Painful Foot Update: Peroneal Tendonitis

So, last Friday, I went to a new foot doctor about the pain and swelling around my outer right ankle bone.  The whole staff was very nice.  The doctor pressed on various areas of my bare foot and asked if it was painful.  He found the worst spot (toward the back heel side of the bony area) and suspected an inflamed tendon.

I had my foot x-rayed to rule out any bone or other problems - all clear there.  With my past history of having this same problem a few months back, and since it went away with just some icing and rest, he says we can assume this is peroneal tendonitis.  If it gets better in a few days with the ice, Aleve, rest, etc. that would support the diagnosis.  However, if it gets worse or does not subside, we can do more detailed testing like MRI to see if anything has torn.

An ankle brace was recommended to help support the foot and reduce further inflammation while walking around, so I went and got one after my appointment.

I was also told my arches were slightly flat, and that my foot posture turning downward on the inner sides of my feet was possibly contributing to my tendonitis.  The doctor recommended getting some good shoe inserts with sturdy arch support. So I got a pair of these as well.  Since I had some cheap inserts in my boots already, he looked at them and added some felt to the bottom of the arch area, to beef up the support a bit.  I thought that was nice.

I also got a great printout of strengthening exercises to do to help prevent further injury to my feet, and have been giving those a try each day.  I'm backing off the daily stairs climbing at work until I feel better, and the yoga and other activities are mostly on hiatus, too, to I can rest the bad foot.  I did do some yoga poses today, though.  I just made sure I didn't use my feet for support and took extra care to look for any signs of pain in that bad ankle.

So, here I am, several days later with my foot feeling a lot better, but not quite back to normal yet.  I am still wearing the ankle brace but I have put the cane away and have just been stepping slowly and carefully at work and at home.

I'm a bit cranky otherwise, though, because other symptoms have been acting up.  I fear that the Aleve I was told to take (always with meals, mind you) for the inflammation was irritating my stomach, so I stopped taking it.  I had some gastritis a while back and don't know if that is still with me, or if it's just more IBS or something else.  I have been dealing with some sharp, stabbing pains in my ribs and back the past couple of days, and my eyes feel like I've been awake too long, though I did manage to sleep.  Then yesterday, out of nowhere, tinnitus in my left ear just started raging with this loud, muffling ringing for hours.  On top of all of these symptoms, like the cherry on top, is all the mental garbage that tags along: my difficulty with focus and memory, plus the stress of dealing with all this crap while trying to live and manage and keep my job.  I declare a flare.  And I am just trying to remember that there is hope at the other end of this particular nightmare.  I just don't know when exactly that will be.

Painful Foot and Burning Hands

I feel a bit like a dog with a hurt hind leg these days.  You know how they will lift the painful foot up and only hop lightly with it, if necessary?  It's this darn pain in my right foot/ankle area again.

As much as I hate using the cane that I keep in my car, (and getting the old "what happened?" or the exaggerated sad and concerned face from well-meaning coworkers,) I broke down and started using it a couple days ago.  I took about 6 steps away from my car in the parking lot at work last Tuesday when I realized I should be using that cane.  Stubborn me, though, I didn't turn back to get it.  I soldiered on through the morning and grabbed it at lunchtime.

Tomorrow morning, I will see a podiatrist to see what the problem is.  I'm hoping to at least find out what I might have done to aggravate this condition, so I can at least stop doing that.  Thus far, I have noticed that the pain subsides with rest, and gets worse with stairs, (both up and down,) or walking for more than about a minute.  Today I noticed further that it's when I place the heel down that is painful, and I've caught myself kind of toe-stepping slowly on my right foot, and relying on the cane for support.

The cane also slows me down so I can step more carefully.  It also helps tell others that I won't be able to scurry up to catch that opened door, or run across a walk before that car comes.  The cane is growing on me, but I still hate having one hand occupied while I'm moving.  It's also a bit of a bother in the bathroom.  I have a new appreciation for anyone who needs to use walking aids full time.

