introduction

[Guest guest]

Thank you for allowing me to ask questions and state my issues. I now

live in Michigan and for years I have had weak ankles and tripped

over my feet when climbing stairs. I have to really pay attention

with what I am doing. If I walk and talk it could be a problem.

I have had orthotics, lace up ankle braces and even P.T. no big

improvement with any treatments. I blamed it on my flat feet. In the

past 8 months or more my feet have been tingling and calves feel

swollen, but they are not. I had a physical 3 weeks ago and my

physician discovered that I have balance issues. He asked if I walk

into stuff. I state just the normal walking into things. So he

wanted me to keep track of how much I run into things.

I told my wife she laugh and said I run into stuff enough for it to be

noticeable. She had pointed it out to me in the past but I got mad and walked

off. I do run into things at night. So I told Physician this, off to a

neurologist I got sent.

The neurologist is really good he found that I don't have great feeling up the

feet and legs with a pin. I have trouble telling where my big toe is when moved

and that I have a weird reflex when he hit my achilles tendon. He also tied

together that the tingling I have in my palms might be connected I use to be

extremely sensitive in the feet, now it is not that way.

He said I have peripheral neuropathy. So off to the internet I went to do

research I found that it is a big word that means that it could still be most

anything. However I did find a lot of possibilities of what it could be. I found

this group and after I read some of the posts I again find similarities.

My mother was loving considered clumsy in the family and she had bouts of what

was called ankle tendonitis. Her father walked with a crutch and had open sores

on a foot which was somewhat deformed, this may have been diabetes but he did

not take shots.

However I just had an EMG and it was ok. I was extremely frustrated that I have

yet to pin down to what it is.

To make matters worse my ankle went out again yesterday sore today. Is there a

different type of brace that I should get? My question also is what should I ask

my neurologist about what is going on? Have other been frustrated on finding out

what they had going on? The neurologist is a good person who is trying to get to

root cause. The next step is a MRI on the neck. In the mean time I'll trip

along…. Thank you in advance for listening to my whining,

Dan