A first person account of coping with this unfamiliar condition. For three years, denial of my symptoms had exacerbated to the point that I finally landed in the neurologist's office. Intensive detective work on his part gave me the name for the increasing numbness, pain and parasthesias that were affecting my feet and hands-peripheral neuropathy. Determining the Cause Diabetes is a major cause of neuropathy, accounting for about one-third of cases. Other lesser known, but common causes are the result of alcoholism and metallic poisons, as well as nutritional deficiencies.
Radiation treatments can sometimes trigger neuropathy years later.
Since my cancer was treated with surgeries, radiation was ruled out as a cause. Though not a rare condition, it is listed in the National Organization for Rare Diseases because of the many requests for information that the organization receives. Information on peripheral neuropathy is hard to come by and is not often written about in lay publications. It has been estimated that about two million persons in the United States live with this disorder. Polyneuropathy is an umbrella term for most neuropathies.