Foot pain

[JeanieC]

Calluna,

I am so terribly sorry to read about your son's accident and subsequent problems which must indeed be very stressful for you. I am so glad you have at least heard from him and will be seeing him tomorrow. Congratulations to your daughter on her graduation as a doctor, you must be very proud of her.

Peaches,

I am another one of us PNers with foot problems. Mine began during a backpacking trip with my daughter about 15 years ago. I started waking up at night with burning pain in the soles of my feet and was unable to walk for a couple of days. The pain went away after a few weeks though. Then it would come back off and on. Diagnosed as plantar fasciitis initially, probably incorrectly, but I had cortisone injections which would help. It would come and go for a while, then about 7 years ago, it came to stay and I was quite miserable at night with burning pain which would keep me awake night after night. It was eventually diagnosed as neurological pain and diagnosed as being due to unspecified musculoskeletal problems, as all my neuro tests were normal. Neurontin was no help, nor were the special rigid inserts for shoes that are prescribed by podiatrists(the kind that cost about $400. I struggled with those for about 6 months before giving up on them. What helped the most was the poditrist's suggestion to fill up empty plastic coke bottles with ice and roll my feet over them in the evening. Now I sleep with ice either in my PN pain area, or on my soles, or both!

I also have Morton's foot, and flat arches, and spent a lot of my working life on my feet as a nurse, which probably did not help.

Karen,

If you are still reading this far down, I am wondering if you could find a way to do less standing, it does sound like you do a lot of it. Of course, I know why you can't sit much, but I am wondering if you could lie down a bit more.You know what you can do better than I do, but I think standing for 8 or more hours is just so wearing on the body and especially the feet. I know I can't stand in one place for long, not because of feet, but because it makes my PN pain just unbearable. When I cook or bake, I even set my kitchen timer for 20 minutes standing, then alternate with 20 minutes lying on the sofa, so that I will not overdo the standing.

I love pretty shoes too and especially sandals in summer. I can still wear them as long as I don't have to do much standing or walking, for that I have to wear my lace up sensible easy spirits.

[helenlegs 11]

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What helped the most was the poditrist's suggestion to fill up empty plastic coke bottles with ice and roll my feet over them in the evening.

What a good idea. I can really see that working thanks

I do hope that your weekend is less stressed Calluna ((((hugs))))

[Karyn]

I am carer for one of my sons, he was brain injured in his gap year and now has severe mental health problems. He has been in crisis for a couple of weeks now, things have been getting worse and worse and yesterday was a very difficult day. So it was a good thing I was here.

I should not have mentioned this whole issue.
Thankyou Lernica. Yes, he's still with us. I got a text asking if he can have a lift to an appointment tomorrow. So I know he'll still be here tomorrow as well. A bit stressful here - sorry, people, I should not have mentioned this whole issue.

No, Culluna - I'm glad you mentioned this issue! How stressful! I'm so very glad he contacted you and sincerely hope he's able to make some kind of comeback. Hugs to you and all of your family! Big congrats to your daughter for her outstanding achievement!!!!!!

Karen,

If you are still reading this far down, I am wondering if you could find a way to do less standing, it does sound like you do a lot of it. Of course, I know why you can't sit much, but I am wondering if you could lie down a bit more.You know what you can do better than I do, but I think standing for 8 or more hours is just so wearing on the body and especially the feet. I know I can't stand in one place for long, not because of feet, but because it makes my PN pain just unbearable. When I cook or bake, I even set my kitchen timer for 20 minutes standing, then alternate with 20 minutes lying on the sofa, so that I will not overdo the standing.

I love pretty shoes too and especially sandals in summer. I can still wear them as long as I don't have to do much standing or walking, for that I have to wear my lace up sensible easy spirits.

