I Had Lumbar Fusion In 2012 And Left Foot Tarsal

Posted on Fri, 14 Dec 2018

Question: I had lumbar fusion in 2012 and left foot tarsal tunnel syndrome surgery in 2015. My symptoms are numbness and tingling in my toes and fingers. I get headaches, have cold feet and fingers that turn bluish. My jaw clicks when I open my mouth, every time. It's hard sometime to find my words,so people will laugh at me ,so I tend to shy away. I get more tired than normal. I am a caregiver for my son ,47yrs. who lives with us and has ALS. My husband is dealing with balance issues,so much of the care is on me.I am 66yrs. old. Otherwise I am in good health.

Answered by Dr. Dr.Arnab (26 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
further evaluation required...

Detailed Answer:
Hello and Welcome to 'Ask A Doctor' service...
I've gone through your query in details...
I can understand your concern...

Well, let's divide these symptoms at first: the cold feet, tingling in your toes and fingers which also turn bluish are likely to be interrelated to vascular supplies (blood and blood vessels) of the lower limbs...

While those headaches, jaw clicks, difficulty in finding words sometimes could be related to the brain and blood vessels of the neck and as well, the brain.
So, considering your doctor's findings along with (heard something on your neck), I'd suggest not only the carotids but getting a full check-up (this includes MRI brain with MR-Angio of the neck as well as the cerebral vessels)...

Additionally, for the lower limbs, Doppler scan of the bilateral lower limbs veno-arterial systems should also be done to look into them in details...

Please discuss this with your doctor and proceed further...

Let me know if I can assist you further.

Take Care
Kind Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee