A strange condition - need help and advice

[Mike Gorman]

In this post I am seeking assistance with a strange malady that has developed in my right ankle, lower right leg. About 4 months ago i noticed a burning pain in my right arch, on the foot. The right ankle then commenced swelling, and i have quite bad pain that has slowed me right down. From a reasonably fit 54 year old man, 6 feet tall, 13 stone who walked at a cracking pace, I now hobble along, and have taken to using a walking stick.
Three doctors have taken a look, they seem mystified, edema with pain is unusual-I was booked to have a doppler blood flow test to check out the veins/Arteries but too expensive. Does anyone have a good treatment regime they can suggest-Comfrey i believe is good-or anyone know what might cause this-there is no trauma to the foot, or any history of trauma-swelling around the ankle joint, and bad pain up the achilles tendon and top of foot. Circulation is good to the foot, it is pink and warm, no numbness. Any help is appreciated.

[Snookie]

You might want to look into acupuncture. I found a lady who is awesome. She helped me and several other people I recommended go to her. They were all helped, without exception.

You could have a vitamin deficiency as well. I was having pain in my feet - usually on my heels so it hurt when I walked. I found out I needed B vitamins. The pain went away after a week or two of taking a vitamin B6/12 supplement. I went to a herbalist/naturopath who really helped me.

[Cognitive Dissident]

I am not an expert, but B complex may be a good idea as Snookie suggests. For B12, make sure it is methylcobalamin, avoid cyanocobalamin. More expensive but worth it. http://www.naturalnews.com/032766_cyanocobalamin_vitamin_B-12.html

Of course, in depth consultation with a naturopath and other experts would be a good idea too.

Please keep us informed and hope that you recover soon.

[Mercedes]

Hi there,as soon as I read your post the word Gout came to my mind, have you been tested for gout? You have the symptoms for it.

[NancyV]

I don't know if this will relate to your condition but over the last 6 years or so I have had the same type of swelling of foot and ankle once or twice a year. For me it was from either a spider bite or wasp bite. I went to several doctors the first 3 years and they couldn't figure out any way to try to get rid of the inflammation other than antibiotics. I was allergic to every antibiotic I tried so it always made the swelling worse. It took at least a couple of months for the swelling to get better and the pain to go away each time. About 3 years ago I went to a different doctor and although he didn't believe that it was a spider bite he gave me prednisone for it since I insisted that it WAS an allergy to spider bites. He thought it was Gout. The prednisone worked miraculously well and the swelling and pain which had previously lasted for months were gone in a couple of days.

So for the last 3 times I've gotten spider bites I go get a prescription for prednisone and the problem is solved. Prednisone reduces swelling extremely quickly and it sounds like a large part of your problem with pain is the inflammation. Of course prednisone is a very potent corticosteroid with certain unpleasant side effects if used on a regular basis, but in my case I only need it when I have a severe allergic reaction. I only have to take it for 9 days but by about 5 days I am super hyped up and get more done in one day than I usually do in a month. It can also make one very irritable and annoyed with people. I came to understand the roid-rage you hear about that body builders and others who use steroids can experience, although it was on a very small scale.

You might check with your doctor about using prednisone just to see if that will cure your problem. If it doesn't work within a week or two you won't want to continue taking it, but I can't imagine it NOT working since it's so potent. It's used for many different conditions including Gout, which you may have, but I wouldn't recommend it for long term use. If you only take it once or twice a year it's absolutely wonderful to get rid of pain and inflammation so quickly! Men over 40 get Gout much more easily and it's more prevalent in men than women. It's a build up of uric acid which causes the swelling and pain.

Good luck! I hope you get rid of the symptoms soon. I know how very painful inflammation in the foot and ankle are.

[scarletfire]

I too think it sounds like gout; relatively cheap to treat conventionally but there are lots of homeopathic remedies that are easily researched.... Essentially inflammation is the problem and snowballs out of control, best wishes

[seko]

Hi there,as soon as I read your post the word Gout came to my mind, have you been tested for gout? You have the symptoms for it.
It sounds like gout to me too, my father in law had the same symptoms, swollen foot and ankle with a burning sensation. He got rid of it using bee stings for a month doing it twice a week. He is a bee keeper.

