I know you all are sick of hearing about my ankle, and honestly I'm sick of having to deal with it. I had a dream 2 nights ago that I was put back into a cast and somehow kicked myself out of it, I was so mad about it. I think I have anger issues :/
Anyway to recap, it started with half marathon training in 2011. Yes, 2 years ago.
- Foot hurt during training, went to podiatrist, got insoles. Got fancy running shoes
- Finished half, went back to podiatrist, told it was overuse and to lay off
- Went back a couple months after “laying off” to say it was still just trying to calm down.
- Went to an orthopedic surgeon who put me in a walking boot for a few months (diagnosis: posterior tibial tendinitis) after x-rays
- No improvement after all that clunking, so went back and he suggested more boot time. Sought out a foot specialist orthopedic person (technical title)
- Foot ortho specialist put me in a walking cast (the purple foot eater) for a few months after x-rays and MRI #1. Still no improvement.
- Got custom insoles from reco. of foot ortho specialist and clunked in walking boot for another 3 months.
- Sent to physical therapy for about 5 months. Very little improvement.
- Decided I was stuck.
- New podiatrist offered new insoles which feel great, but lingering pain and swelling still occurs, along with stiffness.
- Podiatrist sent me to neurologist 2 weeks ago – perhaps it's a nerve issue
- Got foot pounded with electronic stimuli and needles to figure out if it was nerve. Neurologist idea: tarsal tunnel syndrome. Suggestion: go back to foot ortho who sent me to cast-land before. I'm not a fan. (Sidenote: It was the same neurologist who diagnosed my mom with Parkinson's disease. Depressing. But he's good.)
- Podiatrist ordered MRI #2 (we're now 2 years into this) which I had done today. I go back and we discuss it and I'm going to meet with a new (to town) surgeon at her office in the summer.
I want them to find something wrong so badly so it can be fixed. The neurologist said he would probably recommend exploratory surgery to look at the nerve. Podiatrist said she wants to make sure there isn't any tendon damage we just haven't seen yet – that might require surgery too. All the while, my workouts are limited (the stiffness and swelling is really bad lately) so swimming is back on the calendar for me. If you see me clunking around town in dresses and tennis shoes, just know it's not a fashion statement. For my fashion photos, I swap in and out of cute shoes because really, my comfy tennies with insoles don't match many things.
So that's my boring story of that. I'm signed up to do a Tough Mudder in October, but that's highly doubtful unless something can get addressed and fixed soon. Fingers crossed.
Thanks for listening to my foot saga!
