My stupid foot and the Podiatrist

Ok, so here is what’s going on with my stupid foot… In August, at my last Lake Powell Trip, I took a nasty fall on the wakeboard which ripped my right foot out of the extremely tight boot and it hurt so extremely bad. For two months it didn’t hurt me, well, it kind of did, but bad. Then, about three weeks ago, I had restlest leg syndrome in my left calf and decided to put a heating pad on it. My foot was hurting that day, so I rested my foot against the heating pad, which felt really good, until the next morning when I couldn’t walk on it. The pain was so bad, but I dealt with it, because I am stubborn. So, for three weeks, I have had from little pain to excrutiating pain here and there. Some days I couldn’t walk on it, and others I could. It was really weird. I found my self limping more often than not. I started getting a prickling numb sensation all over my foot along with startling pain everywhere. Then, I found that my leg was starting to go numb. The night before I saw a Dr, I woke up at midnight with my right leg completely numb up to my butt. It kind of scared me.

I met with a Podiatrist last Thursday and got some good and bad news. I had some x-rays taken which showed no fracture or stress fractures, which is good. He then said that it looks like I have arthritis! WHAT?! (I found out later, that it wasn’t arthritis) He wasn’t sure if it was arthritis or not, but it looks like it. It is enflamed and is pinching a nerve which is causing me a lot of pain and numbing all over my foot and up my leg. The pinched nerve is connecting with everything in my foot, which causes the pain when I walk. That is why sometimes the pain is really bad and others not so bad. He says that wrapping may help, but it may hinder because it may cause more pressure on the pinched nerve. He did say that according to the x-ray, my joint is not equal like it should be, so they are rubbing against each other…

He ended up giving me a cortisone shot that will help with the inflammation, but it won’t really work for 3-5 days. When he gave me the cortisone shot, it hurt soooo bad! First, he sprayed this ‘cold spray’ on my foot, which was cold, but after a few seconds, it started to burn with cold. Then she said that was perfect. I guess he needed the area frozen first before the shot. Then the shot itself hurt extremely bad. He put it right into the inflamed area and let it go. Holy crap! He gave me a prescription for lortab for the pain, but told me first to get the free sample of Celebrex 7 pills. It’s a stronger anti-inflammatory and pain killer. It’s supposed to work really good, but it’s pricey. He says 7 pills for about $30. Ouch!

I am to Rest, Ice, Compress & Elevate (RICE). He did also say that I needed to go to REI to buy some inserts for my shoes that will give me better arch support. That will help raise my foot and should help with the inflammation. Oh, and I am supposed to wear my shoes all the time!! No going barefoot!! Yikes! I love going barefoot! That is all he said about it. He says that hopefully the shot will work and I may not have any more problems with it in the future.

So, I got my prescription of Celbrex at Smith’s on the way home. I couldn’t walk at all! I was walking a snails pace and completely limping. That shot hurt so bad and now my whole foot feels worse! Once I got home, I put my foot up and iced it. I was so close to tears because the pain was so bad! If I even moved my toes a tiny little bit, just a twitch, my whole foot screamed in pain! It was terrible! I kept ice on my elevated foot for hours. This is just frustrating! My foot aches so badly!!!

So on Halloween, I tried to be down as much as possible. Wayne made me use crutches, which really suck and hurt too. So, I dressed up in my scrubs and used crutches. Fun for me… NOT!

On Saturday, we went to a baptism and I talked with one of Wayne’s co-workers wife who is a Nurse Practitioner. She was very helpful. I explained everything the Dr said to me. She said it is not arthiris that it is soft tissue damage because it was from an injury and she see’s that all the time. She was so much more helpful. It’s soft tissue damage that is inflamed and just needs to settle down. I told her what the Dr said about RICE and she does agree. She did also mention that since I have the crutches, I should use them. The more I use my foot, the longer it will take to heal and could actually get worse. She said for the next two or three weeks, I should stay off of it and use the crutches when necessary to allow for healing time. I really should just stay down and ice it and let it heal. But, Wayne works and I have a 2 year old, so I will do the best that I can!

Robin made me feel so much better about my injury and gave me more hope. I do actually wish that I had broken my foot, because then it wouldn’t be so hard to heal. This soft tissue damage is so much worse than a broken bone!

Robin did say that the right shoes are key. My tennis shoes will work, but she actually recommends that I get new shoes with better support. So, somehow, someway, I will get Wayne to take me shopping for shoes.

So, that is what is going on with my stupid foot. It really sucks! It hurts all the time and aches, so hopefully the shot will help and the inflammation will go down so my nerve stops getting pinched so I can be normal again!!!!!