I’m not talking about “painting myself into a corner,” or some other metaphorical shooting-of-foot. I’m talking about letting the podiatrist stick a needle full of cortizone and novacaine into a medial plantar nerve in my left foot in what now feels exactly like the vain hope that it will make things better.
So I guess that while there was a literal shot in my literal foot, I didn’t literally do it myself. But two out of three ain’t bad.
Three months ago I banged up my left foot hiking. Six weeks ago I realized it still hurt, and wasn’t getting better. So I did what any sane, type-A guy would do: I rubbed some dirt in it and decided to favor that leg until it got better. (Note: I did not literally rub dirt in it. That is hyperbole.)
Six weeks later I realized it was getting worse, if it was in fact getting anything, and I was tired of looking like a grumpy old man limping around town (literally. No hyperbole there.) So I went to the podiatrist, and that brings us to the shot (I’m skipping the X-ray, palpitation, and diagnosis, cutting directly to the metaphorical chase.)
The nerve is towards the very bottom of the foot. The shot goes in from the top, because needles don’t like calluses, and doctors don’t like patients (hyperbole? You call it.) The last thing you want to hear when you’re gritting your teeth over an injection is “almost there… almost there…” Yeah. My thinking went along the lines of “as long as this doesn’t get any worse I’ll be just fiiiEEEAAAACKING HELL THAT HURTS” (maaaaybe there’s some hyperbole there.) And then the needle came out, the bandage went on, and within thirty seconds I actually felt GREAT.
It was wonderful. For the next four hours I walked around as if nothing had ever been wrong. It did feel like two of my toes were missing, but at least they didn’t HURT.
(For those of you keeping score at home, yes, four hours is about how long it takes for novacaine to wear off.)
For the past three hours I’ve been limping like an eighty-year-old with a shiny, new titanium hip replacement, and I’ve been doing the “thousand-yard-stare” common to those who are not feeling much pain anymore because of the flood of endorphins. Except that I am still feeling the pain.
Obviously this case of “Morton’s Neuroma,” and when I find Morton I’m going to kick him in the teeth.
With my RIGHT foot. In a boot.
Literally.
Message/Messenger
Ah, give poor Morton a break — he’s just the guy who named it when he recognized what the whacking great pain in the foot was. I’m curious as to why the podiatrist didn’t give you a steroid shot to help reduce inflammation, if Morton’s is what it is.
Re: Message/Messenger
The shot probably was steroids. The novacaine was just to make the shot more bearable. I’m guessing. I recently had a Morton’s neuroma removed surgically. (Not happy with the results, but that’s another story.) Point is, before we went radical, my doctor gave me two courses of steroids, three shots each, two weeks between shots, then wait a month for the second course. Helped a little, but not the relief we were hoping to get. With each injection he used some sort of “caine” to make the actual shot not hurt as much. When it wore off, sometimes I felt fine, other times it ached for three days and I spent a lot of time with ice on my foot.
Re: Message/Messenger
I’d be happy to hear about the surgery. From my reading there are two approaches, one from above that cuts a tendon, and one from below that scars the bits you walk on. Did you get one of these?
Re: steroids, that’s the cortizone portion of my shot. I mentioned it in paragraph one.
Re: Message/Messenger
Ah, the surgery. It went well, at first. Took about half an hour, local anesthesia, and then I went home. The neuroma was about the size of a large pea and was removed from the top, because my podiatrist said they heal much better and faster with less pressure on the incision. Perhaps. But I seem to be sensitive to the stitching material he used for the internal stitches. Instead of just absorbing, they wanted to come out the top of my foot. Eventually, that issue resolved itself. But I’m still experiencing excruciating pain when walking, and we just don’t know why. I’ve had more shots, and ultrasound indicates very little, if any, scar tissue and no more neuroma. It may have to do with how the nerves are healing back together. At times if feels as if those two toes are crossed over one another. And it hurts! But not always. I have one particular pair of sneakers I’m wearing more and more, because the foot doesn’t hurt at all in that pair. And it never hurts unless I’m walking. Can’t figure it out.
One thing’s clear. If my doctor wants to try more surgery, I’m off for a second opinion somewhere. That silly shoe they give you to wear and the two – three weeks of recovery would be fine if you could be certain the problem would be cured. But more surgery, just to explore? Uh uh.
And I know nothing of cutting a tendon. Didn’t happen to me, and my procedure was from the top.
Re: cortisone, I should have re-read the post. I was going by the commenter’s remarks. Ooopsie.
Re: Message/Messenger
Sorry; that’s what comes of reading too quickly, too late at night. 🙁
At any rate, you have my sympathies.
Message/Messenger
Ah, give poor Morton a break — he’s just the guy who named it when he recognized what the whacking great pain in the foot was. I’m curious as to why the podiatrist didn’t give you a steroid shot to help reduce inflammation, if Morton’s is what it is.
