Author: Foot Doctor
Date: 1/22/2008 7:07 pm PDT
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Let me attempt to explain to you why it is that what you are asking for cannot be responsibly offered here. The typical diagnostic process involves:
1. Carefully listening to the patient's complaint, and obtaining a through history of the problem as known by the patient, as well as other known problems which might bear of the issue at hand. The later requires the prodding of the doctor, as the patient frequently does not associate ancillary or collateral condition with his or her problem.
2. Asking targeted questions and then follow-ups predicated on the answers obtained, in order to narrow the scope of considerations.
3. Making a physical assessment of the situation by hands-on examination and asking more questions.
4. Only then can the relevant possibilities be appropriately listed in what is known as the "differential diagnosis." This is a virtual sort of hopper into which the doctor places his/her thoughts as to what conditions might fit, based on the evaluation so far.
5. Physical, laboratory and radiologic testing as needed, targeted at excluding the items included in the differential diagnosis, one by one, until hopefully only one diagnosis survives the gauntlet.
What you are asking is that I skip to step #4 without the benefit of knowledge gained in steps #1, 2 and 3. It would be a disservice to you, without appropriate knowledge gleaned in the procedure outlined above, to lead you down a path which is terribly unlikely to be the correct one. The causes of problems involving the lack of or abnormal sensory transmissions are often particularly difficult to pin-point, and the diagnostic path to be taken must be based on the individual particulars of the case and the history.
Diagnosis is generally the most critical aspect of effective medical care, as without it, the selected treatment can only work by blind luck. That is why forums such as this, which cannot offer the scope of information required for diagnosis, are inappropriate for the responsible offering of even a differential diagnosis, which is essential what you are asking for.
Once you have obtained a relevant diagnosis, I will be happy to attempt to answer questions in a general fashion regarding that diagnosis as it generally presents and the treatment options available.
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