I asked the same question, why are my feet so numb,yet the nerve pain is unbearable.
I recently broke my left ankle, the bone came thru and yet I felt no pain.
I even felt no post operative pain either.
They all looked at me as if I was crazy.
Someone said my neuropathy was a blessing in desguise in that respect.
I take Tramadol 50 mg at bedtime, along with Tylenol.
That helps me sleep or else I’d be going crazy with my nerve pain.

I was on gabapentin taking the max dose and still had pain everyday. My doctor here at Mayo changed it out and now on Lyrica and desipramine. It helps enough to tolerate the spikes most the time but I still get a couple spikes a week that can be quite strong. I agree at bedtime is the worst. The best way I can describe it to people is, when I was a mechanic for almost 30 years the closest feeling to the neuropathy pain spikes is like getting shocked by an ignition coil or a spark plug wire.

Hi, @ladyhawke855 ~
It sounds like you are looking for some non-prescription choices. For a number of years I found that Watkins Pain Relieving Liniment Spray was the only topical application that took away some of the pain at night. It must be the peppermint oil or possibly eucalyptus that cools the burning. Here in the Midwest, it can be found at some Menards, in a Watkins products kiosk. I believe there are still home representatives that sell to interested customers, too.
For a few years now, I have been on Pregabalin (Lyrica) and Tramadol every 8 hours and they really keep the pain at bay most of the time, especially at night. It is so much easier to handle challenges in the daytime if one can just get a few hours of sleep at night!
In the end, I believe it is a matter of trying whatever is available to you, to find what will work in your own personal situation. It's a real puzzle. God's blessings to you!
Barb