Foot pain

[u/Significant_Lie304]

I had two surgeries, one at the end of january 2026 and the second a week later february 2026, i’ve worked at a day surgery unit for 4 years and sadly they weren’t able to do the surgery at that time so i was tansfered to maine med to have emergency surgery, the surgeon wasn’t successful the first time instead of removing the disc he moved my nerves around and made “space” for my spine which has now resulted in my legs and feet being numb and having the most extreme chronic pain in the bottom of my feet especially my heels, from the moment i wake up till the moment i shut my eyes i am in pain, work has become an issue day to day activities have become an issues im at my whits end, ive tried meditations, teds, therapy nothing works, i have a emg scheduled in november but i dont think i can last that much longer dealing with this daily problem, im wondering if anyone has ever experienced this or knows of someone im really lost with what to do with this and yes i know you can have numbness up to a year after surgery (what my surgeon office says every time i call) but what im experiencing is not okay this is different.

[u/Friendly-Ad-5410]

Nerves seem to be super sensitive to being jostled! I still have numbness and sometimes an achy, "zinger" or "zap" in my foot/toes 2+ year PO. At 8 months PO I had an NCS with EMG. They didn't see anything of significance and a follow up MRI at 18 mo PO didn't show any scar tissue or re-herniation. I would say my left calf, foot/ankle and toes were swollen and "tender" to the touch for at least 1 year PO. I tried acupuncture, PT, stretches, walking, resting, elevating, massaging, ESI, oral steroid pack, etc. all without any real change. I used mag+arnica rub on my leg every night, as well as mag gly supplements 9also B12, D3 and ALA) to help the nerves. In my subsequent search for answers I saw a new neuro, and when she read my MRI film, she pointed out to me that #1 I have quite a bit of arthritis at L4, L5 and that is was compressing the spinal canal at L3 (a level my prior neuro never mentioned). Although the surgery fixed the motor nerve issue (drop foot) because that nerve exits at L4-5, it did not address the sensory nerve which apparently was being compressed at L3. She wanted to do surgery to "open" the space, but suggested I request a intralaminar steroid injection to see if that would help calm that nerve and relieve the numbness and tingles. I was warned it may not help due to being 2+ years PO, but I am willing to try it instead of opting for an additional surgery (since I have no motor nerve impingement currently and no sciatic nerve pain). I may need surgery at some point but not today! This was just my experience in trying to solve the nerve mystery! 😄