ckelley116
25-05-21, 16:34
In early 2018 I went through a rheumatoid arthritis scare due to rampant tenosynovitis in my right hand and wrist. Around the same time I was seeing a rheumotologist for that, I started experiencing a weird popping sensation between the third and fourth toes of my left foot. It would ache very mildly on occasion but otherwise didn't bother me. I mentioned it to the doctor and she suspected it could be also related to RA so she sent me for an MRI, which revealed a ganglion cyst in the same area as the popping feeling, and bursitis (though I'm not sure where in my foot that was. I never had bursitis-type pain).
As the rheumatologist wasn't convinced I had RA, she put me on a wait-and-see regimen and told me to come in if anything changed. Nothing did, and in late 2019 I went back and asked her if I could put it all behind me. She sent me for more bloodwork, which came back normal (and CRP levels were actually improved), so she said it seemed I was in the clear. I did my best to let it go, and considering the tricky nature of autoimmune diseases, I feel I've done pretty well with that. I can still feel the cyst if I move my foot in a certain way, but most of the time I forget it's even there.
Last Monday, I started taking walks after work. Just a half mile around my neighborhood, but over uneven pavement and in shoes that probably aren't the best for walking (they're sneakers, but probably more aesthetic than functional). Monday was fine, Tuesday was fine, Wednesday was fine until I got out of the shower after my walk. As I went down the hall from the bathroom to my bedroom, I noted a mild pain the arch of my left foot. It doesn't hurt to put weight on it, isn't tender to the touch, no visible swelling, no stiffness, but the pain is most obvious after I lift my foot and before I step back down. It's also started aching dully at rest, though this may be because I'm hyper-aware of it now. The pain is concentrated in the arch, but it also kind of radiates into the ball of my foot and back toward the heel. Thanks to my past experience of being told I probably had RA, and knowing it's tough even for an experienced doctor to say with 100% certainty "you don't have this autoimmune disease", I can't help worrying that this might be a new sign that I do.
Rationality tells me this is plantar fasciitis, or maybe just some general irritation/inflammation. I'm not an active person, and one of the reasons why I started walking was to change that. Thanks to this new pain I haven't taken any walks since last Wednesday, 6 days ago, but it doesn't seem to be getting better, though it's not really getting worse either. And I have walked elsewhere (went shopping in an outdoor shopping village on Sunday, with pavements and hills and wearing flip-flops). Plantar fasciitis sounds super painful and this is not, plus my experience doesn't line up with the "worse pain first thing in the morning" thing associated with plantar fasciitis, so I'm hoping this is just normal for a typically-sedentary person who started walking without proper shoes. It could also be bursitis I suppose, though I'm trying not to Google that since bursitis is often seen in people who have RA (and just as often in people who don't; I know). I guess it could also be related to my ganglion cyst, though the pain is in a different spot.
Anyway, since I tend to ramble and already have been, I'll cut myself off there...just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar and had it turn out to be benign?
As the rheumatologist wasn't convinced I had RA, she put me on a wait-and-see regimen and told me to come in if anything changed. Nothing did, and in late 2019 I went back and asked her if I could put it all behind me. She sent me for more bloodwork, which came back normal (and CRP levels were actually improved), so she said it seemed I was in the clear. I did my best to let it go, and considering the tricky nature of autoimmune diseases, I feel I've done pretty well with that. I can still feel the cyst if I move my foot in a certain way, but most of the time I forget it's even there.
Last Monday, I started taking walks after work. Just a half mile around my neighborhood, but over uneven pavement and in shoes that probably aren't the best for walking (they're sneakers, but probably more aesthetic than functional). Monday was fine, Tuesday was fine, Wednesday was fine until I got out of the shower after my walk. As I went down the hall from the bathroom to my bedroom, I noted a mild pain the arch of my left foot. It doesn't hurt to put weight on it, isn't tender to the touch, no visible swelling, no stiffness, but the pain is most obvious after I lift my foot and before I step back down. It's also started aching dully at rest, though this may be because I'm hyper-aware of it now. The pain is concentrated in the arch, but it also kind of radiates into the ball of my foot and back toward the heel. Thanks to my past experience of being told I probably had RA, and knowing it's tough even for an experienced doctor to say with 100% certainty "you don't have this autoimmune disease", I can't help worrying that this might be a new sign that I do.
Rationality tells me this is plantar fasciitis, or maybe just some general irritation/inflammation. I'm not an active person, and one of the reasons why I started walking was to change that. Thanks to this new pain I haven't taken any walks since last Wednesday, 6 days ago, but it doesn't seem to be getting better, though it's not really getting worse either. And I have walked elsewhere (went shopping in an outdoor shopping village on Sunday, with pavements and hills and wearing flip-flops). Plantar fasciitis sounds super painful and this is not, plus my experience doesn't line up with the "worse pain first thing in the morning" thing associated with plantar fasciitis, so I'm hoping this is just normal for a typically-sedentary person who started walking without proper shoes. It could also be bursitis I suppose, though I'm trying not to Google that since bursitis is often seen in people who have RA (and just as often in people who don't; I know). I guess it could also be related to my ganglion cyst, though the pain is in a different spot.
Anyway, since I tend to ramble and already have been, I'll cut myself off there...just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar and had it turn out to be benign?