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).

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

[txsilver]

That is a new one and is not something I have heard reported before.  I strongly suggest that you get in to see a podiatrist.  You need a specialist to look at this.  Also, an MRI should be ordered as it can pick up things the x-ray misses.  Please talk to your doctor about the relief you are getting from large doses of ibuprofen.  High doses should be prescribed and monitored.
Please let us know what you find out!

[JKman]

It's a stabbing pain when pressure's applied to it, and it's a throbbing pain when I'm idle.

The pain begins behind the little toe and extends approx. 3" back towards the heel. It's mainly on the side of my foot but the pain does extend both to the top of the foot and towards the mid-line of the bottom of my foot.

The Dr. didn't prescribe the Ibuprofen, the Nurse Practitioner whom I saw at an urgent care recommended it. The Dr., whom I saw last night, prescribed me 15 Vicodin (which I had to ask for, and told me to rest it, which I have been for weeks now.

[txsilver]

Hi.  There are lots of different things it could be.  Where specifically in the foot does it hurt?  What kind of pain (stabbing, throbbing, burning...) is it?  

Did your doctor prescribe that does of ibuprofen?  If not, do they know you are taking it? This is a concern because you could tear your stomach up and she can give you a prescription to prevent that.

Have you tried using heat to treat your foot?  Or does ice help more?