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Off topic: Did you identify the problem? Was it gout? It seems awfully silly for a random internet stranger to diagnose your issue from "excruciating foot pai

Off topic: Did you identify the problem? Was it gout? It seems awfully silly for a random internet stranger to diagnose your issue from "excruciating foot pain that came out of nowhere" but... I had basically that off and on again for seven years before it was correctly diagnosed and treated. (As a healthy, active, relatively young person, gout wasn't suspected, but eventually an MRI gave a clue, and blood tests confirmed it.)

blinkingled 6y ago
I got an X-Ray and it showed nothing. The doctor basically thought I was there to score narcotics but he wasn't going to get me any (I wasn't looking for them either but was told to eat Turmeric pills believe it or not - I did and don't have any way to know if it helped.) Does gout come and go - I have not had trouble since then. If it returns I will be sure to do a blood test - and I really appreciate you asking. I am always for problem solving with or without strangers help :)
- neogodless 6y ago
  Yes it comes and goes. In my case, the initial pain was relatively sudden, throbbing, enough to keep me awake at night. I also got an x-ray which doesn't tend to indicate gout, but did show some mobility issues (hallux limitus/rigidus) which were treated with increasingly expensive orthotic inserts.... and it went away after the initial issue for five years. Then it came back, new custom inserts (and some naproxen), went away for another twenty months. When it came back, it kind of stuck around, not the full on pain, but a dull aching that just wouldn't quit, thus the more thorough investigation. In my case, I think the causes were a combination of gout triggers - not enough hydration, alcohol intake, high protein diets, etc.
  - blinkingled 6y ago
    I drink plenty of water - rarely drink alcohol but diet on the other hand may not have been all that good in the past although now I am on a lean one and move around a lot - I will definitely check for gout if it happens again. Thanks for bringing this up - it was bugging me on and off that I had something happen that I don't know the root cause for!
    - samizdis 6y ago
      You might be interested in this NY Times article from last month. The comment thread also seems useful, with contributors talking about their own experiences. I was surprised to see fructose fingered as a chief suspect, mainly because of modern consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in many foods: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25102116 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25102116
- downut 6y ago
  "Does gout come and go..." Yes it does!! I want to shout here very loudly! (I guess we're off topic now, but please please please don't do what I did and ignore it.) Me, age 29, I've mentioned before that I'm a lifelong medium endurance cyclist (4-8hrs, 75-120miles): started to get foot pain. Went to the doc (Stanford Hospital GP), doc says you have gout, here's the pills you will take for the rest of your life. Me: nah, I'm healthy, I'll eat better. I was already eating better. Long story short, moved to a rural area, and had probably 30 attacks over 20 years, and none of the 5 (or was it 8?) docs diagnosed it correctly, or prescribed the pills, which are allopurinol. Take the pills. As you might imagine from my preferred exercise I have a very high tolerance for pain. Or did. I am not suicidal, but there have been several two week stretches where I became quite understanding about how people could be made suicidal from chronic pain. Gout is not necessarily a virtue test. Take the pills. And you don't want advil/tylenol, you want indomethecin for the pain. For the last 5 years I take a half dose everyday and I've not had a single disabling attack, hallelujah. My joints still hate low pressure weather systems though.
- astrange 6y ago
  Well, turmeric is good for you and anti-inflammatory, so it can't hurt. You could just eat a lot of curry though.
  - flatline 6y ago
    > it can't hurt If taken in large enough doses to have a therapeutic effect it absolutely can have side effects, some not dissimilar from over the counter analgesics.
01100011 6y ago
As someone in their mid-40s I can attest that random pains seemingly caused by nothing are part of the journey of life. A few days ago I got out of bed and couldn't straighten my leg without insane knee pain. It lasted about a day and now it's absolutely fine. Yesterday I was vacuuming and my ankle just starts hurting like crazy. Fine in about 15 minutes. The other day I was bending over the sink washing dishes and my left shoulder blade gave me 7/10 pain. Seemed to be caused by an aggravated neck extensor but IDK. Getting old sucks but I suppose it beats the alternative.
- blinkingled 6y ago
  For me (also mid 40s) things got better after I diagnosed with Vitamin D3 deficiency - unrelated to the foot pain I had somewhat similar problems - vacuuming would blow my back out, game of tennis similar thing with shoulders. It got much better over the years and I like to think becoming D3 sufficient was part of it.
  - reuben_scratton 6y ago
    I had a year or two of chronic lower back pain and thought it was just the price of getting older (also mid 40s) and living a largely sedentary life. Then I started taking a Vitamin D supplement for a totally unrelated reason (mood, basically) and my back pain disappeared! I was extremely surprised (and happy!).
cityzen 6y ago
Fellow gout person here. I was finally prescribed allopurinol but I am not sure I want to take it long term due to the chance that it could cause liver and kidney damage but I need to do more research. Fortunately gout can be controlled fairly well with diet but in the midst of a flare up, it is excruciating.

