In December, I spent a day baking cookies in my kitchen barefoot on our ceramic tile floor for a few hours and developed this intense aching heel pain that has yet to let up. I have had an X-Ray and an MRI and both were normal. I had one shot of marcaine and b-12 into the tarsal nerve that cleared up every thing for about a week and then the pain came rushing back after I walked for about a block. Since January, I have been walking in a walker boot which is the only way I can walk for about five minutes without excruciating pain. But the walker boot has been throwing off my hips and causing a lot of back pain. In the process, I found out that I have to displaced disks in my lumbar spine and two nerve compressions in the same area. I have been to an orthopedic surgeon but he said he does not think I need surgery. My new podiatrist also does not think that I need surgery in my foot, thank God. I will be getting nerve conduction studies repeated in my feet in about two weeks. I do have diabetic neuropathy in my feet, but this does not feel anything like neuropathy. My new podiatrist has said it will be difficult to make a diagnosis because I have so many comorbidities, particularly the fibromyalgia.
So for about four months, I have been laying on ice for my back, and limiting all walking to inside my house or going to doctors appointments. I can't go anywhere because I can't walk without pain. We had to move because I could no longer manage the four flights of stairs by our third story apartment. I am sleeping on my couch because my mattress in now hurting my back. I have two epidurals coming up in April in my lumbar spine. I cannot shower because it hurts too much to stand. I had a steroid injection into the heel of my foot on Tuesday and my foot has been hurting so much ever since that I have been crawling around my apartment again. My podiatrist said that that was because of my fibromyalgia exacerbating the pain. My husband actually went and bought us an office chair so now I can wheel myself from room to room, However the chair swiveling is causing more back pain. And the more I compensate on my right foot for my left foot pain, the more my right foot starts to ache just like my left foot. I have tried orthotics, Icing, wrapping, elevation and nothing is making much of a difference. I cannot walk barefoot at all without making the pain much worse. The best thing I can do is just stay off my feet altogether.
My question is, how many of you have had foot problems related to your fibromyalgia? I have just started looking a little bit online about this and it does seem like there is a relationship between fibromyalgia and foot pain. Has anyone had this kind is aching heel pain? If so, did anything really events? Has anyone ended up in a wheelchair because of your foot pain or your fibro in general? It has been four months and all I can think about is how limited my mobility is and a wheelchair is starting to feel more and more inevitable. This is scary to me but it is starting to feel more frightening to be trapped inside my house for the rest of my life, completely dependent on other people. Any insights into foot pain or coming to grips with needing a wheelchair or related tangents are welcome. :)
Meadow,
My feet kill me, ache and hurt all of the time. Mine is every where. Arches are constant. Toes burn and hurt and I do have neuropathy starting in my legs but this is not the same… My heels are less painful the. The arches ball of foot and toes…
I hope you find comfort soon.
Joy
I do not have this, but many of my friends here on site do, and you describe it just as they have. I'm not a Doctor, but it's something to ask them about.
Oh Meadow, your story resenates so strongly it brings tears to my eyes. I also have diabetes and a bunch of other fun stuff. I'll keep you and your doctors in my prayers, that they can find a way to ease your pain.
Have they given you stretching exercises for your foot? When I had that horrible foot pain in the morning my podiatrist did 3 things. I had to do that runners' stretch with hands against the wall 3-5 times a day, I had to wear a boot-like device in bed to keep my foot at a 90 degree angle through the night, and I had to keep a beach towel by the bed so if my foot/calf started cramping I could take the boot off, use the towel as a sling, and pull my toes towards my head to stretch foot and leg. It took a couple months, and I still do the stretching exercises years later, but it helped me a lot.
I sometimes think a scooter chair may be somewhere in my future. Not a wheel chair - I don't have the energy to push me around with my own arms. One suggestion - in the bigger stores and supermarkets and even Costco they have motorized shopping carts. I've started using them, and it's wonderful to finish an entire shopping run and still have enough energy when I get home to put the groceries away. Also, have you asked your doctor for a handicap card for your car? It can save a lot of walking.
And now some gentle nagging from one diabetic to another. NEVER GO BAREFOOT, not even in the shower! That's Diabetes 101. Wear good flats that support your arches. BTW, I use a bath stool in my shower. It makes things so much less taxing.
Fibromyalgia flares make me feel like every muscle in my body is pulled to it's tightest - maybe that's also affecting your foot. I've learned to look at the rest time as time off instead of incarceration, but it took a long time.
Heel pain and fibro...yup, sure does seem to be a correlation between the two. Disk problems too.
Disclaimer: please don't try these things without consulting with your foot doctor first, since you are a diabetic!!!
