Senior Member

Posts: 134
From:
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-17-2003 12:52 PM            

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hi guys- i have what seems to be what they call drop foot when i go down stairs.....and when i went to my n/s she did the reflexes and there were none in my right ankle...exactly what does this mean and what about the drop foot, does anyone else have that? does it get worse as time goes by? mistyone

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sept 02 nasty car crash by drunk driver. got C5-6-7 HNP, T-7-8 bulge, 8-9, 10-11 HNP, L 5 L3 S1 lateral recess, ACDF with my hip on right side, posterior CDF w 11 screws and 4 plates, hareware has to come out in feb 04 when the bone has matured. my n/s quit her practice an not i am up the creek trying to find another n/s or orthopod to help me as they are all fearful of malpractice where the other doctor was.....not on pain meds but on xanax 1 mg and effexor 75 mgs. have torn right rotator cuff w/ some DDD thrown in for good meaure. have left hand dominant CTS and not a happy camper right now....

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Senior Member

Posts: 135
From:STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 09-18-2003 07:53 PM            

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hi Misty,
I had drop foot etc. when I was diagnoised with herniated lumbar disc at L4-5. Also had sciatica badly. I think when drop foot occurs, surgery is the only option. Your nerves are being compressed and that is causing your sypmtoms.

good luck
Lori

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Posts: 134
From:
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-19-2003 05:32 PM            

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hi lori- hope you are feeling ok by now....i mean when i say drop foot, when i go down the stairs, my feet feel weird like awckard, like i could trip all over them but not really painful though....just wobbly like they dont even belong to me....is that the description of drop foot? i am jsuit trying to understand the meaning of what that it exactly to have a drop foot?

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sept 02 nasty car crash by drunk driver. got C5-6-7 HNP, T-7-8 bulge, 8-9, 10-11 HNP, L 5 L3 S1 lateral recess, ACDF with my hip on right side, posterior CDF w 11 screws and 4 plates, hareware has to come out in feb 04 when the bone has matured. my n/s quit her practice an not i am up the creek trying to find another n/s or orthopod to help me as they are all fearful of malpractice where the other doctor was.....not on pain meds but on xanax 1 mg and effexor 75 mgs. have torn right rotator cuff w/ some DDD thrown in for good meaure. have left hand dominant CTS and not a happy camper right now....

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Senior Member

Posts: 134
From:
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-19-2003 05:57 PM            

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hi lori- i was just wondering why my feet feel like jelly when i go down stairs, they feel like they dont belong to me, not painful just wobbly or acwkard like..is that what they mean by drop foot? mistyone

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sept 02 nasty car crash by drunk driver. got C5-6-7 HNP, T-7-8 bulge, 8-9, 10-11 HNP, L 5 L3 S1 lateral recess, ACDF with my hip on right side, posterior CDF w 11 screws and 4 plates, hareware has to come out in feb 04 when the bone has matured. my n/s quit her practice an not i am up the creek trying to find another n/s or orthopod to help me as they are all fearful of malpractice where the other doctor was.....not on pain meds but on xanax 1 mg and effexor 75 mgs. have torn right rotator cuff w/ some DDD thrown in for good meaure. have left hand dominant CTS and not a happy camper right now....

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Senior Member

Posts: 134
From:
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-19-2003 11:13 PM            

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bump

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Newbie

Posts: 4
From:Farmington, NY, USA
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 09-26-2003 01:10 PM            

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Hi Misty,
Drop foot is when you lose some of the nerve function in your foot. Basically you can't lift your toes off the ground so your foot seems to drop or droop when you walk. Of course it can be less or more severe. I got drop foot August 2002 when I had a herniated disc at L4-L5. I knew the disc was out but the when I went on a long car trip I noticed I was walking funny (another name for drop foot is steppage gate). When I got back and went to my NS he recommended immediate surgery to uncompress the root nerve that was affected. Sometimes it will go away after 6 months to a year sometimes it is a permanent disability. I am still gimped and am resigned to be forever. It's not too bad when you wear an AFO (ankle foot orthotic - brace) but its a pain. So I mainly don't wear it. It is hard walking running, stairs, etc. I notice a loss of lower leg strength, numbness, occasional tingling, abrasions taking very long to heal, and other effects from it. It is a type of Peripheral Neuropathy. Some people with diabetes (among many other things) can have similar problems. Well I hope I haven't depressed you. But is it something to take care of ASAP. Good Luck.

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Senior Veteran

Posts: 786
From:Indiana
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 09-26-2003 01:35 PM            

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Misty~

My drop foot manifested itself as an inability to clear the floor as I moved it forward to take a step, causing a lot of tripping. The toes would catch on the floor.

Over time, your mind will compensate for this, causing you to change your normal gait. In my case, I noticed that I was starting to swing the entire leg out to the side, in a semi-circle fashion, in order to clear the floor.

Once a compensory gait pattern is established, it's difficult to re-teach it. Not impossible, by any means, but our minds tend to hold on to the things that work, until we can convince it otherwise (physical therapy).

