Julie in CA Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 I've Googled, but I'm looking for personal experiences/anecdotes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 I lived with one for 10 years before I finally had the money to see a podiatrist and have it taken out. Because it had been going on for so long, he didn't bother with all of the so called less invasive treatments like cortizone injections. We went straight with surgery. There are two surgical options. I was told they like to go with the easier one first, and that it almost always resolves the issue. With this surgery, they make a small incision on the top of the foot between the third and forth toe, reach up into your foot with the scissors, and cut out the neuroma. It was an easy surgery. In and out. I rested for a couple of days but was able to walk to the bathroom and kitchen without crutches. I didn't use any of the pain killers they gave me except the dose they had me take in the recovery room. The numbness you feel in the toes is odd at first but it settles down and you barely notice it after a while. That said...it did not solve my problem. It's been 3 or 4 years, and I'm back to not being able to wear shoes. I'm assuming I have a stump neuroma now because that's what the doctor explained sometimes develops. A stump neuroma is where the tip of the cut nerve develops a mushroom top that gets squished by the bones. If that happens, you get the 2nd surgery where they enter the foot from the bottom of the foot. They cut the stump neuroma off and implant the nerve into the muscle tissue so it can't grow back. Unfortunately, I have neither money nor insurance so I just go barefoot whenever possible or the only brand of tennis shoes that I can wear without a lot of pain. The casual shoes I wear, btw, are New Balance walking shoes that say SL2 inside them. SL2 refers to the mold they used. It happens to be a mold with a wide toe box and normal heel. It's the only shoe I can wear, and it even bugs me sometimes. I cannot wear their SL2 running shoes; they are more narrow and cause me pain. Most sandals and loose slides are also wearable. Forget cute casual shoes, flats, heels, etc. In 15 minutes, I'm limping heavily from pain from the toe up to my knee. Since I can't wear nice shoes, I only wear jeans and casual shirts these days. Dresses, skirts, and dress pants don't exactly go well with walking tennis shows, yk. Anyway, I hope you find a happy resolution. I did know someone once who had the surgery and it fixed it for her, so there is hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted November 18, 2010 Author Share Posted November 18, 2010 But I'm having terrible pain in one of my feet, and upon reading descriptions, Morton's Neuroma sounds like the most likely diagnosis. Did it come on gradually for you, or suddenly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 I noticed it, oddly, after buying a really cute pair of casual shoes for work. They fit great, weren't tight at all, and had a 1 1/2 inch wedge heel...and made my feet hurt badly after about an hour or two. I eventually went to a doctor but he couldn't diagnose anything. So, I learned to live with it. The tell tale sign is the clicking sound that your foot makes when you manipulate it a certain way. I had that. When I moved the bones in my feet the way described on the various websites I had found, I could feel and hear that clicking/popping sensation/sound. It's one of the things the podiatrist checked too. My neuroma came out with sort of two neuromas in nearly the same place. He hadn't seen anything like. Sadly, he wouldn't save my nerve for our homeschooling. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted November 18, 2010 Author Share Posted November 18, 2010 I've always had some foot pain at the end of the day, usually improved by my sweet dh massaging my feet in bed. :D It's been increasingly painful if he does anything that squeezes the bones near my toes (especially towards the outside edge of my foot) closer together. Last Friday night I came home from a church thing, and the pain was so sharp, coming in waves, that I couldn't help crying. :crying: It's been that way ever since, and it's better when I stay off my feet, but still comes in waves of sharp pain that almost sting or burn...it's hard to describe. My foot looks normal. It's better if I keep dosing with large amounts of ibuprofen, but how long can I keep that up? It is painful enough to wake me from a deep sleep in the middle of the night, even though nothing touched my foot to make it hurt, it's just this jaw-clenching, awful pain. If I wait a few minutes, it eases on it's own. It's definitely improved since last Friday, but if I get up and attempt to limp around it starts flaring up again quickly. It doesn't help that the same foot has a bleeding crack in the heel, so there's not even a way to walk that takes the pressure off both my forefoot, and my heel. :nopity: Does this sound anything like Morton's Neuroma? The symptoms are so strange that it's hard to describe! There's kind of a long wait (next month) to see a podiatrist. Is it even worth going to see a regular gp about this? What about urgent care? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 I've had it for a couple of years. It came on kind of suddenly. My family doc told me to avoid surgery if at all possible. The podiatrist wanted to cut on me right away :glare: Getting properly fitted with walking shoes with a wide toe box helped more than anything. (New Balance is what I wear) I had to stop wearing Crocs all together, strangely enough. I have flat feet so I think the lack of support contributed to the problem. I also avoid anything with a heel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 (edited) I think a podiatrist would be a better choice than any other doctor. Though my doctor did refer me to podiatry--he just was no help outside of this is what I think it is is and you need a podiatrist. In my research surgery has no better outcomes than the cortisone and shoe change/shoe insert options. I have neuromas in both feet. The first cortisone injection was only a very temporary help. The second seemed to help more. The injections hurt but then so do the neuromas and the injection is over relatively quickly. My doctor had me doing ice, warm water, ice water, warm water soaks. I think I'm still supposed to be doing them (I'm about two or so years out from dx). I had special inserts built and special shoes and it did help. I need knew ones. They were very expensive so I haven't but I'm finding the beginning of problems again when I'm on my feet a lot. I wear wide toe tennis shoes as much as I can even now. Dressy "cute" shoes and any shoes with a heel are a disaster for my feet. I think they have decent dress shoes though that can work for this type of thing. I just couldn't fathom the extra money at the time. The faster you treat this the better the outcomes. If you let it go (as I did) my understanding is it's harder to get full relief. For me the pain was stabbing and burning like my feet were on fire but I don't remember how it felt initially before I got to that point and got help. Feet are so important. I'd see the podiatrist as soon as you can. Edited November 18, 2010 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 It's been increasingly painful if he does anything that squeezes the bones near my toes (especially towards the outside edge of my foot) closer together. Last Friday night I came home from a church thing, and the pain was so sharp, coming in waves, that I couldn't help crying. :crying: It's been that way ever since, and it's better when I stay off my feet, but still comes in waves of sharp pain that almost sting or burn...it's hard to describe. My foot looks normal. The toe thing is a huge indicator. What helped my worst flare up was anti-inflammatories for a couple of weeks, and icing the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 The toe thing is a huge indicator. What helped my worst flare up was anti-inflammatories for a couple of weeks, and icing the area. I forgot about anti-inflammatory thing. My doctor (I actually saw two podiatrists/one on a vacation and they both said the same thing) felt Aleve was a good choice for this sort of thing. I also agree that the toes squeezing causing pain is very indicative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted November 18, 2010 Author Share Posted November 18, 2010 (edited) This website seems to say that sclerosing injections are more effective than cortisone or surgery? http://www.myfootshop.com/detail.asp?Condition=Mortons%20Neuroma Obviously, I may be putting the cart before the horse. It may not be Morton's Neuroma at all (hopefully). I guess I should call the podiatrist back and accept the appointment they have in December. If this goes away before then, I can cancel the appointment. What frustrates me is that I wait to go to the doctor until I really just can't *stand* something. Then when I finally give in and take the plunge, I find that it takes weeks to get in for an appointment. I get so despondent that I just don't even try any more. Usually I go have a good cry, then resign myself to just suffering along instead of trying to get relief. :001_huh: I want to tell them, "I gave birth to 5 big babies without so much as a Tylenol! If I'm telling you it's so painful that I'm wussing out, *please* oh please, take me seriously!" :sad: Edited November 18, 2010 by Julie in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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