Tight feet

For about the past six months the soles of my feet feel...  "Tight" is the only word I can think of.  They're not swollen, but they feel swollen, and when I try to curl my toes downwards it seems difficult, but not impossible, with tightness on the tops of my toes.  I'm not yet being treated for hcv.  Is this a hep symptom, or something else entirely?  Thanks in advance for any info.
pigeon

[hepcD]

It may be falling arches. Buy some foot pads with arch support it may help you. I had the same problem . I feel much better now that they are supported. Good luck to you

[Forseegood]

I've had a kind of pain, maybe burning, but not intense, on the tops of my feet, and sometimes on the soles, but very rarely...since I've had menopause and hcv, sometimes I think maybe this symptom is one of the other or both tag teaming, with one making the other worse...just for future reference, here's something interesting for the ladies...

1 - Aching joints and muscles
2 - Allergy symptoms
3 - Breast tenderness
4 - Chronic fatigue and morning sluggishness
5 - Cold or tingling hands or feet
6 - Craving sweets, caffeine, carbohydrates and unstable blood sugar levels
7 - Depression, anxiety and mood swings
8 - Dizziness, lightheadedness
9 - Dry, thin or wrinkly skin
10 - Endometriosis
11 - Facial hair growth
12 - Fibrocystic breasts
13 - Hair loss, thinning hair
14 - Headaches, migraines
15 - Heart palpitations
16 - Heavy or light periods
17 - Hot flashes
18 - Incontinence
19 - Irregular periods
20 - Irritatibility, inability to handle stress
21 - Lack of concentration, foggy fuzzy thinking, memory lapses
22 - Leg cramps
23 - Low metabolism
24 - Lower sex drive, loss of sex drive
25 - PMS and menstrual cramping
26 - Night sweats
27 - Osteoporosis
28 - Ringing or buzzing in ears (tinnitus)
29 - Sleep disturbances, insomnia
30 - Spotting, light bleeding
31 - Symptoms of hypothyroidism with normal T3 and T4 levels
32 - Uninary tract and yeast infections
33 - Uterine fibroids
34 - Water retention and unexplained weight gain, especially in hips, waist and stomach

Menopause is a natural process for a woman, not an illness. As a woman ages, there will be an expected slowing and ultimately shutdown in the reproductive cycle and system. This is normal. However, most of the 34 menopause symptoms are indications of underlying hormonal imbalance or damage to the body from poor eating habits, stress, obesity and other factors. Millions of women in the industrialized countries experience one or more of these 34 menopause symptoms many years before the normal age of menopause, which is about 51 years of age.

Why? There are several reasons. Women often put tremendous demands on their bodies, much more stress than it was designed to handle, and then do not give it the support it needs. Women have demanding and stressful careers. There are family responsibilities. The relationship with the spouse or partner may not be the best. Aging parents can add to the burden. All of these and other responsibilities are cumulative in the toll they take on the body and health of a woman.

And at the same time, the womans body may not be receiving the support it needs to function as it was designed to do. Poor eating habits, lack of exercise, obesity, excess caffeine and alcohol add to the problem instead of helping the body cope with the demands placed on it. This lack of balance between the demands made versus support given contributes to many of the 34 menopause symptoms.

Then there is the issue of the menstrual cycle and hormone production in the body. In the normal menstrual cycle and a healthy woman, estrogen is the dominant hormone that is produced for the first 10-12 days following the previous menstrual flow. If ovulation occurs, ovulation then signals the female body to produce progesterone, which happens for the next 12 days or so. If pregnancy does not occur during ovulation, progesterone and estrogen levels will drop at around day 28, allowing menstruation to begin. However, if you do not ovulate, you will not produce progesterone that month. This event, called an annovulatory cycle, is a typical occurance today for women even 10 to 20 years before the normal age of menopause. This leaves the woman with an excess of estrogen and a deficiency of the vital hormone progesterone which can only be produced if ovulation occurs.

Many women in their thirties or forties are actually having fewer ovulations, creating hormone imbalance, resulting in many of the 34 menopause symptoms. And once ovulation ceases at menopause, progesterone levels fall to virtually zero. At the same time, estrogen is still being produced, again leading to hormone imbalance and the resulting symptoms. If a hysterectomy has happened, surgical menopause means the woman no longer produces progesterone.

Besides the problems created by missed ovulations or hysterectomy, excess estrogen is regularly obtained from other sources. Birth control pills, household chemicals and pesticides, certain foods that have been sprayed or given chemicals and many construction materials used in homes are all sources of unhealthy estrogen. Doctors call this hormone imbalance condition where excess estrogen exists - estrogen dominance. What are the symptoms of estrogen dominance? The symptoms are nearly the same as the 34 menopause symptoms!

