Hello, new here.

I'm looking for any advice on how to minimize pain and the triggers that cause it. I'd also be interested in finding anyone that suffers in a similar way to share ideas, as I've not managed to find anyone as yet.

I get random stabbing electric pain in my feet that typically lasts for 3 hours once triggered. If I can avoid a trigger, I can go days or even weeks without any pain. A few details...

-The pain can range from an annoying tickle to a severe stabbing pain that can put you on the floor.
-The worse the pain, the longer it takes to go away. This can range from a few minutes to over 3 hours.
-The pain is nearly always only in one foot at a time.
-The pain can be 'erased' by tickling/scratching the area affected, but returns within seconds if you stop.
-It slowly goes away, but can instantly return if aggravated (by standing etc.).
-There are also other types of pain, such as cramping and twitching (in the feet).
-Hot water can cause additional pain and internal (inaccessible) itching up the legs which can last for a few days. I've stopped this happening by having colder showers.

I've had this for around 10 years now. It started as an annoying tickle when at work or driving and has slowly got worse over time. The main trigger I have is sitting down. This started off a bit random but now I can't sit in a chair for more than a few seconds without triggering it. I therefore don't drive anymore and have no chance of flying.

I've found that I can sometimes get away with sitting on the edge of a seat, so the back of my thighs aren't touching it, but it's still not 100%. Sitting on a hard surface is also far better than a soft one. Anything soft, and it'll trigger. I can, thankfully, sit on a bed with my legs stretched out. It's not 100% but if I change position on first feeling pain, I can usually avoid a trigger. Sitting with my legs pulled in to one side is the safest way to avoid a trigger, but can be quite uncomfortable. This is now the only way I can ride in a car (as a passenger, of course).

I've also found that moving/exercising/changing position regularly is the best way to get through the day without a trigger. I'm lucky in that I can work from home on a computer, but I have to make sure I take short breaks regularly or I'll almost certainly trigger later in the day.

Standing for too long can also trigger it, as can sleeping on my back. I often wake up with pain after doing so unwittingly.

In the last couple of weeks, however, I've started getting triggers when standing up. This is obviously very worrying as not being able to sit or stand is a bit of a problem. I could handle not sitting, but now simple things like cooking or showering are proving to be difficult. I also don't want to leave the house as when a trigger happens, the only way of reducing the pain is to sit on the bed and tickle/scratch my feet for 3 hours. Not something you can do in public, unfortunately. The level of pain is too high to tolerate, so staying at home is the only option.

About me...

-Type 2 diabetic (20 years) that wasn't managed well for a long time (It is better now).
-Drink too much.
-Have tried Duloxetine and Amitriptyline, but got nasty side effects very quickly from both.
-Currently taking 2 x 75mg of Pregabalin a day. This really helps with the cramps/twitches (although they were never painful enough to bother me) as well as reducing the number of 'light' triggers. It doesn't stop the nasty ones unfortunately; maybe a bigger does will though.

Apologies for the book. Any comments/suggestions welcome!

Thanks!