Foot numb

[Jennnnnnnnnn]

Can any help me i dont want to have to see a doctor if i dont have too. My right foot has been numb for nearly a week 80% of the time its numb and it sometimes feels like something popping insode then it feels as if someone is pouring water on it then it goes numb again, i also suffer bad pins and needle in my legs and feet? Any ideas? Thanks

[Albasain]

It sounds like from your description of the sensations in your legs and foot that the condition is neuropathic in origin. In which case it is best to have it checked out anyway before any major damage is done to the nerves affected. I have similar sensations in both my lower legs, ankles and feet. In your case does it affect your walking?

[Jennnnnnnnnn in reply to Albasain]

Is it serious? Erm not often my legs have just gone weak and iv fallen but has only happend 3 times.

[Albasain in reply to Jennnnnnnnnn]

I have rheumatoid vasculitis which has affected my lower legs the most in that the nerve lines have been damaged ( mono neuritis multiplex to be technical). Control of the underlying cause, ie the vasculitis, generally helps and the nerves can grow back albeit slowly. What type of vasculitis have you been dxd with and what medication have you been prescribed?

[Jennnnnnnnnn in reply to Albasain]

Well i have never really seaked medical help for it i have an unnatural curve in my spine think thats when the pins and needles started i went to physio for a bit then stoppped goin its seems to be getting worse now with my numb foot. I dont take any medication for it as i have absess on my stomach so dont likw to take painkiller ect. Should maybe call the doctor on monday

[Albasain]

Good idea! Have your doctor refer you to see a specialist for spinal disorders and possibly a neurologist. It may be that it is just a disc putting pressure on a nerve. In any case have it checked out. You owe it to yourself.

[Jennnnnnnnnn in reply to Albasain]

Thank you

[Melon]

Great advice Albasain

[Hidden]

Definitely see a good doctor. You could have a blocked artery for instance. Best to get it checked.

[lillylangtree]

That is what I had after taking Singulair. I quit taking but the pins and needles just got worse to the point I started crying. My feet were also getting numb. Out of stubbornness, I called the doc but he offered no help. Finally, I was no longer able to walk, I suddenly acquired foot drop in both feet and was in the worse pain I have ever felt. It all happened very quickly. My husband drove me to my primary care doc who saw my feet, he was baffled. I had to be taken in to his office with a wheelchair and no longer able to walk. My Doc sent me to ER where I was given pain meds and admitted to the hospital I was there for several weeks and then went to acute rehab. It all started there. This is when I was actually diagnosed with Churg-Strauss/Vasculitis. I had lower leg parathesis. My immune system was attacking me. I had a lot of pain for a long time. Sending prayers to you. There is hope. I am walking now, 8 years later and was able to get off all drugs in 2007 with the help of Naturopathic Medicine. I continue to be drug free. (except asthma inhaler) Have you been diagnosed? Are you on prednisone or dmards?

Please see a rheumatologist asap! My eosinophils were way off at 29.

[JontyW]

Hi Jennnnnnnnnn,

You never told us what type of vasculitis you have since I presume you have been diagnosed since you are on this Vasculitis site?

I was dx with Churg Strauss Syndrome (CSS), which is a type of vasculitis, just over 2 years ago and am on Prednisolone 10mg now plus an immunosuppressant. The little toes on both feet have gone numb is last 6 months so have had to increase pred to prevent this. What you have described is fairly typical neuropathy due to active vascilitis. Whay are you not on any steroid (Prednisolone) or immunosuppresant drugs .. that does not seem right?

[Barnclown]

You've got some great replies, jennnn. Am grateful to you for asking this question. This discussion is helping me a lot

Am wishing you all the best with this. It isn't fun & it's not normal...seems to me your Dr's should be thinking carefully about these symptoms. I've been managing v similar symptoms for decades (pins & needles + forefoot & toe & some hand numbness + right foot drop + right sided facial neuro symptoms) ....and I think your description of the pouring water sensation is spot on (a horrid feeling)

my version of this became persistent in the 1980s when I was in my 30s. At that time neither I nor the NHS realised I had been diagnosed in another country with infant onset systemic lupus. So NHS ortho surgeons & neurologists investigated me thoroughly re spondylosis & MS. When I was neg for MS, the NHS concentrated on my spine, and, although we gradually numbed my spine pain, we never discovered the source of the neuropathic symptoms in my limbs & face...and, because the Dr's blanked me while so convincingly insisting this was all normal & nothing sinister was happening in my bod, I just gave up & concentrated on toughing out these chronic horrible neuro symptoms...which gradually got worse until finally 4 years ago a brilliant rheumatologist recognised the underlying SLE,. At that point my infant & teen lupus diagnoses came to light

The good news is that over the past 4 years my lupus meds have helped minimise these neuropathic symptoms (daily hydroxychloroquine + mycophenolate + pred tapers as necessary). Meanwhile, my impression is that I am being watched for vasculitis....but, as I understand it, my lupus meds are pretty much what I'd be on if formally diagnosed with vasculitis...so, I'm just sort of hanging on in here...hoping not to need referral to neurology (I have enough multi system clinics on my hands already due to lupus damage progressing while my bod coped with only life style management & emergency (inadvertent) treatment for 50+ years)

Hope you'll let us know how you get on

Wishing you every best wish

[Hidden]

Albasain, I too have Rheumatoid Vasculitis as well as RA and Sjogren's Syndrome. When I mention to my rheumy that my toes are numb at best, painful at worse, she just dismisses it as circulation problems but gives me no advice or treatment for it. Currently taking Prednisolone reduced to 10mg, Methotrexate injections reduced from 25 ml to 20 ml due to liver enzyme being elevated, and Leflunomide 10mg. Also having problems with my sinuses - which she also dismisses, but causes deafness. Some days I can have no problem with this, but most days I do. Not sure if it's the vasculitis or the MTX causing it. Still very confused as to which symptoms are RA, and which are vasculitis.

[alybill]

Hi, I have CSS and IV had numb big toe and little toes of each foot the 2 nd to 4 th toes are painful and very sore if someone touches them by design or accident. The top part of my food is like little electric shocks which gets worse and I can't identify the trigger. The inner aspect of my lower left leg is numb. The feet and left leg has throbbing episodes which can happen at any time, I believe iti is nerve damage, two previous nerve induction test were negative, due to go for a third one. I mention my feet/leg to all Drs but they just ignore it . I feel very disappointed with Drs at present I try to be good and provide them with written complaints but nothing comes out of the consultation, I'm always early and they are always late, some apologise other don't, some write letters about me and never let other colleagues know about the true me and my symptoms. Sorry for the rant I'll go into my corner now.

[AndrewT]

Dear Jennnnnnnnn,

It might be Rheumatoid Arthritis, it might be a trapped nerve, it might be.....Basically unless you ARE standing under a 'waterfall' of needles then please, please-and please again, DO SEE THE DOCTOR!!!!! Please do, do this-if only to tell this stupid old man (me, by the way) that it was something 'silly' and that, despite my worrying, there was nothing of any concern.

Please do prove my fears wrong.

Kind regards

AndrewT