Neuropathy, anyone?

This is what I hear and read the most. I never have these types of symptoms at night. And most of the time I never have symptoms at all. Which makes me wonder whether this is really neuropathy versus just having nerve compression issues. This is the sort of thing I keep meaning to bring up with my GP, but every time I make an appointment it’s for a more pressing issue and I always forget to. So I think I’ll talk to him about it and see if he’ll order the type of testing that @Jim_YYC mentioned.

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I am queen of tingly toes during exercise. Very annoying—and at times can even hurt. The three right toes on my right foot feel like they’re stepping into a pothole with every contact, and I guess that’s because I don’t feel them at all. Both feet go numb, and depending on how my blood sugar holds up, I can experience numbness up into my thighs and hips.

So I’ve been for a few tests. :roll_eyes:

Don’t know if any of this applies to you or can help at all, but I have both neuropathy and tailbone cysts that cause compression. My recent trip to Boston to talk about all of these issues left me with the impression that neuropathy numbness is more persistent and less activity specific. Because this specific type of numbness occurs with activity and is relieved by cessation of the activity, it’s more likely a compression issue rather than neuropathy. I have had “numb feet”, for lack of a better description, for the last 8 years. That’s the neuropathy.

It really just gets on my nerves.

:smiley:

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Thanks for the information! The more I’m reading about neuropathy, the more I’m thinking it’s some sort of nerve-compression issue. I was talking to my mom, and she has similar symptoms and has had them for years. So maybe it’s some sort of genetic thing. In addition to my feet, my hands and arms and sometimes even my butt goes numb! But it’s always associated with activity or a specific position, and as soon as I stop or change position, it goes away. I do get swollen feet in the heat, and it’s been hotter here lately, so maybe that’s part of my problem as of late…I imagine if my shoes are fitting tighter (which they definitely are) it could cause a compressed nerve or cut off proper blood supply while exercising or something like that. Come to think of it, I’m fairly sure that when I first got orthotics they said that the way I was walking was compressing nerves, and I’m up for new orthotics this summer, so that may be contributing as well.

But yes, it is extremely annoying! I found myself slowing down the other day not because I was tired but just because I couldn’t stand the burning in my feet with every step.

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Burning or numbness??

I really dislike trying to explain numbness because it can be tough to put words to something that really is the “absence of”… And it’s not always the absence of anything at all. Sometimes it’s a very pronounced symptom. When you said burning, I thought of yet another problem I have when it comes to exercise. This one does not occur during running or walking but definitely occurs during dancing, jumping (on the trampoline), and any kind of cardio kickboxing type activities. I do all of those without shoes… if I try them in shoes, the burning becomes unbearable and doesn’t subside sometimes for 20 or 30 minutes after stopping. Do you have any of these problems with swimming?? That was another important piece of information for me. I don’t experience any of them when swimming…

Nope, nothing with swimming at all. One reason it’s my favourite form of exercise.

I definitely experience intense burning on the bottoms of my feet whenever they’re in contact with a surface. When I lift my foot (for example, to take a step) it momentarily disappears. And then, on top of that, I also have the middle few toes go numb, and sometimes the top of my foot or even my entire foot goes numb. Usually these things go away soon after I stop exercising, but when my entire foot goes numb, it can take half an hour to go away.

I also experiencing tingling and numbness in my hands and arms when carrying things or using my mouse or overnight. But that seems separate from exercise. And sometimes my face and neck get tingly and weird-feeling, too. So who knows what may cause that (I’ve wondered about allergies, but I’ve asked around and no one has ever said they have that as an allergy symptom).

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@Jen regarding your arms/hands, it might be a brachial plexopathy issue. Weakness, loss of motor function, tingling, loss of feeling are all symptoms. Some forms are from injuries, and some may be inherited.