loss of feeling of one toe

[eaglesong]

Have had MS for 20 years and noticed one of my toes was looking red and swollen, and when i touched it i had no feeling of it.  Could this be connected with the loss of feeling/drop foot that began about 5 years ago??  
Also seems that my body temperature cannot get regulated, even in the winter i sweat and have heat rash troubles.  Seems my body has some problems with adjusting to temperature and the heat rash trouble began last year, this winter it is miserable and my body seems to sweat during the day and nite.  I live in Michigan and the summer is usually the difficult time with the heat, but never had this heat rash thing in the winter or sweating so much.  

[Quixotic1]

Hi, Welcome to the forum.  It does sound like you may have developed an autonomic neuropathy.  The autonomic nervous system is a secondary system that controls the "life support" functions of the body like tempertaure regulation, blood flood to the skin and organs, heart rate and blood pressure, saliva production and digestive stuff, and a ton of other things.  Part of it certainly can go haywire in MS.

Your numb toe being red and swollen first suggests unnoticed trauma.  It could be broken or badly stubbed and you'd never know it except by seeing it.  A more concerning possibility is that it is infected.  As you know even a minor infection can set off a worsening of the MS.

A third possibility is something called reflex sympathetic dystrophy.  My neuro says this is not a part of MS.  I have it.  I have a toe that gets all red and swollen off and on since I stubbed it badly 3 years ago!  Looks like a maraschino cherry the tip of my toe.  It's mainly a pain syndrome, but if you can't feel the toe, then you don't feel it's pain.

Bottom line, your doc need to evaluate the toes and make sure it is okay.

Quix, MD

[kitten o]

hello there,
i have  problems controlling my
body temps also. for now almost a year.
and  i was just dx in may. i throught i was the only
one with this problem. i sweat profusly all day and nite.
it is a real bummer. i am going to look up what
heather said.  sorry your not feeling well.
i also am going to talk to dr about meds for this.
nice to meet you.
kitt

[Heather3418]

I'm sorry to hear that you aren't feeling well.

It seems that I have read on the forum about alot of people including me, that is having trouble controlling their body temperature.  I talked to my Neuro about it and she thought I might be having some trouble with the autonomic nervous system that helps regulate my body temperature.  Nothing showed up in that area on MRI, so she doesn't know what is causing it, but knows that it is a common complaint among those with MS.

Now to that toe.  You need to get an appointment to see your GP and let them take a look at that toe.  It's dangerous to think that everything is caused from MS.  It sounds more like an infection of some kind going on, since you say that the toe is red and swollen.

So please make an appointment and get that toe looked at as soon as possible.  If it is an infection, you certainly don't need something like that going on, while you are fighting the MS.

I hope you feel better soon.  Really I do.

Best Wishes,
Heather