I have had 3 injections in each foot for Morton's neuroma with no relief. My doctor sole me 2 different orthotics that were black pieces of plastic that did not help.

I did find an "orthotic" at the drug store that helps a little - but mostly with sneakers.

My doctor is pushing for surgery. I would like to try sclerosing. I mentioned this and he said that he tried it. The injections that I had were cortosione but there was some alcohol involved. He seemed to have trouble finding the neuroma with his little ultrasound machine.

I have called some doctors in the area and left messages with the staff that I was interested insclerosing. How can I find a doctor in Northern New Jersey in the Horizon Healthcare Plan to do this? Do I need to make an appointment with each of them to get an answer?

Hi and welcome.

No, I wouldn't think that you need to make an appointment. Talk to the receptionist and tell him/her what you've already had done. If she says that you need to come in to be assessed, move on to the next office.

The receptionist in an office is supposed to be your ally, not a wall between you and the doctor. Honest, if they can't help you, then you ought to move onto the next office.

Jeff

Oh, and I forgot...mixing alcohol and cortisone makes very little sense. Let me explain.

Cortisone is used to decrease inflammation in the nerve sheath. It's a good tool and helps in many cases. Alcohol on the other hand is used to chemically destroy the internal contents of the nerve. The process of destroying the nerve causes inflammation. So if you combine the town the cortisone negates the effect of the alcohol. Follow?

Jeff

Thank you for your message. Do "we" need to locate the exact location of the neuroma for injections to work? The doctor tried different locations with the injections, successive approximations. When he tried to locate the neuroma by squeezing my foot I could not tell him that one area hurt more than another. Ultrasound located the neuroma, but this was supposed to be a prelude to surgery. The series of injections had been completed.

Hi Doctor - I also have a painful neuroma and was interested in the alcohol injections. You made this statement - 'The process of destroying the nerve causes inflammation'. My questions are:
- is the inflammation temporary?
- Should there be a specified amt of time between injections? How many injections does it take?
- is it always successful? any downsides to it?
thanks - Karen

Right. For the sclerosing injections to work, they have to be done in a series in the same location. One here and one there isn't going to be effective. How close together? We usually talk about a neuroma being in the third or second intermetatarsal space (IMS). As long as you're in the same IMS near the bottom of the foot, you ought to be OK.

Jeff