I have a vague symptom which I wonder is Parkinson related. When I get out of bed the soles of my feet tingle and it is difficult for me to step on each foot. It's like there are pins and needles under my feet. When I keep walking it becomes tolerable and I rub and exercise my feet it is helpful but that pins and needles feeling remains in the bottom of my feet. I walk about 5 miles each morning before doing other exercises. Does anybody have this foot symptom and do you think it's PD related?? I also have that feeling while in bed and sometimes my large toe feels like gout which I don't have.

18 Replies

I don't have the training or personal experience to answer your question as to whether your symptoms are Parkinson related. There is however, a commercial on our local television which touts a remedy for foot problems caused by diabetes. The pictures and narrative depict those symptoms you have described including the "pins and needles" feeling. The commercial calls it " Diabetic neuropathy".

Thank you for responding. My symptoms sound like diabetic peripheral neuropathy but I have never been told I have diabetes and I take CBC blood tests yearly, I am thin and athletic. I will look into this but was wondering if it is a PD related. so far no one has said so.

Hikoi, thank you for referring me to that article. They also note it can be caused by PD meds, which I do not take, but more importantly they point to a correlation between peripheral neuropathy and high hemocystine and MMA levels which they think can be caused by a vitamine B12 deficiency. This B12 deficiency has been with me since I was a child, I used to get B12 shots in the day when such were administered. I will take a blood test for MMA and hemocystine levels as well as a B12 deficiency. The B12 deficiency can be caused by kidney problems so definitely can be serious.

Many thanks. Don't know where I would be without this website and people like you.

Well thank you racer, I found it an interesting article too. If you have done 23andMe you can actually work out if you have the normal or weak version of MTHFR enzyme which is connected to risk of elevated homocysteine levels.

Another article on a parallel topic - non motor symptoms of PD may be of interest. It is here.

I read your article with great interest. It's interesting that PD meds sometimes cause non-motor symptoms and that is one reason I hesitate to begin and also because the motor symptoms are not limiting for me yet. Of all the NM symptoms described insomnia is the most prevalent and troubling for me and I am working on it with some success. One thing I started was estrogen replacement therapy post-hysterectomy which poses fewer dangers and I'm hopeful that will help in sleep quality and duration. being almost 75 I hope something happens before the most severe PD symptoms. Constipation was a serious problem for me since childhood but with this diagnosis I have followed good eating habits that improved elimination with no issues here.

I am interested in how to go about getting genetic testing with 23&me. I will need interpretation of results and to pinpoint specific conditions. I have no interest in knowing that my origins are deep in Siberia or Alaska. I want to know information to help me go forward. How were your results analyzed for you, assuming you are not a geneticist.

I am again in your debt for my continuing education about this disease.

Hikoi, I do not take any medication either for PD or otherwise. But thank you for giving me the peripheral neuropathy informatdion. It seems on target. The large toe situation could very well be gout because I eat a lot of spinach which is high in uric acid.

I have exactly the same problem. In fact my feet feel stiff as well when i get up in the morning. Have the big toe problem as well which makes it difficult to walk but wears off the further i walk..me neurologist says it is pd related.

Thanks for response, marieboyd. I have actually had this issue 10 years before my PD diagnosis but thought nothing of it so now I know it is definitely PD related as a result of previous responses on this website. Thank you everybody for being there as a sounding board and to answer vital questions.

Hi, I also had that happen to me, and was told it's water retention and/or high blood pressure, I take a diuretic tablet now and it has stopped. I don't know if it has anything to do with PD, but this only happened to me after being diagnosed! Can't remember how long after. The gout feeling in my big toe I cured with taking 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon honey, mix to a paste and have a generous amount on toast in the mornings, or mix with hot water and drink, I find the cinnamon unpleasant like this, so have it on toast. Gouty feeling gone in a few days!

I have had PD for six years now. I started having cramping in my feet about a year ago, but the worst pain I had, which sent me to the ER was a horrible throbbing pain in my second toe. Why that toe? I have no idea, but I take Gabapentin and it helps some, but I can barely walk for the first 10 minutes I get out of bed and the throbbing in my toe still occurs, just not as often. However, it's still painful enough that I feel like going to the ER or cutting off my toe. My doctor is baffled, wants to send me to a foot specialist, but right now I am on Social Security Disability and have no insurance. But the cinnamon and honey remedy is worth a try. Will try it as soon as I write this.

I had an intense pain in let ankle and big toe which felt like descriptions I have heard of a gout attack. I was at work and taken to ER by ambulance. When the young doctor saw me he asked me when I had eaten last and what. I had fasted completely the day before and the day of had eaten a large portion of spinach and gone to work with nothing to drink. He advised I take a large glass of water immediately and after I did and after voiding and drinking more water the pain disappeared completely never to be repeated. I had obviously caused a buildup or uric acid by fasting, eating a large amount of spinach and drinking nothing and not voiding. All this occurred ten years ago.