Good news......er bad news?

[supermum_ms]

Hey Guys and Dolls,

I've been having escalating heel pain in my good (right) foot, this is the leg that lifts higher than normal and I often hit my heel really hard when I loose my balance. As i'm loosing my balance mutliple times a day nowadays, there's worse balance and more heel bashing type of thing going on. For months i've had a constant icepick pri_ck and or zapping bee sting, that likes to throw in for kicks and giggles, the feeling of having a flame burning the stupid thing.

I've had it before with out the burning and it went away, this time its not going anywhere and it's wearing me out, because not only is my walking even worse than my normal, I also can't sleep. Just my foot touching the bed or the doona just makes the pain scream, so the fatigue is ramping up and causing its own set of problems, and even my right calf muscle has become very tight now...........trapped in that darn fish bowl! lol

I've just had an ultra sound on my feet, and the good news is...... i've not damaged my foot, structurally there is nothing at all wrong to explain what's causing this. The technician said there was nothing showing up at all! So am i right to be thinking that the ultra sound should of picked up.... the bursitis inflammation, calcific spur, plantar faciitis [my Dr had the ultra sound done and had expectations of dx all these things] and since it didn't, then it means none of these things are actually the problem?

I'd already been told by my doc that i was describing nerve pain but geee shucks folks, i was kind of really hoping it was going to be something dead common or at least easy to work out. My doc thinks its because of MS but couldn't it just be something errrrr simple for once and gob smackingly visible lol just once would be nice :D anyhooo has anyone else ever done this to themselves from their weird walking or is it just a me thing? lol

Cheers............JJ

[supermum_ms]

ROFL - i was going to ask how you kept the sox on the dog lol

hmmm i did try a scoll (similar) product but it did nothing as far as i could see and after a week i couldn't justify putting up with the odd medicine smell without any smooth as a baby's bottom feet. I was not expecting it to fix cracks as deep as the grand canyon but I don't think some good was too much to ask for how much it cost..............snake oil me thinks lol

cheers...........JJ

[karryon55]

I don't put heel balm on the dog & put socks on him....lol. I put it on me & then the socks. I think I'm getting past my expiry date. :-)

[karryon55]

What a cool idea having a weight on your ankle. Make sure you wear sensible shoes into the docs office or you'll get a lecture...lol. ;-)

Have you tried the "Heel balm Gold" it's what I use for my dry cracked heels & I also use it on my dogs callouses from him having 3 legs. It's great stuff & shows a dramatic difference in 5 days. I put it on before bed & often put thin socks on top.

Good luck for Friday,

Karry.

[supermum_ms]

Honestly, you guys and dolls are simply the best medicine!

I believed if i could just stop the whacking part, most of the issue would have time to heal but i could not see how when i have no control over when i'm doing the whacking........ahha I thought, lets see if my ankle weights [JJ's thinking outside the box again lol] would help stop me from lifting the foot so high and minimise the impact, so far it is definitely stopped the harder whacks, much better than the baseball bat whacks i was doing.

Only solves a small part of the problem but its helping, lol they are not heavy by any stretch of your imagination but you'd think i've got a concrete block weighing my leg down, doing nothing for the calf knot that i'm rocking despite the stretching. Currently my foot is in a bucket soaking, I think in my endeavourers months ago to locate the invisible thingy stuck and stinging my heel, the skins dried out and made a hard callus (dr confirmed it was a callus and not a plantar wart/verruca) so i'm giving my neglected feet some tlc and getting rid of as much dead skin prior to the podiatrist, seeing them and hopefully she/he won't be screaming in horror. lol

Thanks everyone, it'll all come good again..........i'm sure of it! My next doc visit is at the end of the week, so nothing more I can do than what I am, i'd say. Oh it cold and wet this week in my state, other states are hot but we're getting hot and cold days so far, weather can't make its mind up what season it's going to be.

Cheers.............JJ

btw: A 'doona' is bedding that you put 'over' your body to keep you warm and covered but a pillow top bed over here, is extra mattress cushioning, and that goes 'under' your body.  

  

[Milliepede]

Hello, JJ.

Sorry you've got so much going on, and so much pain.

I get plantar fasciitis in my right heel and it doesn't show up on ultrasound. It's a pain though - literally  ;-)   - and yeah, directly related to MS because of the amount of foot stomping, or heel banging, going on.

I hope you get treatment for whatever it is. Yuck. Sleep deprived fatigue on top of regular fatigue, on top of ... Aren't you going into summertime now, welcome back heat fatigue.

Blessings and prayers for you, JJ of Oz.
Karen

[anon07072023]

Sorry you're having problems with this. Doesn't sound like they know what's going on for sure. I hope you can get it worked out so you're not in pain.

[candy158]

Oh JJ, this really *****, big time.  I so agree that not only does it hurt like h*ll, it interrupts your sleep cycle, which means you can't get the sleep that you need.