Anyway, I hope to know more about this foot tomorrow.

On a side note, I've been noticing an odd new symptom has popped up in the past few weeks.  Every now and then, my hands turn really red and hot and start burning painfully.  The burning makes me look at them.  It looks ridiculous.  One time, just my thumbs and index fingers were red-hot, but the pinkies were cold.  My husband was around so I showed him.  It is bizarre.  I also notice coldness in my toes, inside my shoes/slippers when my fingers and hands get cool.

I'm one of those people who is usually cold, especially my hands and feet and especially around bedtime.  I get those "icicle feet".  Luckly, Don is usually too warm so he lets me warm up my tootsies on his warm feet and we find some kind of equilibrium.  As a child, I remember getting hands so cold I had to stop practicing piano.  My mom knows.  She would always say "cold hands, warm heart" to make me feel better.

My first thought about the temperature weirdness is Raynaud's, which is common among fibromites. Cold really does hurt my hands.  For example, peeling a cold cucumber requires breaks where I put down the cold cucumber and blow on my hands to warm them up again.  Again, ridiculous.  When I come in from a walk in cold weather, my thighs are numb and as I begin to warm back up inside, they twitch all over.  Does this happen to you?  The thing is, I've never recalled any real white or blue discoloration of my fingers, as with the classic Raynaud's.  I know it's not the same for every patient, but I just notice that.  I just get the red, hot hands.  I don't know if my feet get that way, though, other than when the pressure hives are raging on the bottoms of my feet.

Today I came across a rare condition with the burning red extremities.  I hate to speculate, but I cannot help but wonder about it.  It's called Erythromlalgia and here is the page with the interesting photos: http://www.erythromelalgia.org/WhatisEM.aspx

I will definitely need to note these new symptoms for my next rheumatologist appointment.  I just saw her last month, but if things get ridiculous, I may try to see her sooner than my next appointment in August.

Do you know anything about this?  Got any tips or links that might help me?

Snowy Weather

This winter has been extreme in several ways, and in much of the U.S.  Between the frigid temperatures caused by the "polar vortex" and the frequent snowfalls, it's been challenging for us fibromites just trying to survive the season.

I'm having a variety of symptom flare ups despite my cozy fleece leggings (I got several from Walgreens for five bucks each - so worth it!) and my husband forbidding me from shoveling the snow.  Muscle spasms have been frequent.  IBS was raging fiercely for a couple weeks but has finally subsided (thank goodness).  And the odd foot problem I had last Fall is back today.  Somehow, it snuck back while I was lying in bed or sitting down today.  I just don't see how I could have triggered if I wasn't doing anything.  I never managed to see a doctor about this last time, so I might be doing that if this becomes a daily pain again.

Anyway, I recorded a short, relaxing, snowfall video a couple weeks ago and thought I'd share with you all, so you can relax and enjoy.  

I'm hoping we are in the home stretch of winter, finally, so hopefully looking at this will not stress any of you out.  

When Temps Drop, My Pain Rises

We had our first snowfall of the season yesterday.  To me, that's the official beginning of the winter... and the beginning of my yearly flare up.

For the longest time, I noticed that I had a problem regulating my temperatures.  As a child, I would frequently have to stop practicing piano because my fingers just got too painfully cold to continue.  When home computers came around, I noticed a similar issue with my mousing hand.  My mom used to tell me "cold hands, warm heart" whenever she found my hands so cold for no good reason.

These days, I notice I can't seem to escape cold temperatures, even in the summer.  There's always plenty of folks turning the A/C down because they are sweating in the office or wherever I seem to go - even at home.  I frequently bring an extra sweater or layer of clothing if I am going anywhere there is bound to be air conditioning.  Just this last summer, I remember having to have a building worker close the damper that was blowing cool air directly onto my hands at work - twice.  Most people didn't know what I was bitching about, because they prefer cooler temperatures.  For me, I had to fight to keep my hands warm while still getting my work done.  The stiffness would sneak up on me while concentrating on my job, and then the distracting pain would trigger a host of other unpleasant symptoms.  I seriously don't know how I'm able to keep a job with what I brave every day.

