Diabetic nerve pain in feet: will burning and numbness ever go away?

What you describe fits peripheral neuropathy, but one important point first. Diabetic neuropathy is a diagnosis of exclusion. We must also look for other treatable causes.

Why you can have more symptoms than your father:

• People feel pain differently. Some get severe burning early, others stay numb without much pain.
• You may have vitamin B12 deficiency (common with long-term metformin), thyroid issues, alcohol use, smoking, low vitamin intake, or nerve compression.
• Sometimes neuropathy appears even in prediabetes, because small nerve fibres can get affected early.

Can it improve? Yes, but it depends on which symptom.

• Burning pain and tingling often improve over months when glucose is stable and triggers are treated.
• Numbness improves slowly, and sometimes does not fully reverse, because nerve fibre loss is harder to rebuild.
• If symptoms started after a rapid fall in HbA1c, it can be treatment-induced neuropathy (also called insulin neuritis). It is painful, sudden, and can improve gradually with stable control.

A simple way to think of it is your pipe example. High sugar is like hard water that damages the inside. Medicines and lifestyle reduce further damage, but the old damage takes time to settle.

What to do next:

• Check B12, TSH, kidney function, and consider nerve testing if needed.
• Aim for steady sugars, avoid big ups and downs.
• Daily foot care, proper footwear, and treat pain with evidence-based medicines as advised.