Hi Ray,
I would get that rubbery feeling on my right side when I was overdoing it but that is tied to my cerebral palsy/mild spasticity and not neuropathy so not sure that helps. As far as walking around barefoot it sounds like you already know the answer - if your body is complaining, you should probably do something to alleviate the issue. I can most days shower barefoot now but otherwise I always have shoes/slippers/slides on. I do have shower slides for when my foot does complain about the shower.