Hi Jeanie! Yes, I'm still here! And yes - less standing would most certainly be the most logical solution to this problem. Not only does excessive standing cause foot pain, but it also puts a great deal of stress/pressure of your pelvic floor. Sitting for more than 5 minutes is still out of the question for me, so my only alternative is to lie down. I have been trying to do that for a couple of hours each afternoon. That; combined with the heel gels have helped a bit. I never go barefoot anymore. I have a really tough time lying down for long periods of time. I just can't do it. Not to mention, it's exhausting! The lying down for a couple of hours each day is fairly recent, so I'm hoping the heel pain will eventually recede soon.

Now I sleep with ice either in my PN pain area, or on my soles, or both!

Yes, I do this, too! I have something called THERMAPAQ, and they're made of a soft clay with can be heated or frozen. They come with a soft cover with velcro straps, so you can mold and adhere them to almost any body part you want. I wrap them around my feet at bedtime and they are very soothing.

[missyrg]

Karen where can I buy the THERMAPAQ? Missy

[Karyn]

Hi Missy!
You can get them at most pharmacys (CVS, RiteAid, Walgreens, etc ...) and I know the pharmacy section of places like WalMart and Target have them too.

[Amanda]

Calluna

Dont worry please, I hope that your son is doing much better and that you have much less stress as a result.

As for fit flops, well i never knew about them until this Summer when i broke two bones in my foot and tried them as support...wow they are like floating on air I am definitely going to buy some boots for the Winter.....today I wore other flip flops with some support...and now my ankle bone is all inflammed and swollen...arghhh....!!! i think a huge throwout of the shoe section of my wardrobe is in order as I cant stand anymore pain and especially in my feet..I stand too much to allow that.

[calluna]

Thankyou all We are doing ok here! And yes, I am quite ridiculously proud of my daughter - and that's one junior doctor who already knows about PN, for certain!

I think we are all feeling the FitFlip love this morning! - I've been wearing mine all weekend. Has anyone tried the sneakers that they do?

Back to foot pain again..... I've noticed something a bit weird - an unusual pain in one specific area of the top of my foot. It feels a bit like the pins and needles you get when your leg has 'gone to sleep' and is waking up again, except this is intense, and painful. It comes and goes apparently at random, and I've realised that it has been around for the last week or so, now that I think about it.

And another funny thing, an area of skin above my knee - same leg - any touch felt very wrong, sort of painful. I couldn't tolerate the touch of clothing against it - shorts required! Fortunately it is hot at the moment! This lasted about 24 hours and then faded away. Allodynia, I do believe. And both of these things are the nerve playing tricks again, I bet. Bah.

Amanda, I do hope your ankle settles down soon, that sounds nasty. I too have had a big shoe throw out, only Fitflops, Vivo Barefoot, and sheepskin boots are left now. My husband still thinks I have too many, I think the number I have is perfectly reasonable though!

[ntrenchard]

I have pain down the soles of my feet because of PN and I find that when I put on socks and/or shoes, the compression sparks my nerve pain in the area. I guess the skin/nerve is so sensitive that anything will spark the pain. So, what works for me is wearing flip flops everywhere. There's usually no pain at all.

[evaanscook]

Shock in the foot is a common cause of pain in the foot. Can be caused by the fall of this thing on foot, or by a person stepping out, or simply stumble or fall. Fractures and bruises, sprains or muscle strains are very common, and can be extremely painful depending on the severity. If the pain does not improve the foot in a short period of time, you may be better to visit a doctor for an x-ray, and determine whether there has been a real interruption.

[peaches]

Thanks you all for your replies.

I've had a course of anti-biotics from the doc last week and must confess that the swelling has gone down on the top of my foot. But all the other usual pains that I had associated with my feet are still there. I have a numb patch on the edge of my big toes and can touch it, but cna't feel myself touching it (if you know what I mean)

Ah well, we carry on regardless, thanks to everyone who replied, it's very educational to here other peoples problems and somehow it makes me feel better in a weird sort of way.

lol
Peaches