Photo b By Private individual – A photo taken privately., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4337056

Dear Readers, it’s a new year so it must be time for a new medical procedure (in this case, one I’ve been waiting six months for, but better late than never!) So it was off to the Royal Free Hospital for a Nerve Conduction Study, to see if we can find out why my feet are so numb.

The Royal Free is actually a moderately awkward place to get to from East Finchley, so I got a cab. My cab driver was from Afghanistan originally, and was describing how his mother died of a heart attack aged 65 after the family were attacked by the Taliban. He himself is type 2 diabetic, so we had a great chat about neuropathy, and he recommended a juice made from apple, carrot, beetroot and orange that he’s knocking up for himself every morning. Then he told me that he’d failed a written English test that taxi drivers now apparently have to have in order to keep their minicab badge. Honestly? I can see why you’d want people to be able to speak sufficiently good English, and to read enough to understand road signs, but this chap’s spoken English was as good as any of the London-born cabbies that I’ve been driven around by during the broken leg months. Life just seems to hard for people sometimes.

Anyhoo, I got to the hospital, found my way to neurology, and was soon chatting to the consultant. What a strange experience a Nerve Conduction Study is! And what a reminder that we basically run on electrical signals. Before I knew what was happening my toes were jumping, and he also tested my hand as I was complaining that I seemed to have developed a tremor there. It’s not at all painful, I feel no side effects, and overall the whole thing was a slightly comic reminder of how easy it is to get us to make physical movements which are not under our control.

Anyhow, at the end of it all he diagnosed mild neuropathy in my feet, and no problem with my hands. The question is, why? I don’t appear to be diabetic (though I might see if the doctor will revisit that), and I haven’t got any of the things that I was secretly worried about (Parkinsons, MS etc) so that’s a relief. My B12 levels are fine (a shortage of B12 can cause neuropathy). So it’s all a bit mysterious, but at least I know I’m not imagining a problem with my feet. Apparently the results will be with my GP within a couple of hours, and I persuaded the consultant to give me a copy of the results. I shall follow up with the doctor and see what we do next. I can live with having neuropathy, but it would be good to know if there’s anything that can be done to stop it getting worse.

I’ve also been seeing a podiatrist, and that was very enlightening – I definitely have a) hypermobility (which explains why the smallest change in the pavement surface seems to trigger a major catastrophe where my ankle is concerned) and b) bunions and c) fallen arches, so I’m getting some orthotics to see if they will help to rebalance my walking. Plus there’s good old pilates for balance and strength as well.

One thing the consultant did say is that I need to be careful in the dark, because in the absence of adequate feeling in my feet, I need to use my eyes to help with balance, which I can’t do if it’s dark. So I will need to be a bit more careful if I do any more visits to caves, and I should also (apparently) be careful if I close my eyes in the shower.

Well, let’s see what happens next, Readers! And do shout if you have any advice/comments/experience in these matters, it’s always good to share knowledge.