[Betty]

Hello everyone,
First off, I'm very glad to have found this forum!

I'm writing to ask for any info or advice about encapsulitis. I have been diagnosed with this in my second toe in each foot and received cortisone (I think) injections today, given a 2 week prescription for motrin, as well as was fitted for some shoe implants. The podiatrist said he was trying to avoid surgery, said it was "classic encapsulitis", and commented that the toe was too long in my right foot.

My symptoms I believe started with shoes...I wear good shoes but have wide feet so often feel that my feet are squeezed even in wide, well supported tennis shoes. It started with numbness in the ball of the foot, and now I have that, plus pain in the toe joints, sometimes pain in the whole sole of my feet, rare shooting pains from the top in my 2nd toe joint, and in particular, the first step out of bed in the morning is the hardest; my feet seem very sensitive then but gradually the pain backs off some.

Does this sound like an accurate diagnosis? Any advice or comments?

In addition to my feet problems, I have two knee injuries...have gotten cortisone shots in them 4x this year and have pending surgery, plus broke my rib 3 years ago in the front cartilage area which has never healed correctly. I have arthritis all over my body and have also been diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disease.

This is all depressing because I have been very active in dancing, running, biking, hiking, etc in my past. I'm 49 years old.

Thank you for any info!
Betty