I don't think anyone can truly grasp just how difficult my personal challenges are.  I keep doing my best and I don't know how to feel about this, but people forget I have any kind of illness at all.  You'd think everyone would be able to understand at least pain.  Everyone has had pain of some kind at one time or another.  Some of my coworkers have painful conditions, too.  Yet they ask me to do things I can't do without making difficult decisions between my own health and my source of income.  Time and time again, I choose income over my health and deal with the consequences later.  I suppose this is part of my problem.  But, anyway, I have digressed.

As I write to you, I'm noticing how very cold my feet are.  It's not unusual for them to be cold.  If they are ever warm by bedtime, my husband jokingly asks me what I did with the real Benia.  Thankfully, he welcomes my icy feet and shares his heat with me, but I still can't seem to escape the pain.  Last night, long after the time I should have been asleep, I was just feeling this chill crawling over my skin.  Just over and over, these washes of shivering cold just kept me far from comfortable, and unable to rest.  I was balled up under 3 layers of bedding that seemed like flimsy doily as far as I'm concerned.  I would love to add 2 more thick quilts on top of me for bed.  I shivered and shivered last night, getting little sleep and dealing with new, stabbing pains in my back and head.  Eventually, I got up and braved the short walk to take some pain medication.  By morning, I was in no shape to get up and go to work.

I am about to take a warm shower to try and warm up for a bit, and I will use my heating pad to help keep me warm afterwards.  In the meantime, I want to share this short article that talks about why cold can be so painful.  It also lists several great tips for keeping warm.  I do some, but I will be trying others as well.  It's going to be a long winter for me.  Stay warm!

Peroneal Tendonitis in Right Foot

A couple weeks ago, I discovered some pain near my right heel, on the outside of the foot, near that ankle bone. I first noticed it at the beginning of a walk around the neighborhood, but I chalked it up to the usual suspects: Fibromyalgia or Chronic Myofascial Pain.

Since it wasn't excruciating, I decided to try to "walk it off" as they say. I figured muscle spasms frequently feel better after I move them and warm them up, so, with my best walking shoes, I continued on the walk for 20 minutes or so. I also wanted to get outside, get some fresh air, and move around.

When the pain persisted through that evening, I thought my plan had backfired, and perhaps the walk aggravated things. That was my first clue that this wasn't about a muscle.

When the work week began the following Monday, I realized I had something going on in this finicky foot of mine. By coincidence, a co-worker had just been through a foot injury herself, which caused pain and swelling. That made me wonder: did I injure something? Is it swelling or inflamed?

I checked the area for tenderness and found it to be slightly hotter and puffier than the other foot, but just barely. It didn't look too bad. I started taking anti-inflammatory medication (Aleve), trying to elevate the foot, and icing the area. I developed a slight limp during the course of the week, which manifested in additional pains in the compensating, surrounding foot muscles. I almost used my cane, but didn't. I hate how people react to the cane. There is no great story, no specific moment of injury. I wasn't even sure there was anything going on with this foot, or just pain, which, as all you fibromites know, happens all the time.

By that Wednesday, things were not improving, so I took steps to see a doctor. I made a call and stopped into an immediate care place, but several barriers arose. Since the Aleve and icing was helping the foot pain throughout the day, my pain was worst early each morning, then got better toward evening. I would get my hopes up each evening, only to be disappointed the next morning.

I believe I may have injured the peroneal tendon in my foot, possibly while increasing my stair-climbing from four to nine floors at a time, the week before this all started. I also remember having trouble with my warrior poses during a yoga session that weekend. I couldn't keep my balance on my feet. I found information online that indicates the peroneal tendonitis usually happens when you increase athletic activity.

At any rate, I'm happy to report that, today, the foot is much better. It's been back to normal for most of this week. After resting to prevent further injury, I am now slowly trying to get back to my stair-climbing (I did only four at a time this week) and other exercise. I even did some elliptical yesterday!