I am no stranger to daily pain, as I have OA in my hips, neck, wrists, and feet. I am on Diclofenac, see an osteopath and an acupuncturist once a month, and generally crack on, because I have no choice.
However.
I was walking to work this morning and my toes were sore, as they always are. However, I suddenly heard a kind of crack in my second toe of my right foot, and it simultaneously became ridiculously painful.
I decided to carry on, because in my mum's words, you should just try to "walk it off". So I walked on for another two miles, through gritted teeth, telling myself not to be feeble. I did sit on a wall for a bit, and gave myself a talking-to.
By the time I got to work, I was in absolute agony. I looked at it, and my second toe is sort of dangling down, and I can't move it. However, it's not particularly swollen/blue/whatever, so there are no evident signs of a problem.
I limped through the day using my umbrella as a walking stick, keeping my foot very flat, and decided to catch a bus home to minimise the walking.
Now, I have self medicated with wine and Night Nurse (and the normal Diclofenac), but am still in absolute agony, even when I'm sitting down.
I don't say this lightly. I managed 24 hours of back-to-back labour without pain relief or complaint, and said my burst appendix and peritonitis "could be worse" (though they felt quite bad), so I am a tough old boot.
Teenage DC say I should go to A&E, but troubling A&E with a bad toe is a non-starter for me.
Can anyone offer any other suggestions, please? The pain makes me feel hot and sick.