Morton's Neuroma

[debij]

I have been suffering with Morton's Neuroma in both feet for 9 months. I have tried anti-inflammatory therapy, cortizone injections, orthodics, and now alcohol injections. I have gotten little or no relief from any of the previous treatments. My doctor insisted we try these alcohol injections before we did any surgery. My first injections did nothing but make my feet hurt worse. Can I look forward to this reaction after each injection? Can anyone give me their personal outcome from using the alcohol injections? I want to think positive, but I've had no reason to be positive so far. Any insight I can get as to what to expect is appreciated.

[wmair]

Greetings
I have been suffering for about the same length of time with left Morton's neuroma, not responsive to cortisone shots x 3 or orthotics; the orthotics made it better but now my podiatrist wants to try alcohol ablation but I do not have any stats on the effectiveness of this procedure; did your doc give you any info on the success rate of this procedure?

[debij]

My Dr. said he has had good success with the alcohol injections. Successful enough that he will not even do surgery without trying the injections first. I was so tired of the pain I wanted him to do the surgery right away but he wouldn't do it. I go for my second round of shots on Monday, 8/27/07. I'm going to ask the Dr. what the success rate is, and if I can expect the shots to make my feet hurt worse each time. At this point, it doesn't really matter. I'm willing to try anything that may stop the pain! I'll post again after my doctor visit if I have anything new to add.

[ndone]

What is anti-inflammatory therapy? Read my posts on Lyrica. ndone is my name.

[debij]

What is anti-inflammatory therapy? Read my posts on Lyrica. ndone is my name.

My doctor had me taking regular doses of anti-inflammatories. Some of them were prescription and some not, but he had me taking prescription strength doses. I've tried Relafin, Celebrex, Ibuprofen (Advil), and Naproxin (Aleve). Supposedly, this works for some people to relieve the pain and inflammation. None of them did anything for me except mess my stomach up. Anti-inflammatories are used a lot for pain management with joint pain, like arthritis.

[ndone]

You really might like to try Lyrica, it is not anti-inflammatory but specifically for nerve pain, used for after shingles pain and diabetic neuropathy. I figure the nerve is being compressed in Bob's foot by the neuroma, thus the pain. look up lyrica.com. let me know

[debij]

I will talk to my doctor about Lyrica on Monday. It makes sense to me that it should help with neuroma pain since it is also nerve pain like shingles or diabetic neuropathy. How long has your husband been using Lyrica? Is it helping with all the pain, or taking most of the edge off? Either way is good as far as I'm concerned. I just want to get back to as near to normal as I possibly can.

[ndone]

Hi again, I have noticed a BIG difference in his pain since taking the Lyrica, when you live with someone and have seen how they act with the pain you really notice when it is better. He was always rubbing his foot and putting ice on it and limping. He walks alot more normal and not fiddling with his foot nearly as much! His pain scale has gone from an 8.5 to a 2 he says. I am still going to try and find a doctor that does Interdigital Nerve Decompression. A dr. by the name of George R. Vito wrote a paper on this and I read it on the internet. He works in Georgia, but the article made so much sense. What is interesting is that for the last two weeks after Bob got a molar pulled he has had pain in his mouth from that extraction, going back Monday to the dentist, and the Lyrica does nothing for that pain so it must not be from a nerve. Let me know how your Dr. responds to your request. Bye Terry My regular e-mail is [moderator note: e-mail address has been removed]

[marcy]

Hi debij,

I am curious to hear how your alchohol injections (sclerosing) are going. I have a possible surgery scheduled for later this fall for my MN in my right foot, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to try the injections first. I meet with my doctor on Wednesday, and he's going to run through all the risks with me first, but have the injection all ready if I want to try it. I'm nervous, but I'm even more nervous about the surgery because of not having 100% success rate + the recovery time afterwards. (I have 16 month old twins and I'm a teacher so I'm on my feet all the time and can't imagine taking time off to recuperate after surgery). Obviously though, with the pain of a neuroma, I"m willing to try almost anything at this point.

Please keep me up to date on everything with your injections. It will help me to make my decisions. (Also, how often did your doctor advise you to get them? I've read everything from 7-11 days apart with a possible 3-8 injections total.)

Also, I wanted to let you know that I did some internet research on the sclerosing and I read that patients often see an increase in pain in the beginning. However, the research also said that is a very good sign that the sclerosing will actually work to alleviate pain in the long run. So that might be really good news for you considering your response to the first!!! Also, when I went to get a second opinion for MN, the podiatrist told me that often the injections don't really make a difference until the 3rd or 4th one, and if you see no improvement by #4, it makes sense to just stop the treatment. I liked that idea because at least you don't have to spend months and months on the injections if they don't work.

Anyway, please keep us posted on everything.

Marcy

[debij]

Hi, Marcy,
I went for my second round of shots today, so it's kind of early to tell much. The doctor puts anesthetic in with the alcohol so the pain is almost completely gone for about 8 hours. What a nice relief that is! The first time the pain came back with a vengence. The doctor said I should notice the pain improving after the second shot, and definitely more improvement after the third. Right now the numbness from the shots has only been gone for about 2 hours, so it's a little early to tell. The shots hurt, but only for a second, and not nearly as painful as the cortizone shots. I am getting the shots every 14 days. My doctor says 5 - 7 shots is usually enough. Another interesting note on the injections...they are extremely expensive! Thank God I have insurance or I wouldn't be able to get them. They are $465 for each shot!!! And I'm getting them in both feet! All in all, I would say it is very much worth a try. I'm like you, I'll try almost anything if there is a chance it can get rid of my pain. I'll post again tomorrow to let you know how my feet are feeling the day after my second round of shots.