My foot pain

[cjsmith]

Just for a change, I will let my low blood sugar write an entry. Here it is.

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I think it would be a good idea for everyone who knows how to solve my feet to have a chance to try. The line forms to the left. I am guessing that the line is already long enough that each person gets about, oh, 48 hours. During which, of course, I am still working full time, I am still working late, I am still flying, I am still feeding my cats and doing my laundry -- in short, I am not suspending the living of my life. Each person who knows what's best for me gets what's left of that 48 hours. Oh, and you get to fund your ideas. It's only fair. I funded mine.

Go for it.

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[This message brought to you by the unusually depleted state of both CJ's patience and CJ's blood sugar right about now. No, this is not indirect communication with anyone who's reading this. It is a vent. ...I can't think of any more disclaimers but I am positive I will know what I missed after about four comments.]

Comments

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

I hear you. I feel the same way about "cures" for my morning (read: all day) sickness. Line forms to the left.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oo, hadn't thought of that. I mean, I knew you were having morning sickness, but I didn't know you had more suggested cures than you had days left of pregnancy [possibly an exaggeration and possibly not]. :-/

*hugs*.

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, lots and lots of suggestion. And lots of utter indignation when I don't jump to try them all. Like you said, I am still trying to live my life and I have to get by as I can. Fortunately, I am far enough along that I can take Zofran which helps immensely. But trying to explain to people that I am so sick some days that just moving my body at all in bed is enough to send me to bathroom is an exercise in futility--most think it is something a few saltines or gatorade or any number of things will help. As klwaton has said, something about being pregnant makes you Public Property in the eyes of many.

And ::hugs:: to you. I am so sorry you are still in pain.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hate the presumption that if you don't try that particular person's pet cure you somehow want to be sick. I also have no idea why people haven't figured out that a person with a health issue still has to live her life and that basic life things probably take MORE time and energy, not less.

That said, I'd probably try all sorts of random stuff if someone else paid for it. Too bad I haven't figured out how to make them take time off from work for me as well ;-)

Public Property in the eyes of many

This would explain a few things less personal and more political, actually. (snarl) (idjits)

::hugs:: back! May you get through this portion of it as quickly and easily as possible.

[ericainohio.livejournal.com]

Did someone say morning sickness??? I am sooooo sorry when I hear of another pg mom going through severe morning sickness. I've been there with a vengeance. Twice.

I'm glad to hear the Zofran is helping. I'm a homebirther, so prescription drugs were not available to me, and it was really not fun at all sometimes. I lost 25 pounds with my first child, and 20 with my second. Both children were hearty and healthy though - so hang in there, the baby (babies?) will be fine.

If you do want to know any of my tricks, books, suggestions, etc., I'm happy to share how I got through it. And believe me, saltines and gatorade will NOT be part of anything I say. :-) I will tell you that barfing in the garbage disposal is the best place to barf after the first trimester! Hee hee hee.

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

If I could take your pain for awhile I'd do it gladly, just to give you a break. I hope you feel better soon.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! I wouldn't wish it on others though... well, wait. I bet we could get a few people to take it in shifts while sleeping. My feet mostly don't hurt while I'm asleep. Only if I try to use them.

In return I hope I would be able to let you breathe well, process sugars, and not have joint pain for a while. As you say -- to give you a break!

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

Urgle. I wish I knew what was best for your feet. I'd tell you and make you do it... :(

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

*grin* Thanks! 8-) 8-)

[jb98.livejournal.com]

I like your approach. I should let my intoxication post an entry in my journal. It would be interesting to see what she has to say.

*hugz*

They mean well, except when they don't. I have the same contempt for people who tell me how to get over my brain injury. "All you need to do is excercise" is my favourite. Yes, I'm lazy, that's it. I work 10 times as hard as I used to to do the things I used to take for granted, and I manage to do a hell of a lot. Yes, I'm lazy, that's it. Thanks for enlightening me.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

They mean well, except when they don't.

