What Causes Numbness In Toes With History Of Heart Bypass Surgery?

Posted on Tue, 13 Jan 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 13 Jan 2015 Answered on

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : What can cause numbness in your toes. Can retaining to much water be a cause or how can you tell if its bad circulation. I had heart by pass (5) about 8 years ago and they took veins from both of my legs for the by pass

Answered by Dr. Ajay Panwar (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
It can be neuropathy or peripheral vascular disease.

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXX,
Thanks for being here on Healthcaremagic.com.
I am Dr.Ajay Panwar, a neurologist,here to answer your query.
Here, it is important for me to ask you some questions so that I can answer your query better-
1) Do you have edema in your limbs (it looks like you have, as you asked whether numbness can be related to retaining of water)
2) Are you a chronic smoker?
3) Do you have history of intermittent claudication (like pain in legs while walking, which improves upon a minute or two of rest)?
4) Do you have history of tingling in legs?
5) Do you have any pain in hips, thighs or legs?

Common causes of numbness in toes are-
1) Neuropathy-common causes are Diabetes, Vitamins deficiency.
2) Radiculopathy- Common causes are 'Spine degenerative disease' and 'disc herniation'
3) Peripheral vascular disease
4) Chronic edema in feet
Some uncommon causes are-
Multiple sclerosis
Neuropathy-due to drugs and toxins/heavy metals

You may have to get examined for peripheral pulses, limb reflexes and sensations, and may need to undergo investigations like blood sugar (fasting and post prandial),serum vitamin B12 levels and nerve conduction studies(depending on the answers to above questions).

Please revert back with the answers of these questions in follow-up, so that I can answer your query well.

Dr.Ajay Panwar,
MD,DM(Neurology)

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju