Morton's Neuroma

[Joanie324]

Before I blow off my HMO and drive to Glendale and pay out of pocket I want to make sure I understand. Does the cryosurgery REMOVE the neuroma or just numb it and leave it there? One of my adjacent toes is bent (told it was muscle imbalance caused by neuroma) and there's no chance of it being corrected if the neuroma is still there. It cryo doesn't remove it I may as well opt for surgery. My toe hurts more than the neuroma now - the neuroma only hurt recently after I taped the wayward toe back in place so they are definitely aggravating each other.

[texasrd]

As far as I know, the nerve is still there. So - it does seem to this untrained person that given what you describe, you may need something more than just the cryosurgery. The doctor in Glendale has been in practice for over 30 years though, so it might be worth your time to get a consult. Not sure what that would cost.

My foot is doing pretty good, but since the doctor said if wasn't 100% to go back - I will. I'm somewhere between 90 - 97%, which, for anyone with MN, is pretty darn good.

Good luck to you.

[marcy]

Texas,

I'm curious how long you had your nueroma before the cryosurgery. Also, on a scale of 1-10, what would you say your pain level was before the cryo.

I have neuromas in both feet. I had traditional surgery in December on my right foot and developed a stump neuroma. I travelled over 200 miles this past week up to Washington to meet with a cryosurgery podiatrist. He was great! I'm seriously considering doing this, but he wants me to do some other things first to try to take care of my stump neuroma. So assuming those other things don't work, I'll be back up there in three months to do the cryosurgery (probably on both feet).

Joanie, like you I can also relate to to the nueroma causing other problems. The neuroma in my right foot has caused both bursitis and capsulitis in the the fifth toe/ metatarsal area. It is so painful, often even more painful than the original neuroma.

These feet problems have really changed my life. I used to run five days a week, and now I truly cannot even walk around the block without serious pain. The other day I went to the zoo with my husband and two small kids and I had to rent a wheelchair. I'm not trying to get sympathy or anything, I'm just wondering if you two feel like your neuromas have limited you as much, or if my case is the exception. Regardless, I am really excited about this future cryosurgery option!!!

FYI: The doctor I met with told me that some of his patients have complete relief after the first cryosurgery, and some require 2 or 3 cryosurgeries, but he said he has never had a patient who hasn't had at least partial relief from the cryos.

Marcy

[texasrd]

Marcy,

I only have MN in the right foot - great for driving, right? It's flared up off and on for about 16 years - of course, I never knew what it was and it didn't bother me enough to care until the past 2 years. I was in my husband's sister's wedding and in preparation, I started going to spin class 5 days a week. Bringing up my activity level that much aggrevated the MN to the point that it could not recover. Even then, the pain was not every day - but - when it would start, it would be a 8 - 10. I would have to sit, take off my shoe (or croc, the only thing I've been wearing since the pain got super bad). Rub my foot and even then only decrease the pain enough to get to the car or the couch and then try not to move for awhile.

Now- when I do get pain, it's about a 2 - 3 and if I wiggle my toes or rest for a brief period of time it will go away. My husband thinks it will get worse and I tend to agree. The pod. I went to offered to do the cryosurgery a second time for free and the surgery was 100% pain free. So - I'm up for it.

I go to Chicago tomorrow and then when I get back, I'm going to try and schedule it again.

Tell me more about the stump neuroma. I can imagine your disappointment. Every time I have even the slightest foot pain I ask, "When is this going to end?" It's very disheartening. I see friends running and I don't dare do that kind of activity. We've been walking a few times and my foot does hurt afterwards, but with a quick recovery. Still- I want 100% and I guess I'll keep chasing that :)

[allegria]

Thanks for the information. I didn't find a pod who performs cryo in Colorado, but there is one in Albuquerque that I am going to see on Monday. He says he will evaluate first, & if I am appropriate then come back the next day for the cryo.

[marcy]

allegria,

Good luck with your cryo appointment. Please keep us posted on everything.

Texas,

To answer the question about the stump neuroma. It is quite painful. It starts farther back than the original neuroma, but is even more sensitive. It feels like there is a live wire in my foot, and I can get my 4th toe to get a shocking feeling by just shaking my foot. Even if it bumps against something, there is a shock sent to my fourth toe. You can imagine how it feels when I just step on it. I really wish I had done the cryo before considering traditional surgery. If the cryo doesn't work for me, I may eventually have to look at doing the surgery from the bottom of my foot--uggh!

Anyway, I hope your next appointment completely eliminates your pain. I imagine we are all looking to pain free foot days ahead!

