Diagnose my foot pain, MN. Bunion or arthritis or what?

[stripytees]

I'm going to see a GP soon but I'm not currently registered with one after moving house last year. I know, I know, I really should. Anyway.

For over a year now I've had an occasional pain in/around the big toe joint. I mean the bit where a bunion would develop at the base of the toe, above the ball of the foot. I remember the exact moment it first started hurting - I was wearing heels (not very high, about 2inches) and it was a really horrible sudden pain. Ever since it's been hurting occasionally, more often lately.

I should say I very rarely wear heels at all, never high heels at all.

The pain seems worse if I wear shoes that are not very cushioned. It's least painful when I wear Birkestocks or Dr Martens. Sometimes that foot feels quite stiff in the mornings, and also quite tired at the end of the day when I get home and take my shoes off. It hurts - or rather has a feeling of pressure like stretching a stiff muscle does - when I bend my toes inwards/downwards.

There is no visible bunion as such - bunions run in the family, both my mother and grandmother had theirs operated on. Oh, and I'm 32, if that matters.

What is it likely to be?

I get pain in my toe in a similar spot. I also get heel pain. I thought it was arthritis, but I had it checked out by a chiropodist a few years back who suggested it was plantar fasciitis. I now wear support insoles and it's much better.
Maybe look up PF and see if any symptoms sound familiar?

Gout? PF is a very common thing in psoriaric arthritis.

I've read about PF before and I don't have any heel pain so I doubt it is that.

It sounds like what I have. In fact I'm having an op to correct it in a few weeks! There is a family history of bunions but I don't have them apparently. What I have is arthritis damage in the big toe joint (caused by psoriatic arthritis), coupled with a bone spur/hallux rigidus on the top of the joint and then a big toe that is naturally bent in towards the other toes, which puts a lot of stress on the joint.

I find that heels make the joint worse (due to the added weight through it) but flat shoes and flip flip types also cause me a lot of pain because they make you walk with your big toe stuck in the air a lot.

The procedure I am having done is a corrective osteotomy (akin) on the great (big) toe, together with arthrotomy and debridement on the 1st metatarsalphalangeal joint.

I had to have MRI scans to show the damage as the x-rays didn't really show anything. I will have to have the procedure done on my other foot soon too but didn't fancy both being done at once. The other foot also has two broken toes that I didn't know about that will need repairing too!

Go to your GP and ask to be referred to an orthopaedic foot specialist.

Hope you get it sorted :)

Thanks all. Will try to register with a GP asap and make an appointment. Part of the reluctance to go is that I feel so silly having to say to the GP "my toe hurts", it feels like such a small problem (quite literally!). But also very painful, so I should just get over this fear...

It took me about 5 years to take my sore toe to the doctor! This despite the fact that I'm there all the time with my arthritis and IBD issues! Felt like such a time waster.