Over time, those fibers can degenerate and die, which means that neuropathy worsens due to the loss of more nerve fibers. This can cause increased numbness, but it usually makes the pain better. In this scenario, less pain means greater degeneration. You no longer have distractions, so all you have to focus on is your pain, which could be one of the reasons why neuropathy gets worse on some days.
Another reason your symptoms might get worse could be your hormone levels. When the body prepares to go to sleep at night, metabolism, hormonal levels and many other biochemical processes are adjusted. This may explain why neuropathy gets worse on some days and at specific times of the day. Stress and emotions can also play a role in symptoms.
Another thought behind nocturnal neuropathy has to do with temperature. At night, our body temperature fluctuates and drops a little. Most people also tend to sleep in a colder room. It is thought that damaged nerves could interpret the change in temperature as pain or tingling, which may increase the feeling of neuropathy.
Peripheral neuropathy develops when nerves in the body's extremities, such as the hands, feet, and arms, are damaged. Symptoms depend on which nerves are affected. Some cases may improve over time if the underlying cause is treated, while in some people the damage may be permanent or gradually worsen over time. If neuropathy is left untreated and worsens, numbness, tingling, and pain will worsen over time.
In addition, damaged nerves will continue to send incorrect and confusing signals to the brain more often. You may start to feel pain when there is nothing causing it. You may also not feel pain even when you have an injury or something that should cause you pain, because of the wrong signals sent to your brain. You may be at risk of developing potentially serious complications, such as a foot ulcer that could become infected.
If not treated properly and in a timely manner, the foot ulcer could lead to tissue death. In severe cases, the affected foot may be amputated. Unfortunately, fatigue is a central part of many neuropathies and especially immune-mediated neuropathies. NINDS-funded research ranges from clinical studies of the genetics and natural history of hereditary neuropathies to discoveries of new causes and treatments for neuropathy, to basic scientific research on the biological mechanisms responsible for chronic neuropathic pain.
Exercise like in the gym and weightlifting don't cause neuropathy unless you have an injury, but many neuropathies DO NOT occur in an underlying disease. The Inherited Neuropathies Consortium (INC), a group of academic medical centers, patient support organizations, and clinical research resources dedicated to conducting clinical research on Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and improving care for people with the disease, seeks to better characterize the natural background study of several different forms of neuropathy and identify genes that modify the clinical characteristics of these disorders.
