by steve
(UK)
Here's one that might be of interest...and it's certainly a puzzle for my doctor, neurologist and me.
For some years now and with growing regularity, I have had brief spasms (or convulsions) of what, in symptom terms, might be described as 'foot drop'. By 'regularity' and 'brief', I mean 2 or 3 times a day (late afternoon and evening)and 10 to 15 seconds.
These brief spasms, which tend to run in waves largely down the upper left half of my left foot, are accompanied by an almost complete loss of feeling in most of the side/front of my foot. This loss of feeling is temporary and normality returns almost instantly after each event. There is no pain, though there a distinct feeling of coldness running through my foot and partially up my leg for a few seconds after. Additionally, over this last year or so, I have developed the feeling of a lump behind my middle and fourth toes..there isn't an actual lump but almost certainly a small area within my foot devoid of feeling.
Three other observations: There is no obvious loss of strength in my left leg or foot despite the fact that this event has happened many hundreds of times. Secondly, there may be some relation to sleep - If I sleep well, the onset of these events is pushed back later into the day; poor sleep appears to result in the problem happening earlier. Thirdly, I have no apparent back problems.
Most conceivable tests have been carried out and nothing is obvious - or even hinted at...... and, of course, what I'm describing might just not be footdrop but merely symptoms resembling it.
Any ideas that can help?
Hi Steve,
That would be a tough one to diagnose from across the Atlantic, but typically those symptoms are suggestive of a herniated disc, but you state that you have no back problems. The only other area you might look for nerve irritation causing this type of symptoms would be at the head of fibula bone where the nerves passing through are known to become irritated in some people.
On a longshot, has anyone looked into Parkinson's disease as the source?
Marc Mitnick DPM
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