Originally Posted by
creepingdeath
I can't afford to go to a doctor since I have no insurance.
(snip)
I'm staying off my bike and feet as much as possible for a few more days at least (I'll starve if I don't get back to work though), but if I'm still this messed up a week from now, I'll go ahead and sell a kidney or some sperm or something so I can go to a doctor.
OK, seriously, this is messed up. Medical care should NEVER be a commodity on the open market (to say nothing of body parts or fluids).
I'll go back to my idealistic socialist corner now but I can never read/hear things like this without squawking in alarm and then swearing a lot.
First, you should look into all possible avenues for getting proper medical attention. Emergency room, clinic, whatever - if there's a chance you may have done serious damage, you MUST get checked out or you could end up in a far worse position later. Borrow money from friends and family, whatever it takes. Hell, come to Canada and go to an ER. You'll wait ten hours and have to pay a fee for not being a resident, but it'll still be cheaper.
Second, you need to be absolutely vigilant about staying off that foot and keeping it iced and elevated so that you do not do any MORE damage, for several days at least. (Talk to someone about alternating heat and cold - that is good for some types of overuse injuries because it increases blood flow through the area and flushes out all the torn up bits of cells and such, but you have to be really careful about the timing on that. Coaches would know, as would chiropractors, physiotherapists, and (don't laugh) large animal veterinarians (they use it on horses all the time)).
Third, get rid of the bike before you destroy your knees, ankles and hips. 20,000 miles is an admirable goal, but it's an arbitrary number when you come down to it. Continuing to ride a bike that does not fit for 3,500 miles to reach that arbitrary goal is just plain stubborn, if not stupid. Sell it and get your ankle looked at. You can worry about getting another bike later.
Fourth, if you are doing *anything* and it hurts, that means STOP DOING THAT. Seriously. All the people who said "no pain, no gain" in the 80s are using walkers, or have had hip and knee replacements, or are freaking DEAD now. Pain is a feedback mechanism that protects us. There is a case study in one of my textbooks that talks about a young Canadian woman who was born without the ability to feel pain. She died of accumulated injuries and bone infections before she reached 30. Her joints were completely arthritic because she never felt the discomfort of standing or walking in awkward ways, so she just kept doing more damage.
*smacking you over the head with a Nerf bat*