Well, that's interesting...

[telophase]

So I've had this foot thing for a while - limited range of motion and soreness in the first joint of the big toe on my right foot. Got in to the doctor today to look at it, and her considered opinion is that it's a whopping case of arthritis, unusual in someone my age. So I've got a referral to a podiatrist to check it out and make sure it's just an unusually severe case of arthritis and not something that's a symptom of something worse. Plus a five-day course of prednisone.

Here's hoping the prednisone burst of energy helps me in getting ready for A-Kon. God knows I need it (if I can only stay FOCUSED!).

Comments

[awamiba.livejournal.com]

Did she say what kind of arthritis? That makes a huge difference in treatment options. Osteoarthritis is fairly straightforward. Rheumatoid is evil. Psoriatic is worse than evil. (And those are just the kinds I'm familiar with...)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Nope - I got the feeling that she was using the podiatrist to rule stuff out. She was also sort of rushed-seeming today: she's normally much better at talking about something and asks me what I'm reading and so on, but not this time.

[hang-nga-79.livejournal.com]

Oral prednisone? Is it really inflamed? If you're young and there's no history of arthritis at a young age in your family, it's more likely you have a reactive-type (http://www.arc.org.uk/arthinfo/patpubs/6034/6034.asp) arthritis or possibly gout (http://www.arc.org.uk/arthinfo/patpubs/6015/6015.asp) (big toe), both of which are treatable with oral prednisone (though that wouldn't be my first choice), then the big three: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Good luck with the podiatrist appointment.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

She ruled out gout for sure - don't know about the rest. She took X-rays, and gave me the prednisone for inflammation, although I'm not sure how much there is. This has been a slow growing problem - I'm not sure how long it's been since I noticed that I couldn't stand on tiptoe on that foot, and it was November when I noticed the limited range of motion in my big toe when I pulled it back. And just got round to seeing the doc about it now through inertia.

I'm really hoping it's not my shoes, as I adore them and they are the most comfortable I have ever owned.

[cindy-pon.livejournal.com]

ack! so sorry. i hope the treatment helps.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm just glad to be getting it finally taken care of. XD

(And GAH I forgot how nasty prednisone tastes when I don't manage to wash it down easily on the first gulp! Aaaggggghhhhhhhfdfsdfsdfsdnvlsdhgnsz!)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I've gulped enough water to get it out of my mouth, but there's a leftover cinnamon roll in the kitchen calling my name...

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Ergh, hope it gets clearly diagnosed and you can take care of it. My friend has osteoarthritis in her knee, and she's only 24. :/

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks. If the best we could do was to get it to stay the way it is right now, I could live with that. I'm hoping that it doesn't get worse, but, well.

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

We are arthritis twins! I've had that same joint affected for years now.
I wasn't told it was unusual in my age group, but I also have arthritis in my hands. Family trait.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I don't think there's a huge history of arthritis in my family. Hum. There's a history of Dupuytren's Contracture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dupuytren%27s_contracture) in my family, though. Mom has it. XD Not to any great extent (yet), though.

When reading up about reactive arthritis, I found it's apparently associated with IBS. Which is making me look at my rather-frequent stomach issues with a speculative eye.

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh and that would explain a lot about me, too. XD
It couldn't hurt to get checked out for IBS. (And I really hope that isn't what you have! It sucksssssssssssssss.)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I think I'll bring it up to my doctor after the podiatrist thing, if he doesn't find something else wrong with my foot. (I already have an appointment! For TOMORROW! THIS SORT OF THING NEVER HAPPENS!) I've always had stomach problems, and they come and go: I'll spend weeks with no problems (unless I eat too much dairy!), and then I spend weeks with almost-daily stomach cramps. It's something I've wondered about for a long time, and probably need to be seen about.

Apparently it's an auto-immune thing: your body's attacking the lining of your gut, and also your joints. Which makes a lot of sense from that perspective.