Brief Answer:
If you had to map your affected areas could it include your back at all?

Detailed Answer:
Good afternoon and thanks so much for using our service to ask this very important question. So, "neuropathy" (which I take to mean numbness, tingling, may be a bit of painful burning sensation) covering shoulders and arms with soreness in the ankles making it a bit painful to walk but without obvious swelling or other deformity? A recent colectomy for a cancerous growth and the bottom line is the ankles are preventing from doing what you really want to keep doing which is to walk as your form of exercise.

The description of what's going on makes me FIRST think of something referred to as a SYRINX...which is a tubular defect in the spinal cord which essentially can be found running down the CENTER of the cord usually and can affect LARGE segments of the cord or very small segments. In the torso of the body the problem is usually over a territory of the arms, shoulders, and back referred to as a CAPE DISTRIBUTION. In other words, if you were to put on a CAPE.....where the cape falls about your shoulders and down the back basically describes the areas affected by the numbness/tingling, etc. If the SYRINX gets big enough (WIDE may be a better term) then, it can start affecting structures farther SOUTH from the arms, shoulders, and back....such as legs and ankles.

Sometimes, pain is one of the symptoms and other times not. I would definitely recommend a neurological evaluation by a NEUROLOGIST for the purpose of mapping out this distribution of numbness very precisely to see if it may be consistent with what I'm talking about. The condition by the way I'm referring is called SYRINGOMYELIA.

It usually comes about due to traction of the spinal cord going through a tight area such as the cervical or lumbar spine junctions. The increased tension due to degenerative or calcific diseases is what starts loosening up fibers first from the center of the cord and then, starts affecting structures farther and farther out.

I would have the doctor examining you get an MRI of the cervical spine (no XXXXXXX necessary with this test) and potentially the lumbar spine as well since the ankles are involved.

I would also ask to get the following blood work in the event something else could be causing these symptoms such as:

1. Serum vitamin B12
2. Serum vitamin D (total), D2, D3
3. Serum folate
4. Serum FT4, TSH, random serum cortisol
5. serum testosterone
6. serum HbA1C
7. serum ESR, C-reactive protein, Rheumatoid Factor
8. Bence-Jones Protein in URINE (because of your cancer growth on your colon)

(all the above tests are commonly obtained in cases of suspected NEUROPATHY)

I hope this addresses your concerns and that you'll keep me in mind for future questions regarding these or other neurological/medical issues. If so, I'd appreciate your rating this interaction with a HIGH STAR SCORE and look forward to a few words of feedback. In addition, I'd appreciate your CLOSING THIS QUERY if you're satisfied with my response.

Write to me any time at: www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi for additional comments, concerns, or to provide status updates if you'd like which I would love to receive from you to see just what has been discovered.

This consult required 27 minutes total time of research, response preparation, and envoy.

Many thanks for using this service to ask your questions. Be well.

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