MMS would get rid of it, don't know if you can get it over there in Perth or Australia.

[Strat]

What's your diet like? Ditto on the above gout comments but to be honest I'm no doctor.

@NancyV
How many times have you been bit?! Spiders must really like you!
All kidding aside I'm paranoid about spiders. We have black widows everywhere in the spring/summertime. They're actually quite small and I've seen one that was literally aggressive. I picked up a concrete block and it ran, no, sprinted towards my fingers.

The two common things to look out for is 1 try not to leave your shoes outside, spiders like to hang out in there and 2, careful when you're sitting outside in one of those lawn chairs. They make webs under there. Oddly enough I have a spider plant that seems to attract black widows. I have multiple spider plants, but it's just the one that always seems to have a web on it.

[sdv]

You could try dissolving three heaped tablespoonfuls of Epsom Salts in warm water and soaking your foot in the mixture for about 15 minutes, and then massaging with organic coconut oil and rosehip oil. The Epsom Salts draws out impurities and the oils stimulate healing.

Comfrey is useful to close wounds and broken bones (I used it effectively to heal a couple of holes in my leg when I was bitten, twice, by one of those spiders that have flesh-eating poison.) so it does not sound like it is the appropriate treatment for your condition.

By the way, when the spider bit me it was a sharp burning pain (like an extreme mosquito bite) so you may have been bitten by a spider and your immune system is strong enough to contain the poison but not to get rid of it, so maybe look at boosting your immune system?

[Daughter of Time]

I know someone who had a condition very similar to yours. It was completely cured with acupuncture.

Other things I would recommend are herbal teas like dandelion, chapparral, red clover, taheebo, as all these purify the blood and let out excess fluids. Comfrey you already know about. You could mix comfrey with the above mentioned teas.

Detoxification is also highly recommended as it will help any condition.

Do not ingest foods containing sodium.

[Lifebringer]

You could have picked up a parasite in the bottom of your foot, like a flea or bedbug that will bite and immediately swell up, however it it should prove to be a blood clot, try some brown apple cider vinegar to thin the blood naturally, and some distilled water about a gallon, also look up natural parasite remedies, in case they have left a little behind after the bite. I simply don't know your circumstances, but fleas in a carpet can bite you if you walk on them and they are highly allegic to some people, along with bedbugs who love people who have high carbon content. If you smoke cigarettes, they love you all the more.

They go after carbon based hosts. The vinegar won't hurt you, and if you add a clove or two of garlic, that will kill the parasites.

If the podiatrist is dumbfounded, try natural remedies for toxin and parasite removal. Somebody the other day on this site, had a liver cleanse that removes toxins, try looking it up.

[Lettherebelight]

Hi Galaxy, it is quite possible to have swelling with pain. I had a similar experience. I would never assume for certain without seeing your ankle etc., and even then I couldn't tell you for sure...but my condition was tendonitis, which is fairly common. Posterior tibialis tendonitis specifically.

There are a number of very important tendons around the arch and ankle. They can become stressed and inflamed. The inflammation can cause puffiness and swelling. The tendons require as much rest from use as possible and cool packs (very relieving!!).

This could be a possible condition, especially as you are used to walking at "a cracking pace". you can google posterior tibialis tendonitis or ankle and subtalar arthritis. Good arch supports, good bracing ankle support will help, rest and cool packs to manage pain. If it is this, it takes a long time to heal, a good few months. Do not walk through the pain, that is your signal to rest.

I would see a podiatrist they will be able to tell you what is wrong for sure, and if not, they can refer you for a scan, if necessary. I highly recommend a good podiatrist. Good luck...cool packs, the blue gel ones you put in the freezer are so good...instant relief.

I am a qualified reflexologist, I wish you happy feet (and ankles)!

[Nanoo Nanoo]

In this post I am seeking assistance with a strange malady that has developed in my right ankle, lower right leg. About 4 months ago i noticed a burning pain in my right arch, on the foot. The right ankle then commenced swelling, and i have quite bad pain that has slowed me right down. From a reasonably fit 54 year old man, 6 feet tall, 13 stone who walked at a cracking pace, I now hobble along, and have taken to using a walking stick.
Three doctors have taken a look, they seem mystified, edema with pain is unusual-I was booked to have a doppler blood flow test to check out the veins/Arteries but too expensive. Does anyone have a good treatment regime they can suggest-Comfrey i believe is good-or anyone know what might cause this-there is no trauma to the foot, or any history of trauma-swelling around the ankle joint, and bad pain up the achilles tendon and top of foot. Circulation is good to the foot, it is pink and warm, no numbness. Any help is appreciated.