Re: Message/Messenger
The shot probably was steroids. The novacaine was just to make the shot more bearable. I’m guessing. I recently had a Morton’s neuroma removed surgically. (Not happy with the results, but that’s another story.) Point is, before we went radical, my doctor gave me two courses of steroids, three shots each, two weeks between shots, then wait a month for the second course. Helped a little, but not the relief we were hoping to get. With each injection he used some sort of “caine” to make the actual shot not hurt as much. When it wore off, sometimes I felt fine, other times it ached for three days and I spent a lot of time with ice on my foot.
Re: Message/Messenger
I’d be happy to hear about the surgery. From my reading there are two approaches, one from above that cuts a tendon, and one from below that scars the bits you walk on. Did you get one of these?
Re: steroids, that’s the cortizone portion of my shot. I mentioned it in paragraph one.
Re: Message/Messenger
Ah, the surgery. It went well, at first. Took about half an hour, local anesthesia, and then I went home. The neuroma was about the size of a large pea and was removed from the top, because my podiatrist said they heal much better and faster with less pressure on the incision. Perhaps. But I seem to be sensitive to the stitching material he used for the internal stitches. Instead of just absorbing, they wanted to come out the top of my foot. Eventually, that issue resolved itself. But I’m still experiencing excruciating pain when walking, and we just don’t know why. I’ve had more shots, and ultrasound indicates very little, if any, scar tissue and no more neuroma. It may have to do with how the nerves are healing back together. At times if feels as if those two toes are crossed over one another. And it hurts! But not always. I have one particular pair of sneakers I’m wearing more and more, because the foot doesn’t hurt at all in that pair. And it never hurts unless I’m walking. Can’t figure it out.
One thing’s clear. If my doctor wants to try more surgery, I’m off for a second opinion somewhere. That silly shoe they give you to wear and the two – three weeks of recovery would be fine if you could be certain the problem would be cured. But more surgery, just to explore? Uh uh.
And I know nothing of cutting a tendon. Didn’t happen to me, and my procedure was from the top.
Re: cortisone, I should have re-read the post. I was going by the commenter’s remarks. Ooopsie.
Re: Message/Messenger
Sorry; that’s what comes of reading too quickly, too late at night. 🙁
At any rate, you have my sympathies.
You know, sometimes there is such a thing as being too masculine. This sounds almost like when I decided that my sprained left foot wasn’t worth bothering other people over and if I could just drive my 5-speed home I’d recover on my own… right.
When I needed help to get out of the haunt I was working at the time (werewolf, yo!) I figured maybe I’d let someone else look at the owie.
Three months later the podiatrist said I could get out of the wheelchair. complete separation of the front and back of the Talus dontchaknow. Doctor told me I’ll be lucky to not end up with arthritis. : (
You know, sometimes there is such a thing as being too masculine. This sounds almost like when I decided that my sprained left foot wasn’t worth bothering other people over and if I could just drive my 5-speed home I’d recover on my own… right.
When I needed help to get out of the haunt I was working at the time (werewolf, yo!) I figured maybe I’d let someone else look at the owie.
Three months later the podiatrist said I could get out of the wheelchair. complete separation of the front and back of the Talus dontchaknow. Doctor told me I’ll be lucky to not end up with arthritis. : (
You know what this means, don’t you.
No more high heels for you!
You know what this means, don’t you.
No more high heels for you!
Well, crud! I’ve been busily rubbing dirt into my shoulder for the last three weeks. Do you mean to tell me that it’s *not* going to get better?!? I really don’t need to be hearing this…
Dave
On the plus side, here’s hoping that the shot clears things up…
Well, crud! I’ve been busily rubbing dirt into my shoulder for the last three weeks. Do you mean to tell me that it’s *not* going to get better?!? I really don’t need to be hearing this…
Dave
On the plus side, here’s hoping that the shot clears things up…
From what I gather, the purpose of Cortisone is to hurt so much that you don’t notice the bit that was hurting before.
This tale only reinforces that opinion.
GWS, mate.
From what I gather, the purpose of Cortisone is to hurt so much that you don’t notice the bit that was hurting before.
This tale only reinforces that opinion.
GWS, mate.
Ouch.
Ouch.
“(Note: I did not literally rub dirt in it. That is hyperbole.)”
There’s where you went wrong. Next time rub the dirt in it. 😉
Hope the shot actually helps.
“(Note: I did not literally rub dirt in it. That is hyperbole.)”
There’s where you went wrong. Next time rub the dirt in it. 😉
Hope the shot actually helps.
I’ve seen your boots, Howard. I know 70’s era Buicks that want nothing to do with being kicked with those things.
But if Morton really does deserve it…
“There is no overkill…”
Wrong Userpic. 🙂
I’ve seen your boots, Howard. I know 70’s era Buicks that want nothing to do with being kicked with those things.
But if Morton really does deserve it…
“There is no overkill…”
Wrong Userpic. 🙂