Neuropathy, specifically peripheral neuropathy, can feel like a variety of abnormal sensations and symptoms, primarily affecting the hands and feet. People commonly describe the experience as:
- Numbness or reduced ability to feel pain or temperature changes, often starting gradually in the feet or hands and potentially spreading upward into the legs and arms
- Tingling or "pins and needles" sensations
- Sharp, stabbing, burning, or throbbing pain that can be severe and sometimes debilitating
- Extreme sensitivity to touch, where even light contact, such as from a bedsheet, can cause pain
- Muscle weakness, cramps, twitching, or loss of coordination and balance due to sensory and motor nerve involvement
- Electric shock-like sensations or a burning feeling, often worse at night
- A feeling as if wearing invisible gloves or socks, reflecting altered sensation
In some cases, neuropathy also affects autonomic nerves, leading to symptoms like digestive issues, blood pressure changes, sweating abnormalities, and bladder or sexual dysfunction
. Overall, neuropathy symptoms vary depending on which nerves are affected (sensory, motor, autonomic), but the hallmark sensations include numbness, tingling, burning pain, and sensitivity changes, often starting in the extremities and potentially progressing over time
