Severe pain, burning in feet and ice cold hands

[quietcorner]

Is this peripheral neuropathy?

I'm mid 70s and lucky so far, in the 10 years I've been diagnosed it's the tremors that get me most, then stiffness, rigidity, and balance. I haven't needed to see a specialist because the Sinemet has helped, for the most part. Also I walk daily about 1.5 miles and that helps.

However not too long ago I started to notice a problem with my feet, and now it is so bad I can't tolerate it much longer. It's so bad that I can't sleep. I'm miserable, and I don't know where to start. We don't have any neurologists close by. I did call one in the city closest to me and I can get in at the end of March, it's middle of January now. Best I can do.

My feet are always burning and tingling. They are bubbling with pain. They are always cold and white or blue. When I am stationary it gets worse and at night it's unbearable. The only thing that seems to help at night is putting my feet in a certain position. Walking around in the daytime helps because I'm concentrating on walking, but I can still feel pain. Also my hands are always cold and purple.

I don't have diabetes or any heart issues that I'm aware of. I'm not a big guy. I eat well, don't smoke or drink.

1) Who should I go to for this? In our locality we have a Primary Care who I'm seeing tomorrow. Blood work to make sure nothing is wrong. Should I see a podiatrist to take a look at my feet? We have a cardiologist. Anyone else?

2) My wife is bugging me to go get a PET or DAT or some kind of scan of the brain, she says it might pinpoint the areas with the least dopamine. Her uncle had some such test done and it helped him, she says. There's a national Parkinson's Medical Center about 5 hours away, but I'm not sure they can do anything that the local docs here can do with meds and get the same results. I mean, is there really any solution to these problems?

3) My wife says maybe brain stimulation might help, but I don't want to have electrodes put into my brain, unless I have to. Would that possibly help my cold hands and feet?

4) I Think this could be restless legs syndrome but in my feet. Has anyone heard of this?

Thanking you for any suggestions.

[MarionP]

Acute Raynaud's??? If so, in view of the acuity, your digits might be at risk of gangrene or amputation, which might also not necessarily stop the pain either in future...in case it might be the case, see your emergency physician, GP or someone else who can see you right away.

[park_bear]

Agree that you need to be seen and diagnosed right away. Your general practitioner should be sufficient for this. Strikes me as more likely a circulatory issue than peripheral neuropathy, but since you're having blood work done anyway, have your B6 and B2 levels checked.

[chartist]

I agree with the previous two replies about getting a diagnosis from a doctor as soon as possible. It appears that it could be a circulatory or nerve issue or both as both have shown the ability to produce the symptoms you describe. It also appears that you may have a bit of a wait to see the doctor. While you are waiting for that appointment, it might be helpful to try applying melatonin lotion to just one of your feet to see if it can offer any relief. By applying to just one foot, you will have a basis for comparison and readily know if it is helping or not. Why melatonin? Melatonin has shown the ability to help prevent vascular damage and help repair damaged nerves in studies. Melatonin has also shown the ability to increase blood flow in the arms.

Here is a study link describing how melatonin can help with peripheral nerve repair :

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Here is a relevant study quote :

' Highlights

Parkin-mediated mitophagy promotes the repair of peripheral nerves.

Parkin gene knockout aggravated mitochondrial dysfunction.

Parkin gene knockout increased the level of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species.

Parkin gene knockout inhibited autophagy flux, and increasing cell apoptosis.

Melatonin acts as an agonist of Parkin to promote peripheral nerve repair in vitro and in vivo.'

Topically applied melatonin lotion also has some analgesic activity also.

I wrote about how to easily make melatonin lotion at home here :

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

This is not a treatment, just a stop gap measure that might be worth trying to help you get through until your soonest doctor's appointment. It may also help you sleep!

Art

[MarionP]

Oh and by the way you can also get peripheral neuropathy from pernicious anemia (which will retard absorption of B12 which you do need to have for nerve health), which can typically come with aging if you were deficient in vitamin D and B12. You can even get neuropathy when you have low normal levels of these two nutrients. So they both ought to be checked as well. 2000 units of D and for B12 a variety of fruits and vegetables especially green leafy vegetables.

[quietcorner]

Hi, all. Went to my primary yesterday. He checked the pulses in both legs and said strong blood flow. He says it's neural and either nutrient deficiency or PD nerve damage. So I have a blood panel test for all B vitamins, all electrolytes, and iron, etc. Plus a visit to the podiatrist for nerve testing, and a script for gabapentin. Hopefully some relief before the neurologist appointment.