I'm two years out from chemotherapy for breast cancer. I'm enjoying a fine remission, however I've been told my sundry symptoms indicate neuropathic pain. My fingers and toes buzz and tingle. I also frequently have what behaves like gouty arthritis in my feet and hands. My uric acid levels are generally good when this happens. I get more and more confused about the nature of this condition. I'm also pretty discouraged.

I was caught in a crossfire and got shot 7 times, 2 to the torso, 2 to the left arm and 3 to the right thigh. I was also injured in the grenade blast, multiple fragments to my entire body. I was inside a car then that crashed on a 30 feet cement wall causing concussion and abrasions. I've been diagnosed with Neuropathic & Nociceptive Chronic Pain Syndrome. This was 23+ years ago.

Diabetes (Type 1) was the cause of my neuropathic pain. For a few years the pain in my calves (left more than right) was more of an irritation than a disability, but about three years ago, after a serious hypo which I over-treated (too much orange juice) I found I could not walk at all. For almost a year I was unable to walk more than a few yards without crippling pain, but after a few months I was able to ride a bicycle, and now I can walk a couple of miles (though not very fast) and I can ride my bicycle for an hour or more. The pain is still there, and it is worse when I walk, but it is never as severe as three years ago. I think the daily yoga is helping.

Adult-onset diabetes. Classic stocking-mitten distribution, with numbness now radiating up my arms and legs. Requires pregabalin and hydrocodone for relief of burning pain in my feet.