What's That Tingling In My Toe?

So, I'll admit it.  Sometimes I feel weird things in my body and swear something is wrong with me.   I might be guilty of going to WebMD every so often just to check things out.  But, I keep it to myself so as not to be the crazy one, or the hypochondriac. I won't go into detail on these things I've researched, but there's one that's quite interesting, happening post surgery, that I had to ask.

"Dr. C, I have to ask you the strangest question I think you'll ever get post surgery. I've waited 5 weeks to see if it goes away...lol."  Clearly you can see that I'm setting up my doctor to be prepared for any and everything I might ask.  Basically, I was justifying my asking the question and making myself feel better about it.

I continue.  "Has anyone ever said that they have nerve tingling on the top of their foot leading to their second toe after surgery? Both feet?"  See, I told you, weird.  

For the past five weeks, I've had the strangest sensations in the tops of my feet which lead to my second toe on each foot.  I would move my feet, flexing, turning, whatever I could do to try and shake it off.  I thought maybe it was just in my head.  Maybe its from all the bed rest.  Maybe I just needed a massage.  But what if I said something and everyone thought I was crazy?  What if I was all the sudden the hypochondriac?  Who has tingling in their feet as a result of surgery?

Who?  Me!  I'm NOT crazy!

Turns out I always have to do things not-so-by-the-book.  I got seroma after surgery which needed to be aspirated, and now I have tingling toes. Turns out, this is from the compression socks I wore during surgery.  I told you they were super tight, the nurses even had a fancy way of using a plastic bag to slip them up my leg more easily.  Well, there's a nerve called the Peroneal Nerve than runs down the leg...then into the second toe which is called the Deep Peroneal Nerve.  My nerves got bruised a bit from the top of the compression socks.  

After researching a bit further, I found some stories about numbness and tingling from people who fly with compression socks, but it usually resolves itself in a few days or weeks.  I have flying compression socks, they're nothing like surgical socks.  So I now get why my poor second toes tingle right now and for so long.  I'm told this will resolve itself over time.  For now, just call me tingly toes.