told it “I am going to keep going, you can come along, if you want to.” I have learned to live with it.

Recently my feet have started to swell up at night, making it very difficult to sleep. I have started soaking my feet in cold water with Epson salts after my short, tepid shower. That has helped.

My feet start burning when I am reclining at night watching television and then get worse when I go to bed. Using a small ice pack on the bottoms of my feet before bed gives great relief!

I've experienced PN in both LE for over 20 years and have been prescribed Gabapentin to control chonic headaches/migraines over a lot of that time. I am currently on 1800mg/daily with several other prescriptions for that, but there has been no noticeable effect on the PN. I have also tried ALA but again, with no noticeable effect. During the interim of years, and more recently, I have tried physical therapy, acupuncture, and now trying compression stockings. Due to foot pain, I also need to wear house shoes (Skectchers) on hardwood flooring (throughout the house).
That said, I am still looking for something which may actually provide some relief from the numbness, burning, and loss of muscle & balance.

Interesting how the cold helps our feet at night. After my quick, tepid shower I soak my feet in cold water for 15 minutes. They turn all kinds of colors, but it makes them really cold and I am able to sleep.

are one of the other meds Cymbalta? i'm on 1800mg of Gabapentin and 120mg of Cymbalta. it doesn't stop the pain 100% but it makes walking and sleeping more bearable for ME.

No. Although the Gabapentin is for headache control, my neurologist just said to keep taking it and it should reduce the PN. Not much help there.

I've experienced PN in both LE for over 20 years and have been prescribed Gabapentin to control chonic headaches/migraines over a lot of that time. I am currently on 1800mg/daily with several other prescriptions for that, but there has been no noticeable effect on the PN. I have also tried ALA but again, with no noticeable effect. During the interim of years, and more recently, I have tried physical therapy, acupuncture, and now trying compression stockings. Due to foot pain, I also need to wear house shoes (Skectchers) on hardwood flooring (throughout the house).
That said, I am still looking for something which may actually provide some relief from the numbness, burning, and loss of muscle & balance.

Thanks for the info, John. I've read quite a bit on SFSN, and my symptoms are identical to everything I read on the disorder. I have no difficulty walking or moving around. Besides the gabapentin, I also take a number of supplements, including B12. That really helped the worst of the pins-and-needles and electric shock-like symptoms to dissipate when I had a flare-up a couple years ago. The only other issue I have is painful, sometimes disabling cramps in my feet and legs, mostly at night while at rest. But I think that might be a separate disorder from the neuropathy. I've heard from doctors that a lot of us "older folks" (I'm 67) have the problem, especially in the evening. It's pathetic that no one in the medical community can offer any help to the millions of people who have these problems. For me, the cramps are worse than the neuropathy. I've tried OTC creams and lotions, taking Hyland's pills, stretching exercises in the evening, massage, and even drinking pickle juice. Any other thoughts on how to combat the nighttime cramps?