Phantom Toe injury part 2

It hasn't been getting better. I'm finding that as I walk, I'm pulling up on the extensors on top pf my foot so as not to press the toe on the floor because its so painful when I catch it wrong. So I did the semi-intelligent thing and booked in to see a GP.
I thought that one of 2 things would happen, either it would clear up and I would be running down there saying, oh, well, it hurt, but I just want to check that its gone, or, the alternative, I'd need it amputated, or the like.

It was about 2 days ago when I booked the appointment so I figured it would give it time to play its cards, as it were. This morning, yes, the pain is certainly still there, I was hobbling all the way down to the doctors, ah well, amputation it is then.
The toe is ever so slightly more red than the others, but there appears to be nothing more wrong with it than that. Except that it REALLY hurts when I weight it.

Told all this to the doctor, who looked very serious, prodded it. I said OW! in the appropriate places, hmms, and haahs, and a quick look with the light thing, and a not so exciting outcome.
As the pain only really comes when prodded in a certain direction (as opposed to being all over the toe, hurting every which way you prod it)- infection is pretty much out. No pain when squeezed from the side- verucca is out, no marks of any kind (except where I tried stabbing it with a needle) means it certainly isn't a blister.

Hmmm. So it would appear that it is simply chronic inflammation. Either that or its gout. Which is pretty unlikely considering the food that we eat- also, the pain is under the fatty pad, not in the joint as gout would tend to be. So there you have it. Inflammationm, probably exacerbated by my needle stabbing. Go away and have 3x 400mg of ibuprofen per day for the next week and see how you go.
Nice.

So no real diganosis, and direction to take ibuprofen. To be fair, if it is chronic inflammation the best thing to do is probably take ibuprofen and rest it. More non-running and non-cycling days. Still, it is the depths of winter, maybe putting on a bit of fat wouldn't hurt the core temperature!

Phantom toe injury

Not been out running since last week because I have a rather interesting and exciting thing going on with my second toe on the left foot.
Its been hurting under the distal phalange (the far end of the toe) since the beginning of last week. With a bit of massage and some arnica cream I hoped it would just take care of itself and disappear, but no.

It now REALLY hurts, and it is just under the portion of the toe that I use to "toe off" as I walk and run, so any kind of activity like that is pretty much rendered un-doable.
Unfortunate.
Any type of standing activity is ok, as long as I don't move around. It's bizarre to be limping about the place like an invalid, but the pain in the toe is significantly worse, and has affected my gait even more so than the achilles heel thing ever did (which was at the beginning of last month).

I have had something like this once before, and that was associated with the cycling shoes I was wearing. I still have the same cycling shoes now, but didn't have any issues with them for a while- at least, not when I was wearing them for a week in London.
All things considered, it was after the time in London that my heel flared up. It is now, after the ride with Ben in quite amusing and chilly conditions that my toe has decided that it doesn't like being stood on. The connection would appear to be the cycling shoes, which is very annoying as its what I am doing to take the strain off my knees instead of booting around bogs in fell shoes.

There doesn't seem to be much I can do about the toe, apart from stay off it as much as possible, give it arnica, and generally not be too active. Its really odd because there is no mark there, no bruising, only a small red patch which stays red (and is really quite painful) when I prod it.
I have since stopped prodding it.

It has been suggested that it could be a nerve issue- but I don't think so, as its more pain than tingly/pins and needles. I suspect that the pain will just evaporate into thin air, and just to ensure that happens, I have booked in to see a doctor about it. If anything cures it, it will be the fact that I'll walk in and say, my toe really hurts... and lo and behold, it probably won't.
Patience.
I really dislike being injured. It looks like I might have to get fitted for some new cycling shoes as well. Aaaah, more expense, just what I don't need.