After my last foot appointment I went on a hunt for some good pool/beach shoes. I did a TON of research about it which is a really hard thing to really research. I needed something I could use in the pool with the kids and something that would provide me with a lot of cushion. I found these shoes that look just like tennis shoes but are actually made for the water! The reviews were really good on them and a lot of people who do water aerobics (aka old ladies…which in foot years I’m probably right up there with them…) said they are awesome! You can check them out for yourself here!
Going into our recent beach trip I was VERY worried about my foot. If you remember (which, why would you? This foot stuff is borrrrring) my foot did very well posts surgery in April of 2013. Then I went to the beach that July and totally messed it up again. So the beach makes me nervous for sure! Our first day at the beach I wore the new shoes. And they did do well with my comfort but they were a PAIN with the sand. So the second day at the beach I wore my Sketchers that I had bought to wear at Disney while pregnant with Britt. They were the perfect beach shoe because they were so thick and because sand couldn’t get trapped in them. The only real issue with a flip flop is the drag of the water makes my toes have to work to keep them on, otherwise they were great.
Summer-pregnancy-beached-whale-look: CHECK!
The rest of our beach trip I wore my tennis shoes. It wasn’t worth it to change into the cuter Crocs. I have been revolving my life around my foot and while it’s super annoying…I also haven’t had a lot of pain.
My appointment to get my shot was originally scheduled for next week but then I realized Kye would start golf camp that week and our church had VBS so I called and got it moved up to this week. My thought in moving it was that this week would be more relaxing than next week…haha. Kinda ironic seeing as this ended up being one of the craziest weeks EVER!!!
Since I got put on bed rest on Monday afternoon I did decide to go ahead and go through with my foot appointment the following day. Maybe the whole bed rest thing was a God thing to help me heal my foot? Ya know? I didn’t have a vehicle that day (our dvd players were getting fixed in the van) so Casey drove me to the appointment and then back home. Courtney came along with us and we also stopped by to see Carter’s nursery before we went back to my house.
I was VERY out of it at the appointment. I was exhausted and just didn’t feel like myself at all. I think my doctor either fed off my vibe or was out of it himself haha. He didn’t remember that we had planned to do the shot that day! I asked him a couple questions…I know many of you have suggested chiropractic work to help my foot. He said he DOES see that happen all the time but that my issue at this point is directly related to my foot surgery and that it wouldn’t be beneficial. I also mentioned about my toes cramping up and he agreed that it’s probably more of a pregnancy symptom than a foot one.
Last time I had a shot in my foot he focused the medicine where I was getting the most pain: in the base of my big toe. This time his plan was to focus it on the place where the pain is coming from: the ball of my foot where I had the sesamoid removed. Last time he sprayed a cold spray and then injected me with a Novocain type medicine that numbed my foot and THEN he did the injection…it didn’t work like that this time! This time he sprayed the cold stuff then BAM! injected me! I was not anticipating that amount of pain at allllll….
I tried to do my Bradley Method relaxation stuff but I was clutching my water cup and so I couldn’t full relax. Instead I just did a lot of moaning and relaxed the best I could haha. I’m sure he thought I was a FREAK with that moaning going on but I’m just a moaner! I can’t help it! The shot hurt like a BEAST and took foreeeeever to inject it all. He said that area was very tough and that it probably is due to scar tissue. Great. Something to discuss next visit I’m sure!
I was planning to paint my toes before the appointment…obviously didn’t happen!
Once he was done with the shot he gave me my new insert for my shoe. It was a special one we had made to fit my foot and cater to my specific needs. My foot was in a TON of pain for the next three days…then it will take about 10 days for the shot to really work so we’ll see if it helps anything at all! Hopefully the combo of the insert and the shot will make a big difference in my pain levels at least! I’m not sure where we will go from here with it all so I’m just trying to hold onto hope that maybe this shot will be the cure 🙂
I am so sorry you are going through all of this, especially whilst being pregnant again. Sadly, I can relate to SO much of what you are enduring… I have had foot issues since August of 2012, when I suffered a seemingly simple mid-foot sprain… Fast forward to today, and I have months of PT, boot-wearing, chiro, acupuncture, injections, and two surgeries behind me. My "big" one included a tibial sesamoidectomy (fractured bone), bunionectomy, and second toe fusion due to a hammertoe and plantar plate tear… I am STILL dealing with ridiculous healing issues, so I am in much the same boat that you are in! Things seemed to be improving back in the fall, but around T-giving, I had a relapse… My doc wasn't really listening to me, so I switched orthos and after having a screw removed in March, I had an MRI which revealed some bone marrow edema, tendon/muscle "thickening", etc. I have major issues with producing excessive scar tissue internally, so I suspect that has much to do with my problems, but I can basically pinpoint the main source of pain–base of my first metatarsal head… Like you, I have a "thinned out" fat pad which is probably allowing for much more pain when I walk–it feels like I'm walking directly on bone, nerve, and tendon most days… I've been back in the boot for nearly 10 weeks, as my ortho said I have a "bone contusion", but I haven't noticed much healing. The main area of pain will "cool down" at times, but then randomly flare, particularly as I try to wean from the boot into sneakers with orthotics… Also, I have quite a bit of pain–like a sprained feeling–in my big toe. That said, I rarely swell much–I hardly have since the big surgery last year! But the pain is just so stressful, as is the fact that my biomechanics have been greatly altered in spite of all the PT (currently in it again!), orthotics, my home/work foot exercises, etc… I have nothing illuminating to add, but I just wanted to let you know you are not alone on this journey! It's so frustrating to think we went through all of this, hoping for pain relief, and exchanged one type of pain for another! Thinking of you, and hoping you are finding a little more relief lately!!