[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.