Here's what causes my heel pain, a combo of bone spurs and plantar fascitis. I was losing my ability to walk beyond a weak limp until I had custom orthotics made for my feet, on the diagnosis of my foot doctor. They are the soft kind, as the hard kind bothered my feet after awhile. The orthotics helped tremendously but they wear out after awhile and are expensive to replace - $300 or so. Has your foot doctor looked into either issue?
Here is one exercise recommended to me in order to help break up the bone spurs: get an ice cold can of Coke and roll it around, using the heel to roll it. Supposedly it helps.
I hope you can get an answer on this quickly as it's terrible to not be able to walk!
Plantar fasciitis is is what my new podiatrist had originally diagnosed me with. It was one of the first things that I researched and sounded similar to my symptoms other than an Achille's tendon problem. I think what's difficult is that when he feels my foot, the pain doesn't stay in one place–this is because I have so much neuropathy that I don't have a lot of feeling on the surface of my foot. I do wonder if physical therapy is going to be the next step though. Thank you for the link!
Wow, it does sound like we have a lot in common. I have been thinking about a scooter versus an electric wheelchair myself. I don't think I have the strength for a manual wheelchair plus the neuropathy in my hands is pretty bad. I have thought about trying those scooters out in like a target or Costco, But I am a little afraid I'm going to either run someone down or run into a display. ;) but I guess practice makes perfect, Right? Luckily, when I went on disability, my doctor gave me one of those disability placards for my car and that has been a lifesaver for trips to the doctor or to a pharmacy.
No one has given me any stretching exercises for my foot. The walker boot definitely keeps my foot extended in that 90° angle, and the Tizanidine helps with the cramping and spasming, but I've been told not to wear the boot all the time because it is exacerbating the pain in my back. Nevertheless, I cannot walk outside my house without that boot.
Yes you're right, I should never be walking barefoot, And now I never do. :) I bought some good shoes to support my arches, but they are not very cushioned, so I am still finding it difficult to find a good pair of shoes in my closet. Getting to a shoe store right now is not possible. But I am interested to know, have you found any particular brands that are very comfortable for you? I have thought about getting a bath stool for my shower too, Except that I really Love to soak in the bath to relax my sore muscles from fibro pain. But can you tell me where you got yours and what is it like? I started investigating these on an online medical supply store called allegro, but many of them people were complaining about didn't fit into their bathtubs or they didn't like because they had wooden slats, Etc. I do think a shower stool is a great idea, But I would like good recommendation.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply! It's a bonus to hear back from another diabetic with fibromyalgia going through this.
My doctor didn't prepare me for how much pain the steroid shot was going to create. I have a shot into my tarsal nerve once and it didn't hurt at all. But this shot into my heel was done with an ultrasound machine (and it pinched while he was doing it, to put it mildly) and after the anesthetic wore off that evening, the pain was so bad that I had to use lidocaine patches all over that he'll inside of that foot for three days until it wore down enough to stand on it again. The pain does seem to have diminished some right now, but I am cautious. I don't want to get my hopes up too much. I will keep you all posted on how this goes.
My first podiatristt also gave me hard orthotics and I could not wear them. Maybe I can talk to him about getting some soft ones made the next time I see him. It does seem like if I had a really cushiony shoes that maybe this problem would go away. Other times though, it seems like the only possibility is a wheelchair. Some of my doctors have been recommending a walker to me and they just aren't getting it– a walker is useless if you can't stand the pain of standing on your own 2 feet.
I think what you said about getting an answer quickly is where my frustration is starting to come in, not to mention increasing anxiety– it's coming up to four months and nobody is addressing the fact that I can't do anything for myself without pain. But this is partially the problem of having a lot of specialists–I don't even know which one I'm supposed to go to to talk to about this problem. Right now, I have a brand-new pain management specialist, rheumatologist, endocrinologist, and podiatrist. My neurologist and general care physician are only peripherally involved. It would make sense to go to my GP, but she has a habit of recommending specialists she doesn't know. I'm thinking I might need like an occupational therapist or something if I can't get this pain sorted out.
I'm so glad that you got a diagnosis and found something that works for you!
I feel your anxiety Meadow.....I have it in both my feet>Plantar Facitis. It's no joke, hurts like H. Podiatrist wanted to do surgery for that & another ailment w/my feet, but Nope. He injected my foot pad w/steroids & he'll never get a chance to do that again.I also have a bad Achilles tendon injured 25yrs ago.Used a Cane for numerous years till I could no longer hold it due to the arthritic hands & FM/CMPpain. My spine stays on FIRE. Im in a wheelchair {nearly a yr now} because I fall & I can't walk w/o excruciating pain from my spine, hip, knees, etc.....my entire body is riddled w/arthritis & I have Osteoporosis. I have broken nearly all my toes.......TIRED of talking about this right now. On the upside I have orthotics, get reflexology, myofascial pain release therapy wear Birkenstock slippers & shoes which has greatly improved the feet pain. Hope you can get some much needed relief soon!!