On Tuesday morning we headed out of town for the appointment. Unfortunately he couldn't say what was wrong with my feet at all. He told me to take 2 weeks off of work and he couldn't account for the cramping. He also looked over the ultrasound I had on Friday and said that everything looked normal. (Remember back in mid-January when I ballooned up and was having stomach pains and nausea? Well I finally convinced someone to get me into an ultrasound, but by then all the symptoms had disappeared. So seeing the doctor on Tuesday felt like a complete waste of time.
On Wednesday I had an appointment with a Physical Therapist to look at my feet (I've now had a Chiropractor, Doctor and Physical therapist all look at my feet) and he said the symptoms I had didn't make sense with what he was seeing with my feet. He said that everything looked great, especially on my left side (which is where I'm having the most cramping) and he was stumped. On the right side he adjusted my ankle, he figured that I had sprained it long ago and it had healed wonky. So now I have more mobility in my right ankle. It was really refreshing to have someone listen to me, and I mean *really* listen to all of my concerns. Unfortunately, he had no idea what was going on, he said it sounded like something else was wrong, and not my muscles or ligaments, like something chemical or hormonal. We do have a plan to work on other areas of my body, however.
I'm worried about when I go back to work. I feel almost completely fine walking around sock foot in my house, but put on shoes and they want to cramp up. Doesn't matter which shoes I put on either. So I feel fine at home, but I have no idea how my feet will react when I go out and about, or to work. A few days ago I attempted a short shift at work because my feet felt fine all day, and I lasted 20 minutes at work before I was in tears and had to be driven home from foot and toe cramps.
I feel like I've done all that I can do. I brought it up to my doctor, physical therapist and a Chiropractor. What else can I do?
I've quit going out and about, no more grocery shopping or anything. I figure I'll try to stay at home and relax and not aggravate my feet over the next week and a half and see if they're better for work. Plus, it's scary to go out, and not know what's going to happen. If I'll get stuck in the middle of the grocery store because I can't walk anymore, or if I'll make it out fine. A few days ago I went across the street to the pharmacy and I barely made it home before my feet where cramping up. Other days I can wear shoes for a few hours and I'm okay. What gives?
Well, in good news, my back feels a million times better. I still ache when I sit at the computer too long, or sit in general, but it's much better. My swelling is totally gone as well and I lost all the water weight I had put on, plus I dropped a few more pounds immediately afterwards too. (I lost about 10lbs in two weeks!). Plus my appetite is back to normal, which is a plus.
I still haven't done a lot of cooking, I find that my feet will feel fine when I am up and cooking but by the time bedtime rolls around they ache like crazy. So now I'm trying to take it easy. Dan has been getting lots of practice cooking healthy meals lately!
Mentally I'm still on a wicked roller coaster. It's hard to sit at home for over a month, or to lay in bed. I'm used to doing all the grocery shopping, house cleaning, cooking, blogging, plus working and running and any other errands that need to be done. Right now I can sit, lie down, and occasionally get up and putter around the house. Running is still out of the question, unfortunately.
Next week Dan and I are making plans for an early Valentines day! Almost every year he's working, and last year he was out of town all-together. So this year we're planning on doing something on Tuesday, which is one of his days off. I really want to bake some sort of treat this year, and I have been wanting to go back to The Keg ever since my birthday. So hopefully I can con ask him to go there!
Personally, Valentines Day is a big deal for me. Remember in school when you got older, and instead of handing out Valentines, you could buy candy-grams to send? The only person I ever sent one to was my best friend, and the only one I ever got was from my best friend. I know that's nothing to complain about, really. It's just that I never ever got anything for Valentines until I met Dan, and now I find it super important to not only treat the one you love, but to make a point of showing it. Sure you can do that anytime of year (how many couples do something big just any old time of year though?), but Dan and I rarely get time off together, so celebrating Valentines is just an excuse to do something for each other.
Do you do anything special for Valentines day? When I was single I would hand out Valentines every year to my friends and co-workers. I think it's important to let people know that you care about them, even in just little cheesy ways.
have you researched the fertility medication you are taking to see if foot cramps are a side effect? Most doctors don't even know all of the potential side effects from the drugs that they prescribe. You might have a potassium deficiency which is causing all of the cramping up in your feet. Do you eat bananas?
ReplyDeleteYes, of course *I* know the side effects of the medication. I happened to have researched the medication pretty thoroughly, which is why it's frustrating when my doctor seems to know less about it than me!
DeleteI appreciate you mentioning a potassium deficiency, but really that's just one of a million things that can cause the muscle cramps in my feet. I am currently on supplements (including Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin D and Potassium- all of which can cause muscle cramps if you're deficient). My doctor has assured me that I am not deficient. I drink plenty of water and I absolutely get enough salt. I'm salt sensitive, so I need to monitor my salt intake frequently otherwise I get light headed. So my doctor and I are fairly positive that it's not a deficiency from poor diet.
I am pretty aware of the common things that cause muscle cramps, that is why I have talked to my Doctor, Chiropractor and Physical Therapist about other things that can be causing it.
As a side note, Bananas are only one source of potassium. Tomatoes, spinach, yogurt, and carrots all have more potassium per serving than Bananas. So just eating bananas isn't as useful as you think. Having a well-rounded diet certainly is key. For I'd hate someone to tell me to "eat bananas" when really I was having a calcium deficiency instead, and made it worse thinking it was something that it was not.
Thank you for your concern.
I spend V-Day alone, turning my phone off and watching movies or reading. It's depressing out there, and makes me sad to get the tons of "are you ok??" texts and calls about being single. Granted I appreciate concern, but it just reminds me more.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand. Let's be honest, spending Valentines day alone isn't the worst thing in the world. Dan is often gone over Valentines day (he has actually only been home for one that I can remember and that was years ago.), usually he is out of town. Last year he was gone for weeks before I saw him and we missed Valentines day. It was sad, and rough and I was alone.
DeleteOne year Dan was gone working in another province, so I got together with a single friend of mine and we watched horror movies all night and had a few drinks. In all honesty, that was absolutely the best Valentines I've ever had (except for being a kid and having parties, nothing beats that!). Sometimes "joy" on Valentines day is all in the perspective. If you do something you enjoy doing that day, or spend it with people you enjoy than that can be worth more than flowers and chocolates every time.
Enjoy Valentines day, whatever you're doing.
I will be alone too, my hubby is in germany for work. Why don't all of us hangout on skype ;)
ReplyDeleteGood to see your post Daph..have missed you, #Truth!!!
Have you gone to a podiatrist? Maybe you have a neuroma. It's frustrating having pain and no answer!
ReplyDelete