Going to see a foot surgeon tomorrow

[wdfifteen]

I'm really nervous about this. The list of possible causes of the pain in my toe is scary. (Multiple sclerosis!)
I have intermittent pain in the outside of the big toe on my right foot, near the last joint. I've experienced no trauma that I know of, there is no swelling, no discoloration. I can squeeze and manipulate my toe and cannot replicate the pain. It doesn't hurt if I've been sitting or lying down for an hour or so. Usually it doesn't hurt while I'm walking, but several times a day I get a stabbing sensation, like a splinter going into my toe. It hurts with every step. Then disappears completely for several steps, sometimes for the rest of the day. Once it has "stabbed" me if I sit down it may suddenly start throbbing. I can feel my heartbeat in my toe.
I went to see the doc yesterday and stopped at Lowe's on the way. My toe hurt so bad, I hobbled around Lowes wincing with every step. I got in the truck and my toe throbbed. By the time I got out of the truck 20 minutes later to walk to the doc's office there was no pain whatsoever. My GP said, "This is way beyond me. I'm sending you to a podiatrist."
This really has me worried. It's messing with my quality of life big time, and it sucks. I retired June 1 and by June 15 I can hardly walk.

[Bugsinrugs]

I know your pain but maybe not as bad as yours. I'll get the toe pain either driving or laying in bed. My body hurts all over so I take a lot of Ibprofin. 65 years old and realizing it's only going to get worse. Hope your pain can be relieved.

[Tobra]

Interesting, never heard of MS presenting like that. Sounds mechanical to me

[Rickysa]

Gout?

[Tobra]

Gout does not just stop like that. Maybe a loose body in the joint.

[T77911S]

gout, diabetic?

[R K T]

Peripheral Neuropathy.

[ckelly78z]

It kinda sounds like Fibro Myalgia, where the nerve endings become inflamed, and throb at weird times, but not always. My wife treats hers with essential oils applied to the site.....do your research on oils, and Fibro. She only uses pure extracts, not the pyramid scheme snake oil where selling/sales ladders is the main focus.

[dennis in se pa]

Getting old sucks.

[rusnak]

I know what this is.

Don't retire!!!

[T77911S]

^^^^exactly. a guy that worked here died the day AFTER he retired

[wswartzwel]

Mine does that occasionally, but pretty sure mine has to do with pinched nerves in my lower back. Hope they can get it figured out for you... try to avoid thinking worst case scenario until they figure it out though.

[wdfifteen]

The doc was only slightly perplexed. He said the pain I describe is not that typical for arthritis, but I've got hell of a lot of arthritis in my feet and he's pretty sure that's the source of the pain. There are no fractures or foreign objects in my toe. He showed me the X-rays and geeze - the metatarsophalangeal joints look like cauliflower.
He gave me injections in the joints on both my feet, told me to wear my orthotics ALL the time, and I'll probably be having joint repair/replacement surgery inside of a year.
I told him about my history of running and he said running marathons at 200 lbs is coming back to bite me big time.
So it goes.

[aigel]

Some of this may come and go. Surgery should be the last resort in my book. Not a fun place to cut open in terms of circulation and the small size of the pieces.

I have had similar issues and they went away. Granted, I am younger. My podiatrist told me to do less running / hiking to keep the mileage low and stretch it out a lifetime. I have been doing a lot more biking since.

G

[Tobra]

There are some decent joint replacements, and some that are basically silicone spacers.

If it were me, and you were fairly active, I would probably tell you to get it fused, but only if it is keeping you from doing the things you want to do. If it is pain from a bone spur, get your shoes spot stretched over the top or the spur. Stiff soled shoes will work better for you too.