Green Room - Week 5 - Day 2

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

*stumbles in*

Oh, hey - was anybody waiting for me?*G*

So what's going on today?

***

Have you voted in the run off? http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/189873.html

It's CLOSE. So you had better make sure your favorite stays. Honestly, I happen to like both of them. I'll be frank that there are still some folks that I haven't gotten a very good "take" on yet. Not that their writing isn't good, just that I personally haven't had a chance to get a feel for who they are yet.

But the two of them aren't in that group. So it's going to be bad either way it turns out as far as I am concerned. The more weeks go by, the harder it is going to be to say goodbye to people - and the closer some of these races are going to get.

***

Happy Birthday to bitterlight

Comments

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Well, from what I'm reading, it's not as big a problem as what the doctor said, but I don't know which to trust: The internet, or the doctor.

The problem is called Planter Fasciitis, and it's caused by three major factors:

1) I'm overweight.
~Fixable.

2) To exercise, I normally walk/jog/run.
~If I can't do those things, fixing #1 becomes harder, but definitely not impossible.

3) I have almost no arch to my foot.
~Can't do much about this.

So, I can lessen the impact, but essentially I am going to have to deal with some pain for the rest of my life. The doctor suggested anti-inflammatory drugs like Bayer or Aspirin.

[firesign10.livejournal.com]

Did he recommend arch supports for the arch issue? I have those and they help a lot. Also not going barefoot anymore (although that kinda sucks). I wear Crocs indoors - they are very cushiony yet firm - and arch supports in my outdoor shoes.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Actually, he didn't suggest anything other than Aspirin. I honestly walked out of there thinking there was absolutely nothing I could do except take Bayer. Looking around, I'm kind of disappointed by his non-handling of the issue, but he's impressed me in the past, so I think I'll just chalk this up as a misstep on his part, not a mistake, if the difference makes sense.

Not going barefoot sucks, but I've picked up on the fact that that helps the pain. I'm not a big Crocs fan, but I'll definitely look into arch supports/comfy stuff for indoors.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

[abbismom.livejournal.com]

I gotta believe there's some kind of arch support thingie that would help...maybe a good "foot doctor" kind of store.

A lot of doctors see "overweight" say that's the main issue and move on without helping you deal with the issues of being overweight while trying to lose the weight.

Sorry you're dealing with chronic pain. *hugs*

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

He actually didn't even mention that losing weight could help. Thankfully, I'm smart enough to have figured that out on my own. :) I know my extra weight causes extra problems, which is why I'm working to get rid of it. It's slow, but I am losing it.

Hopefully I can handle this so that the pain is minimal.

Thank you.

[firesign10.livejournal.com]

I wasn't a huge Croc fan either, but they really turned out to be comfy. And, with the cold floors of winter, warm :-)

Was this just your regular doctor? A podiatrist will give you much more concrete advice, and also be able to tell you which supports to get and stuff.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

This was my regular doctor. I've had a few issues that I've put off talking with him about, and finally my wife told me I wasn't allowed to complain about these things anymore until I went to the doctor to do something about them. She's stern but fair. Heh.

I think I'm going to take the advice of all the folks that have dealt with this, and maybe talk to a podiatrist about some arch supports. Good idea. :)

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

I've heard about the arch-supports; you need GOOD ones, not cheapy ones, but anything like that should help.

sydb42 is having much the same issue, for much the same reasons. *Hugs*

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm sure I'll be fine (I mean, it's not something that's going to kill me, so I'm not really worried), but I appreciate everyone's support. :)

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Well no, it won't *kill* you, but if it makes doing everyday things painful then that's almost as bad!

You may want more witty people like me around - or even a few enemies - to provide you with "arch" support. ;)

[sydb42.livejournal.com]

It must be going around as I just went to the doctor yesterday to get officially diagnosed with it (I've had it for years, just been taking care of it on my own).

Things I've found that help include using heel support shoe inserts (I am seeing a podiatrist next week to hopefully get a custom one made), really good shoes (I hated giving up my $3 Walmart shoes, but they were a big cause of my foot pain, even with inserts), lots of stretching the foot, and anti-inflammatory meds when it is really hurting.

The doctor additionally suggested that I take a frozen bottle of water and roll it under my foot for 10-15 minutes once a day for an "ice massage" (I am sure I could do it more often as needed). I'm hoping the podiatrist has more suggestions.

I actually know lots of people with this problem, and while all of them do report occasional flare-ups, they also tell me that they also have long periods of time where they have no pain (which is true for me as well when I'm being really dedicated about taking care of it). I went to the doctor because this weekend it was so bad I couldn't really walk more than a few steps at a time because of how painful it was (which I've already complained about here a few times. Heh).

So, chin up, you won't necessarily *always* have pain when you walk, but you will have to take better care of your feet to keep it that way longer.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

*nods* Thank you for the advice, and support. In doing some research and listening to friendly people such as yourself, I'm definitely feeling a little better about this whole thing.

[tigrkittn.livejournal.com]

That frozen water-bottle trick is awesome! Thanks for remembering to mention that!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

:nodding: Someone on my FL has it and says basically the same thing -- when it flares, it REALLY flares, but there are also long periods of pain-free time.

The "good supportive shoes" are a must. My friend orders shoes online for this plus a difficult shoe size. Most shoes nowadays are flimsy, and unfortunately I've found that you have to shell out $ to get the support you need (I don't have it, but I'm on my feet all day at work).

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Any brand suggestions for good support? I've always been in the "cheap shoes that work" camp, and don't really have any idea where to look for quality.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

I order mine from Shoes For Crews (http://www.shoesforcrews.com). They're primarily for the food service industry, but I can't see why you couldn't wear any of their products for every day. I've been ordering from them close to 2 years now and haven't had any issues :)

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Awesome. Thank you for the link. :)

[tigrkittn.livejournal.com]

Don't believe the doctor. I had plantar fasciitis and it took a long time but it's healed completely. Doctors love doom and gloom. It did take a long time of babying my foot to avoid any strain, but it haven't had any sign of it in a couple of years now.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

He really didn't tell me much about it. I mean, he didn't say "you're going to be in pain forever," but all he really told me was to take Aspirin, which I took as a sign of "This is going to never stop, and you just have to deal with it."

Thankfully, the kind words and advice I'm hearing from you folks are helping me figure out what I can do about it. :)