So this has been getting more achy past few years and regular trip to osteopath last night confirmed my self diagnosis !. Doesn’t hurt much on the bike, as foot is not really flexing then, but aches when walking/normal use etc. Any tips (apart from Glucosamine etc, orthotics, stretching, swimming, all of which are currently used for my knackered knees !!)

cheers

Try green muscle extract…worked a treat for quite a few people i know.

My mum has this problem, doctor has basically told her “thats how it is, take pain killers and get on with it”. I’m not sure if thats good advice.

coffeeking – I think that is the standard GP response to Arthritis type stuff, especially if patient is over 40, as i am – that’s certainly what mine told me about my knees a few yrs ago , but a combination of the things i mentioned in my OP keep the problems at bay, if not cured……….

seeing GP tonight….awaits the ‘yes well you are getting older, wear and tear etc etc’ -(……

See what the Gp says but gout affects the big toe most commonly, especially if its only on one side…
I’m probably wrong but we’ll see..

gout ?? never thought of that……red wine and port…oops !!

Gout is indeed entirely possible – had symptoms very similar to what you describe last summer – put it down to gout – although traditionally associated with rich diet etc, you don’t necessarily have to have that to bring on an attack – I appeared to get it appeared to come on after I got very dehydrated (basically was going to work and not drinking all day – not a good plan I know). Found pure cherry juice good for it supposedly – I found it went pretty quickly after I re hydrated etc. What I have noticed though is on that foot, if I let the big toenail get a little too long then the symptoms flair up again – makes me wonder if it was a little bit of arthritis instead (had a long nail at the time it statrted too, and wonder if it was related to that and not dehydration/gout)

What was the end result Mr C?

**feels that a warm sense of satisfaction a med student gets when a doctor acknowledges their alternative diagnosis 😉

Cherry Juice

I have gout …typically big toe of left foot gets it & have cherry juice concentrate that I have daily … no gout in the last 2 years while taking it 🙂

Look up cherry active on the net they do it

Oh, just read Doc’s post. Yeh agreed, I seemed to suffer when tired, de-hydrated, ill etc rather than after a binge.

I do have a copy of a suggested diet if you want one

Gee-Jay – yes please, if you could mail me.

GP thinks arthritis but took bloods and I have an xray tomorrow am. GP on hol now for 2 weeks so will get results early June……….

doc_blues thank God someone else on here can spell!!!!

I dont have the info here at work, I will try to do that tonight, will probably pop a link up

I suffer from Gout too and tried completely changing my diet, all to no avail. If that and the Cherry Juice doesn’t work for. I find that as soon as I feel a twinge (you start to know when it’s coming) I take 2 Ibuprofein and a teaspoonfull of Bicarbonate of Soda in a small glass of water. I then tank about 2-3 pint of water to flood myself. Usually this only happens after a weekend on the pi** when I know I haven’t hydrated enough.

doc_blues – I agree completely with the toenail thing, seems odd but I definately connect the two.

its a strange old thing – as you say, you can feel it coming on and knock it on the head pretty much instantly – for me its a good signal not to be so bugsy and cut my toenails! and I know as well its a good sign I haven’t been drinking enough.

When I first had it, it was almost a revelation and felt quite weird that I might have gout – I might be a slightly lardy old git but I don’t have a particularly bad diet, don’t drink excessively (if at all – maybe a glass of vino once a month). I actually almost felt dirty (like I had leprosy or something) – but it was so localized to that big toe, which also had the classic appearance of a gouty toe, that it couldn’t be anything else.

A big and easily diagnosed difference between arthritis and gout! I have arthritis in my thumbs and big toes, I sure as hell don’t have gout.

I would go to your GP for a proper diagnosis

My Mother in Law was a GP she chuckled when I told her I thought I had broken the knukle of my big toe.

I think that most events have been triggered, first time was a skiing holiday & I think that as well as being tired & run down I had been banging my toe against the end of my boots. Since then problems have occured when I have been tired & unwell. I try to keep half an eye on my diet, basically a mental list of things with purines, if my toe starts to ache then a few days off the bad foods & booze plus plenty of water & more cherry juice.

Try here for the gout diet

http://imnotthealien.com/bits/goutdiet.doc

TJ –

GP thinks arthritis but took bloods and I have an xray tomorrow am. GP on hol now for 2 weeks so will get results early June……….

….waiting for results, loaded up with Diclofinac but that’s not a long term solution…

I’ve had a similar problem in my big toe. Exactly the same problem that my mum has had for as long as I can remember. It started a couple of years ago after running and stupidly I kept on with the running. It got so painful I could barely walk on it. Anyway I stopped the running and gradually the episodes of pain began to get further apart. Like you I also started using glucosamine to see if it made any difference. About 3 weeks ago I hadn’t had any pain for a long time so I’ve started running again. So far just once a week for 20-25 minutes cross country. So far so good there has been no more pain. I’ve no idea at all if the glucosamine is of any benefit all I do know is that it didn’t make it worse. I too wondered if it was gout but as I have a near vegan diet I thought that unlikely.So the only thing I can say is that for me it did get better with rest and maybe the glucosamine is also helping, but it has taken a long time.

cheers for that – will see what the GP says about the blood tests etc and xrays – I am pretty sure there is some bone growth that shouldn’t be there though……..

foot surgeon today – looks like a ‘big toe fusion’ after the summer hol -(. Recovery loooks like a few months off bike too……