Yes indeed, that's exactly it. Some people, I'm convinced, are trying to convince *themselves* that if it happened to them they'd get past it. CJ's not taking my advice?, well, then, THAT'S why she's still not okay; *I* would be fine if it were me.

Nice try, kiddos. The world is not so kindhearted every time.

[firecat]

It sometimes gets to the point where I just say "fine" even when friends who care about me ask how I am, even if I'm not, because I don't want the well intentioned "geek answer syndrome" if I answer anything else.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hear ya. :-P

Bad joke... but maybe it'll make you smile?

[johnreen.livejournal.com]

Have you tried smoking pot?

A lot of pot...

I'll see if I can talk to my dealer for ya¹...


¹ Says the student pilot who's never inhaled...

Re: Bad joke... but maybe it'll make you smile?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Tempting!! :-)

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

Gee, CJ, I don't understand why you don't take everyone's advice. I mean I know that everyone who's told me I just need to exercise more to get rid of the asthma, or thinks my menstrual cramps are all in my head are so right, I'm just a lazy git.

Asshats.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow, exercise to *get rid of asthma*? That's a new one on me. (I've heard the "exercise to get rid of menstrual cramps", and fool that I was, I believed it for quite some time. Took ages to recognize that fitness made my monthly pain worse.)

I think they're trying to convince themselves that if they had a health problem they'd get over it quickly -- unlike, apparently, everyone else with that same problem. The Universe, they want to believe, is fair and kind, they are in control of everything that affects them, and anyone in pain is keeping herself there somehow.

Asshats. Because they're afraid. I think.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

it seems to be the theory of exercise will make my lungs stronger. The fact that exercise usually sends me into an asthma attack seems to fly right over some people's heads.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I wonder what Roosevelt did. He apparently had some major asthma as a child, and he thought up some kind of exercise plan to take that into account and not trigger attacks. I don't think his asthma kept bothering him throughout his life, though, so either there IS some magical "make your lungs stronger" idea or else he just kinda outgrew it.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Vent away. It's my turn to offer to drag you somewhere fun if I was closer, if we can do it w/o using your feet. :-/

*hugs*

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! 8-) Drag away! You, me, and a bookstore (or something else fun). You got it.

[hillybiker.livejournal.com]

Hey, we may not be able to solve your foot problems, but maybe I can help lighten your venting mood.

Try this one ... I have more if you need 'em :-)

"When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have enough Power left to get you to the scene of the crash."

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

*grin* That's what that second engine's for, isn't it? Flying you to the scene of the accident! Wouldn't it be awful if we had only one engine and we couldn't reach our own crash site? How... humiliating. ;-)

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

Do you think 2 of the cats would mind being foot replacements? I mean, then you would have 8 feet and they would be self-cleaning. I can't afford to fund it though.

I like vents! I think they are helpful, but I tend to bottle up the ones I really want to let spew out.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

They would also be very soft and furry. I would get foot rubs a lot more often. This sounds like a plan!

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

But they would also try to curl up on your stomach whenever you wanted to go somewhere.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

What an image! I am doing those silent helpless wheezy laughs, here in my cubicle!

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

And then when you finally got them moving, one of them would zoom off wildly in a random direction and the other would sit down and take a bath.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

It's particularly odd when my feet put their feet in the air to lick their backsides. Also, it's difficult to sleep when my feet start playfully attacking my toes under the covers.

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

That's a brain-twisty image. Their own toes, or each other's?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

My feet use their feet to attack my toes, which, um, I mean their toes, um...

I suppose it would be difficult to sleep when they start attacking my partner's toes, too! ;-)

[ericainohio.livejournal.com]

Here, let me try:

*best mean mom voice*

"Goddammit, Feet, you stop it RIGHT NOW. Don't make me come down there. If you can't stop, you'll have your toes washed out with soap and you'll stand in the corner. You understand me??! You do? Now be good. Don't make me tell you again."