Marcy

[klr]

Hey Marcy and others - I started taking Lyrica last week and things have improved. In the morning there is little pain - AND I didn't take any pain meds yesterday - that is a big accomplishment for me. I am afraid it will just work for a time (like the neurontin and cortisone injections) but I am enjoying it while it lasts. I have an appointment March 12 with a neurologist who does cryosurgery - I don't know if I am a candidate - but I want to learn about it. PLEASE keep me posted on how yours turns out.

Karen

[allegria]

Karen, Texas, and All - Thanks for your interest and support. Yesterday I woke up without any pain, and thought, maybe I don't really need to do this..then I put my feet on the floor to take the first step, and thought..Yeow!! Who do you think you're kidding? Anyway, I am really looking forward to my eval. in Albuquerque this coming Monday, and will let you all know how it goes!

[Sarandan]

Thanks for the information. I didn't find a pod who performs cryo in Colorado, but there is one in Albuquerque that I am going to see on Monday. He says he will evaluate first, & if I am appropriate then come back the next day for the cryo.

Hi Allegria,
I'm so glad I found my way to this forum! I also live in Colorado, and after reading a bit tonight about some people's bad experiences with normal surgery for neuromas I was excited to learn about the cryosurgery alternative. All the posts I've seen here and on other podiatry sites about cryosurgery have been very positive. So I started looking for a practitioner in CO and like you I haven't been able to find one. I'll look forward to hearing about your experience in Albuquerque next week. I hope it's a good one for you! Can you tell me the Dr. and/or clinic that you're going to?

[allegria]

Well, I had my appt. for cryo in Albuquerque on Tues. 3/12. Just a little background... I sustained a spiral fracture of my 5th metatarsal about 2-1/2 yrs. ago, & it never healed (nonunion fracture). So I had surgery by my local pod in Colo. Springs about 6 mos. after the fracture. He put some screws in it, Then a 2nd surgery about 5 mos. later when it was healed, to take out the screws & cut off the 5th metatarsal head, since I did not have a joint left there & it would not bend. Anyway, from them on I had "neuritis" - with physical therapy for 3 mos., then a diagnosis of morton's neuroma & custom orthotics prescribed to support & spread the metatarsal heads with a metatarsal bar. That seemed to work for about 6 mos. until my physical activity was back to normal - ie, daily walking, & hiking in the Colo. mountains 2-4 hrs. 1x/wk. I had full length orthotics, and noticed all my toe tips were bruised after a hike, so went in to see my podiatrist again. As well as the toe hematomas, my neuroma between the 3rd/4th toes was bigger, and about a "5" on a pain scale, and it, too, had a hematoma. My podiatrist cut my orthotics down to 3/4 length, hoping that would relieve the pressure on my toe tips. I also quit hiking and walking, hoping to heal the hematomas. One month into this regimen, the Morton's Neuroma really flared up - I guess due to the change in the orthotic, since I was no longer walking except around the house as needed. I would estimate pain to be an 8-9 on a pain scale . If I was on my feet more than 10 mins - it felt like someone was pounding on toes 3, 4, & 5 with a sledge hammer. By this time, I was ready for more aggressive measures to fix the pain, and elected surgery..until I had my pre-op appt. & found out about the liklihood of developing a stump neuroma with surgery thru the top of the foot - not recommended by my podiatrist. He stated the better approach to be plantar (bottom of the foot) with a 2-3" incision to remove the nerve, along with 3 mos. (I think) non-weight bearing, followed by physical therapy. that's when I started looking for other options, and found this site! Anyway, I did see the pod in Albuquerque - Dr. Theodore Varoz (on Caldelaria & 12th Street, for anyone needing to know his location). I liked him immediately, and appreciated his candid assessment and impressions. He felt I may have a stump neuroma from the previous 5th metatarsal surgery. If you've reviewed the literature, I suppose you may have read the study which indicated an impression that if the neuroma is 20mm or larger, cryo may not be effective in "reaching" the nerve, in essence. Anyway, sonography found mine to be 24 mm, and Dr. Varoz gave me about 50/50 odds of cryo being effective in alleviating my pain. He also felt I may have either a foreign body embedded in the mass on the bottom of my neuroma, or a plantar's wart. Boy, I'll tell you when it rains, it pours! I did elect to have the cryo, and also to have a small section of the neuroma mass on the bottom of my foot removed to make sure there wasn't anything in there. Anyway, I am now back home - I have 3 stitches in the bottom of my foot where some of the mass was removed, so that is pretty sore, and it is still too soon to determine the effectiveness of the cryo. Of the 2 procedures, the cryo was definitely the easiest! I will keep you all posted, and hope you may find some of this information useful! - Allegria