Shall a just be done with it and cut off my foot?

[TokyoSushi]

I have severe plantar fasciitis in one foot. I've had it for about 10 weeks. It is beyond painful and quite frankly every step makes me feel sick.

I have:

• been to the GP, 'it's plantar fasciitis, nothing you can do, hang your heels off a step a couple of times a day and eventually it'll go, could take up to 6 months though. Ooh it is painful isn't it, look you can hardly walk on that foot, hey ho, crack on with it... 🙄'
• taken ibuprofen, didn't do much, stopped
• done the exercise where you hang your heels off the back of a step
• done calf stretches, heel stretches, foot stretches, all the stretches
• rolled my foot on a frozen water bottle
• rolled my foot on a golf ball
• rolled my foot on a special spiky massage ball
• bought expensive recovery sliders and worn those without fail around the house
• worn Birkenstocks around the house
• worn trainers around the house
• gone to yoga
• completely rested, elevated and iced it for days
• carried on as normal
• done stretches before getting out of bed in the morning
• placed my foot very carefully on the floor when getting out of bed

NOTHING WORKS, it is hurting all the time and I can't bear it anymore. DS(13) says the way I walk looks like I have my foot in a bear trap!

Please help me!!!

It sounds so vain but I feel I have been robbed of my indentity. Chunky wide trainers is not me - stopped wearing heels years ago but as a fashionable lady loved my riding boots/cowboy boots dresses etc but when in pain I would wear anything to be able to walk again pain free. I work from home so sat all day and a 2 hour cleaning job Monday - Friday which has been so challenging - I read somewhere that sitting and resting is not good for PF and you should keep active rather than resting ?

Lie on your front in bed. Notice how your feet are stretched out.

This part is difficult to explain!

Now put your feet at 90 degrees (like you're standing up).

Now move your toes so they are stretched out and your weight is on them.

It's like a big foot/leg stretch.

I had this and my podiatrist said they kind of have to trial and error treatments as what works for one person won’t work for another. For me, he strapped my foot up, it felt like a very supportive corset around my foot, lifting the arch of the foot up. I went back weekly for around 6 weeks and it cleared up and hasn’t come back.

I have to wear very supportive trainers now, I wear Gel Kayanos from ASICS - not fashionable but I don’t care because I’m pain free.

You have my sympathies, it was one of the most painful things I had, I remember sitting on the sofa and just dreading getting up because it was such agony.

Around the house now I wear Birkenstocks and hardly ever go barefoot. I used to walk on the beach but the podiatrist said this is awful for bringing on PF!

TokyoSushi How is your foot?

TokyoSushi just wondering as your circumstances sounds similar to me snd I am suffering too ☹️

I’ve had two long episodes of this. I also did everything you have done. I also wore orthotic insoles without fail, in every pair of shoes. I will
not be without them now. In both instances, it went overnight. It’s a hideous condition and is apparently a weird side effect of the medication I’m on post breast cancer. Oh and I highly recommend Crocs. They helped enormously.

Thanks for checking in, I'd say it's about 90% better. Eventually I ended up going private and had a 6 week course of shock wave therapy which has mostly sorted it, It still isn't right, but every step isn't awful now, so I'll take that as a win!

I had an MRI and apparently your plantar fascia is supposed to be between 2 & 4mm thick, mine was 9.5mm and had a massive tear in it too! I've been stood up a lot this weekend and I can definitely feel it, but it's nowhere near what is was!

Yes Crocs fixed mine. It always amazes me when people who suffer with PF either don't believe how effective they can be or say they could never wear them buecause they are so ugly.

It might not be PF. Find a good podiatrist, one with an ultrasound machine, not just one who mainly does toenails. He found I had a bursitis in a toe joint, injection cured it.

Thanks for updating @TokyoSushi and glad to hear it’s improved. Mine is 95% better - I’d forgotten how bad it was until I reread my post above about being in tears sometimes. Regular stretching, and avoiding flat shoes has helped. I wear my orthotic insoles (actually designed to help with another problem) all the time, indoors and out, and I think that’s also helped - changing into flat slippers feels lovely but it isn’t good for the feet.

If it came back, I think I’d go for the shockwave therapy just speed things up.