Post-op burning and pain in foot - I need help! - Neuropathy Message Board

Conestoga83 · 01-02-2009, 02:03 PM

Wow. I'm just getting so worn out from constant severe pain.
A year ago, I had an orthopedic surgery on my foot where a screw was accidentally put into my medial plantar nerve. It took them 5 weeks before they removed it and it did not alleviate the pain then at all. I finally just had surgery 3 weeks ago to explore the nerve and see what was going on with it. They found extensive scarring that had gone into all three branches of the nerve. The doctors cut the nerves, removed the damaged parts, and then inserted nerve tubes which will serve as little connectors. Hopefully the nerves will grow back and I will regain some normal sensation as nearly the entire bottom of my foot is completely numb. I can live with the numbness though, the pain is a different matter. I am still experiencing burning pain, and to make matters worse, I now have these horrible stabbing pains and sometimes electric shock sensations. The pain makes no sense to me as right now the nerves are disconnected. The surgeon says my central nervous system has formed a "pain memory" after receiving a pain signal from my foot for so long. But, I don't know how long that could last and what I can do now. I'm maxing out doses of Gabapentin, with Traumacet and Morphine thrown in. I can barely sleep at night because of the pain. Have been on a wait list since May to get into a pain clinic but no appointment yet. Have my own TENS unit and that really doesn't help. Aside from cutting off my foot, what can I do?

will54 · 01-02-2009, 06:00 PM

Hello Conestoga83,
I don't know if this will help, but I just read an article by Loolwa Khazzoom on drug free remedies for chronic pain. This article was in the January/February addition of AARP. The article talks about "Chronic pain impulses travel along well-worn pathways". It suggests that these pathways can be changed and relieve pain.
Here again, I don't know if this will offer help. Good luck.
Will

Conestoga83 · 01-02-2009, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by will54

Hello Conestoga83,
I don't know if this will help, but I just read an article by Loolwa Khazzoom on drug free remedies for chronic pain. This article was in the January/February addition of AARP. The article talks about "Chronic pain impulses travel along well-worn pathways". It suggests that these pathways can be changed and relieve pain.
Here again, I don't know if this will offer help. Good luck.
Will

Thanks for the resource, Will. I checked it out and found some links to other websites, etc. I appreciate you taking the time to make a suggestion.

I feel as if I'm walking (figuratively) a very lonely road, and am finding it seemingly impossible to find someone else who's had a somewhat similar experience.