Hi, I'm a 26 year old male who was recently diagnosed to have peripheral neuropathy which is quite painful.

I've been told that stress & diabetes are causes for PN. Anyways i've done my blood sugar tests & they are absolutely normal. What i'm really concerned about now, is the PN. Are you aware of a forum that deals with PN or do you have some info on it?

I'm right now on medication with a dosage of drugs that i need to follow for 2 weeks. I have sharp tingling & stinging pain in my fingers & feet & at times it's quite painful, especially when i drive & use the computer & these are 2 things i can't stop doing, coz i need to drive to work & then use the comp there! Most of the time alongwith the pain in the fingers, parts of the hand especially, go numb & then when i go & immerse my hands in some warm water they feel better!

I was also quite stressed out recently about having contracted HIV. Infact one of the reasons the doctor suggested the DNA PCR was because i was having severe symptoms resembling peripheral neuropathy which i was diagnosed with henceforth! He said PCR test would helpful in understanding the etiology of the PN i have been having, i.e. to either consider or rule out HIV for the time being since i thought i was at risk.

Now after the Low-risk analysis & the negative PCR test result at 26 days, he feels HIV may not be the cause & he also told me that PN generally occurs in late HIV disease & is generally caused as a medication side effect. Could anyone tell me what could be causing this?...I still have to confirm my HIV result with antibody tests in a few weeks, but i'd really like to know if PN does occur in such early phases of HIV infection.


My doc feels it could be stress related. I do smoke , but I drink very rarely.

Please help me out!

Lee J!

P.S. PN=Peripheral Neuropathy!

Hi, I'm a 26 year old male who was recently diagnosed to have peripheral neuropathy which is quite painful.

I've been told that stress & diabetes are causes for PN. Anyways i've done my blood sugar tests & they are absolutely normal. What i'm really concerned about now, is the PN. Are you aware of a forum that deals with PN or do you have some info on it?

I'm right now on medication with a dosage of drugs that i need to follow for 2 weeks. I have sharp tingling & stinging pain in my fingers & feet & at times it's quite painful, especially when i drive & use the computer & these are 2 things i can't stop doing, coz i need to drive to work & then use the comp there! Most of the time alongwith the pain in the fingers, parts of the hand especially, go numb & then when i go & immerse my hands in some warm water they feel better!

I was also quite stressed out recently about having contracted HIV. Infact one of the reasons the doctor suggested the DNA PCR was because i was having severe symptoms resembling peripheral neuropathy which i was diagnosed with henceforth! He said PCR test would helpful in understanding the etiology of the PN i have been having, i.e. to either consider or rule out HIV for the time being since i thought i was at risk.

Now after the Low-risk analysis & the negative PCR test result at 26 days, he feels HIV may not be the cause & he also told me that PN generally occurs in late HIV disease & is generally caused as a medication side effect. Could anyone tell me what could be causing this?...I still have to confirm my HIV result with antibody tests in a few weeks, but i'd really like to know if PN does occur in such early phases of HIV infection.


My doc feels it could be stress related. I do smoke , but I drink very rarely.

Please help me out!

Lee J!

P.S. PN=Peripheral Neuropathy!
I have been living with HIV for many years. I also have peripheral neuropathy in both legs & feet, & I noticed the other day that my hands are becoming effected. My PN is caused (they think) by my HIV meds. I have gone to a Pain Clinic & I learned some ways to deal with the pain. Is there a pain specialist in your area? For me going to neurolgists to figure out WHY I have PN became less important. PN is also just another issue that goes with having HIV. I finally figured out that the why really does not matter all that much, & learning to cope with the pain is much more important. If you'd lke to know some of the ways that I cope with PN &/or HIV, I'd be glad to share.