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Hello mupcat. There's much you didn't include in your post such as, is your husband a diabetic? Has he suffered a back injury? Is he subject to inflammation or stiffness in his lower back?

I have peripheral neuropathy in my feet. Mine started after my first major back surgery in 1993, and has gotten worse with three addtional major back surgeries in 2003, 2005 and 2008.

I don't feel the the bottom's of my feet most of the time. They're often "numb" and feel like I'm walking on a bumpy floor. Other times I can feel some pressure and hot/cold, but most of the time they feel numb "from the inside out."

At times I get muscle spasms down the back of my left leg that can last for minutes, hours or sometimes days.

Sometimes the neuropathy works it's way up my legs from my feet, often making my calves and knees feel "cold" and feeling like I'm getting stung by bees. Those symptoms have lasted from days to weeks before subsiding.

I can tell you that there are many causes of neuropathy and any neurologist (I've been to 5) worth their salt will tell you that the chances of ever finding the direct cause is so remote, that they typically don't even try. Trauma to the spine such as I had, chemical exposure, and sometimes genetics has a role to play. My neuropathy is complicated by having Ankylosing Spondylitis, an inflammation disease which causes the lower spine and SI joints to spontaneously fuse or develop bone spurs. My Neurologist tends to think that my AS has contributed to my neuropathy.

There really only two pieces of advice I can give, having lived with this since 1992.

First, find a competent Neurologist / Neurosurgeon who'll make sure you receive an MRI with Contract, and a CT Scan if needed. They'll want to look for structural damage causing pressure on any nerve roots in your husband's core. He/She may also recommend a Nerve Conduction test to determine the level of Neuropathy. That same neurologist can prescribe any number of medications that will help alleviate your husbands symptoms. Keep in mind, everyone's different so it may take awhile to find what works for your husband. Some of these drugs are pretty strong and alter one's brain chemistry to "turn off" the pain/numbness signals and affect one's ability to think or be clear-headed. I can't possibly urge enough patience in finding the right drug and dose that works while allowing your husband to "feel like himself."

Second, exercise helps. Improving core strength and taking off any excess weight certainly helps take pressure off the root nerves improving their ability to heal (if they are able.) Nerves heal very slowly if they heal at all. In building the core muscles and minimizing midsection weight, we improve the chances for healing, and improve our long term ability to stay self-sufficient. Even though I have neuropathy in both my feet, I was able to recover enough sensation in my right foot to feel feedback from the gas and brake pedals in my truck and drive again.

I've also gotten well enough that I can climb ladders again with some confidence to get on my roof and work on my amateur radio antenna's when needed. It's been a VERY long road back to get to this point. I'll never have "normal" feeling in my feet again, but I can manage with what I have. Improving core strength is what did it for me, and I've had no worsening of my symptoms since working on my core strength. If anything, they've improved.

Best of luck to you and your husband, please do drop me a freepmail if you have any questions. I'm obviously not a doctor but I've had to deal with this since 1992 and have learned the questions to ask and the answers to look for.