Hi, I am a 53 year old female, 180 lbs, 5 6 1/2 I had two sons in there mid 30 s. About 6 years ago my feet started giving me so much pain, it became impossible to walk on them, I would have to fix meals and do dishes on a chair on my knees, even use the electric carts in grocery stores. I would get out of bed in the morning and it hurt to put my feet on the floor, I would have to scoot to get going through the pain, I was good for about 3 or 4 hours before the whole foot x 2 would start to cramp with pain enveloping the ankle and up the arches,, also painful tingling or buzzing, numbness, blood vessels would burst if I wore the wrong shoes, sandals or anything binding. so I had to change the type of shoes I wore to friendlier ones. My feet also felt swollen, didn t look real swollen though, I have bright red and yellow looking blotchy colored skin on the soles now, looks like not getting proper circulation, (it is pressure discoloring)I saw a neurologist after seeing a spine dr and having an mri on my spine to see if it was causing problems, because i started having lower back problems close to the same time, degenerative disc decease. My neurologist said I have fibromyalgia , I asked what that was? Nerve damage and arthritis combination she said. Then later said Peripherol neuropathy, I do have painful hands too. No signs bony arthritis in joints, in fact looking at me you would not guess anything was wrong. I am in a lot of pain with my feet. My dr. also says my reflexes seem to be diminished from feet up to the knees, along with the poke test, bee sting feeling from my feet up to my knees. I hate feeling so limited, I was always very active, working. I cooked in restaurants and owned an antique store, was a construction flagger for awhile. Please feel free to ask any questions, I may have forgot to mention something. Oh! My spine specialist, called me the next day after the mri and told me to get into a Reumatoid arthritis Dr. as soon as possible. And gave me a referral, but when I called the rheumatoid Dr. said my case wasn t bad enough or something. so I never got to go. I mentioned to my Nuerologist and family Dr. and both said my numbers or something did not warrant any further concern in that area. I am on Gabapentin and Diclofenac. (I started simvastatin last year) and had my gallbladder out 4 yrs ago? and partial hysterectomy in 1997 My mother and Grandmother have and had a terrible bent(hump) backs, there is a name for? some kind of arthritis I think? I have forgotten right now. But no history of Nueropathy. I used a stripper in the antique business, and anesthesia for dental work. also was using a lot of stuff to treat copd when I was smoking which I quit about 6 years ago, too, after a bout of punemonia, I had asthmatic brochitus quite a bit and had to take a lot of steroids for that. But when I quit smoking(a pack a day) My lungs have cleared up and no more problems there. I am not a drinker. I don t take the Gabapentin 3 times a day because of foggy headedness, I only take twice and live with some painful buzzing, like now, almost unbearable. I can t have weight on my feet when laying in bed or sitting on a recliner nothing, no pressure against the bottom of my feet, the irritation is too great! As long as I am moving it isn t as bad, but I couldn t be on my feet constantly, for a job say. Well that is a start. I am sure I will think of other things I should have added. But it is a starting point. Thanks! Hurting here, Sharon P.S. I would love to treat the cause and not just the symptom! Thanks!