When your estrogen and progesterone hormones are balanced, you feel more alert and energetic. And balancing family, career, stress and your own needs becomes much easier to do, like it was when you were younger.

How can a woman tell if the symptoms being experienced are because of hormone imbalance? One easy and effective way is to take an online test for early signs of menopause and the 34 menopause symptoms. Used daily in their practice by a leading womens health clinic, the health test takes just a few minutes online and the test is free. By taking the clinic health test, you can find out more about your health, symptoms you have, what the symptoms are telling you and what to do about it. Take the online hormone health test and read more about hormone imbalance, estrogen dominance symptoms, hysterectomy side effects and physician-recommended treatments for premenopause symptoms and the 34 menopause symptoms.

[Forseegood]

Also wanted to add that some of these symptoms can last for some women well after menopause, where hormone levels still are out of whack...I think the hep can only complicate these matters further...from what I've read and heard from various docs...

[settecasi1]

You may just have "Motrins Nuroma" (check the spelling).
I have had it for years and had surgery for it in one foot.
It is a pinched or aggravated nerve inbetween the toes.
Do cold floors on bare feet make it crazy?
Does it feel like your socks are wadding up down there?
Does it go away when walking?
If your shoes do not fit just right your foot will bother you most when you are not standing or walking on them. Like when driving a car they will make you want to remove your shoes.

If these seem familiar, take care to get shoes with large toe boxes. Not floppy but not binding either. When I buy new shoes I walk in them a little bit and then sit for a few minutes and can tell if they will work. Rockport was recomended by my foot doc and they work really well. I have to pull the foot bed out of sneakers to get a proper feeling fit.
If it is neuroma and one continues to not get better fitting shoes it could lead to surgery. Like me.

[Morgaina]

Thanks for that info, I've filed it. Everyone knows the general idea of hormones and menopause but you kind of put it in a nutshell. Hope ypu're doing well!!

[SoCal Lady]

I've never heard of this as a symptom of HCV.  It sounds more like some kind of arthritis, for example, psoriatic arthritis can involve toes.  But I'm not a doctor---just a curious person who likes to use Google....

Be well!

[mycoldfeet]

before tx I had same symptoms, turned out to be cryoglobenmia, associated with hcv. Its like vasculitis but what it is, is a certain antibody that traps the virus like in a spiderweb, but it clogs the small capillaries (blood vessles) and the only cure is elimination of the virus, since starting tx have not had another episode, I noticed it worsened if sitting in one position for a long period. www.clinicaloptions.com has a video and addresses it as a sx of hcv. You can be tested for it, or if your starting tx soon see what happens. Look in the hcv advocate.org archieves and see if they have more info too.

[ladybug52]

Read the archives 8/11.."2 questions I have put off asking."  Sounds like others have the same symptoms.  I was kinda worried at first that it was from the scleroderma but sounds like a hep c symptom.

[honey11]

Hey ya!! You always bring some good stuff to the table lol  And why do we women have to suffer like this??? haha  Its not fair!!!  I sometimes can't tell if all my stuff is from the initial hep,,,the tx,,,,then we slide into after and still trying to get rid of the extra baggage or am I having the menopause problems and just can't tell which is which lol  Anyone that has actually gone through menopause through beginning to end,,,,when does it end???  All the symptoms I mean and do you start to feel better after that?
Thanks Forsee for posting that and hope you are doing great these days!  I'm a big fan of all your posts and information you share!!

[Forseegood]

thanks guys!!! I haven't even given you these studies on women who have had hysterectomy, with or without ovaries, that's a real trip....and I have had one...maybe I'm one of the only ones though, though I've heard Goof mention that he was thinking of getting one??? he he, Just kidding!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend, just got back from trying to teach Erin (my teenager) do drive in this giant parking lot....now were did I stash that valium? ha ha! Just kidding again!

[Forseegood]

I guess my favorite bug ever, and I suppose most peoples' anyway, I was trying to find that archived info you just spoke about call me space case but I can't find it in the archives, can you tell me what is the best way to do this here? thanks!!!!

