I just experienced a sudden stabbing pain in my right foot. I was doing stuff in the garden (summer's gone though), and there it was. It felt like a sharp stone that had wedged itself between my shoe and my foot. I was totally dishearted. ****, it's back!

Looked at the foot: nothing to see. Looked at the inside of my shoe: nothing to see.

Put shoe back on, stand up. Screech!

Damn PN!!! ... I felt a wave of nausea coming up.

5 minutes later, when I took out my glasses, I noticed... a (black) screw that had found itself screwed into my (black) shoe, with the (sharp) point just underneath the surface of the shoe.

I can't say how relieved I am to have found that screw....

Sure, I had had occasions this summer when I felt ants (there were none) and felt ants ("hah, not gonna bother looking!" - when there were in fact ... ants all over my ankles & foot ), but this one had me seriously scared.

Not sure there's a lesson here, just wanted to share.

I sure can understand your post today! This summer I awoke with a stabbing pain in my right knee. (this is the knee I had trouble with many years ago). It was exactly like the pain generated by the Orthopedic doctor by stimulating the meniscal trigger point---mega ouch!

I've learned that these types of stabs usually only last a few seconds. This one continued on ...so I reached down in the dark to massage it and felt moisture on my skin. I flicked on the light and it was BLOOD! eeeek eeek. I jumped up and thought SPIDER BITE... and threw the covers back and found a large black winged insect (almost a full inch long) slowly walking around and squished it with a Kleenex. Then it took me an hour online to identify it. (this was at home--not in the woods upNorth) It was a DEER fly. How it got in a mystery, and why it was in my bed in the dark, another mystery. These are nasty bites, and it took a good two weeks for the purple color to fade and its itching to stop. These flies have sharp thick mouth parts to pierce the hides of deer and cows, so when they bite a human the bite is nasty. It was lots of antibiotic ointment alternating with hydrocortisone cream for me! But it did feel like a severe PN nerve firing... only it was not fleeting like those are typically for me.

Isn't is sad that when we get a new pain we hope and pray it is from something else besides pn???!!!

Last night my big toe felt funny..weird, like it was going numb. I could still feel it but, it just felt weird. Sadly, I WISH I found another external cause but I did not. I just have to hope and pray it stays away (it is gone this morning)

PN really sucks!

I totally understand.

When I went for my toenail removal recheck--just before we left on vacation there was another doctor there, a younger woman.
My guy is about 50+.

She did a check (but obviously didn't look at my Xrays from the week before). While she was debriding the nail bed, she moved my toe around and said... not much mobility here! Implying arthritis in the joint. So I pointed out the broken sesamoid bone and that sort of satisfied her.

That foot has many problems... so I just sigh and accept it and do the best I can with it. At least it is not swelling up like it was before. That is a small comfort for now.

I really think the feet can have many mechanical problems. And also stuff does radiate to the feet from the knees and back...I've noticed that myself. Switching beds from our two homes back and forth, generates all sorts of "new" discomforts until I get used to them. And both have foam toppers too and are relatively firm types underneath. When the weather abruptly changes and storms come... I do notice all sorts of new aches and pains.

I find Salonpas are very helpful for me. I don't use them every day, but when I do have pain in the feet, I have spots I apply them for 2 to 3 days, and usually that takes it down for a while.

Sometimes just big toe pain, is coming from the back. Just check any dermatome chart. Also when I dislocated my right knee, I had terrible big toe pain, until the chiro fixed it. After her adjustment, the toe pain stopped immediately! I was very impressed with that, and it was a good learning experience!

And what is worse than foot pain? Im sure many things, lol but man, when the feet hurt it's like my world stops cuz you can't enjoy going anywhere or doing anything if the feet hurt.

My big toe did not hurt. It just felt weird. I can't explain it. Like it was numb but it was not numb. but maybe like it was on its way to "going numb" ? lol Im sure that does not make sense. It was just a weird feeling, in between numb and not numb.

Then when we all get a new pain or sensation its like...oh no what does this mean, is it getting worse? I hate that feeling. I am trying to learn to just stay calm and remind myself new/different pains and sensations can come and go without it meaning my life is going to end cuz its getting worse. lol

we have deer flies and horse flies here. both give nasty bites. when i used to be able to run and was running in the hot weather and sweating heavily they would literally chase you to try to bite for quite a distance.

I can understand how you feel when the pain is acting up, its like you dont enjoy doing anything or going anywhere. When the pain is tolerable (there is pain but can function), my gosh, my mind goes wild planning to do this and that, go to this place and that, buy this and that --- but, when the pain is back, all my plans are gone. So, my husband and I take every opportunity to do something meaningful during those "rare tolerable moments", which are far between.

Mary

Mary I agree!

And then sometimes fear creeps in to ruin those pain free moments with the "what if's" ....you know, what if we go and my feet flare up in the middle of the movie theatre?

I say screw you devil, Im going and I am taking my water bottle!!! lol

Last week I took my visiting mom to a live musical/play and yep my feet start burning. Its dark so I take out my water bottle and spray...unfortunately this particular theatre was set up so the guys chair in front of me was lower and his head was by my feet.

There really was no explaining it. I just sunk in my seat after apologizing.

I totally understand what you mean. I feel the same things at times sometimes I don't feel it but after closer observation I look at my feet an I have been cut , splinters, blisters and the occasional Dog Turd! Becarfull out there !

Dude, "Dog Turd" is not the preferred nomenclature. LAND MINE, please!

Doc