Excrutiating Foot Pain - Arthritis/Strain?

[JKman]

So I have problems with my feet. A few times/year I'll wake up in the middle of the night and my foot (one or the other) is aching and throbbing - no swelling, no discoloration. I'll spend the next 2 days hobbling around in pain. And then, out of nowhere, it'll disappear. This has been happening for a few years now, but more so that I've gained some weight back.

It's different this time around. I rolled my ankle last month and two days later my foot's doing it's thing - not my ankle, my foot. It's been a month now and I still can't sleep and it's painful to walk on (like an 8/10 if I step on it in the wrong way). Last week it felt like it was gone but then a couple of days ago it came back.

I go to the Dr. yesterday, get palpated, questioned, and x-rayed. The x-ray shows nothing out of the ordinary and she hesitates to make any diagnosis. In the end she calls it a "foot strain/possible arthritis", even though nothing on the x-ray indicates that, she also added that it's not a clot and not an infection.

Vicodin masks the pain but it's back as soon as it wears off. Aleve/Aspercreme make it tolerable but don't work very well overall. Ibuprofen has worked the best so far, not masking the pain but decreasing the inflammation over time and almost fooling me into thinking that it was all better - until I stopped taking it and POOF, it's back again a few days later. I took an entire bottle (100 count) over the course of a couple of weeks - 2400mg/day. I've just started taking them again, but I'm afraid that at this dose it'll end up shredding my stomach (no problems so far).

Location - starting behind the little toe on my right foot, extending approx. 3" back towards the heel. It's mostly on the outer edge of my foot, but the pain does extend slightly in through the bottom towards the center of my foot.

Any ideas? I need to get this taken care of.

[Tuckamore]

Oh JKman,

You are so young to have such pain. Uric Acid levels do not always elevate when you have lab work done. I would ask for a repeat when you pain is at it's worst. SED rate is a blood draw that if elevated is positive for inflammation in your body.

I will try and find some time to do some research on your problem tonight. Hang in there, Tuck

[JKman]

Thanks for the reply. I had a full blood work-up done a few months back and nothing was out of the ordinary - I believe uric acid was one of the levels tested.

I'm not sure what SED rate is...?

By the way, I'm 27 years old.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Again,

I hit the submit before I was done...sorry. I was wondering if you have had your SED rate checked recently. That is a good indicator of inflammation.

Tuck

[Tuckamore]

Hi JKman,

I am glad you found us at welcome.

I am sorry you are having foot pain. My husband has something very similar. He has gouty arthritis. Have they checked you uric acid level? His foot/ankle does not always swell, nor does it discolor. He can have a bout of it without any symptom other than pain. Indeed you may not have gout but it certainly worth consideration.

Others will post with more information, suggestions or ideas. I will also do some research later to determine of I can discover additional  possibilities. Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. Take care, Tuck