Some of my readers have grown incredibly concern about the chronic pain I’ve been dealing with so I thought I’d write a post addressing those concerns.
Back in late 2005-early 2006(I don’t remember exactly) I fell while hiking. It was a simple fall, nothing to over the top. I caught my foot on a rock and stumbled forward, I almost caught my self but when I fell I twisted my knee. I was left with a few scrapes on my hands and a swollen knee nothing to serious! I was given a knee brace right away and told not to over do it. Since then I have always had a dull ache in my knee that never seemed to go away! Fast forward to 2009 when it started getting really bad! Id wake up in the middle of the night crying because it felt like someone took a sledge hammer to my whole right leg. It would shoot from my knee to my ankle and I’d get incredibly cramping and on a scale of pain 1-10, Id place it easily at a 8.
Over the course of a few years I was put into a cast, on crutches numerous times, hundreds of hours of physical therapy(which consisted of massage, taping my knee and more!) in late 2013 I started experiencing really bad pain in my right foot, it would go numb and feel like someone was pricking my foot with needles, on other days I couldn’t feel it at all. I started suffering numerous falls and grew incredibly concerned. I started seeing a doctor who automatically thought it was related to my weight. She suggested I start exercising and it would go away. She also did blood work to rule out Diabetes. Of course, it came back negative. I tried to push through exercising with a trainer but it became so bad that there were days I couldn’t even get out of bed! I decided I would try and be active at home to try and see if it would help with the pain. I started working as a nurses aid after I volunteered for a little awhile at an assisted living home. I ADORED it!! I started feeling better about my self and I was working 4-5 hours a day. Then came a major set back! On the way to work one day(I walked about a mile) I had fell, It REALLY messed me up bad! ER visit, husband had to leave work. I was in so much pain! I ended up severely spraining my ankle and had to wear a stupid brace(that was SO uncomfortably tight) and be on crutches! After that fall the numbness in my ankle and foot grew majorly to the point where on a daily basis I couldn’t feel my big toe. I finally DEMANDED that my doctor do something OTHER then tell me I’m obese.
So, In January on 2014 I started seeing a podiatrist, for YEARS no one could tell me what was wrong with my foot, after my first fall I say a sports injury doctor who told me I had just sprained my knee and possibly my ankle! From there on it was I was obese and I need to loose weight(keep in mind I was being told this when I was fit at 160 pounds). 5 minutes with my new Podiatrist and he told me I was suffering from Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome. FINALLY a name to what I had been experienced for SO LONG!
He ordered custom orthotics in January on 2014 and I was expecting to experience SOME relief soon! BOY was I wrong!! Fast forward to November 2014! Insurance has denied my custom inserts that will help with the tarsal tunnel syndrome OVER 10 times! citing different reasons EVERY single time!
I have a new doctor who I see in January of 2015 and she is going to do a full blood work panel, MRI, Xray and everything! She told me when I first met with her she is DETERMINED to get to the bottom of what I was experiencing and threw out the idea of possible Fibromyalgia that was triggered by my initial fall.
So here I wait for my inserts(we all know a good pair is NOT cheap!) as I am 22 years old. walking around with a cane, barely being able to move on certain days. My husband had to leave work a few days ago because I was in so much pain I couldn’t think! NOTHING helps! I am on two prescription non-narcotic pain killers, it doesn’t even take the edge off. Numerous ER visits have ended with sending me home with narcotic pain killers that do NOTHING! Some days seriously NOTHING takes the edge off enough for me to sleep. So many nights I lay in bed playing on my tablet in so much pain I cant get to sleep even with an OTC sleep aid.
All I ask from people is a LITTLE bit of sympathy! So many people tell me on your SO young, you look SO healthy, you don’t look in pain!
I am sorry to hear about your pain. I admire that you have tried so many things to work through it and to find the cause.
I am curious, have you tried any Dr. Scholl’s shoes? I had severe foot pain and the only shoe that actually made my pain fade was the Dr. Scholl’s casual sneakers. I had to wait 2 months to see a doctor and this was the only thing that helped me with the wait. I got mine at Shoes.com.
I hope you get some answers SOON. I know my shoe suggestion ins’t going to help cure you but if it could help at all, I wanted to share.
I think I am going to look into a pair soon 🙂 I heard they are super comfy!
I do know relatives with Fibromyalgia and I have been diagnosed with it also (Not sure if I really have it though) and it is not easy to deal with. I also have heard of an accident triggering Fibromyalgia. It might be worthwhile to visit a Rheumatologist to rule that out or diagnosis it. But I do hope you can get some help, it is so so horrible to deal with constant pain. Good luck.