40 is the new 80 - Part Two (complete with pictures)

I would never normally put a picture of my ugly feet on the web, but I guess you have to see the toe to appreciate my pain, so here goes....

 

 

 

See the right foot, the middle toe?  I just woke up with it swollen like that one day!  Seriously, it was the weirdest thing.  The "splaying" between that toe and the 2nd one is what convinced me that Morton's neuroma was the culprit (after some Googling, of course).  The picture doesn't show the full amount of swelling, both on the top and the bottom of the foot.  As stated in the last installment of the saga, my limping was so pronounced that within 10 days this is how my left knee looked...

As you can see, the left knee was none too happy with the added pressure I was putting on it.  These pictures were taken at the height of my depression, when I literally couldn't do ANYTHING but sit on the couch and MAYBE get to the bathroom on crutches.  But even that was such an ordeal, I stopped drinking more than the bare minimum amount of water to get by.  After a few days on crutches, the swelling subsided enough that I was able to get by with just wearing a brace.

This was in late May.  I was VERY concerned that I wouldn't be able to enjoy the trip to the cabin I had planned since January.  We ended up going, but I was certainly not at 100% that weekend.

My other concern was that I had two weddings to work, one on June 16 and another on June 30.  The one on June 16 almost killed me.  It was the longest night of my life and I walked away from that wedding feeling like a failure - I knew I hadn't given my best service possible to that bride.  Even though they thanked me, I was completely unhappy with my own performance and couldn't have that happen again.

I finally went to a podiatrist in late June.  After spending $500 in one week at the chiropractor for cold laser therapy that didn't really work, I figured I might need to see a "real" doctor.  When I got there, he agreed with my self-diagnosis and gave me a cortisone shot.  YOWZA, it hurt!  (But all pain is relative after having kids, so I was pretty brave about it if I do say so myself.)

That cortisone shot fixed me up to be able to function for that June 30th wedding but there was still pain.  In fact, there's still pain every day.  I haven't gone back for more cortisone injections, but I will if/when it gets unbearable or if I have a wedding and I don't think I'll be able to make it without medication.  The doctor told me the cortisone is just a temporary relief and that the only permanent fix is surgery, unless the neuroma subsides on its own.  So I keep praying for that.

I did read on some blogs about this "miracle" supplement:  serapeptide.  I ordered those pills and continue to take them every day to keep the neuroma at bay.  My toes now look normal - little swelling and no more seperation between them - but the top of the foot is still too swollen to wear closed-toe shoes.  My niece is salivating, thinking she might be the lucky recipient of my current shoe wardrobe!  It's a good thing this happened in the summer so I can wear flip-flops but I'm getting nervous as the colder weather sets in.

So I will continue to update the blog on how this ailment progresses.  Right now I have good days and bad days.  Today would be maybe a 2 or 3 on the pain scale, whereas last night was about a 6 and it was showing in my lack of patience with the kids.  Being old is NO JOKE!!!  :(