Who Da Man? Not Me....

[sinanju]

My next to last post preceding this one was...premature, apparently.

I am typing this with my right foot raised and resting on a bean bag footrest, with an anti-inflammatory called Indomethacin circulating through my body, and a newly purchased cane leaning against the wall at my side. I won't be doing any more running for at least the next few days. So what happened?

Glad you asked.

Yesterday I woke up and discovered that the first joint of the big toe on my right foot (above the ball of my foot) was very stiff and it hurt to flex it. Which, of course, made it uncomfortable to walk. This was not a new occurrence. It's happened occasionally for years. For a day or two I have moderate stiffness and discomfort. Then it fades.

Yesterday it didn't fade. It got worse. By the end of the day it was feeling very tender and even just shifting my foot while sitting could cause a sharp twinge of pain in the joint. I got home from work and considered whether to go running. I decided to give it a try. If it hurt, I'd cut my run short and walk back home.

As it happened, once I got started my foot was less painful during the run, at least once I got my running shoes on. Maybe the shoe gave me better support. In any case, I managed to do my run with little difficulty.

In retrospect, not my best decision. By bedtime my foot was tender and just the weight of the beclothes that night could be uncomfortable, and my sleep was fitful--I was often awake enough to try to find a comfortable position for my foot that wouldn't stress the joint. By this morning the joint was looking a little swollen--just a little--and was very painful when I tried to walk, or even just rest it on the floor.

I called in sick to work and called my doctor to see if I could get in today. I couldn't see my regular doc, but I did get an appointment at 10 a.m. So I popped more Advil, iced my foot, and eventually drove in. After seeing the doctor and discussing it, she concluded that it was most likely an arthritic flare up given my history of recurring stiffness and discomfort in that joint. Running a distant second was gout.

Gout! Isn't that something out of the 19th century? Answer: no. A friend of mine has recurring bouts with that. But she really doesn't think that's it. Still, since the anti-inflammatory drug she prescribed also helps with gout, we're covering both possibilities. She also sent me across the street to the hospital to get some x-rays of my foot so she could look for evidence of arthritis and/or bone spurs or other possible causes.

I'm taking the anti-inflammatory every eight hours and icing my foot frequently. And keeping it elevated as much as possible. It's even more painful now than this morning but I'm hoping that by staying off of it most of the day and beginning the drug treatment, it will quiet down. I will be working tomorrow, but I picked up a cane at the drugstore tonight--and that already helps reduce the pain when I do have to move around.

So we'll see how it goes. But my running program is off the table for at least a little while, dammit.

Comments

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

The doctor thought it was unlikely to be gout. It wasn't entirely off the table, but unlikely. And 16 hours (so far) of anti-inflammatory drugs have definitely improved it. I think it is some arthritis, especially with the history of occasional stiffness and pain in that joint.