Try to pin point the problem using reflexology. This will tell you what organ is in need of attention. I feel its your bladder and kidneys from reading you. here is a useful link, scroll half way down.

A good foot massage does wonders from a good reflexologist :-)

http://paulinemaria.blogspot.com.au/

Hope this helps :-)

N

[lookbeyond]

In this post I am seeking assistance with a strange malady that has developed in my right ankle, lower right leg. About 4 months ago i noticed a burning pain in my right arch, on the foot. The right ankle then commenced swelling, and i have quite bad pain that has slowed me right down. From a reasonably fit 54 year old man, 6 feet tall, 13 stone who walked at a cracking pace, I now hobble along, and have taken to using a walking stick.
Three doctors have taken a look, they seem mystified, edema with pain is unusual-I was booked to have a doppler blood flow test to check out the veins/Arteries but too expensive. Does anyone have a good treatment regime they can suggest-Comfrey i believe is good-or anyone know what might cause this-there is no trauma to the foot, or any history of trauma-swelling around the ankle joint, and bad pain up the achilles tendon and top of foot. Circulation is good to the foot, it is pink and warm, no numbness. Any help is appreciated.

Hi Galaxyhorse, if you go to Emergency in pain and sit and wait and wait for a long time cause you will be down the bottom of the triage list you will eventually get seen, some one may say "it will be faster to see your GP" be persistent, remember you cant walk without a stick and have a lot of pain- you should eventually get your doppler,just make sure you go to a hospital that has one.

Kind Reguards lookbeyond

[778 neighbour of some guy]

Have you tried MMS, maybe its a spontaneous case of localised inflamation and a good week or two ingesting increasing doses of MMS can fix it, doesnt hurt anyway to do two weeks of that, no harm done if it does not cure it.

Hope you get well soon.

[NancyV]

What's your diet like? Ditto on the above gout comments but to be honest I'm no doctor.

@NancyV
How many times have you been bit?! Spiders must really like you!
All kidding aside I'm paranoid about spiders. We have black widows everywhere in the spring/summertime. They're actually quite small and I've seen one that was literally aggressive. I picked up a concrete block and it ran, no, sprinted towards my fingers.

The two common things to look out for is 1 try not to leave your shoes outside, spiders like to hang out in there and 2, careful when you're sitting outside in one of those lawn chairs. They make webs under there. Oddly enough I have a spider plant that seems to attract black widows. I have multiple spider plants, but it's just the one that always seems to have a web on it.
Hi Strat,

I've averaged one bite every year or 16 months and a few times twice in one year for the past 10 years or so. Apparently I wasn't quite as allergic to them before that. A couple of times it was a wasp. I have to keep an epipen (epinephrine injector) on hand in case I have a very severe reaction. Probably if I wore shoes more often I wouldn't get bit much, but I never wear shoes or slippers inside and only flip flops outside. All my bites have been on my foot or ankle while sitting at my desk barefooted. We've lived in 5 different places in the last 10 years and even though I rarely saw spiders in any of the houses, there were a few upon occasion. I guess they like me!

I bet you have a lot of black widows in Florida! In Oregon and Washington where we've lived there aren't many black widows, but we have some brown recluse type spiders called a Hobo spider which has a nasty bite. Actual brown recluse spiders are found more in dry hot areas, not in OR or WA.

As far as using MMS for reducing inflammation, it definitely didn't work for me. That could be because I ended up being very allergic to MMS which I realized after taking it diligently for a couple of months and getting consistently sicker and sicker.

[Strat]

I bet you have a lot of black widows in Florida! In Oregon and Washington where we've lived there aren't many black widows, but we have some brown recluse type spiders called a Hobo spider which has a nasty bite. Actual brown recluse spiders are found more in dry hot areas, not in OR or WA.

We have those as well but I've only seen them on rare occasions, like once every few years or so. My friends mom was bit on the upper thigh when she was cleaning out the garage and the doctors had to take a chunk of her skin.