I actually get heel pain at night time, don't know what it is either, so they say the same "blanket answer", oh, it's your MS .... LOL ... well, with everything that we have been through this last year, I have not pushed on that one.  

My DH got me a sheep wool mattress cover, and it does help a bit, but sometimes , and this is gonna sound funny, but I put a sock on that foot, and because it is softer, the pain and irritation seems less.  Sometimes I have to get up at night just to try and walk it off. ( needless to say, it interrupts my sleep too) , so, do I have the "lucky answer" for you,

Well, I had someone ask me when was the last time I had a pedicure.  I was " wth" because if you get dry cracked heels, the pain can be worse , and aggravated by the friction of the sheets.  I also tried cortisone cream, and that seems to help too.

I make sure, all the time, that my feet are looked after, and sometimes they still hurt, and "MUST BE MS" thing comes back into play.

Hoping this helps at all, and knowing that you are being prayed for and loved.

Thanks for all your support, hoping this may help you,
((HUGS)) JJ,
Candy

[Sailorsong]

The idea of the X-Ray / Ultrasound is probably to make sure it isn't something else (bone spur, fracture, etc).

Mine behaves just as you described, getting worse throughout the day. Between the heel and the pain in the rest of my legs I'm always kind of wishing that they would just cut my legs off. LOL

That sounds like the "Doona" is like what a hotel chain here is advertising of late. They are calling it a "Pillow Top" bed.

Dennis

[supermum_ms]

Dennis - oh if that's the case, it could mean i still may have those things then, lol i'm confused! Why do ultra sounds if it doesn't always show up?  

Hmmmmm my dr was definite about the heel spur, inflammation bursitis but the plantar was more of an as well as posibility, because unlike "plantar faciitis" that hurts on first steps in the morning and then the heel pain often goes away once you start to walk around, but may return in the late afternoon or evening.

I can already feel the zapping bee sting 'before' i've stood on it and the sting feeling just gets worse through out the day, pressure on the heel feels more like pushing on a bruise so understandable cause and effect. Cushioning helps soften the pain from the whacking of my heel but the sting is there all the time and then changes into a flame burning sensation by the end of the day.

I honestly can't prevent the times i'm still whacking my heel, lol hard enough to yell, i'm wearing soft cushioning slippers and trying to make sure to put my toes down first, icing it a couple of times a day, stretching etc but if I'm barefoot when i stumble, I can't stop my heel from going down first and i whack it again on hard wood floors or bathroom tiles.  

Aha solution...........chop it off, no foot no heel pain lol

Pastor Dan - rofl an ozzie "doona" is also called a continental quilt, duvet, down comforter, eider down, or just plain quilt depending on what country you live in. Over here they have sealed pockets that are either filled with feather and down, 100% wool or man made fibre and they range in price depending on what they are filled with. The 'doona' then goes in side a cover, sort of like a giant pillow case.

Cheers everyone............JJ

[HVAC]

I am sorry about your foot. I have no words of wisdom.

Alex

[Guitar_grrrl]

Ugh, JJ, I feel for you!  I've had plantar faciitis, before, and it's excruciating! But if it's that, or nerve pain, either is a bugger.  Will your doc put you on anything like Gabapentin or other nerve pain med?

Cool that you got a 3T MRI in your area!  Hopefully you can get in and see results soon.  In any case, it sounds like your GP is looking out for you.

Cheers!

[karryon55]

Hi JJ,

I'm so sorry you are still having such a hard time with that heel of yours. I'm not sure if everything would show up on ultrasound or not....check with your doctor about that one.

Is the pain at the back of the heel or under the foot part of the heel? Is it at the base of the back of the heel?

I would see what the podiatrist can offer you because they have lots of good ideas. I think protecting the heel is going to be very important so "sensible shoes" are probably on the definite plan of action list. I have used light weight supports to keep my feet in good positions when I'm just wearing slippers at home. These actually produce warmth & increase circulation & can be very effective.....depending on what your problem is. If it's nerve pain that may hinder more than help.

When I had the Achilles Tendonitis I would have to put the foot into a bucket of icy water then to warm & back to icy again & so on to reduce swelling. Gentle stretching, heel inserts, physiotherapy & rest were all suggested to me. I had really bad Achilles Tendonitis in both heels & could barely weight bare so I used crutches for 6 months or more. I did use a chair when I was in hospital until I graduated to crutches. Elbow crutches are good if you use them properly.

When I had Plantar fasciitis I had pain in the heel under the foot. Which is again down to rest, using good supportive footwear, orthotics, gentle stretches, anti inflammatory.....either oral or topical.

The podiatrist can assess your walking & will usually arrange orthotics & exercises tailored to your individual problem. There may not be a name for your problem.....but you can call it the "s*** heel" lol. If it is nerve pain then an oral medication would be needed.

