Cold feet and legs which then turn hot and tingly/numb

[LuckyAmy1986]

I broke my toe ten days ago and since then I have been suffering with my calf and foot on the same leg (left). It goes freezing cold for a couple of hours in the evenings when I am relaxing (although does get cold in the day too but notice it more in the evenings) and then starts to go hot and tingly, I guess blood going back into it? It goes quite pink compared to the other foot and ends up feeling quite heavy but numb if that makes sense. Seen 2XGPs as I was really worried and neither are all at concerned which I can't get my head around! Said it can't be a circulation issue because that would cause issues when walking around not on rest - one said it could be nerve damage but that it would heal itself if it was. Has anyone else experienced this? I really would have thought this would be looked into, it's quite scary.

[JellyBabiesSaveLives]

Possibly the nerves that are responsible for the dilation and constriction of the blood vessels in your foot are sending the wrong signals. I had this after foot surgery.

The GPs will have satisfied themselves that you don’t have a blood clot and therefore aren’t in any immediate danger and have relegated you to “weird problem, let’s hope it goes away”, because neurologists have year-long waiting lists so they won’t refer you if they can help it. The autonomic nerve system doesn’t seem to be that well understood and does seem prone to getting temporarily buggered up!

[LuckyAmy1986]

Thanks for the reply. I just wish I had a definitive answer! I’ve got tingling and aching in my left arm which I also mentioned but they were not concerned in the slightest! I really hope it does just go away. How long did you have it after surgery if you don’t mind me asking?

[JellyBabiesSaveLives]

Umm, still got it. Not what you want to hear I know ...

[Skandinaviem]

I had this a bit- turned out I was vitD3 deficient. All fine now I’m on supplements. (I take 3000iu a day)

[LuckyAmy1986]

Oh dear! @Jelly Still as bad as it was? I’m trying to convince myself it’s not as bad tonight!

Thanks @skandi that’s interesting. Mine started the night of the toe break so it just has to be related to that ( I would have thought!)

Hate feeling like I’m wasting nhs time but hate not knowing what’s going on

[JellyBabiesSaveLives]

So the thing where it feels like all the blood in your body has rushed down to your foot - that stopped once the injury healed.

The tingling and the random coldness got worse and spread. There is a thing called CRPS which you do not want to Google unless things gets worse. If it progresses to actual real pain, get back to the GP.

I had a load of different consultants prodding me and passing me onto the next one after they decided it wasn’t caused by whatever they specialised in. One MRI picked up that I have an old herniated disc between my shoulder blades which is compressing my spinal cord, so every doctor ever now blames anything wrong with me on that. Rash on your ear? Must be that T5 disc, jolly dangerous that ...

But it started after the toe surgery and they say the spine problem is decades old.

This is probably not much help to you! Mostly I have discovered that there is a huge amount that doctors just do not know. So they favour making sure you’re not dying and then waiting to see if your body fixes itself!

I would say though - you use your toes a lot more than you imagine. Don’t tell yourself it’s minor and try to keep doing everything. Rest if you can.

[LuckyAmy1986]

@JellyBabiesSaveLives
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply!
I am hoping this is the case for me too, that the blood rushing feeling will stop once it's healed up.
I did google CPRS (sorry!), thing is mine is not painful at all, just cold. The cold hasn't spread yet, that must have been really scary for you.
That must be really frustrating that they blame everything on your herniated disc! Especially, as you say, it was only after the toe surgery that it all started.
I agree with what you say re doctors not knowing everything, because they seem to keep ruling out circulation issues (hmm) but then, what is it then?! I would feel much better if I had an answer. I have seen a different GP who says I am an Enigma. Anyway, she has ordered a blood test and a doppler to test my arteries are working as they should. At least she is looking into it further. I am sitting here now and my leg feels like it is in an ice bucket. Also I expected there to be no pain in my toe now but there still is. You are so right about using toes a lot more than you imagine!