Thursday, February 23, 2006

Call me a hypochondriac, will you?

Ever since I've had medical insurance (starting when I got in the union), I've been complaining about my feet. Insoles, acupuncture, ice packs, horribly expensive shoes - nothing seems to help.
Whenever I've mentioned it to my doctor, he's given me a referral to a podiatrist to get new insoles, or told me to sit down more often.

Today, I got him to really look at my feet and it turns out that I've got bunions - bad ones - on both feet (I can't figure out how that happened - I don't wear tight shoes), plus plantar fasciitis, and some nerve damage from my shoes putting pressure on the tops of my feet (my arches are so high that the top of the foot's curved, so I'm going to have to change the type of shoe I wear. Dammit. I just paid out the fucking nose for new work shoes and now I may not be able to wear them).

The triumph I feel at finally being vindicated is tempered by the fact that I may have to have foot surgery.

I'm seeing the podiatrist on Tuesday - 9 am in Santa Monica, which means I'll have to leave my house at 7 am to make the rush-hour cross town trip.

Let's hope my fucked up feet can be corrected without surgery (which, if I have to have, I guarantee will happen right as it gets busy. Murphy's Law again, you know).

10 comments:

John Doom said...

Ouch, surgery?
Fuck that noise!

Well, good luck; I hope you don't need surgery.

Anonymous said...

I have really high arches too. I need new insoles aka orthotics. Let me know what you think of your new podiatrist, though I used to have one in SM--I think he was good. The last podiatrist I went to in BH didn't make me good orthotics. I wouldn't think that you'd need surgery, though.

Anonymous said...

Nothing more fun that being told over and over again that you don't have anything wrong with you... only to find out that there was something wrong all along. I've gone down that lovely road before...

Anonymous said...

This is a blog about an insider's view of the "biz". The podiatry is best left to others. ;-)

Seriously, sounds like you've been kicking too much ass in the perms and not getting enough naps on the tailgate of the grip truck. I'll keep my C-stands crossed for good luck and a speedy recovery (with no surgery).

Anonymous said...

hey,

i'm a producer/cameraman and i was also diagnosed a year ago with plantar fasciitis. custom orthotics helped some but the real deal was going to physical therapy and learning how to properly stretch the foot & arch.
i was in therapy for 3 months and eventually i was able to heal with no lingering problems. i would go with orthotics on a day you know you are going to have a lot of time standing around. standing was worse for me than walking. good luck. i feel your pain ;(

Anonymous said...

I know the plantar fasciitis pain all too well and I believe it was a poorly made pair of orthotics that aggravated my condition. My new orthotics (from a new podiatrist) are helping a lot and so is stretching my calves.

Check out this link http://www.activerelease.com/ if you want to try physical therapy. I found a few ART practitioners who accept the MPIPHP Blue Cross plan in NYC. The therapy helped break up the scar tissue in my foot and provided a lot of relief.

Surgery should be a last resort for plantar fasciitis. One more link for you is heelspurs.com http://heelspurs.com/index.html The message boards are great and there's a wealth of information on foot health on the site.

Alright, enough mothering from me. Have a great weekend and don't work too hard.

Milehimama @ Mama Says said...

I feel your pain- literally. I actually wear a combo of 3 (!) different over the counter inserts- they are the only thing that seems to help. (BTW, IMHO Gel inserts are a total waste of money) Also have the high arch problem, coupled with narrow heels (AA). All my shoes have to tie or have straps- no pretty little slip ons! Don't give up, keep trying until you find something that works.
Ain't nothin' worse than sore feet!

Anonymous said...

Hi I also have the High arch problem. If I wear shoes with a seam in the tongue, I end the day bloody. So watch for seams.

For the inflamation in your feet, try drinking Libby's Cherry drink. Better than taking a pill, if you can avoid it. (If you can't you can't)

This provided some relief for gout inflamation, when asprin, and aleeve did not. I drink a glass a day, mixed with water. It is too sugary. Real cherries work too. Good Luck

Mike T

Roger said...

Orthotics changed my life. And I'm not kidding. I finally decided to see a podiatrist after coming home from a day (and night) on the set, lying down and feeling my feet THROB! A script super I was working with convinced me to do it. As far as I'm concerned when you joing the union they should just send you over to a podiatrist to get some.

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Spike said...

What Dave2 said.