I finally went and saw a podiatrist about the foot issue you guys told me go see a dr. about three years ago: I have Morton's Nueroma. It's a thickening of the nerve bundles between my third and forth toes.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004542/It hurts like a mofo and makes my toes fall asleep. I got a cortisone shot in the nueroma to try to shrink it, and he literally had to dig around with the needle and I had to tell him where it hurt the worst, and that's were he injected it (trying to find the center of the nerve bundle). It didn't work.
I'd like to just have surgery and just be done with the whole ordeal, but he insisted we try alcohol therapy first. The idea is that we're dehydrating the nerve and it will shrink. I have to get one shot a week for 7 weeks. At first I thought it was because he was trying to avoid the extreme of surgery...but then I saw my insurance claims...it costs $415 per shot. It takes all of five minutes. Now I'm suspicious. But it appears to be working, my toes aren't hurting. Now my whole foot hurts from having liquid pumped into it. ick
Also, on tuesday he touched me feet without gloves on. I'm still all icked out about that.
It's fascinating, I know.