I do hope you're able to get some answers and treatment. I know what you mean about feeling like your leg/foot doesn't belong to you. My right leg hasn't belonged to me for a long time, but my condition is different than yours.

What was the final consensus of your NS?

Take Care,

~Teri

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Spina-bifida occulta; Congenital Scoliosis (dextrorotatory and 'S' curve, 42 thorasic and 57 degrees lumbar); Meningomyelocele (split cord @ L1); Diastematomyelia (re-sectioned at L2-3); tethered cord @ S-3; cysts on cord; various developmental abnormalities of the spine: narrowing of all disk spaces, defects in posterior arches, ectasia of the spinal canal and dura, segmental disease, sclerosis in L. iliac bone and adjacent sacroiliac joint, unilateral osteitis condensans ilium, hypertrophic facet disease L4-5 and L5-S1.

Surgeries include, but not limited to:
Lumbar fusion-1968
Fusion with Herrington Rod instrumentation-1970
Femoral osteotomy-1971
Tethered cord release-1987
Rod removal-1987
Chiari-type pelvic osteotomy-1988
Trochanteric osteotomy-1989
Tethered cord release-2003
Fusion with instrumentation with lots and lots of screws-2003

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Senior Member

Posts: 134
From:
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-27-2003 10:17 AM            

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thank you guys for answering me about the drop foot. since i had my c 5-6-7 i have noticed that it has gotten worse and my n/s diagnosed me with this in both feet. i didnt really understand what it was until i started going down stairs and felt like i was constantly going to trip and fall. which is what i meant when i say i feel clumsy and awckard in my footing especially on stairs. i do also notice it while walking. the n/s said i have no right ankle reflexes and i was wondering if that is what caused it besides the L5-4 S1.....lateral recess that i have. i think my neck op may have put more pressure on the rest of my spine which accounts for the rapid onset of this foo drop in getting worse....mistyone

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sept 02 nasty car crash by drunk driver. got C5-6-7 HNP, T-7-8 bulge, 8-9, 10-11 HNP, L 5 L3 S1 lateral recess, ACDF with my hip on right side, posterior CDF w 11 screws and 4 plates, hareware has to come out in feb 04 when the bone has matured. my n/s quit her practice an not i am up the creek trying to find another n/s or orthopod to help me as they are all fearful of malpractice where the other doctor was.....not on pain meds but on xanax 1 mg and effexor 75 mgs. have torn right rotator cuff w/ some DDD thrown in for good meaure. have left hand dominant CTS and not a happy camper right now....

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Member

Posts: 65
From:
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-27-2003 04:21 PM            

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Why haven't you been referred for surgery? A man at the Y said he would have lost his foot alltogether if he hadn't had surgery for his one drop foot. And he didn't even get all the feeling back.

fly

[This message has been edited by flyonthewall (edited 09-27-2003).]

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Senior Member

Posts: 134
From:
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-27-2003 06:26 PM            

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my n/s who wanted to fix me quit her practice after giving everyone of her patients 1 mon notice that she was leaving her practice and quiting n/s altogether to become an eye surgeon!!!! huh? after 15 yrs now she wants to do eye surgery? now i am finding a had time tryingto find a n/s who i can go to as they all have waiting periods here of about 2 months (that is for someone good) but noticed that going down stairs recently my foot drop has gotten worse since the operation in feb i had with her before she quit......i am fearful of going down stairs as i am constantly thinking that i am going to trip over my feet and my feet feel funny like rubbery sometimes, i was just wondering how much worse this gets before i have an op......thanks mistyone

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sept 02 nasty car crash by drunk driver. got C5-6-7 HNP, T-7-8 bulge, 8-9, 10-11 HNP, L 5 L3 S1 lateral recess, ACDF with my hip on right side, posterior CDF w 11 screws and 4 plates, hareware has to come out in feb 04 when the bone has matured. my n/s quit her practice an not i am up the creek trying to find another n/s or orthopod to help me as they are all fearful of malpractice where the other doctor was.....not on pain meds but on xanax 1 mg and effexor 75 mgs. have torn right rotator cuff w/ some DDD thrown in for good meaure. have left hand dominant CTS and not a happy camper right now....

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Member

Posts: 65
From:
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-28-2003 05:35 AM            

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Can you go to the ER?

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Senior Member

Posts: 134
From:
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-28-2003 01:52 PM            

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thye never do anything as they dont want the responsibilty they just hand out drugs and say make an appopintment with your doctor....mistyone

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sept 02 nasty car crash by drunk driver. got C5-6-7 HNP, T-7-8 bulge, 8-9, 10-11 HNP, L 5 L3 S1 lateral recess, ACDF with my hip on right side, posterior CDF w 11 screws and 4 plates, hareware has to come out in feb 04 when the bone has matured. my n/s quit her practice an not i am up the creek trying to find another n/s or orthopod to help me as they are all fearful of malpractice where the other doctor was.....not on pain meds but on xanax 1 mg and effexor 75 mgs. have torn right rotator cuff w/ some DDD thrown in for good meaure. have left hand dominant CTS and not a happy camper right now....

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