I'm glad I could give you hope. My story is quite different from yours. My neuropathy manifested as burning pain in my hands and feet. I lived with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia for about six years before being correctly diagnosed, by skin punch biopsy. I had 3 biopsies on each leg - ankle, knee area and upper thigh. They actually count the number of nerve fibers.
Eight years from my initial noticeable symptoms (I say noticeable, because looking back prior to that, I had many weird neuromuscular issues), my overall activity has decreased due to pain and weakness.
But you are describing symptoms of "large fiber" neuropathy. I can think of two people on this forum with that - NJ Ed @njed and Ray Kemble @ray666 - and am going to tag our moderator, John Bishop @johnbishop. I have seen Ed's posts about a brace for foot drop that he wears in his shoe. Ray seems to have similar mobility issues as you.