In general, neuropathy symptoms begin with lack of sensation, prickling in the toes or fingers, and continue to extend to the feet and hands, causing burning sensation and severe pain, which is particularly acute at night time. Neuropathy pain is usually symmetrical, meaning one would have the pain on both sides of the body –on both feet and both hands, for example. Peripheral neuropathy usually develops suddenly. Symptoms include numbness, where patients feel as if they are wearing invisible gloves, acute pain, excessive sensitivity to pain, muscle weakness, loss of balance, high or low blood pressure, trouble with moving muscles, lack of sleep due to pain, and atypical sweating. The type of symptom of peripheral neuropathy depends on the nerves that are damaged, and this depends on the origin of the disease. Two causes of neuropathy are diabetes and alcoholism.

Symptoms for diabetic neuropathy include numbness, tickling or pricking pain. Some cases of diabetic neuropathy show no symptoms at all, while others can be so sudden, that they cause immediate disability. The pain may be either unbearable, or cause insensitivity to any kind of pain, both of which are dangerous. Neuropathy pain may also be mild at the start and go unnoticed, but over a period of time, it could be come severe and complicated. Diabetic neuropathy could cause urinary and gastrointestinal problems, weakness, and problems with sexual organs.

Symptoms for alcoholic neuropathy include sharp pains, lack of sensation, urinary control, feeling like the bladder is not completely empty, problems with starting to urinate, muscle spasms, lack of ability to tolerate normal body heat, nausea, constipation and impotence. Other notable symptoms can be drooping eyelids, varying tone of voice while speaking, difficulty with swallowing, and problems with speech itself in some cases.

Neuropathic pain may be sudden or gradual; it manifests in different ways, depending on its origin (such as with diabetes or alcoholism). What is common to all neuropathy, however, is the danger to and the suffering of the patient, who ought to seek treatment as soon as they are aware of the problem.