My Right Foot

Peripheral neuropathy. Sound impressive? Not if you're living with it.

First, a quick anatomy lesson, courtesy of the Mayo Clinic:

Your nervous system is divided into two broad categories. Your central nervous system consists of your brain and spinal cord. All the other nerves in your body are part of your peripheral nervous system.

Now the Clinic's definition:

Peripheral neuropathy, in its most common form, causes pain and numbness in your hands and feet. The pain typically is described as tingling or burning, while the loss of sensation often is compared to the feeling of wearing a thin stocking or glove.

The condition "can result from such problems as traumatic injuries, infections, metabolic problems and exposure to toxins." What they don't tell you is that "traumatic injuries" can include the surgery a doctor performs in order to correct another condition (in my case, a broken right ankle requiring pins and screws... or "hardware" in medical parlance).

I know several people who've had lower back surgery, then suffered through a bout of peripheral neuropathy (a.k.a. nerve damage). They tell about numb or tingling toes, a feeling of heaviness in their feet "like wearing Frankenstein shoes."

The quandary, the worry, is in how long it takes for the condition to subside. Go ahead, ask your surgeon or physical therapist "When does this wear off? When will it improve?" You're likely to get an unnervingly vague and noncommittal response: "Depends. Few weeks. Several months. Up to a year." Because, to be fair, they don't want to cultivate false hopes about a quick recovery. Because it depends.

Look at it this way -- it's a trade-off. You're spared one, permanently disabling condition for another (cross your fingers) temporary one. And it's better than leaving the original ailment or injury unchecked and being wracked with interminable, excruciating, incapacitating pain.

Consider the discomfort and numbness the "cost of repair" -- part of the recovery process, the post-surgical malaise. An annoying, transient (if you're lucky) after-effect that they conveniently failed to mention before you went under the knife.

Note: You can visit the Neuropathy Association's website for information, resources, and support.