On the good side, it sounds kind of like a dropped metatarsal head that has caused increased pressure on the nerves in the front of the foot (by making your foot "splay" into the sides of the shoe, etc.) and might be developing irritated nerves/neuroma.

Hopefully all the podiatrist has to do is make you orthotics with met-head pads that will un-splay your feet!

We do a lot of that at the clinic where I work, and while it doesn't remove the cause of the problem, it does help some folks avoid surgery.