osteoarthritis

[stonekicker]

hi all. have had very painful toes for a while and went to see my gp last week. i have a big lump on top of my big toe knuckle (but they are not misshapen like bunions), my toes ache like **** if i have been on my feet all day (and i a m a nurse) and i get stabbing pains down the whole big toe when they really don't like what i have being doing all day. i'm only 33, quite active and relatively healthy. why have i got this problem? does it sound like a correct diagnosis and what will happen in the future? am already taking 15 pills a day including nsaids and painkillers and not amused. should i just stop worrying and get drunk instead (am making a good start on that one...) any thoughts would be appreciated x

[daffy654]

I thought it was rheumatoid arthritis that caused deformity of the joints,not osteo.

[sqad617]

Sounds like a bunion.....you don't have to have foot deformity to diagnose a bunion.....HOWEVER....if the bunion isn't treated, then a hallux valgus deformity will occur.

You need to see an Orthopaedic surgeon.

[sqad617]

daffy...no, osteo arthritis can affect the big toe......BUT stonekicker is only 33yrs old, so that would be unlikely.

[daffy654]

Okey dokey sqad,I know very little about arthritis so will take your word for it :)

[stonekicker]

okay...so a repeat visit to the quack is in order. sometimes i wish i could just cut the bl00dy things off! both my toes are in agony at the moment, despite pain killers, nsaids, copious amounts of wine, deep heat and that i have assumed the ab posistion on the sofa! i feel so old these days its just untrue...hobbling around in the morning until drugs kick in and then in abject pain during the evenings. life's poo...

[bigmamma]

I hope you can get some proper treatment for your toes honey , in your job you need a good pair of feet and a good pair of shoes to put them in . It must be awful for you to have to take painkillers all the time at your age . xx
Oh , and I'd avoid kicking stones for a while honey :-)

[tamborine]

gout is caused by too much alcohol & rich foods......does that fit?

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/gout.h tml

[stonekicker]

definately not gout - wished it were in a way cause then i could perhaps do more about it. thanks for all chat so far...keep it coming. x

[angiealf]

Osteoarthritis can hit anybody any age, I was 30 when I was diagnosed with it. When a break or fracture in the bone doesn't heal properly thats when it sets in. What you thought was a simple sprain could have been a fracture. Thats what happened in my case, I sprained my ankles badly years ago but they were never exrayed, now exrays show arthritis formations.
As for gout, it's an old wives tale about alcohol and rich food, I only have a couple of drinks in a month normally Shandy, and I have gout, it is an excess of Uric acid in the joins.

[sqad617]

angie..yes, OA can affect at any age following trauma,but stonekicker has not mentioned previous trauma.

Agree with what you say about gout, but 33yrs is a bit young for it.

stonekicker is a nurse, on her feet all day and if it looks like a bunion, feels like a bunion then it is likely to be a bunion.