[DoubleDose]

HCV does affect many systems in the body, and causes a wide variety of potential symptoms and syndromes, though not always the same from person to person.  Many medical specialty areas seem to be fully aware of this....but the HCV doctors are still sometimes caught in a seeming time warp.  Rheumatologists have tons of literature describing HCV as a potential cause of arthritic symptoms, and also Sjogren's Syndrome-like problems.  Oral Surgeons and Dermatologists are aware of rashes, eruptions,salivary dysfunction, and other manifestations that are sometimes caused by HCV.  Neurologists have become aware of many nerve and brain related problems that can result from HCV.
  
Yet...incredibly...amazingly....many medical experts in the Gastro/Hepatology areas still seem to utter the stunning phrase:  Hepatitis C has no real symptoms.  My jaw drops when I hear highly educated, often renowned specialists saying something that is patently INANE!  HCV has a ton of symptoms in many people, and has a range of systemic manifestations that are often not immediately connected to the real culprit:  HCV.  
Thyroids go up in flames, autoimmunity creeps in, joint and muscular problems abound, fatigue can be crippling, brain fog and cognitive problems are tremendously limiting, depressive and anxiety disorders are much more frequent in those with HCV, gland and lymphatic issues often develop, diabetes seems to be a potential consequence......etc., etc......

Some 'experts' should do a bit more reading...and listening.  A good bit more!!

DoubleDose

[ladybug52]

OOPS!  I meant august 11 2006 for the date of the post. You have to open the post to find the date.

[Forseegood]

so many threads they could get buried, have a post to you guys in the 'Milk Thistle' thread, way down there...

[Myown]

This is a good article that speaks of hep c being more than just a liver disease. My feet and ankles swell and I have heard a different opinion from every doc I have seen. I know, no doubt it is hep c related. I am going to bring this article to my doc. As you read it, you will come across someone who has swelling. Dr. Cecil has interesting comments in the article.



http://www.hepatitismag.com/storydetail.asp?storyid=48

[Forseegood]

thanks!!!! hope youre enjoying your weekend, interests me about the foot pain thing, though mine is different and kind of slight, it does come once in awhile...wish the medical establishment wouldnt poo poo almost every dang symptom as being "not related" to hep...whatever!!!! sure some of them are not related but not all...

[ladybug52]

I just go to the archives and pick random questions to read about.That's how I found it. It's hard to find stuff unless you've already opened the question and then it's highlighted a darker color showing you've read it before. That probably doen't make sense but the questions are posted by dates, just scroll down and start opening posts and "I have two questions I have put off asking" was posted Aug 16th 2006. I'm guessing you know how to get to archives but it's such a lengthy list you couldn't find the post. Let me know if you still need help.

[Mister beagle bailey]

I agree,they think they know best.  They need to do more reading and a lot more.  At the moment I'm depressed, angry, etc, not at my hep dr but at my hemo dr as if I was on procrit sooner and more often I would have been able to treat longer and maybe not have relapsed.

beagle

[Myown]

Well said,DD!

The biggest problem I see in dealing with any specialist is that they take their title to heart a little too much.

"Specialist," seems to make them feel they don't have to look beyond their specialty.

The domino effect disease has on the body is not always seen by doctors who have tunnel vision.

[Forseegood]

I might bore some who've read this story before but I went to one of the biggest "liver heads" (nod to FlMan) in the business, around here at least....and one of the first things he told me is that he didn't think people with low to mid-stage biopsy in their liver disease due to hep c - had and kind of "relevant" symptoms and they better not bother asking him to "disable" them for disability...don't even ask...

I told him that from what I could see, hep c symptoms were "all over the place" where some people who have low stage cirrhosis  have little to no symptoms, and some people with a stage 1 biopsy hep c case have many symptoms and extra diseases because of the hep...And how come people who complain of these symptoms all complain of the same ones for the most part?

He said maybe we're all talking each other into the same symptoms...while maybe SOME of that could be true, a very small percentage in my estimation, I think this is due to these 'liver guys' mainly focusing on the liver, and not the virus itself....whenever I've spoken to an infectious disease guy, they have completely agreed with this theory...immune responses to the virus in our systems can cause havoc, along with many other systemic manifestations I have no idea about, this just seems intuitively true to me...

Another reason I think this doc thinks this way is the old "appearance" thing...

He's dealing with people who are in ESLD all day, and let's face it, someone dealing with this looks like death warmed over, poor souls, I feel so bad for them...I'll see them in the lobby of a liver institute and my heart goes out to them....

But I walk in and I look fine, normal, even pretty good! he figures in contrast to them, I gotta be just whining for the heck of it, to get attention or something (like that's what I need to do, go to some creepy hospital, cause I hate hospitals, for nothing)...I swear, this may sound evil, but I almost wished that he could travel around in my body for a week, and see if he would come to the same conclusions...I've often heard it said that this is the "look great, feel like sh!t disease" that about sums it up for me...

