Re: Toe Numbness/podiatrists

[Guest guest]

> Thanks, Jay. I've seen a podiatrist and the first thing he

suggested

> was that I had bad circulation so he sent me to have it checked and

> it didn't show a problem.

Did you know that a podiatrist is not a M.D.? I just learned that

this year while dealing with some foot and ankle problems.

Podiatrists receive about the same amount of training as

chiropractors. They are wonderful for foot-only problems, but for

systemic issues such as R.A. I'd start with a rheumatologist.

Inflammatory conditions can certainly cause numbness in the

extremities.

Sierra

[Guest guest]

> When I initially went to him it was for foot pain associated with

my big toes, and he did tell me after xrays that the cartilage is

gone in both of my big toes. And he's the one who sent me to the

other dr. to have my circulation checked and it shows no problem so

that doesn't account for the numbness in all my toes. May end up

seeing a rheumatologist before long.

Why wait? Was nerve damage ever discussed?

Sierra

[Guest guest]

Sierra,

Although a podiatrist isn't an MD (they are DPM), many are really

highly trained and have earned hospital priveledges for surgery etc.

I've seen an excellent one for about 12 years now - originally for a

running injury. I was seeing him for an ankle injury about 5 1/2

years ago at the same time RA was flaring up enough to be diagnosed.

I've found my podiatrist to be extremely knowledgeable about a wide

variety of health conditions - especially any that impact the ankle

and various foot joints.

As with any type of medical professional, there are good podiatrists

and bad ones, but if you can find a good one, they are terrific!

Beth

> > Thanks, Jay. I've seen a podiatrist and the first thing he

> suggested

> > was that I had bad circulation so he sent me to have it checked

and

> > it didn't show a problem.

>

> Did you know that a podiatrist is not a M.D.? I just learned that

> this year while dealing with some foot and ankle problems.

> Podiatrists receive about the same amount of training as

> chiropractors. They are wonderful for foot-only problems, but for

> systemic issues such as R.A. I'd start with a rheumatologist.

> Inflammatory conditions can certainly cause numbness in the

> extremities.

>

> Sierra

[Guest guest]

I do want to share my experience with a podiatrist - before I was diagnosed, I was having terrible pain in my feet. He accurately diagnosed a broken bone, and then insisted I also had a Morton's neuroma. I went through 3 steroid injections to no avail and the next option would have been surgery. Imagine our chagrin if he actually went in and found nothing there! Luckily I figured it was something systemic and moved on to a different doctor.

I then went to a very well respected orthopedist who looked at my x-rays and said "well, it's not arthritis" and proceeded to put me on pain killers and give me inserts for my shoes.

The point is that it was up to me to figure it out since I had all the symptoms, knew my history with auto-immune diseases and go to the right doctor. Don't get me wrong - I'm a great believer in doctors and medicine. But it was a lesson to me to never take anything at face value and listen to my own intuition.

[Guest guest]

Agreed!

Sierra

> > > Thanks, Jay. I've seen a podiatrist and the first thing he

> > suggested

> > > was that I had bad circulation so he sent me to have it checked

> and

> > > it didn't show a problem.

> >

> > Did you know that a podiatrist is not a M.D.? I just learned that

> > this year while dealing with some foot and ankle problems.

> > Podiatrists receive about the same amount of training as

> > chiropractors. They are wonderful for foot-only problems, but for

> > systemic issues such as R.A. I'd start with a rheumatologist.

> > Inflammatory conditions can certainly cause numbness in the

> > extremities.

> >

> > Sierra