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Where's that whip? ;-) ;-)

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

(1) Heavy duty narcotics. Want a bottle of Percocet? [Note to the DEA: I am joking.] [Note to CJ: No I'm not.]

(2) Get busy and pick a scooter. You'll feel a lot better when you can be mobile again, and the feeling of release from Cooped Up-dom will make your feet hurt less. And then you can tell them "Nanny nanny boo-boo, I can go wherever I want, and you ca-an't stop me!"

=HUGS=

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

[Note to the DEA: I am joking.] [Note to CJ: No I'm not.]

*laughter* [Note to the FAA: You didn't hear any of this.]

Seriously, I'm not sure painkillers do much for me. It's not a full-time pain, only when I use them (and only when I do too much), and I've never found any painkiller that will touch it. I suppose most things I've tried have been NSAIDs. One of these days I should at least try Vicodin. I have way too much of that hanging around the house. Doctors seem to think surgery hurts. Imagine!

Get busy and pick a scooter.

You are 100% right. Definitely.

BTW thank you SO MUCH for calling the other night! That was great!

Fun (or not) with feet

[zpdiduda.livejournal.com]

Hi, CJ--

Both mactavish and cyan_blue urged me to get in touch with you after I posted about my own foot foo. I'm a few years into sensory peripheral neuropathy of unknown origin, coupled with a Morton's neuroma in each foot. I haven't done much about it till now other than the occasional cortisone shot when the neuromas flare, but the PN has now gotten serious enough for me to try the new PN designer drug, Cymbalta. I'm hopeful.

I've put you on my friends list in the hopes of getting to know you. Given how many mutual friends, I suspect that we would find a lot more to talk about than our aching feet -- but it would be nice to be able to compare notes/treatments on the other as well.

Sue
zzzpdiduda at yahoo dot com

Re: Fun (or not) with feet

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Hi hi! Ugh, neuropathy. That's a rough one, and no easy answers either. I feel for you. And they don't know what's causing it? At all?? I'm not precisely *surprised*, of course -- no one knows what's up with my feet either -- but man, I really feel for you. I hate it when it's just a big mystery.

Do the Morton's neuromas give you the majority of your pain/discomfort, or is the neuropathy the biggest thing? 'Cause the neuromas can be fixed. I had excellent luck zapping them with a sclerosing agent (alcohol in solution, one shot a week directly into it, OW!, for seven weeks and I was done). Only reason I had surgery to pull those buggers out is we weren't SURE whether they were still causing trouble. After surgery it was clear: they hadn't been. The alcohol had done its job admirably.

I'll friend you back so you can see my (rare) friendslocked posts. Dang, I wish the reason we were getting to know each other weren't foot pain!

Re: Fun (or not) with feet

[zpdiduda.livejournal.com]

The neuropathy has caused more discomfort than the neuromas. The latter only bother me when they flare up, but when they do, they take center stage. Thanks for the info about the alcohol in solution. I'm seeing a podiatrist tomorrow to deal with the latest flare. I'll ask about it.

So you're still in pain after the neuromas have been vanquished? Ugh. That's simply not fair. You've probably talked about this in your journal, but I don't have time right now to surf back through, so I'll ask here: any idea what's causing it? and what to do next to address it?

Dang, I wish the reason we were getting to know each other weren't foot pain!</>

Yes, but at least we get to get to know each other. I've met some of my favorite people in more unlikely ways. :)

Re: Fun (or not) with feet

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Interesting that your neuromas seem to "flare up" and die back down. Mine were just... there.

I have no idea what's causing it, and neither do the two podiatrists, four physical therapists, one MRI technician and a surgeon I have seen. Not to mention some kind of psychic my mom went to about it. They just hurt. Yuck. I think "what to do next" is, honestly, learn how to live life as a cripple. I mean, every so often I'll try the next goofy idea, like sticking them under a pyramid and letting someone chant over them, but seriously, there's no hope. It's been years. I'm done.

I've met some of my favorite people in more unlikely ways. :)

Come to think of it, I've met some very cool people in odd ways too! Good point! :-)