There are still many very many highly prestigious liver docs out there who feel that people with hep c who are not cirrhotic aren't really suffering symptoms...might also be because some patients really aren't suffering symptoms so they extrapolate that to all of us...

Hopefully that's changing now...I always wonder, don't these guys read the CDC and all the other major govt medical sites that list these symptoms for Hep C? Do they think these agencies have been fooled and it's actually 'these' docs who know for sure? It boggles my mind and more then psses me off, to be so invalidated on top of having to suffer this creepy disease...

Although I'm really, really glad we can avail ourselves of their expertise and hopefully go into remission because of them and the researchers.....this is a big reason why I don't think all docs have all the answers all of the time...I don't care what kind of sheepskin is on their walls...good we have these boards to compare notes...

[DoubleDose]

What you said is very true.  They definitely do not have all the answers, even though many act like they do.  Just because our spleens are not exploding, or our eyes not popping out, the doctors often assume that our 'minor' (compared to death) problems are something that 'everyone has from time to time' (how completely wrong), or that we are exaggerating them becaues of our anxiety about the disease.  The 'hole' in that logic is that many of us went to doctor after doctor for a diagnosis long before we were dx'ed with HCV, and long before they even had a name for HCV.  If we perceived that we had serious physical problems then...before any knowledge of HCV...then why would finding out what disease we really have now 'cause' the symptoms?????

Maybe the medical community just plain doesn't give a real hoot what problems we have from the disease.  Maybe it is just easier and more lucrative to just treat people, get them to SVR, pat them on the butt and say 'have a great life!'

I think that HCV may be the cause of a wide range of debilitating medical syndromes and organ dysfunction. Maybe we will find out more as the infectious disease experts continue to explore, and the top virologists continue their research, etc.

I am not holding my breath though.  This disease is subtle in many ways, and its ill effects are not easily seen from the outside...so the doctors probably don't care too much if it is in our systems doing slow, under the radar damage.  They can't see it...but they can see a deteriorating liver...by the deadly effects that it has on us...so THAT has become their all encompassing focus.  I often think that the 'blood/serum aspect of this virus is really like a highway....it is just the vehicle for carrying the virus throughout our bodies, and allowing it to insinuate itself into many if not all of our organs.  It just so happens that the virus 'likes' the liver a little more than other organs, and so, doeas its fiercest, and most visible damage there.

How about our connective tissue (joints and related problems there), how about our eyes (sjogren's-like manifestations), how about our lymphatic system (swollen lymph glands, etc.), and how about our brains (fatigue, brain fog, depression, anxiety, etc)

Have they REALLY ever eliminated these compartments from being infection sites????  I don't think so.

Having had HCV gives us a very 'hands on' feel for what it really does, and how much we are affected.  But the doctor wants to make you feel better....."your problems are not from HCV."  
I know, they must be from that Martian that I had sex with when I was 18!  Not to worry!!!!!

DoubleDose

[Forseegood]

Beautifully stated, boy are we on the same page...funny how so much of this is left to the patients to agonize and search and explore these issues, cause God knows there are a lot of smart, perceptive people here....

and we have to go about validating ourselves...my doc agrees with a lot of this -and the systemic aspects of the disease, and he says he gets into arguments with his peers all the time over it...

he says what really gets him is how fatigue is a catch-basin phrase and that many docs can't get their minds around what fatigue really is...they can't conceptualize what it's like  waking up in the morning after a night's sleep, only to feel like you just played 2 games of tennis...they just don't know what that is....

They feel a bit of fatigue or tiredness and they project that onto everybody else, that it's no big deal to get over, they can't distinguish that from real fatigue with no exersion in front of it...talk about self-centered myopia...the hardest thing to do, I think, for most people, is not to project their own experiences onto everybody else...and I feel with all their education, they can subject to this as well as anybody else and they should know better...

[see me]

I have TIGHT feet also. It feels like there is a band on the bottom of my foot that starts about an inch below my toes and runs down to my heel.  It is accentuated when I point my toes downward.  But, in the am upon arising, it feels even tighter. Between that, joint pain and stiffness, I can barely walk in the am. I am sorry you have this symptom but it is good to know it is just not me.  I am sure it is one of another of the myrad of symptoms.  The last two months, I have had so many transient bizarre things going on - I thought I was going to lose my mind.  Just getting a dx - even though devastating - was still a relief.  I am so thankful for this site.

[ipp6]

what was the diagnose?