My sister is having problems with her feet going numb and has been to a GP and a podiatrist.

[raccoon]

Diagnosis--so far---metataursal syndrome/ circulation problems.

Is there a kind of specialist that deals with circulation problems?

[liam_laddie]

1. Diabetes? What's her blood sugar?

Or some nerve signals being blocked; number of possibilities...

[raccoon]

2. THat's what I thought too; she said her blood sugar was tested and no diabetes. nt

[marybourg]

3. if no improvement maybe she

should see a neurologist.

[Warpy]

4. Try a neurologist

Diabetes should have been ruled out by bloodwork done by her GP. She'll want to know if it's compression of the spinal nerve roots sooner rather than later.

[southernyankeebelle]

9. I was thinking the same thing.

[silverweb]

5. I'd start with a good podiatrist.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]There's a lot of information on 2nd metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) syndrome available. It apparently rarely requires surgery, but can affect circulation. Sometimes only orthotics are needed.

[grasswire]

7. do you have any links to MTPJ syndrome you mention?

I'm having terrible metatarsalgia for the last six weeks. X-rays show no fracture. Now I need to see a specialist. I didn't know about the syndrome, and need to learn.

[silverweb]

11. Here you go:

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]http://www.goodsearch.com/search.aspx?keywords=MTPJ+syndrome

It's much more common in women than men, often related to pre-puberty growth spurt and the 2nd toe being longer than the 1st toe. I have it, too, and need orthotics.

[grasswire]

13. thanks!

Having foot trouble is NO GOOD for me. I'm a walker. Everywhere, every day.

[silverweb]

15. You're most welcome.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Like you, I'm a walker, and I do not like being limited by foot pain.

I wants happy feets!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

6. that happened to me when my thyroid went wacky

in my hands too, while sleeping mostly. cold seems to aggravate it. Kelp tabs are helping for now till I can afford a doctor visit.

[grasswire]

8. icing has helped some with pain and swelling for me

But apparently your sister is having numbness but no pain?

[raccoon]

10. Yes. nt

[Manifestor_of_Light]

12. Could be Morton's neuroma.

Nerve goes between the third and fourth toes. Grows extra material (benign neuroma) around it which isolates it from the tissue and it goes numb. surgery is needed if it's bad enough.

When I am in bed and flexing my feet, they are numb on the bottom in the ball and toes part.
It's evenly numb in both feet. I think I have Morton's neuroma.

Hubby had surgery for his back in 2005. The doc said it was the biggest neuroma he'd ever seen in 20 years of being a foot doctor. He also removed a neuroma in the middle of the foot, and a heel spur. Three incisions in one foot!!

[grasswire]

14. I should mention two supplements.

The anti-oxident Alpha Lipoic acid is widely recommended for neuropathy.

Also, Benfotiamine is taking America by storm after being widely used in Europe for decades. It's a thiamine that is more easily soluble than other preparations, and reportedly does wonders for those with neuropathy.

[MineralMan]

17. But, there is no diagnosis of neuropathy for this person.

Suggesting supplements when you don't know what the diagnosis is doesn't seem all that useful, really. Lacking a diagnosis, those supplement may not be useful at all for this particular person. Once there is a clear diagnosis, then treatments can be started. Until then, throwing pills of any kind at the problem isn't a great idea, it seems to me.

[MineralMan]

16. I hate to say this, but the Health forum isn't really the place

to ask questions about individual cases. The advice here is not based on an examination of the person, nor are most of those who post here medical professionals. Probably your sister's best bet is to keep consulting with her physician and perhaps specialists until the problem is accurately diagnosed. It could be many things that might be causing her foot numbness.

[flamingdem]

19. I disagree with you very much

It's unhelpful to tell others what to do in the sense that we all have the capacity to determine what is in our best interest. This is not a forum for children who cannot determine what is harmful or not. We all know about google and can find out more information on our own but getting a pointer to that information can be extremely valuable.

Considering the state of our medical system where doctors may not consider supplements or other methods we are very much on our own and need to research.

It would be nice if people remind others to do their due diligence but to stifle interchange here is a loss for all of us.

[MineralMan]

20. When this group started in DU3, the hosts

for the group discussed the limitations that should apply to it. The consensus we reached is in the pinned post at the top of the thread list for the group. Here's what that post says:

After discussion, and reaching a consensus, the hosts of this group are offering additional information about posting in the Heath Group on DU, to further clarify the Group's Statement of Purpose:

_____________________________________________

This group is for the discussion of health and health related issues. Posts advertising or selling specific health products, services or treatments are expressly prohibited.

In addition, posts seeking or providing specific medical advice about health conditions are beyond the purview of this group's statement of purpose. Please see your health care provider for health advice.

Those are the rules of this group, and they're not my rules. They represent a consensus of all the hosts in this group. Rather than locking this thread, I posted a note about it not really being appropriate for the group. This group is primarily designed for discussion of issues, news, and information about health. It's not a group for medical advice in any way.

[flamingdem]

21. Offering information about a supplement

is nowhere near offering medical advice, imo.

I think people are smart enough to weigh the information they get through research and this is a valuable forum for sharing resources.

[MineralMan]

22. Saying that a certain supplement "does wonders" for a particular illness

is precisely offering medical advice. It's a recommendation to use a supplement to treat that illness.

On DU2, such posts were summarily deleted by the moderators. On DU3, that is not the case. In the Health Group, our SOP doesn't allow giving or requesting medical advice. In Original Posts, the hosts can lock a thread if that's the case, since it's not allowed by the hosts' consensus about the SOP. A pinned post at the top of the group's thread list says that pretty clearly.

We didn't lock this thread, because it wasn't actually asking for medical advice, but for information. As often happens, some posters did offer advice, so I posted a caution about that. Recommending a supplement for a disease is offering medical advice. In this thread, that disease wasn't even the diagnosis made by the physician who had actually examined the patient. So, not only was the supplement recommended not appropriate, but it was for something not even diagnosed.

DU3 doesn't have moderators. But groups have hosts, and our job is to keep the forum within its Statement of Purpose, so sometimes a host will write a cautionary post if someone does something that's not within the SOP. Other times, a host may lock a thread. My choice was to write a post.

[flamingdem]

23. Okay, I didn't know you are moderating

so thanks for the info and reasoning. My input is to err on the side of more not less information, there is enough censoring and wrist slapping going on in DU for my taste. However it has gotten less toxic, overall.