I'm new to this forum plz help .... Serious foot pain

Tito

Hello to everyone. I've been living with RA and OA since 2007. I have problems in all my joints even my teeth are affected. I've tried metx, sulfasalazine, anti tnf but nothing has worked for me. I am now trying metx again after 5 years hoping things will be different. I'm having severe problems now for 10 months with my right foot and ankle. Every day I wake up with severe pain and I am unable to put my foot on the floor. My whole foot is swelled, including the ankle, toes and underside of my foot. I am unable to get the bathroom and I have to lye down for hours and soak my foot in hot water then cold water and frequent massage with creams or oil. It feels like my foot is on the verge of exploding. I am a long term user of prednisone. If I increase my prednisone to 20mg the pain and swelling will go away for a couple a of days. I had a cortisone injection in my ankle in March and I had relief for 2 months. In the beginning of May I felt the pain creeping back and asked my rheumatology nurse for another injection and she said no consultant was available and they would sort a appointment for me but they didn't. I was given 2 months of mtx and was forgotten about. I contacted my rheumatology team and left frequent messages and they got back to me last week advising they had booked me in for a cortisone shot on 23 august. I have now run out of mtx and they failed to send me an appointment for a top up. I have not left my house in over a month due to not being able to put any weight on my foot. Recently the pain has spread to the side and back of my leg, through to my knee and to my thigh. No matter what I do it's extremely painful and I am unable to use my crutches as my dominant left hand has been damaged beyond repair due to RA so gripping and bearing weight on a crutch is impossible. The hospital has asked me to take another blood test before they call me in for mtx top up but there is no way for me to navigate the steps down my house and impossible for me to walk more than a a couple steps unless I hop 2-3 spaces ....
Any suggestions or help on what is happening to my foot/ankle and what I could do to alleviate this or get the swelling down. I have recently started ginger/cinnamon tea and I feel this is helping but takes quite a few hours to kick in to help reduce a little inflammation, today I used nettle rash leaf on my foot out of desperation while my wife couldn't stop laughing at how I was excited that I could now feel needles and not the swelling debilitating pain lol. It worked for a while I was lying down but the pain came back as soon as I attempted to walk ....... I'm starting a dose of Apple cider vinegar today hope that helps. And my wife will attempt to make cayenne pepper oil to use as a massage oil apparently it will help.
I may have bored you guys but it's a relief I have found this forum with others who are going through pains like me. I was researching the net today like a mad man and came across this forum unexpectedly and after reading some posts I gained some courage to post this rant SORRY .....

By the way I'm 36 years old have 3 lovely kids a beautiful wife who has been my ray of Hope through 7 years of hell and supported me through times of great difficulty and depression. I hope to learn a few things from you guys about this debilitating condition and improve my life through your experiences and suggestions ....

Thank you in advance too all who reply ......

Again sorry for such a long post ....

[Deleted User]

Hi Tito

Welcome to the forums where I'm sure you will get a lot of help and good advice from all the lovely people on here.

It is a little quiet being the weekend, but I'm sure that someone will be along shortly to help.

We are here if you need any support to do with using the forums. Many of the mods have some of the many varieties of arthritis and we all know about the feelings that go along with having it.

Do read and post across the different topics that you will find here.
All best wishes

Mod B

dreamdaisy

Hello, it's nice to meet you but I am sorry you have had to find us. I too have an auto-immune arthritis (psoriatic) and the joint damage from that has led to OA in some useful leg joints. I can empathise with the foot pain (I have plantar fasciitis in one and Achilles tendonitis in both) but I am fortunate in that my unholy trinity of injected meth, tablet sulph and injected humira controls my inflammation and has subdued the PsA activity. They do nothing for the OA for obvious reasons.

We are not doctors so cannot tell you what is going on but I reckon a trip to the GP is in order - if your surgery is anything like mine I wouldn't bother ringing today as Mondays belong to the worried well. The remedies you are trying won't do any harm but I fear they won't do much good either, whatever is going on has a good hold on you and may need some medical intervention. I wonder if the steroids have a part to play in what's happening? What dose have you been taking? I have had experience of them, they can help things but they can also bring their own troubles. I empathise about the meth mix-up, I have learned over my nineteen years of this malarkey that it's better if I keep an eye on things and keep up with my admin., I am one of many and it is easy to fall through the cracks. DD

stickywicket

Hello Tito and a belated welcome from me.

Life with any kind of arthritis is difficult, with two kinds is very difficult and, with young children thrown into the mix it's even more difficult. Been there and done that.

The foot has a lot of little bones and joints so, when affected by arthritis, is can hurt big time. However, lying down for hours isn't usually a good solution. I suggest you ask your GP to refer you to a physiotherapist for exercises to do. Without exercise the muscles weaken and things get much more painful. Just twiddling your toes and circling your ankles will help. It will be painful though.

I've never been able to use crutches or sticks and walking without them an be daunting especially on uneven ground but we gain confidence by trying. As for your steps, what can be done to make it easier for you to negociate them? A rail? A grab rail? Why not contact your local Social Services and ask for an Occupational Therapist to assess your needs? Being housebound will not help your confidence.

You could also ask your GP about the methotrexate as it is my GP who issues my meth prescriprion under instructions from my rheumatologist. If the GP hasn't heard from the rheumatologist then ring your rheumatology helpline for advice. We do have to self-manage our conditions. Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

barbara12

Hello Tito and a warm welcome from me
I can hear your desperation in your post,its rotten when pain is so severe ..I do wish I could offer some advice but ..I dont have RA and not on the same meds, you could ask to be referred to a pain clinic but I suppose they wont till the RA is controlled..I do hope that the Meths will help second time around and I do wish you well..we are always here to talk to..and that will help a little..