Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Not what I wanted to hear, but it could have been worse.

The visit to the podiatrist was enlightening.

I got the reader-predicted advice to stretch more (apparently my Achilles tendons are 'incredibly tight' and it's the source of many of my problems), fitted for new orthotics, a lecture about not letting the tread on my work shoes wear down so much, and an injection of cortisone into a cyst (that hurt like hell and I had to bite my lip to keep from yelling - I didn't want the elderly woman in the next room to think I was a wimp).

The bad news is that I'm going to have to have the bunion surgery.

Not right now, thankfully. There's a predicted SAG strike next year, so I'll do the surgery then, since the doctor told me I'll be out of work for at least 8 weeks.

If I've got to be out of work for 8 weeks, it may as well be in the middle of what may very well be a protracted work stoppage.

6 comments:

Doom/Blondie said...

damn, girl, that's at least a year from now... can you afford to go so long without surgery...?

there are more things important that money.

anyway, best of luck.

doom/blondie

x

Peggy Archer said...

I can wait a year, actually.

The podiatrist told me that bunion surgery isn't permanent (they'll keep coming back), so it's better to wait until they get worse - I can still walk okay and the new orthotics will help.

Of course, if the pain doesn't get better I'll have the surgery sooner.

Anonymous said...

i had that surgery - it was the best thing i ever did. my foot hurt me 24/7, and now it doesn't hurt at all. plus, now my foot doesn't look all tore up in a pair of strappy sandals...it does take a couple months for all the swelling to go down, but it's not too bad.

Anonymous said...

Definitely get a second opinion before having bunion surgery (your insurance company might require it, in any event). I've known a couple of people who've gotten different recommendations from different podiatrists. Which is not to say that some podiatrists are wrong, it's just that they can have reasonable differences of opinion, more so than most medical professionals.

Peter
Iron Rails & Iron Weights

Anonymous said...

Agreed on the second opinion thing, and I hate to sound like a new-agey freakout, but have you ever tried cranial sacral therapy? I was a skeptic at first, but that stuff has done wonders upon wonders for my health issues to the point where some of them have been cured. I shit you not.

Anonymous said...

Peggy, don't take this lightly and assume that it always goes well. There are some real horror stories out there on bungled bunion surgery. I have a friend who had a bad result. If I had this problem I would do a lot of word-of-mouth checking to find a surgeon who is expereienced and capable. Get it done, but get it done right.