What's interesting here in FL is when I was growing up there were banana spiders everywhere and they were frickin huge. Like the average banana spider would be the size of my hand. They thrived in the suburbs and the rural areas was their territory with a single spider easily making a 10' web. Now you can't find them, seriously, I haven't seen one in like 5+ years.


As far as using MMS for reducing inflammation, it definitely didn't work for me. That could be because I ended up being very allergic to MMS which I realized after taking it diligently for a couple of months and getting consistently sicker and sicker.

I'm glad you posted this. I don't want to get into it though as this touches on a passionate subject for me and I don't want to stir the pot.

[Wookie]

My father had simular symptoms a few years back, first the our doctor thought it was gout but later found out it was from a brown reclus spider bite. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, I believe my father saw an accupunctureist to help with the pain and swelling.

Peaceful Journyes Wookie

[NancyV]

I bet you have a lot of black widows in Florida! In Oregon and Washington where we've lived there aren't many black widows, but we have some brown recluse type spiders called a Hobo spider which has a nasty bite. Actual brown recluse spiders are found more in dry hot areas, not in OR or WA.

We have those as well but I've only seen them on rare occasions, like once every few years or so. My friends mom was bit on the upper thigh when she was cleaning out the garage and the doctors had to take a chunk of her skin.

What's interesting here in FL is when I was growing up there were banana spiders everywhere and they were frickin huge. Like the average banana spider would be the size of my hand. They thrived in the suburbs and the rural areas was their territory with a single spider easily making a 10' web. Now you can't find them, seriously, I haven't seen one in like 5+ years.


As far as using MMS for reducing inflammation, it definitely didn't work for me. That could be because I ended up being very allergic to MMS which I realized after taking it diligently for a couple of months and getting consistently sicker and sicker.

I'm glad you posted this. I don't want to get into it though as this touches on a passionate subject for me and I don't want to stir the pot.
You just reminded me of the HUGE banana spiders in Hawaii! We lived there for about 3 years and whenever I saw a banana spider galloping across the floor I had a special tupperware container I would shoo it into, then close it, take it out on the deck and drop in down into the field. We lived out in the middle of nowhere and had lots of banana spiders, cane spiders, huge cockroaches and gecko's that would crap all over the window sills. I definitely do not miss the bugs in Hawaii!

[nomadguy]

I agree with the use of Comfrey, but that is used typically for dealing with bone bruises or anything involved with bones. What you might be experiencing could be more involved with the ligaments/tendons nerves and/or muscles.
Which Comfrey might assist as much.

Story~
I had a problem with my left foot, I stomped to hard on it at one point and severely messed it up, but not with the bones. My brother whom is a med student did a therapy called, "Contrast hydrotherapy". link (http://saveyourself.ca/articles/contrasting.php)
He had me put my foot in a hot foot bath (almost too hot, enough to make the skin itch slightly)
For a 5 minutes then into a icy cold foot bath for 30 seconds then back into the hot. Then again in the same timing.
Then one last time only holding your feet into the cold water for about a minute or until it gets painful.
Quickly dry off the feet then put on dry warm socks.

It is best to consult with a physician that knows Contrast hydrotherapy, than doing this from my explanation. But I must tell you "it saved me". My foot injury was bad enough that the damage to the nerves in my foot were messing with my organs.



(it might be best to Rule out spiders/bites and infections first!)

[eva08]

Turmeric is in my opinion one of those heal alls.

[scarletfire]

spider bites will resolve on their own, I'm an ER nurse and I cant tell you how much wasted anxiety is spent on worrying about spider bites, unless you are diabetic and and terrible baseline circulation you will live...promise......just watch out for signs and symptoms of infection; like i already said you seem to have a nasty case of gout in which case inflammation and buildup of uric acid is the enemy. MSM treats this with allopurinol and I've seen it work however all drugs come at a monetary price and the price of side effects that may pop up if any, it a roll of dice. Im certain that homeopathic cures are out there but their drawback is that we don't really know about their side effects. If I were in your painful shoes I would bring up the possibility of gout to your primary care provider, get the pain/swelling under control and then visit a naturopathic physician who can guide you on diet/exercise/supplements to take to prevent another outbreak. Much love to you, cheers :)

[Mike Gorman]

I thought of gout too, but this is chronic, not acute-my Uric Acid levels were good too-but thanks for the input!

