Hi @neuroliz -- Welcome to Connect.
Have you looked into stem cell treatment for some form of neuropathy? Are you able to share your diagnosis?

One has to be very careful when considering Stem Cell therapy... some is not real... but here are two links to some work at Mayo.. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/bone-marrow-transplant/in-depth/stem-cells/art-20048117

Hi @neuroliz

I'm 69, and have idiopathic small fiber polyneuropathy and am in the early stage of autonomic neuropathy.

There's a very long list of medications a person could take that might relieve the burning pain of neuropathy. The list of medications most commonly used and are used specifically for neuropathy isn't that long. But a pain specialist has a long list of medications that are intended for treating other things, but will sometimes give relief from neuropathy pain (called off-label use).

Many people find a medication right off the bat that gives them relief. I'm unfortunately not part of that group. I've been trying one medication after another for a very long time. Some of them did nothing, some had unacceptable side effects, some of them helped with the pain but had unacceptable side effects, up to putting me in the hospital, some of them worked a little bit. My journey has included all of the above.

I found a few years ago that morphine sulfate contin made my pain more bearable, but I try to take as little as possible. Last fall my pain specialist moved on down his list to the next to the last medication, and I finally found something that helps noticably - imipramine. I still have days when the pain is up to 8, but it's not constant.

In June of 2017, I had a Burst DR spinal cord stimulator implant. A one week trial is required, and I had 80% relief! It was wonderful! I had forgotten how that had felt. A few weeks later I had the permanent implant and after the surgical site healed, I began a year of level 2-3 pain. After a year, the pain started returning, and since then I've been having the stimulator adjusted every 3 months. I know that it's still helping, but I experience pain at between 2 and 6, depending on what activity I'm doing. The next thing I'm considering is a dorsal root ganglion stimulator implant because it can target nerves with greater accuracy, working more specifically on the nerves involved.

So, that's what I've been doing for the neuropathy over the past ten years. The progression has been, first the tingling in my feet and legs, then added pain in the balls of my feet, becoming more of a burning pain, then it spread to include the top of my feet, to where it is now, from my toes to my ankles.

Did you have a similar onset? Have you tried any numbing cream or cbd oil? I suppose you've tried various medications - Gabapentin, Lyrica, etc. I've met with a number of specialists, some of them more helpful than others. I have a good pain specialist, who's been working with me for several years in, what I'm sure has been, a search for the magic pill. Some people have been having good success with medical marijuana, but my doctor has told me that if I decide to go that route he would no longer prescribe pain meds. So, that's out. But we all keep searching. I wish you well.

Jim