Foot/Toe Pain - what could this be? (x-rays, kidneys, blood)

[JanuaryGirl]

Yesterday the joint of my big toe (on the toe, not where it attaches to the foot) started to hurt really bad. It was a dull but intense pain, made worse if I was standing or bent the toe. After about 12 hours, that joint stopped hurting and immediately the next joint, between the big toe and the foot, started to hurt the same way. It feels like the ball of my foot is terribly bruised, but it looks fine and I didn't injure it. Now, another spot hurts on the outside edge of where my foot hits the ground.

I am a relatively healthy 27 year old female, although I do smoke and am on birthcontrol. Could this be a blood clot, or would the pain stay in one spot only? Could it be gout, or are the chances very slim since I'm young and don't drink?

It is just very strange that the pain is moving and very intense. I just can't think of what could be going on! I am going to try to go to the doctor in the next day or two, but in the meantime, any ideas? I thought about going to the emergency room, but it seems so goofy if they may just tell me I bruised it or something.

[Mattie Jo]

If it is gout the cure is cherry juice; if not, and if it is nerve pain or whatever, I have oftened cured my own foot pains by putting my foot in ice water, with ice. But going to the doctor to find out what it is is best. I have had painful pinched nerves and the cortosone shots did not work. I've had heel pain, and they could not help. But ice water did the trick, and I wish I had not suffered years of pain and the inability to walk well or even far before I learned about ice water.

[Miborn]

could be gout read up on it. If you think it is try to flush your system of the uric acid. If it continues you may need to see the Dr. about it.

[cb at sea]

Sounds like gout--hubby has it! Very, very painful! Go see a doctor--there are medications that can resolve it, and others that can prevent it! (Diet can be a big factor, too!)

[PhxBarb]

Doc yes, ER NO! Try Urgent Care instead, unless you don't have any of those around you.

[JanuaryGirl]

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

Doc yes, ER NO! Try Urgent Care instead, unless you don't have any of those around you.

I was actually thinking about Urgent Care... although, I'm not sure really what Urgent Care is for or if they will accept BCBS insurance.

[old_cold]

Get a jar of cherries......eat as many as you can, drink the juice.
If your pain goes away, you have gout.
If you get nauseous, you just may never be able to look at another cherry .

[ExPit]

It does sound like gout and you are right to link it to alcohol consumption, but other things can trigger it too; beef, stew is especially bad, also shellfish. The posters that said cherries would help were right on it, and they are the only thing you can eat that will help, but just thought of this.. Alleve helps. It will cool it out fast but only temporarily. What not to eat and drink are the things to think about.

[JanuaryGirl]

Today at least it has felt a little better, on and off. This weekend I will try the cherry juice and see where that gets me. My main food/drink vice is drinking too much pop, so I've replaced that with cranberry water.

[midge2914]

My husband started with gout at around your age. He was eating all the wrong foods. It still acts up about 3 times per year. He takes Colchicine when it acts up. As far as going to an Urgent Care Facility, most of the time you are paying double fees at these kinds of facilities. Meaning, you see them for a problem that just won't wait until morning when your doctor's office is closed, but most of the time they just splint or wrap an extremity and you are out the door.

When my daughter broke her finger/hand, we dreaded going to a crowded ER. We instead decided to take her to an Urgent Care Facility. They did x-rays and "thought they saw a break but weren't sure" and could neither confirm nor rule it out. Why the heck did we come here I stated? They put a temporary brace on her hand, gave us the x-rays, and told us to go to an Orhopedist or our primary care physician in the morning. They didn't even give her a prescription -- just told her to take Tylenol. Seeing them was one fee. We then went to our primary care in the morning, who sent us to an Orthopedist. That was another fee for the primary care. The Orthopedist saw my daughter, looked at the Urgent Care Facility x-rays and remarked how poorly they were taken, and took more x-rays. He confirmed the break and casted her finger/arm. That was more money and even a repeat of what we had paid for at the urgent care facility. When the bills came in from the insurance carrier, they were paid at a less than normal fee because it was not an approved site. They only paid for the first set of x-rays, and we wound up paying for the second set. In all, it cost us more out of pocket to go to the urgent care facility and everything they did, didn't help at all. If we had to do it over again, we would call the primary care to get a referral to an Orthopedist. We didn't even get to see an M.D. at the urgent care facility -- we saw a PA-C and were told that the M.D. was only there for the purposes of consultation between the PA-C and the M.D. In other words, he sat in the back and read the paper, and only answered questions for the PA-C. Would I go there again - never. The husband of a friend of mine had diabetes. For some reason unknown to me, he decided he was not going to make the trip anymore to his primary care and decided to start being seen at the Urgent Care Facility which was within 1/4 mile of his home. Within two months, he was in the hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis because the urgent care facility started changing his medications and told him the medications he had been taking were all wrong. Needless to say, one should never use an Urgent Care Facility as a primary care physician either. Think twice before going to an Urgent Care Facility. I would either go to an Emergency Room if the pain got unbearable, call your primary care physician and see him/her or get a referral to an Orthopedist. You need someone who is going to be able to follow you for this long-term ailment. Usually, it is not a one time deal -- it happens again and again if you don't change your diet. It is caused by high uric acid levels. It results from an elevated blood level of uric acid (hyperuricemia), which occurs when the liver produces more uric acid than the body can excrete in the urine, or when a diet high in rich foods (e.g., red meat, cream sauces, red wine) produces more uric acid than the kidneys can filter from the blood. Another kind of doctor who can treat you is a DPM or a Podiatrist - Doctor of Podiatric Medicine. They have hospital privileges and do surgery if need be either in a hospital or their own facility. They are M.D.'s. I would go to a DPM before I would go to an Urgent Care Facility. Feet are what they do - 24/7. I would look under Baltimore Magazine - Top Doctors and see who they have listed under DPM or your private physician could give you the name. Every hospital has DPM's who they refer to and are on staff. Gout leaves crystals in joints and they build up, and the DPM or the Orthopedist can remove these crystals if called for. Good luck.