You know, I'm not sure, but believe so. I just read there is another one, but that one involves just one never (if I read that correctly) so since that doesn't seem to be the case I believe it is peripheral. Didn't want to call it that unless I knew for sure one way or the other.
I have had idiopathic neuropathy in my hands for about 20 years (first appeared for me in my late 30's). "Idiopathic" meaning, "we know you've got it, we don't know why."
Originally mine was believed to be nerve entrapment from my profession (software developer) but neither MRI nor nerve conduction studies have ever found any specific location for the entrapment.
Good news for me is that it hasn't gotten progressively worse, and in many ways was the most troublesome when I first noticed it. Once I got used to sleeping with it it's not so bad. I hope your husband will have a similar outcome (knocking wood.)
What is his history with Chicken Pox, Herpes, or Shingles? Those are degenerative causes, but they can do a lot more now with anti-viral drugs. Again, good news is that the few people I know personally found the worst case to be at the outset, as I did. There is so much uncertainty and not knowing scares the crap out of you. Plus, you actually do learn to sleep through it, or if the pain is very bad, to wake up and do something for a while until you can stand it -- like FR -- or get tired enough to go back to sleep.
Mayo Clinic's web site is good. So is neuropathy.org. You might also want to check the web site for restless leg syndrome. People who have peripheral neuropathy in the legs are much more likely to have RLS. The web page at NIH is pretty good (a little alarming, but it's a scientific description, not a support group.) http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/peripheralneuropathy/detail_peripheralneuropathy.htm
Keep us posted, and good luck.
Over 100 replies now and almost 100 different ideas.
I can’t answer specifically for your husband but I have PN caused by multiple sclerosis. It started out as a headache like pain in my legs that I thought was due to standing or walking too much at work and not enough running or walking in my free time. Advil, Tylenol, nor aspirin would touch the pain. Then my feet went numb for 2 weeks straight and when the doctor said it wasn’t diabetes I immediately went to a neurologist that specialized in MS and had a confirmed diagnosis within a week.
As someone else mentioned I was also on Gabapentin, which is the generic version of Neurontin. I was up to 3600mg a day after taking it for a year and it was still not helping the pain. I then started Lyrica (100mg/day) combined with Zanaflex which is a muscle relaxant. Since starting the Lyrica my leg twitching has subsided considerably.
I’m not going to give anyone medical advice but since he’s already been diagnosed with neuropathy it might make since to see an actual neurologist. An MRI and lumbar puncture can either confirm MS or rule it out completely.