I really appreciate your concern and willingness to look into my condition further. I will try answering your questions in the same order in which you asked.
1. I have seen My family doctor, three orthopedic foot and ankle specialists, two podiatrists, four pain specialists, three orthopedic spine surgeons,a Neurologist and several doctors at the Mayo Clinic. Not one them have ever seen or heard of every other day intermittent pain that flares up like clockwork. Therefore I have not received a single diagnosis from anyone.
2. Gabapentin
3. Vicodin, Norco, morphine, Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta. None of them helped. Cortizone shots.
4. I’ve had a bad back for several years. I had a back surgery in 2003 for a herniated disc. In 2012 the orthopedic spine surgeon inserted a X-Stop into my spine, but that did not help much so I had a laminectomy without fusion in the same year. Two spine surgeons at the Mayo Clinic ruled out that the pain as being caused from my back as the pain is too Isolated to one single toe. They said if it was coming from my back there would be a broader pain pattern.
5. & 6. - 90% of the time my toe pain starts up between 2 AM and 3:30 AM. Standing up or laying down the severity of the pain is the same. Nothing helps and I suffer for 24 hours and then it stops for 24 hours only to start up again the next night. The intermittent pain is the most baffling part to every doctors for no one has a clue what makes it start or what makes it stop. The severity of the pain is so bad I simply cannot sleep during those episodes of pain therefore I am only able to sleep every other day.
7. The doctors have ordered MRIs of both my spine as well as my right foot.
8. I do have arthritis.
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One thing new that I am trying is seeing a physical therapist. Years ago I had a different Physical therapist name Kate and she told me of a lady who is also a physical therapist and in Kate’s opinion this lady can work miracles. I have been going to her for a few weeks now and I call her my Chinese torturer for she is relentless. This lady‘s name is Ethel and she told me that I have tried Western medicine and nothing has work so it’s time to try eastern medicine for that is 5000 years old. The things that she says and does doesn’t made any sense to me, but it this point I’m willing to try anything. I told you that my pain starts up like clockwork between 2 AM and 3:30 AM, but after seeing this lady on two occasions my pain started up at 6:30 AM and a different day it started up at 6:20 PM. That is clearly a change in the pattern of my pain, but that only occurred twice. I should also mention that a while back after seeing her I had a four day reprieve from pain which had not occurred in the past five or six years. Unfortunately it went right back to my every other day pain.
Once again I truly appreciate your concern and willingness to do research on my behalf.
Have a nice day!
Philip