Doctor Appointment

This morning, I met with my podiatrist (foot doctor). I took my x-rays that were taken last Thursday with me. The doctor said that my spurs are very large and that he could understand why my foot has had so much pain for such a long time. The part that he was very surprised about was the fact that my heel feels fine! As it turns out, I have a spur at the front of my heel and another spur at the back of my heel. As large as they are, I should have had very severe pain in that area.

I have complained of major pain in the outer left hand side of my foot. The x-rays showed no problems whatsoever in that area. He finally decided that I am walking on that edge of my foot to prevent the heel from hurting.

Only ten percent of people with spurs on their feet ever require surgery. The other ninety percent can survive well by having steroid shots every 3 months or so, doing daily foot excercises and wearing PROPER shoes.

Given the fact that I am no fashion diva, I usually wear the same pair of fur-lined crocks with everything except for my dressey dresses. It is a good thing that I wore them today so that he could see my shoe preference. Many of you out there already know what "crocks" look line. They are completely open at the back and the leather, etc covers your sides, middle and toe area of the shoe. As it turns out, he recommends that NO ONE wear crocks. Because of the fact that there is no back support in the shoes, your toes are forced to curl up so that the shoes do not fall off of your feet. By that happening, tendons and ligaments throughout your feet are having to tighten and stretch more than they should have to do.

The doctor recommends that people buy and wear Doc Martin, Airwalk and a few other brands of shoes. If shoes are built correctly, they must be so stiff that you cannot "twist" the shoes from side to side easily and they should not be able to bend in half easily. In other words, the stiffer (firmer), the better.

The doctor recommended that I have a steroid shot in my foot. No problem! I am not afraid of any little ol' needle. Hmmm, I am now! LOL!!! The steroid shot is so painful that shots of lidacaine are given in that area first. OH, MY GOODNESS!!! This pain was EXTREME!!! I had burning sensations GALORE! Fortunately, Stan had gone with me so he ended up having to hold my foot down so that the doctor could work on my foot. Now, normally, I can take ALOT of pain but this proved to be just too much pain for even me. Three different times, my reflexes managed to pull my foot away from the needle! It took a considerable amount of time before my foot numbed in that area. Though I should have not been able to feel the shot of steroid, I DID!!! So be prepared for this pain if you are going to have the steroids. For an hour, my foot was numbed. I was able to walk "normally" again. My foot should have felt numb for at least 2 or 3 hours. After an hour, I noticed a warm sensation in my foot. Within a few minutes, my foot was HOT!!! It has been 5 1/2 hours since my shots. My foot is STILL full of pain. I have taken tylenol and it has helped.

I just called the nurse at the clinic. She assured me that the pain is normal and will probably last for 2 or 3 days until the steroid really kicks in. I can live with that.

I am glad that I saw the podiatrist! He was very knowledgable, kind and easy to talk to. I am positive that my foot will be MUCH better by the end of the week.

VLE-B