blinkingled 6y ago

I got an X-Ray and it showed nothing. The doctor basically thought I was there to score narcotics but he wasn't going to get me any (I wasn't looking for them either but was told to eat Turmeric pills believe it or not - I did and don't have any way to know if it helped.) Does gout come and go - I have not had trouble since then. If it returns I will be sure to do a blood test - and I really appreciate you asking. I am always for problem solving with or without strangers help :)

neogodless 6y ago
Yes it comes and goes. In my case, the initial pain was relatively sudden, throbbing, enough to keep me awake at night. I also got an x-ray which doesn't tend to indicate gout, but did show some mobility issues (hallux limitus/rigidus) which were treated with increasingly expensive orthotic inserts.... and it went away after the initial issue for five years. Then it came back, new custom inserts (and some naproxen), went away for another twenty months. When it came back, it kind of stuck around, not the full on pain, but a dull aching that just wouldn't quit, thus the more thorough investigation. In my case, I think the causes were a combination of gout triggers - not enough hydration, alcohol intake, high protein diets, etc.
- blinkingled 6y ago
  I drink plenty of water - rarely drink alcohol but diet on the other hand may not have been all that good in the past although now I am on a lean one and move around a lot - I will definitely check for gout if it happens again. Thanks for bringing this up - it was bugging me on and off that I had something happen that I don't know the root cause for!
  - samizdis 6y ago
    You might be interested in this NY Times article from last month. The comment thread also seems useful, with contributors talking about their own experiences. I was surprised to see fructose fingered as a chief suspect, mainly because of modern consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in many foods: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25102116 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25102116
downut 6y ago
"Does gout come and go..." Yes it does!! I want to shout here very loudly! (I guess we're off topic now, but please please please don't do what I did and ignore it.) Me, age 29, I've mentioned before that I'm a lifelong medium endurance cyclist (4-8hrs, 75-120miles): started to get foot pain. Went to the doc (Stanford Hospital GP), doc says you have gout, here's the pills you will take for the rest of your life. Me: nah, I'm healthy, I'll eat better. I was already eating better. Long story short, moved to a rural area, and had probably 30 attacks over 20 years, and none of the 5 (or was it 8?) docs diagnosed it correctly, or prescribed the pills, which are allopurinol. Take the pills. As you might imagine from my preferred exercise I have a very high tolerance for pain. Or did. I am not suicidal, but there have been several two week stretches where I became quite understanding about how people could be made suicidal from chronic pain. Gout is not necessarily a virtue test. Take the pills. And you don't want advil/tylenol, you want indomethecin for the pain. For the last 5 years I take a half dose everyday and I've not had a single disabling attack, hallelujah. My joints still hate low pressure weather systems though.
astrange 6y ago
Well, turmeric is good for you and anti-inflammatory, so it can't hurt. You could just eat a lot of curry though.
- flatline 6y ago
  > it can't hurt If taken in large enough doses to have a therapeutic effect it absolutely can have side effects, some not dissimilar from over the counter analgesics.

01100011 6y ago

As someone in their mid-40s I can attest that random pains seemingly caused by nothing are part of the journey of life. A few days ago I got out of bed and couldn't straighten my leg without insane knee pain. It lasted about a day and now it's absolutely fine. Yesterday I was vacuuming and my ankle just starts hurting like crazy. Fine in about 15 minutes. The other day I was bending over the sink washing dishes and my left shoulder blade gave me 7/10 pain. Seemed to be caused by an aggravated neck extensor but IDK. Getting old sucks but I suppose it beats the alternative.

blinkingled 6y ago
For me (also mid 40s) things got better after I diagnosed with Vitamin D3 deficiency - unrelated to the foot pain I had somewhat similar problems - vacuuming would blow my back out, game of tennis similar thing with shoulders. It got much better over the years and I like to think becoming D3 sufficient was part of it.
- reuben_scratton 6y ago
  I had a year or two of chronic lower back pain and thought it was just the price of getting older (also mid 40s) and living a largely sedentary life. Then I started taking a Vitamin D supplement for a totally unrelated reason (mood, basically) and my back pain disappeared! I was extremely surprised (and happy!).

cityzen 6y ago

Fellow gout person here. I was finally prescribed allopurinol but I am not sure I want to take it long term due to the chance that it could cause liver and kidney damage but I need to do more research. Fortunately gout can be controlled fairly well with diet but in the midst of a flare up, it is excruciating.