Severe Neuropathy in legs and feet and not a diabetic or alcoholic

Welcome @jbb12, Wow, you have certainly been through the wringer trying different treatments to get some relief from the neuropathy symptoms. Since you mentioned they said you had some stenosis you may want to scan through the discussions on stenosis and neuropathy to see if there may be some similar experiences shared by others while you wait for members to respond. Here's a link to the different discussions - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=stenosis%20and%20neuropathy.

The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy also has a lot of helpful webinars on their YouTube channel if you want to scan through them for any topics you want to learn more about - https://www.youtube.com/@foundationforperipheralneu4122/videos.

Lastly, quite a few members have shared their experience with nerve ablations for neuropathy. It might be helpful to learn what they have shared - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/?search=nerve+ablation+%2Bneuropathy

I think you are already doing what I would be doing - learning more about your condition, asking questions and being a better advocate for your health. Did your neurologist or doctor think the next step is to try a nerve ablation?

So many suggestions from all the doctors. One said the possibility of a spinal device which is scary to me. The Pain mgmt doctor suggested the ablation.

The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy also has a good list of Complementary and Alternative Treatments that might be worth trying - https://www.foundationforpn.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Complementary-and-Alternative-Treatments-Revised-2020-final.-1.pdf

Here's something I found....regarding a rare side effect after appendectomy
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1930043323009664

Hi there. I am not sure if this will help. After shingles, then realising I have Lupus … I also have Neuro Autoimmune. If I scratch or rub my legs it feels like I have been kicked by a horse. I find if I have over done it on certain days it seems to remind me. I have learned to listen to my body at 53 and 10 years of specialists. My specialist said you can keep spending money on a title and in the end you will still be only treating the symptoms. I find Endep helps me sleep at night and is a slow release during the day. Lyrica makes me feel yuck. Gentle exercise now … Magnesium bath occasionally helps too. Oh and I find Nerve blockers in my neck and back are heaps better than burning the nerves.
Apologies if this is barking up the wrong tree but I know what it is like to be T your wits end. Take care

@jbb12
I am a 55 year old female who has had 2 spinal surgeries for neck and lower back and have small fiber/peripheral neuropathy. I am quite experienced with spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis plus working with neurologists/spine specialists and reading MRIs.

To me, it sounds like some nerves may have been impacted when they did your appendectomy. They may also have moved you during/after surgery in a way that disrupted your spine/pelvis/hips.

Did you have MRIs of your cervical/lumbar/pelvis/hips? Your cervical spine can impact your lower body, too. Did you read all reports from your MRIs to see what they say? I have found things my doctors missed/dismissed that were serious (like spinal cord flattening/stenosis which is a spinal cord compression injury that can cause permanent damage/disability). Did you get EMGs/nerve conduction studies of your lower body to see if nerve health in legs is okay? You can have back/hip/leg/foot pain/weakness/numbness coming from your spine even if EMG shows leg nerves are “normal.”

@jbb12
P.S. it sounds like you are a pin cushion. Be careful letting your doctors do treatments, especially expensive ones, if they have not properly diagnosed you. For example, they should not do spinal injections unless they know the exact level of compression causing pain. If the injection doesn’t work after 2, they may not have the right level. You don’t want them to ablate a nerve unless they know for sure that it is the right nerve causing you pain. That kills the nerve (it may grow back) but it is like shooting in the dark unless they really know the source of your pain. If your pelvis and hips have been MRId, ask them to look at your nerves near your appendectomy surgical site to see if injured or if you have a compressed blood vessel. You could possibly see a vein specialist to see if there is any testing available for this. You should also have a spine specialist look at your sacrum and joints/tendons in your pelvis to see if any joints/soft tissues are inflamed/injured and a source of your pain.

What doctor would look at the nerve MRIs, etc to see if nerve is compressed from appendectomy? I have seen a spine specialist also along with all these neurologists, so I am a point of who to go see now.

Have your doctor check your B6 level. I went through the same thing for 7 years before a new neurologist checked, my B6 was sky high. I only take a multivitamin. We stopped the vitamins and my neuropathy is getting better.

I am having Radio Frequency Ablation on September 10.
From L3-L5 on both sides of Lumbar spine. You do two trials with a drug shot into your sensory nerves. This helps to find out if their is any improvement in pain before the procedure.
I feel your pain, good health!