I have an appointment with my doc next week, you’re not doctors, I’m not looking for medical advice, blah blah blah.
What I am looking for is ideas on why the ball of my foot, specifically the part closest to my big toe, is weirdly numb.
It started about 3 days ago, and felt like I had something stuck to the bottom of my foot. I kept reaching down, expecting to find that I had a piece of paper or a sticker stuck to it. Nope, nothing. It’s just… numb. Very minorly tingly if I put pressure on it, but more just numb.
My immediate fear, of course, is neuropathy, because I’m a Type 1 diabetic. That said, my blood sugar is in tight control - I’ve never had an A1c above 5.3 since I was originally diagnosed almost 4 years ago, and my doc calls me “the poster child for blood sugar control.” So I gotta hope that’s unlikely.
So what else could it be? Googling around says “tight shoes” but it’s freakin’ summer, I wear sandals and flip flops. I have been mountain biking some, and I wear bike shoes that work with my clipless pedals. Could I have pinched a nerve somehow?
Any ideas? Is my foot going to fall off? I want to do some Googling before that happens, and before my appointment.
Are you on any blood-pressure medications? Mr. Legend has had this problem, and it may be linked to some of the drug combinations they had him on. But, hey, that’s something to bring up with your doctor. Before your appointment, it might be helpful for you to write a complete, detailed list of all the medications you take, including OTC ones, and any supplements you routinely take.
I’ve had transient numb spots on my extremities before that I assume were caused by some nerve weirdness. They disappeared over time (maybe a week), and I don’t have any underlying health conditions, so I never actually consulted a doctor. I do know that numbness like that can come and go. It’s not necessarily something big.
I’m not an expert, but I have an entire family of diabetics on my mom’s side. What you’ve described really does not sound like neuropathy. Neuropathy creeps up on you, starting in a small area, then getting larger with more severe symptoms over time. The pain and numbness and tingling don’t develop all of a sudden overnight.
A blood clot/thrombosis or nerve pinch would seem more likely.
The right side of my left big toe has been numb for a year and a half. My doctor looked at it, ran some blood tests, and said it was nothing. It hasn’t worsened or expanded since then, so I guess he was right.
Have you been working a lot, sitting with your foot pressed on the floor, with pressure on that very spot?
I am sitting right now in a desk chair with my left leg crossed under my right, with my right leg on the ground and all the weight of my right leg pressing on the ball of my foot, closest to my big toe.
I know you’ve discounted tight shoes, but that’s what happened to me a couple of years ago. I worked a ONE DAY trade show event in a pair of boots and ended up with some numbness on my foot, near my toes (toes were partially affected). I went to the doctor and she said it might be caused by shoes and to give it a couple of weeks. Went away.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause paresthesias in the extremities (or so my addled brain remembers). Mine usually felt like burning pressure. Went away with a mega-supplement of B12.
Take this with a grain of salt; I seem to remember that hypothyroidism can cause it too, and I have that also.
It might be the start of a plantar wart. Mine felt tingly at first, and like I had a callus there. Then like I had a splinter or something.
Thank Og I cleared the virus before that summer. It was particularly bad and ran through my whole family. And then, after about five months, they all disappeared basically overnight.
shoe theory: very well could be my bike shoes. OOOOh this just came into my head - I went kayaking on Saturday, and my kayak has foot pegs that my feet hit just in the place that’s numb. HmmmMmmmmm…
Vitamin B12 deficiency: I actually have this, diagnosed by a doc and everything, but take supplements that seem to be working according to my last round of blood-work a few months ago.
plantar wart: No signs of that yet, but will keep it in mind
Vitamin B6/Melatonin: Nope, no sleep aids. Well, nothing other than red wine
This happened to my girlfriend. The bottom of her feet started going numb, then the top, then her calves, then when it got to her knees (I know ,she doesn’t like docs) she went to the doctor and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. After being on the meds prescribed for that the numbness started going away in the reverse of how it progressed.
It could also be tarsal tunnel syndrome. I have it in my right foot, more specifically in the ball of the foot and the bottom of the big toe. Tarsal tunnel is the foot-ankle-leg version of carpal tunnel syndrome, which develops in wrists.
The principal is the same: nerve constriction. The podiatrist I saw tested for it by tapping the inside of my ankle just below the ankle bone. If it’s nerve constriction, you’ll feel a tingle down your foot and into the big toe as you tap.
Not a whole lot to be done for it. Surgery might fix it - and it might not. The other option is to learn to live with it, which I’m doing now. It came on suddenly and might go away the same way. It is unlikely to get worse and has so far not caused me any problems.
Back in the day I used to go country-western dancing several times a week for a couple of years. The big toes on both of my feet went completely numb on the outer edges and stayed that way for years, even after I stopped dancing. My right big toe still hasn’t regained all of it’s feeling. I’m nearly 100% certain it’s nerve damage.
sis in law had a similar area on her foot. Got checked out and it was MS. There was lots of MS in her town though so the doc checked that out pretty quick. I hope thats not it but…
The feeling of having paper stuck to the skin on my feet describes it perfectly. It started right after I finished 6 months of chemo and also developed flakey scalp at the same time almost too much of a coinkidink. I see my doc in a few weeks so I’ll maybe find out then.
