unknown foot pain - Osteoporosis Message Board

september005 · 10-12-2007, 01:11 AM

Hi people, I'm new here

Went shopping 6 weeks ago. At store I moved and felt quick, sharp burning pain in the top of my foot (middle) just before the toes. The pain was quick and then gone. By the time I left store, I was limping. Got home and foot was swollen and painful to walk on. I had to walk on my heel and inside of foot and big toe. There was no discoloration. Stayed that way for 9 days. Was able to hobble pretty well with the pain. Happened on a Tuesday. Still went out Wed. and Thurs. Friday I cleaned and vacuumed house. Sat. I decided to take it easy until the next Tuesday. On that day I went out again. This time when I got home there was redness. Thought it was bruising and would heal. Went out again that Thurs. - when I got home foot was really tired and red. It wasn't bruising - it was inflamation. Stayed in for the next week to rest it. Walking on my rugs that Wednesday I got a blister on bottom of big toe. Had to adjust my walking again. Was hard to keep balance. Wasn't getting much better. Now we're in 4th week. Went to emergency room. They took 3 x-rays. Doctor said they couldn't find anything except fragile bones. Kept talking about osteoporosis. Made me feel like I was 70 and life over. Even my husband left depressed. They put me on 800mg of Motrin 3 times a day. They asked twice on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad the pain was. I said maybe about 5. I didn't go for pain. Just to find out what was wrong. They gave me a script for vicodin. I'm only 5 feet tall and weigh 90 pounds. Put on 3 pounds while I stayed in to rest foot. Seems like a lot of pain meds for someone like me. Has anyone else noticed the trend of doctors giving 2 or 3 perscriptions for pain these days? Vicodin is still in bag. (unopened) The next week I got a pcp and went to him. Hadn't been to a doctor in 12 years. He didn't change anything. I'm still taking the Motrin and wearing a boot shoe. Of course he set me up for just about every test there is. Have to catch up for those 12 years. He set me up with a podiatrist for next week. Maybe I have osteoporosis - and maybe not. I'm not going to bank everything on x-rays of just one foot. The foot is about the same. I can walk on most of it now with some pain. The swelling is minimal and the inflamation gets worse when I'm up for long periods of time. Still, it seems a lot better since I started the Motrin. The only other thing I noticed is that my big toe works pretty well. I can get my toes to go up - but the 4 smaller ones don't seem to want to bend or curl down. Has anyone else had this kind of problem? I also have another question. Two years ago I sprained my right ankle. I went to get up and stepped wrong and the foot twisted under to the left. Really hurt when it happened. Horrible pain for about 5 minutes. During the next 2 weeks there was pain (not horrible) and I could walk pretty well with a limp. Never did go to the doctor for it. Within 2 to 3 weeks I could walk fine. Throughout the 2 years the ankle was a little bigger than it should have been. It was also tender a lot. My bed didn't help. Doesn't help anything. It's old (over 20 years) and I wake up a lot aching from the springs sticking me. Funny thing is, since my new problem started in left foot - haven't had any pain or problems in the right ankle. Is it normal to have pain for 2 years after a sprain? I hear that after a sprain an ankle is never the same. I've sprained both at least 2 or 3 times. I will admit that each time, I did it well. No small ones - each major. Sorry to make this so long. As for my bed, I don't need advice to buy another one. Can't afford it. My tv sits on the floor with rabbit ears. That's dying too. Bills come first, and what little is left my car decides to take me for a ride. Financially! Hope to hear from someone.
September005

taape · 10-29-2007, 11:22 PM

Hi,
Have you had the foot xrays yet? Does it show a bone fracture? Fractures can occur even if someone doesn't have osteoporosis. I hope by now your doctor was able to give you some information about possible causes instead of just writing pain scripts. Sometimes burning pain on the top of the foot can be caused by spinal disc related problems. You can also ask for a DEXA scan to see if you have osteoporosis.I've been having some foot problems but nothing like you describe. I was diagnosed with Plantar Facitis and boy is it painful. The pain is on the bottom of my feet in the arch and in the heel.