[Carolin]

GalaxyHorse have you had any kind of surgery of cuts on your body before this happened? My Dad had a major heart attack and while in the hospital he got a staph infection from the catheter. He went undiognosed for a long time because the infection went to his weakest point which was his back.

I wish you well
Carolin

[latshaw]

Hi!

No doctor here but had and have same thing for quite awhile. Pain caused from inflamation. Found out that cherries are the best anti-inflamatory. I went to store and got...Nature's Promise Black Cherry Juice. For 1st two days drank 8 oz glass and thereafter about 3 to 4 oz / day. Then dropped down to a few swallows (like cough syrup) in the mornings and once at night. Worked like a charm. Was very happy I didn't have to take a medication . Red Cherry Juice works just as well but I like the Black Cherry. Hopefully you can find the Nature's Promise brand.

How I figured it out was I started to crave Cherry Pie and couldn't figure out why. Believer that body knows what it needs I looked up health bebefits of cherries - that's when I learned how powerful they were. Good luck - hope this helps. - latshaw

ps. when the store is out os the Cherry Juice - I get the 100% Welches Grape Juice (purple - not white)

[vilcabamba]

I recommend the mps far infrared rainbow. You lie under it, or place it over the foot. This is what i use to cure all my maladies. Also, dr. hildegarde staninger is who i go to for help with maladies that conventional can't explain. She can send you a food pad that you wear overnight and then send back to her. She then sends it to a lab to have tests done to see what toxicities are in your body that could be causing the swelling. She uses an advanced microscope that measures the frequencies and can determine what is in your body. Here's her metaphysical/scientific radio show..http://onecellonelightradio.wordpress.com/

[Arrowwind]

have you had your foot looked at by a chiropractor? I use to get foot pain and found that chiropractic alignment of the bones of the feet helped and kept me going.

Most cases of inflammation do have a microbe at the source of the issue. MMS might help.

Inflammation can of course also be caused by injury or allergy.

DMSO applied topically may help.

I would look into prolotherapy, this is injections of homeopathics, nutrients, DMSO and ozone gas into joints and other pressure points to bring about healing. Ozone is an incredible pain releiver. Most prylotherapists do not apply ozone gas so you will have to look for someone who does. I have seen it fully alleviate chronic pain after just one application.

here is a brief on prylotherapy but this art/science now includes the injection of many other things not mentioned in this article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolotherapy

[nomadguy]

I listened to this C2C program and the Guest Barbara H Peterson describes something that might be similar.
She found out that her problem was consumption of GMO foods.
Here is the vid
JnnvLRrk_cM

[ghostrider]

Sounds like gout to me.

[Jules]

I'm sorry to say that I don't know exactly what it is. My first response to your question intuitively is inflammation, so I definitely would recommend natural anti-inflammatory herbs or meds (i.e. ibuprofen, etc). Acupuncture wasn't a bad idea. Otherwise, there might be a trauma there subtle or otherwise that you are unaware of. I don't have enough to advise you.

[Czarek]

could be cellulitis or worst case beginning of lupus. Converntional medicine will send you to Nuclear Medicine department for a bone scan first then for a white blood cell Tc99m labeled scan. That will definately tell you if it's cellulitis and if bone infection is the issue, or just tissue. Forget about any regular X-rays, waste of time and money.
Gout is cased by Lead toxicity. One of my collegues had a great program here at MacMaster University in Ontario but unfortunately he passed away recently. He had patients coming from as far as Australia to quantify EXACT levels of lead in the body. Not sure what happened with the program.
Few of the patients I see end up doing chelation therapy after coming back from unsuccessful antibiotic therapies. IMHO, problems with healing of the extremities is caused by: onsent of diabetis, heavy metal/metal toxicity and lack of minerals in the body. The clue is always a beginning of a flair up in late summer after drinking tons of water.
Remineralize your body with chicken bones; get organic bones and in a slow cooker, cook them for 24hrs with some carrots, celery, anion and wakame sea vegetable (japanese). Cut the bones into small pieces after bones get soft, about 12into the cooking process.
HTH
Take care my friend.