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1983 Woke up with a slightly painful knee and went for a walk to see if it improved. This caused excruciating pain in left knee. GP called & put a tablet, (morphine?) under tongue did not relieve pain. Had prescription (can't remember medication). Problem cleared in one week. Had blood tests - marginally high on uric acid. Later diagnosed bursitis - inflammation in the fluid of the knee. He told me that walking while it was sore was the worst thing I could have done!

1983/84 Intermittent disabling pain in left knee and foot. Used aspirin. Had blood tests - results OK.

May 84 Extreme pain in left knee. We had just moved house so I just 'soldiered on' Didn't call doctor. Took aspirin/codeine; cleared in ten days. Had intermittent pain and discomfort during '84.

16/02/02. Had "niggles" in left knee for about a month. 18/02/02 left knee very painful when moved. Tender to touch.

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1979 Painful heel for two weeks. GP's diagnosis was Achilles tendon problem. Had course of steroids. Problem cleared.

1979/83 Intermittent discomfort in heel but not disabling; just took aspirin. Had periods of muscle pain in arms; cleared with aspirin.

June 85 Extreme pain in foot. Called GP. Prescribed aspirin. Aspirin did not control pain so called in GP again. Prescribed Diflam ointment and paracetamol. Still had pain. Visited GP. Prescribed Feldene and arch support. Also had blood test and x-ray. Foot OK after 2-3 days. Blood test OK (marginally high on uric acid - not enough to give me 'galloping gout'). X-ray showed some problem with bone above centre of arch. OK for 2/3 weeks while walking very little then return of symptoms. Visited GP. Prescribed Feldene but it did not clear pain. In bed for 10 days.

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Sept 21/22 1985 Foot sore. Very depressed. Stayed in bed. Took Librium.

Sept 23 1985 OK

Sept 24 1985 Bus to centre and bought cycle. Half rode, half walked back. Foot a little tender. Walked 200yds to friend's house and back. Foot very sore.

Sept 25 1985 Took Feldene. Used crutches to walk 200 yds to friend's house and back. Foot very painful. Acute stage developed in evening. Took warm bath, did not help even seemed to make it worse. Extreme pain deep in bones and tenderness of skin. Pain so severe I cried. Tried cold flannel on foot - seemed to reduce pain. Took Mogadon and slept.

Sept 26 1985 Woke with foot extremely painful. Took Feldene. Pain eased considerably during day. Got up in evening.

Sept 27 1985 Took Feldene & used Diflam. Got up and managed to walk a little with high heel shoes. Centre bone still tender and painful if jarred - even a little.

Sept 28 1985 Took Feldene & used Diflam. Managed to get around the house and do a bit of tidying up. Felt a lot better mentally, though centre bone tender.

Sept 29/Oct 11 Kept to a careful routine. No long walks. Used stick each time. Just mild discomfort.

Oct 12/13 1985 Very tender at bone. Had to stay in bed. Used crutches. Took Feldene. Pain eased in evening of 13th.

Oct 14 1985 Got up. Discomfort in bone. OK to ride cycle if using arch support or heel on pedal and use right leg to pedal.

Oct 23/29 1985 Knee very tender. In bed 23rd. Took Feldene. Took paracetamol. OK if knee kept very stiff and no pressure. Could walk a little but couldn't cycle.

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NB. Early '83 had a horse put his foot down the inside of my left leg, ankle and foot. It was very painful but no apparent long term direct pain.

Feb/May 85. I had a massive emotional trauma.

16/5/94, Tenderness in heel. Tried two aspirin every three hours and Movelat on heel. Eased (due to aspirin etc?). Lasted until 24th and then eased. Increased evening of 26th. OK on 1/6/94.

24/7/96. Tenderness in heel. Rested as much as possible.

28/7/96. Got worse - rested.

24/8/96. Just "niggles" after a walk.

Tenderness moves round to outside of foot and then across top of foot. Pain in vertical flexing of foot subsides. Moderate discomfort in walking up to half mile by turning foot outwards and using a stick.

Extreme pain over whole foot for about 24 hours. Whole foot extremely sensitive to touch. Can't even bear bedclothes on it. Whole foot feels rigid. Cannot get foot in painless position. Just like 'deep toothache' in all the bones. Foot throbs, especially when hanging loose e.g. when using crutches.

Pain centres on bone located inside edge of foot and above arch. Extreme pain if the bone is pressed directly. No pain elsewhere. Minor tenderness in vertical flexing of foot. Possible to walk a few steps using high heel shoes and arch support. Use crutches otherwise.

Extreme pain if rear of heel when touched. Extreme stiffness and extreme pain in tendon from mid area of arch area to heel and on to calf. Puffiness on inside of heel area. Calf muscle tender and painful to moderate hand pressure. Can't stretch foot e.g. when having a stretch and yawn. Can't walk at all. Use crutches for even few steps.

Pain eases and just have discomfort. Can walk around the house if careful. Pain if the heel is jarred. Can walk about half a mile using a stick. Sometimes wake up feeling as though 'hit by a truck'. This takes several hours to clear. Legs always feel very heavy after a walk and have pain and stiffness in calf muscle.

N.B. Left foot only is affected but right leg aches when taking the full weight when standing. Backache due to tension when trying to walk when in discomfort or pain. Symptoms commence during walking or after walking.

I saw a specialist and he said that I had either broken a small bone in the heel when I was young or I had been born with an extra bone in the foot. He said he could operate, but there was only a 50/50 chance of improvement and it could make the condition worse. I declined the operation!