Hi Chuck :-)<br><br>Thank you so much for
responding. I'm so sorry for what you and everyone else here
with Buerger's have had to undergo. I sincerely hope
that you are able to quit smoking on your birthday, as
you've planned. I will be praying hard for you that
you're able to do that! I tried last week and made
it...oh...about four hours LOL I then started to climb the walls
and made a trip out to buy cigarettes. I'm going to
try again soon, though. Hope we can both
quit!<br><br>Since my original post, I think I've read everything
online ever written about Buerger's. My first impression
was that the doctor was (hopefully) wrong because
Buerger's almost always affects men, not women. I was
hoping to find symptoms or information pointing me AWAY
from Buerger's, but I've actually found more in the
way of confirming the disease.<br><br>I've had
problems with my feet for years and years, but I just
chalked it up to diabetes and didn't think too much about
it. The symptoms and pain built up gradually -- you
kind of get used to it when it happens like that. But
members of my family (mother, especially) have been all
over me for years about my feet. I guess Mom's gonna
get a chance for a big "I told you so!" when I fill
her in LOL<br><br>I went in for treatment of two
herniated discs last fall, and the doctor took one look at
my feet and spent the majority of the session
fussing over them instead of my back. I knew my feet
weren't a normal color, especially when I was sitting --
they turned dark red/purple, and my baby toe and the
one next to it turn literally black sometimes -- but
I had no idea it was so serious.<br><br>My feet
also are extremely cold to the touch. For the last
several years, I have not been able go feet-first into
the shower -- the water feels scalding, even though
it's barely lukewarm. So I have to use my forearm to
check the temp before hopping in.<br><br>I also thought
all the pain in my feet was due to diabetic
neuropathy (and I'm sure some of it is), but the more I've
read up, the more I'm seeing that the type of pain in
my feet is so much like what is seen in Buerger's.
For instance, the pain in the arch or instep of the
foot -- I chalked that up to being flat-footed. But
it's gotten progressively worse over the years. My
feet and ankles hurt so bad when I have to walk much
at all...sometimes the calves of my legs too. If I
can stop and lie down for a few mins, it gets better.
But then I get a different type of pain in my feet
when I'm lying down, like a burning, stinging
feeling...and lots of very sharp, almost electrical shock
feelings.<br><br>I saw my regular doctor this week for my diabetes
and discussed the possible Buerger's diagnosis with
him. He agreed that's what it likely could be, but
said that whether it was Buerger's or related to
diabetes, the treatment was absolutely the same -- no
smoking whatsoever and tight blood sugar control. So I
know what I have to do. And I'm really afraid of not
being able to quit smoking. I wish the doctor could
just put me in a coma for a few weeks til I get over
the worst of the withdrawal LOL<br><br>I think I am
better educated after having read everyone's posts here
and the other information I found on the web, and I'm
armed with some questions to put to my doctor when I go
back next week. Thanks again for replying, Chuck...and
an early Happy Birthday to you :-)<br><br>I
apologize to all reading for the length of this post. I
included everything I did because I truly value your
opinions and experiences, and I'd love input from anyone
who has time to give it :-)<br><br>Thanks for
listening....I promise my next post won't be a novel
LOL<br><br>~ Sharon