I've mentioned the weird elecrtic shock sensation I get when I walk, did some reading and it sounds like a Morton's Neuroma.. problem is every single thing I read says its caused mostly by tight shoes , high heels or injury.. well Ive never in my life worn tight shooes and high heels maybe 10 times since age 13.. so that can't be it.
can anyone find out if it can be a result of RA?
sheesh I'm so tired of the weirdness of this disease.
Morton's neuroma is a very common foot ailment. I was diagnosed with it after having symptoms for about three years. I was a manager of a large department store for a number of years and spent an inordinate amount of time on my feet. I can't say that I think it was the result of wearing tight shoes. My podiatrist said a single trauma could bring it on. I don't remember a specific trauma, but I have done plenty of things to my feet in my lifetime that it wouldn't surprise me if that's what started mine. Unfortunately the first doctor (my pcp) was clueless about the condition and advised me to put felt between my toes to relieve the feeling.
I finally went to a podiatrist and when I described what was going on, she said it was a very straight forward diagnosis, neuroma. Conservative treatment first with a cortisone injection and orthotics. A lot of times these things help if you catch the neuroma early. But nothing relieved the pain. So I had surgery to remove it. My doc said it was huge - I wasn't surprised given I had waited three years before I knew what was wrong.
I can't say if it is related to RA. I was undiagnosed at the time (but possibly symptomatic in retrospect) and that was about 5 years before I started having full-on RA symptoms. Surgery takes about 30 minutes and recovery takes you off your feet for the first four days post-op and then in a lovely boot for I think 6 weeks. I don't remember any pain after surgery during recovery. In fact, I don't think I took pain pills other than ibuprofen. The surgery resolved the problem and pain immediately.
Unfortunately for me, I started having some pain in the same area about 10 months later. The area where the neuroma had been removed felt very "full". I had had some scar tissue build up a couple of months after the initial surgery which my dr. injected. This wasn't helping at all and so the doctor recommended a second surgery to remove the "stump". While she was doing the surgery she discovered a huge cyst that had wrapped around my 3,4 5 toes! She removed the stump and sent the tissue in for biopsy - it turns out that my body had matastisized (sp?) one of the stitches from the first surgery and had grown a lovely benign mass. Second recovery was a bit more involved initially, but again relieved the symptoms.
Unfortunately when the doctor removed the cyst she also removed much of the tissue and fat pad under the space where it had been. Now that I have RA I do have a concentration of pain in that area and occasionally need an injection to break up scar tissue. Apparently I my body loves to make scar tissue. Hope this is helpful.
I had this in both feet. I had bunion surgery on one foot and had it removed from that foot at the same time. The dr. said it would not go away--however, when I was on DBL after the surgery--the other one did go away. I think this was about the time the RA was aggressively setting in. 6 months later, I could not walk across the room without being in major, major pain in ankles, etc. To put it simpy you are walking on an inflamed nerve. When I would walk around, then sit down, get up again after some time, I thought I would die--the pain was incredible. I think with the RA, it displaces your bones in your feet and causes all kinds of havoc. Good luck.