the feelings in my foot is driving me nuts

[rebecca_3161]

I had foot surgery 1/26/11 and was given a nerve blocker.  It was given from the knee down.  It is 4/25/11 and i'm still having numbness, pain and a strange feeling on those areas--electric type feeling.  Hard to decribe.  It makes it difficult to walk, my balance is off.  Is it normal for this anesthetic nerve block to last?  what can i do?  I started Phys Ther last week, hopefully it will help.

Thanks!

[Dr Sharma]

Hi there.  There is the possibility of direct nerve damage with the needle or the local anesthetic solution during the nerve block given for surgery. This could cause numbness, pain and electric shock sensation. Nerve conduction velocity study needs to be done to check. Multiple sclerosis needs to be ruled out. The last thing that the neurologist needs to check for is CRPS or reflex sympathetic dystrophy following trauma. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic demyelinating condition where the disease phase is characterized by active phase and remissions. It has multiple symptoms and signs and is a diagnosis of exclusion. The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are loss of balance, muscle spasms, numbness in any area, problems with walking and coordination, tremors in one or more arms and legs. Bowel and bladder symptoms include frequency of micturition, urine leakage, eye symptoms like double vision uncontrollable rapid eye movements, facial pain, painful muscle spasms, tingling, burning in arms or legs, depression, dizziness, hearing loss, fatigue etc. You have many of these symptoms. The treatment is essentially limited to symptomatic therapy so the course of action would not change much whether MS has been diagnosed or not. Apart from clinical neurological examination, MRI shows MS as paler areas of demyelination, two different episodes of demyelination separated by one month in at least two different brain locations. Spinal tap is done and CSF electrophoresis reveals oligoclonal bands suggestive of immune activity, which is suggestive but not diagnostic of MS. Demyelinating neurons, transmit nerve signals slower than non-demyelinated ones and can be detected with EP tests. These are visual evoked potentials, brain stem auditory evoked response, and somatosensory evoked potential. Slower nerve responses in any one of these is not confirmatory of MS but can be used to complement diagnosis along with a neurological examination, medical history and an MRI in addition, a spinal tap. Therefore, it would be prudent to consult your neurologist with these concerns. Take care.

[Angel_Faces_Mom]

Make sure it is NOT a condition known as CRPS (RSD).  I got it after I broke my left foot in 2000.  With aggressive treatment including 2 lumbar nerve blocks and PT because it was caught early by my doctor, it is contained to my left foot and knee and is mostly in remission.  If it isn't addressed early, it can spread throughout your body.  It generally is brought on by a trauma of some sort (ie broken bone or surgery, etc.).  It was first discovered in the civil war in gun shot victims.  The acronym stands for Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (originally known and still widely known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy).  Ask your doctor about it or your physical therapist.    If you are on FB, you can check out RSD Sisters page for more information, and you can check on-line.  God Bless and I pray it isn't RSD.