Health Update

by Lady Lee 10 Replies latest jw friends

  • Lady Lee
    Lady Lee

    Well I finally had my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon.

    We seem to have ruled out Plantar Fasciitis - yeah.

    But it seems there might be 3 neuromas on the left foot and two on the right.


    Morton's neuroma

    By Mayo Clinic staff

    Overview

    The pain in the ball of your foot is sharp and burning. It may feel as if you're walking on stones. Your toes may sting, burn or feel numb.

    You may have a condition called Morton's neuroma. A neuroma is a noncancerous (benign) growth of nerve tissue. Morton's neuroma occurs in a digital nerve in your foot, often between your third and fourth toes. The condition doesn't involve a true tumor, but instead comprises a thickening of the tissue around one of the digital nerves leading to your toes.

    Also called plantar neuroma, Morton's neuroma may occur in response to irritation, injury or pressure ? such as may result from wearing tight-fitting shoes. But it may also occur on its own, for unknown reasons. Morton's neuroma is more common among women than among men.

    Treatments commonly involve changing footwear, using arch supports or pads to help take pressure off the area, and resting your feet. In some cases doctors may recommend anti-inflammatory drugs, a cortisone injection or even surgery

    Factors that appear to contribute to Morton's neuroma include:

    • Wearing high-heeled shoes or shoes that are tight or ill-fitting, including those that box in your feet and place pressure on your toes
    • High-impact athletic activities, such as jogging, that subject your feet to repetitive trauma.

    However, it's not always clear what may have caused the pressure or irritation that lead to Morton's neuroma. In some cases, Morton's neuroma may result from abnormal mechanics of the foot.


    Well I haven't worn heels in about 15 years and I have never been a jogger or any other high impact sport. I do have an extremely high archand high instep. So I just might have one of those unknown causes.

    Dr is sending me for an MRI to see if they can find out what is causing the pain.

    And most people have just one neuroma in one foot. After him doing some pressure tests I just might be one of those odd people who have more than one and in both feet. Lots of humming and hawing from the Drs about that I tell ya.

    For now the pain is still not under control. I have good days and bad days but still can't be on my feet for more than 5 minutes at a time. I have found some rather interesting ways to work around things. I have a bar stool to sit and cook at the stove or chop food and to do the dishes. That one, the dishes is a pain because I either have to sit sideways or spread eagled - very uncomfortable either way. Oh for a dishwahsher - oops guess that is me.

    My family dr has renewed my parking permit for another year - yeah - so I don't have to worry about that and I have the manual wheelchair for as long as I need it.

    Sleep is still a problem. I tried the NSAID and wasn't too keen on some of the side effects. And acsot was nice enough to get me some Melatonin. It works some of the time. At least some nights I can sleep trhough.

    Still hanging in though and it gives me lots of time to go digging around in the archives looking for all your great posts

  • Valis
    Valis

    Hope you are doin alright LL.

    Sincerely,

    District Overbeer

  • kls
    kls

    OMG LadyLee, i can't even imagine living with that pain and yet you have time for these great posts to help others. You are abetter woman then i . Have you tried Valerian root to help with sleep? It works better then Melatonin , at least for me it does. The draw back is not to smell it , it has the odor of smelly feet .

  • Nosferatu
    Nosferatu
    Well I haven't worn heels in about 15 years and I have never been a jogger or any other high impact sport.


    Doesn't Field Service fit in here somewhere?

    Anyway, I hope that they'll find out the cause of your troubles and be able to find a solution, Lee. Take care.

  • Lady Lee
    Lady Lee

    Thanks Valis

    kls - I'll see if I can find that. Part of the problem is the pain that wakes me up. And since they still are playing around with the diagosis they are going slow on the pain meds. My attitude too is that if I take too many pain meds to block the pain then I might be doing more damage to the nerves. Pain is the body's way of saying "Hello! There is a problem here." So while I don't want to totally block it I would like to be able to sleep too. Some nights are OK and others are sheer hell. Last night I went to sleep at 1:30 and was awake by 3:30 in too much pain to go back to sleep. So I got up and browsed the archives and went back to bed around 6:30 and had to be up by 10 to get to the dr. When I take the melatonin I will sleep 7-8 hrs at night but then I need two naps during the day. I just can't wake up porperly.

    Nos I have wondered how much damage all that walking may have done on my feet. Seems I had to wear specail boots until I went to school supposedly for weak ankles. Now I have to wonder if the problem wasn't the ankle but perhaps the shape of my feet. And if there is a problem with the structure of the foot then maybe all those miles and miles er kilometers (I am in Canada) might have just worn those poor bones down. And let's not forget the cold and the dampness of a Canadian winter.

    As for the heels - once I got pregnant with my first child - 33 years ago - I pretty much stopped wearing heels. By 15 years ago I could not wear heels at all without being in severe pain.

    sigh one day the new system ....

  • Lady Lee
    Lady Lee

    oooo ooooo oooo

    I forgot the good news

    according to Reveue Canada I am officially a person with a disability - and that means a huge rebate on my income tax

    Thanks to my fellow Canadians

  • simplesally
    simplesally

    Wishing you speedy feet!

    I truly hope you feel better soon ........... until then, have a drink, I'll buy.

  • Stefanie
    Stefanie

    Hope you get to feeling better mama.

  • xenawarrior
    xenawarrior

    (((((((((((Lee))))))))))) I hope they get to the bottom of it (no pun intended) and that they have a real solution for you !!

    Congrats on your return ! AND on the freedom it will allow you !!

    Many hugs at ya from the south !!!

    XW

  • Angharad
    Angharad

    ((((((((Lee))))))))

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