I'm guessing that through the ultrasound they could not find inflammation. I have used therapeutic ultrasound on my knees which involves about 30 minute sessions of having warm ultrasound on the area & after a number of sessions I found great relief. There are lots of options for you out there so if you can get to see the podiatrist ASAP you may get some relief sooner rather than later.

Sending big HUGS to you across the red dirt of Oz.....Karry.

[karryon55]

I'm not sure what you guys call a doona but it's a quilt for your bed. You put covers on them to keep you warm....lol....I'm not sure what else they could be called but I'm sure you get my drift....well I hope you do. :-) Karry.

[summerluvr]

i have nerve damaged in both feet from chemo and myeloma. it tends to wax and wane, but I noticed it most at night and wear fuzzy slippers to bed.  If my feet are at all chilled it is way worse. At times I feel like my feet are cold, and it is painful, but if you touch them they are warm to the touch.

Has your doctor tested the reflexs?  My feet have no response now from this.

[PastorDan]

Plantar fasciitis really knocked me for a loop several years back.  Only thing for it was a desk job.

Now...  What is a doona?

[Sailorsong]

JJ,

I get the heel pain also in my right foot a lot of the time. Like you I pick up that foot high since it has the worst foot drop. The last time I saw a doc about this after doing x-ray, ultra sound I was given the plantar faciitis DX since nothing showed up and the location of the pain. So I asuumed that this condition does not show up in tests but is just done through clinic signs. They were suppose to schedule me for PT and stretching exercises but that never happened.

Dennis

[supermum_ms]

ROFL!!

This is coming from my general doc and he's 'one' of the doc's who's sure I have MS and it's MS that causes all my lovely weirdness lol he got me the free podiatrist appt's stated as "due to MS" and he even gets away with bulk billing all the tests he wants so it costs me nothing aghhhhh due to my condition lol don't ask me, i'm just twiddling my thumbs over here :D

Cheers...........JJ

oh btw the centre i had the ultra sound just got a 3T MRI so i'm going to ask if he can arrange it...........fingers crossed!

[Lulu54]

Goodness, JJ.  How could the doc say it was from the MS if they aren't willing to say you have MS?  I am stupified with this one.  

I hope it gets better for you - pain, regardless of the cause - shouldn't be allowed to linger.  Five appointments sounds like they have something planned  - I'm curious what that might be.  

hugs, L

[supermum_ms]

hmmmmmm if you saw the way I walk, you'd be surprised how i haven't broken the dam thing, it's been getting worse for a long long time. My left leg doesn't lift up high enough and as it gets heavier and heavier, i tend to trip over my toes because they just hang down. My right is the power, it lifts high and comes down like i'm digging in to push the left one over, my heel actually hits the ground first lol if that makes sense?

Last year i tripped and went down the slope of the river bank, poetry in motion lol but my heel landed hard on a rock, back then i was told it was a heel spur which made sense and it went away. Although if it was, its been playing up, on and off ever since and now it definitely feels different.  Dr was thinking i've been re-damaging the heel, because of the way i whack it when i walk. He was saying something about, there was too much inflammation in the bursa sack and that was now irritating the nerve, got to say i thought that would show on the ultra sound though.

Hmmmmm it all made sense, done everything your suppose to and its getting more settled in and now i'm left scratching my head lol strange happenings again! The right leg has been going weird for longer than the heel thingy, I have to stretch more often because the calf is getting too tight, tremor when suspended for seconds not minutes, loosing strength etc. and i kind of need this leg, stupid heel and all.

I don't get back to my doc until next week, seeing a podiatrist first and getting it cleaned up lol not sure what that means but he's booked me in for 5 appointments agh you might hear me from even over there lol it just gets better and better lol

Cheers...........JJ      

[immisceo]

Oh, JJ. As if the pain wasn't bad enough, the loss of sleep must have you about batty. I've never had that type of ultrasound, but I assume signs of those other potential things would have been there if it was ordered to look for them. So, as it's nerve pain (as you're left to assume it is), what's your doctor's take on what do do about it?

I've had compensatory musculoskeletal pain from walking about for a week with foot-drop with no cane/support. The weird things I was having my body do to make my walking appear normal gave me quite substantial pain in the opposite leg's upper thigh and hip.

I'm not sure what medications you're on at the moment, but I hope you're able to have something offered that is specific to this issue that gets some relief to you. Is there any sort of orthopaedic product that could help keep you from inadvertently damaging your foot as you cope with this? (You mention banging it down quite hard. My worry would be that what began as nerve pain could lead to actual damage in the foot itself).

Really just spit-ballin' here, hoping to mention something constructive. You're one of the pillars of the forum, so I get extra riled to hear that MS is throwing you a new curve ball. I wish you a speedy resolution, followed by much needed rest. Keep us in the loop.