Morton's Neuroma

[Sarandan]

Hello Allegria,
Thanks for the update. I hope your pain subsides quickly.

I'm curious about the logistics of your trip. I'm considering cryo for both feet and wondering whether this would even be possible in one visit. after the surgery did you have to be completely off of your feet, or off of the one that was operated on? Did you have anyone make the trip with you, and would it have been possible if you hadn't? Also, what did Dr. Varoz tell you to expect in terms of recovery time?

Thanks very much,
Dan in Boulder

[allegria]

Hi Dan in Boulder - In response to your questions: I am about 5-1/2 hrs. from ABQ, so your trip would be longer than mine was. That being said, the office staff was very accomodating, since I lived some distance away. My eval. appt. was later in the day on Mon., so I could drive there same day. Then I stayed overnight in ABQ, with the cryo the next day. I did stay overnight a 2nd day, just to elevate/ice and relax, but probably could have headed home, even if I had to stay at some intermediate point that night. I did drive a van, which allowed me to elevate my left foot on the dash as needed - I did not have another person along. After the procedure, you can walk on the foot as tolerated. You can wear street shoes after, but since I had stitches & bandaging on the bottom of my foot (no stitch on the top from the cryo, but bandaged) my shoe did not fit, so I was given a surgical shoe to wear. I own crutches since the darn neuroma has been so painful at times, and I am using those a little but not much. If you've had any other athletic injuries, you know the routine - NSAIDS, icing, elevation, rest. You will also need to change the sterile dressing daily for a while. If you have any other logistical questions, they are very friendly & helpful in the office. I don't know about doing both feet same day - I don't see why not, but my inclination would be to have someone else along to do the driving..but that's just me. I hope this information helps - keep me posted on how you're doing!

[Sarandan]

Thanks Allegria--very helpful. One more question: can you tell me what you paid for the procedure? I have a high-deductible health plan, so I imagine I'll be out-of pocket for most or all of it.
Thanks,
Dan

[Sarandan]

Thanks Allegria--very helpful. One more question: can you tell me what you paid for the procedure? I have a high-deductible health plan, so I imagine I'll be out-of pocket for most or all of it.
Thanks,
Dan

Oh, and (how rude of me) how is your recovery coming along?

[allegria]

Hi Dan - I had to pay the total myself, because the pod was not on my insurance's preferred provider list. Dr. Varos gave me a discount since I was private pay. All included, including the eval & ultrasound, came to a grand total of about $1,000.00 - hope this helps - Allegria

[Sarandan]

Definitely does. That's actually good news compared to what I was looking at!

[ndone]

Wow, a thousand dollars! What all did you get for that price. My husband paid $200.00 for the cryo procedure, no tests that had all been done previous when he had surgery. We are going again in two weeks for another cryo and that will be another $200.00. That is in Woodbury MN a suburb of St. Paul.How are you doing after the procedure? Did it help you?

[allegria]

Hi Ndone - You can refer back to my 3/14 & later posts if you want all the details. I still have some stitches in the ball of my foot between 3rd/4th metatarsals where the tissue was removed, so that is still sore. I have the stitches removed Mon. (in 6 days), so I remain optimistic. I can say that I am now able to wear some shoes even with the stitches ( I couldn't at all before the procedure). I also seem to have a lot less of the "creepy, crawley" sensation & inability to tolerate any textures to the bottom of my foot, which was an issue - even to find socks I could wear. The pounding feeling on toes 3 & 4 is a lot less when I take a step. I can't really roll forward too much on my toes yet to complete a step, because the stitches pull too much. I will keep you all posted & Dan in Boulder, let me know how you're doing!

[Sarandan]

Hi Allegria,
Since I'll have to fly regardless of where I go to have this procedure done, I'm thinking about going to one of the pods in Michigan or Chicago who do this, since I have family there. But I just went camping in Canyonlands last week and did a lot of hiking (>19 mi over 3 days) with very little pain. That was a surprise because in the past I've had trouble just walking the dog around the block! I took a couple of Advil each day before hiking, so maybe that made the difference. So I'm thinking that maybe I don't have this bad enough yet to do the cryo??? On the other hand, I'm going on vacation to
Guatemala this summer for 3 weeks and I really don't want a flare up to get in my way, so I guess I should go for it. Anyone out there have experience w/ a pod in MI or Chicago that does cryosurgery?
Dan

[susanmn]

Ndone: I am new to this form but noticed that you are from ND. I am from Moorhead, MN so we may not be far from each other. Anyway, I have neuroma's in both feet. After trying a lot of conservative treatment I flew down to Tampa, FL and had cryo surgery done less than 2 weeks ago. The doctor was great but from what I can tell so far it has helped some but still some pain and tingling left. I may need to have a second treatment.

Can I ask....are you having your cry re-done on April 4th? What were the results from your first treatment? You may have answered this along the way but I can't locate it.

It is always nice to communicate with others who are in the same situation and understand what we are going through!!

Thanks for any information you can share.