september005 · 11-28-2007, 09:39 PM

Had x-rays done at local hospital before I posted my thread on this site. They said it was possible I had a small hairline fracture that wasn't showing. Went to my new PCP the following week. He didn't know what it was and set up an appointment with a podiatrist around the 27th of October. No one told me Motrin was only supposed to be taken for a week to ten days tops. By the time I saw the podiatrist I was sleeping around the clock. When I saw him, he said if there was a hairline fracture it would have shown up on the x-rays - as it had only been a month since I hurt the foot. When I saw him, it had been 2 months. Doctors are hard to find in my area. When I saw the podiatrist I was able to walk on the whole foot, even though there was still some pain and swelling. He said it was useless to take an x-ray at that point. Said to get off the motrin and out of the foot boot and start using and exercising the foot. So after going to the emergency room, PCP, and podiatrist - none have given me a clue as to what the problem was. The foot is still a LITTLE swollen and sore, but much better. It's now been 3 months. Throughout all this my PCP has sent me for all kinds of tests. Complete bloodwork, urinalysis, heart test, bone density and mammogram on Nov. 7th, gynacologyst (today) and an MRI tomorrow. The only 2 things that have shown up are I am well into osteoporosis and something showed up on the mammogram. I started citracal D on November 19th and will start Fosamax D 70mg this week. I must say after reading some of the things on this site about Foxamax I'm quite nervous. My PCP doesn't think the problem with the mammogram is serious as it showed a spot on each breast in the same spot, so he doubts it's cancer. Personally I think the person who did the mammogram might have done some damage by squishing the breasts to death. I've had them in the past. They were uncomfortable, but not excruciating pain like this was. I generally have a pretty high pain tolerance, but the 4 pictures she took, the pain was almost intolerable. I told my PCP I will never have another one done. Even at my visit today the doctor examined the breasts thoroughly and said she felt nothing out of the ordinary, but I felt a lot of pain. Hopefully the MRI tomorrow will shed some light on the problem. I was pretty much pain free before the mammogram. Reading the sites on Fosamax, as I said scares me, as I have constant problems with depression, panic attacks, OCD and attempted suicide in 1995. It has been a long 2 months of constant doctor appointments and I just want it to end without anymore problems. The holidays are coming and I have gotten nothing done. Wish me luck!!

taape · 11-28-2007, 11:00 PM

September005,
It sure sounds like you have had your share of problems with doctors and still don't have a diagnosis of what is wrong with your foot. Have you asked to go to Physical Therapy? It might be a good idea since you wore that boot for so long. Motrin and other NSAIDS can be taken for longer than a week or so but it increases the risk of side effects. If you can do without it since your starting Fosamax which can also irritate the stomach, then that's good. I hope your foot heals from whatever is wrong. My feet are getting better slowly, it's been 5 months and I still go to PT.

september005 · 12-02-2007, 12:13 AM

taape
I don't think I'll ever know what was wrong with the foot. The doctors have moved on. The podiatrist said if it got worse to think about going to pysical therapy. Like I said i can walk on the whole foot again. The swelling and inflamation so in the last month have been very minimal. When I was at the podiatrists office waiting for him, I was studying the chart of the foot on the wall. Since he said there was no break or fracture the only thing I saw in the area of the pain was 2 muscles or tendons. Quite possible I pulled one. I've been off the motrin for almost a month. Not something I would have chosen to go on. I've taken aspririn free exedrin for any pain for almost 10 years (I get headaches daily) to avoid damaging my stomach. That's why the foxamax scares me after reading what people have said on this board. Many said the foxamax caused blood in the stools and urine within 3 to 6 months, as well as stomach and mouth ulcers. I took the first one 2 days ago. Drank plenty of water - about 30 ounces, stayed up, exercised some, and waited 2 and half hours before eating a large meal. Kinda hard for me. I'm one who munches constantly 24 hours a day. All I can do is try my best to follow what the doctor says and hope I don't develope any problems.