Posted 6/8/2018 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
The problem began in September of 2013 when I had a constant stinging pain on the bottom of my baby toe, left foot. Walking and standing really aggravated it. It was always concentrated in the baby toe ONLY. Never any further back on the foot, never up the leg or into the back.
I had three steroid injections in that toe before having hammertoe correction surgery in October of 2014. The toe was straightened and also a bone spur removed.
Months later, I was still having this unusual stinging pain that the operation was supposed to have corrected.
I had EMG nerve testing done and it did not show anything that would cause the toe-only nerve pain stinging.
The next surgeon I saw thought that the nerve endings of the toe bones were rubbing together causing the pain and that shortening one of the bones will perhaps help.
I had that surgery done on January 4, 2016 and at 7 weeks after the surgery I was still feeling the same intense stinging pain in the toe that I had before the surgery.
The next surgeon I saw thought that maybe there was an infection in the toe but the extensive testing that he ordered did not show any infection. However this testing did seem to show that the bone in the toe is dead.
He suggested doing a stem cell transplant of my own cells into the toe area to revitalize it to hopefully eventually ease the pain. This procedure was done June 2016.
After healing from this procedure, I found that I had no relief at all.
Next, several foot surgeons that I next saw said to amputate the 5th toe and bury the nerve to alleviate the nerve pain. I had that done on September 27, 2016
11 months later in August of 2017, I was still having severe nerve pain. Now in the area of the FOURTH toe. I also have numbness all around that area as well.
Had a CT Scan to try to find the problem.
In December of 2017 I had yet another operation to remove an apparent neuroma that was thought to be causing the pain. Again, 6 months after that operation, still same level of pain and sometimes worse.
I have tried physical therapy, custom-made orthotics and up to 1800 mg per day of Gabapentin with no relief at all.
And I went to a Pain Clinic and the doctor administered into my back at L3, a fluoroscope injection of a nerve block medicine. Again, I had no relief at all.
I have also tried a special compounded pain relief topical medicine prescribed by the pain clinic but it provides no relief either.
The pain is there almost all the time, but gets worse the longer I am standing and/or walking. It gets to almost unbearable at times it is so bad.
The pain is noticeable as soon as I put any weight on my foot and after about a half hour of being on it, the pain is very bad. Sitting down for a while helps it temporarily, but I have to be off it for several hours to get tolerable relief.
Now chemical ablation is being discussed. Any thoughts on this procedure from someone who has had it done?
Does anyone else have extreme nerve pain in a toe that they got resolved?
These so-called expert surgeons I've seen can't even find the cause of the pain let alone correct it.
Thanks for reading.