[elijesse]

I had bilateral MN December 17 2007. I had what I considered to be normal post op pain. My surgeon told me to wear the post op boot for at least 6 wks from my first post op visit (Dec 27) I returned to work against his better judgement 3 wks post op. Yesterday I noticed one foot felt very cold and I had the sensation of an electrical shock in my foot and toes. I could barley apply any pressure to the ball of my foot, today my foot is cold (literally) and the pain is much worse. Prior to my surgery, my toes and ball of foot always had the sensation of being cold, but the foot was normal temperature. I am scheduled to see my surgeon on Feb 5. Am I feeling "normal" post op discomfort? Has anyone else had this same experience. My foot literally feels as if it is in a bucket of ice. The pain is sharp and relentless. Help...
thanks elijesse

[alwaysunderfoot]

elijessee, Hi! I am 28 days post op for MN surgery and I know exactly what you're talking about! I thought it was just me! My surgery foot (left) feels absolutely frozen. It used to take spells burning but that doesn't happen as much anymore. I feel the 'shock' sensation to if I move my foot a certain way. It wakes me all hours of the night. Sorry but I don't know if it is normal or not. I go back for my 6-week visit Feb. 6. It seems like my foot feels even more frozen when I have my shoes on. That doesn't make sense does it?
Debbie

[elijesse]

alwaysunderfoot....I called and spoke to my doc's nurse this AM, she said that likely I am feeling "nerves regenerating" and that approximatley 50% of their pts call in with this complaint. She said that it could last a week or several months. How reassuring! She sugg I try Lyrica, I have tried the drug in the past and had severe side effects. She had no other sugg or words of wisdom. Today is the same as far as the "shocking" sensation goes. I could not sleep last night....after reading so many negative posts I am concerned that I have created a long term problem that I will not be able to fix. Before surgery I worked out 5-6 days a week, over a 12 month period I worked off 22 lbs. Now, I can't do anything, hopefully this is short term, and soon I will be able to return to my life before MN.
I hope that you find relief soon. Believe me, I understand how surprisingly uncomfortable this is...
Bev

[alwaysunderfoot]

Bev, I considered calling my dr. today but didn't think it would help. Seems like all they say is that its normal for this kind of surgery. I wish I'd have known alot of this before I had it. Still I'm hopeful that it'll just take time. I've heard of alot of people taking Lyrica but I've never tried it and honestly wouldn't want to. Most drugs cause me more trouble than they're worth. Then again, several months of this may change my mind! Hopefully it won't be that long for either of us. Hope you have a better night tonight.
Debbie

[elijesse]

Debbie,

Lyrica made me very dizzy, I couldn't even sit up in bed without assistance. It was not a good experience at all. I spent a full day trying to get over the initial dose. I won't do that ever again.
I guess we are in this for better or worse. I wish you a speedy, pain free (as much as possible) recovery. I think my doc, and from what I've read, several other doctors have been less than direct when explaining the "real" recovery that should be expected. If I knew then what I know now, I can't say that I would have opted out of the surgery, but now I have no choice. There's no going back.
Thank you for the good thoughts. Hang in there, it has to get better, right?
Bev

[alwaysunderfoot]

Bev, Hi! How are you doing today? I was just thinking that your surgery was only eleven days before mine. Do you think we're just being to impatient and doing a little too much? You sound kind of like me in that you walked so soon. Do you still wear the boot? I didn't have a boot. I only had a surgery shoe. My "blue suede shoe" I call it! I started wearing my tennis shoes last week. I have to go back to "the shoe" sometimes late in the day though.
Is your foot still freezing? Mine is right now. I wonder if they'll ever feel warm again? Thanks for your posts. I enjoy having people who understand to grumble to.
Debbie

[elijesse]

Debbie
I feel certain that I did push things by doing too much, too soon. I have 3 small children, and I'm a single mom, so I didn't have a choice, I had to go back to work. I am still wearing the boots. I have tried to wear shoes a few times, but the following day my feet hurt terribly. I am very impatient with myself. I forget that at my age, I will not bounce back instantly like I once did. My foot actually feels a bit better today, I started massaging the bottom of my foot on Friday, I read that a few people tried this and it seemed to help them, so I figured it couldn't feel any worse, so I went for it.
I still can't walk bare foot. It is very uncomfortable. I bought a pair of fur lined Crocs. I thought they would help keep my feet warm. I plan on wearing them to work, guess I'll see how that goes.

The one thing I know for sure is if I allow my feet to get cold, then it is virtually impossible to get them warm. I've even considered buying a pair of battery powered hunting socks. The only problem is, they are designed for men, and I have very small feet, so they will swallow me. I guess desperate times call for despeate measures. I wear 3-4 pair of socks to keep my feet warm. Unfortunatley, the "cold" that I feel is not always temperature, it is nerve damage, and nothing can stop that.

Thank you for checking in, I hope you get warm, especially the feet. I sincerely know exactly how that feels.
Bev

[alwaysunderfoot]

Bev,
I'm glad that you feel better today. The massage may be a good idea. I try to soak my feet in hot water alot of nights just to get them warm. Maybe we could try the 'foot warmers' like men put in their boots when going hunting. I think I'll dig out a pair of my husbands and give it a try. Hope you continue to improve.
Debbie

[Rezwalker]

I go into the Doc on Friday. With some of these printed sheets in my paws. I kept thinking if I had the option of surgery I would basically go for it. Bunion surgery was a breeze, I was walking without crutches by the end of the week, and with normal shoes in 10 days. Yea! it hurt, but... what can I say. Pain is pain, I try to get by it. Reading your posts I just don't know anymore. I'm scheduled for 2 big hikes this year, Havasupai- in Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Both are tremendous hikes and lots of pounding. I received 2 shots (one in each foot) a month ago and the pain basically is gone, I feel a bit of numbness once in awhile, but I'm able to walk to work (2 mi) and walk home, do errands and try to get in 5 miles a day. Those 2 upcoming hikes are my inspiration and rite now after reading your posts, I'm wondering if I can just get along without the surgery option, can't be any worse (well maybe it could). Thank you so much for writing your experience, it will be give me something to think about until Friday.

[elijesse]

Rezwalker.....

My conclusion about surgery vs. no surgery is this. It seems this condition will not improve without some type of intervention. The only known long term intervention at this time is surgery. I had injections, I opted out of buying very expensive custom orthotics, the shot helped for a few weeks, but eventually the pain came back, again and again. I must admit that in the past few days my pain and discomfort have improved. I have massaged the heck out of the bottom of my foot. I don't know if that helped, or if it is happenstance that it feels better. Who even knows.

Seems it is a gamble. If you don't have surgery, then while on your hike you could have great difficulty, but if you do have the surgery you might not be able to do the hike at all.Maybe the best choice is to have the injection just before doing the hike. It's a gamble, it seems each peson has a very different recovery experience. Some are very legthy and painful, others seem to breeze through. I return on February 5th to see my doc. I have to get back to some type of physical activity, I cannot keep doing what I'm doing. I have been down long enough.

Ask you doc every question you can think of. My doc told me the following when I inquired about what to expect post operatively....he said "give me 10 good days off your feet", wear the boots for at least 6 weeks. That was the extent of his post op explanation. Obviously, there's more to it than that.

I wish you well, and I hope that whatever decision you make, it offers you much relief and causes you little disruption in your life. There is nothing more frustrating than being very active, and suddenly having that taken away.

Please keep in touch, I would like to know how things are going for you...
Bev