My neuro broke the stick of a wood-handled swab and used the sharp end to gently poke my feet. I could feel every poke. Then he touched a vibrating tuning fork to my ankle, and I felt the buzz -- but when he did the same thing at the base of my big toe I felt nothing. (My GP had the same findings -- these tests are pretty well-known.)

But the upshot is, the feeling I have does register as numbness but it's an oddly selective numbness.

On nerve compression: I've had only one visit to my neuro so far, and he said my symptoms could possibly indicate nerve entrapment at the ankle, but there were indications of some other neuropathy as well. We'll see.