Ankle pain (OMG not again)

[Crankin]

I bet the toe cover would work.
Re: the foot hurting when you woke up today. I found that this was occurring when my stress fracture/toe was healing and near the completion of the process. Not sure why this happens, though. My foot (the one I hurt) was aching when I got out of bed today, too and the only reason I can think of is I have new shoes for the gym and I did a lot of jumping in tabata yesterday. I had the shoes last week, too, but there was a sub and the class was different.
Good luck with the boot. It would drive me nuts.

[emily_in_nc]

Ugh, NY, that does not sound fun or comfortable.

I'm glad to hear that the doc sounds like he's suggesting lots of conservative treatment. Many Ortho surgeons jump to recommending surgery pretty fast since that's what they do, and it's obviously their bread and butter.

[Pax]

Ugh, NY, that does not sound fun or comfortable.

I'm glad to hear that the doc sounds like he's suggesting lots of conservative treatment. Many Ortho surgeons jump to recommending surgery pretty fast since that's what they do, and it's obviously their bread and butter.

Definitely, I was never so happy as when I reached the age and maturity where I understood I controlled the treatment. I've had orthopedic surgeons want to cut on my foot, both shoulders, hip and my good knee. I declined and sought out more conservative treatment and I'm FINE.

[ny biker]

If this turns into a more prolonged problem, whether surgery is recommended or not, I already have a plan to get multiple opinions from different doctors. There are one or two in this area that were recommended and participate in my insurance plus a third practice that several people recommended but doesn't accept my insurance. And there is the option of going back for a consult with the doctor in NY who did the original surgery back in the day. And my cousin is a nurse at in an orthopedic surgery practice so she might be able to recommend someone, either in NY or a couple of hours away in Virginia where her in-laws live. So I really hope that it never becomes an issue, but if surgery is recommended I will make sure as much as I can that it is really the best course of action.

One thing that I am thinking about now is that, back when this problem first started around 1990 or '91, no one prescribed the kind of rest that has been prescribed for me now. A doctor in Chicago gave me a cortisone shot, the one in NY had me wear orthotics and I don't remember what else we may have tried before finally going ahead with surgery. But I did so much walking back then and no one ever told me to wear a boot or use crutches or do anything to rest the tendon and let it heal. I suppose I cut back somewhat, I remember wearing sneakers all the time (with business suits), but I was still walking to and from the subway to get to work and walking to the grocery store and the bank and the drug store and the dry cleaners and all my other errands. It seems kind of obvious now, but apparently I wasn't smart of enough to do it on my own and no doctor recommended it.

[ny biker]

Two subplots running concurrently in my life...

1. When you put the ankle boot on, you inflate a couple of small bladders in the back so the boot won't be too loose. After a while these bladders dig into the sides of my ankle and it hurts. I've tried wrapping a soft microfiber cloth around the ankle inside the boot, but it still hurts. If only I could find a thicker soft cloth...

2. I'm working on learning to crochet. So far my initial row of chain stitches is a mess but once I get going the rows of single crochet, double crochet and half double crochet stitches look pretty good. For practice, I crochet a section about 6 inches high and 8-10 inches wide. I've got several of these practice crochet pieces now, what am I going to do with them?

1+ 2
I put two pieces of practice crochet into the boot behind my ankle. It feels much more comfortable now.

[emily_in_nc]

LOL, NY, your post made me laugh, and that's a good thing.

Good luck with the crocheting. It is really not that hard to learn (easier than knitting) and immensely satisfying! I used to knit and crochet quite a bit though haven't done either for years. I didn't have the stick-to-it-iveness for really large projects, but a couple of of my favorites were crocheted white snowflakes (made with white twine and stiffened up in a cornstarch/water bath) for Christmas tree ornaments, and a lovely cotton cardigan I crocheted for one of my nieces. Oh, and a few cute dog sweaters!

[ny biker]

I'm thinking of crocheting something like a footless sock to wear over my heel and ankle inside the boot. Right now I'm wrapping pieces of crocheted fabric around it, but it's hard to hold it in place while putting my foot inside the boot. But first, since it's about to get very cold here, I'm going to see if I can wear one of my winter cycling booties inside the boot. The thicker Gore booty may not work because there's a zipper down the back, but the Louis Garneau neoprene booty might be okay. I've also got wool Kneekers (knee warmers from DeFeet) that might do the job. Or maybe I'll try a fleecy arm warmer, folded to double thickness.

Oh, I just remembered the fleecy Terry ear band that I bought about a year ago. It has a velcro closure. Maybe I could wrap that around the crochet pieces to hold them in place. Hmmmmm. I'll have to go through the Big Orange Tote Bag of Winter Cycling Gear tonight and do some experimenting...

BTW, it is SUCH a pain in the a$$ having to take the boot off every time I get in the car and put it back on when I get out. It's very hard to do it in the car with the steering wheel in the way, so I have to open the door and swing my legs out. Today when I got to work it was windy and the car parked next to me was too close to get the door open all the way so I could barely reach down to my foot. I was swearing like the father in A Christmas Story when the furnace breaks down. Then I realized I had forgotten to pick up lunch on the way in, so I had to take the boot off again and put my sneaker back on to drive to the deli. &^%$#&&*@!#! When I got back to the office I parked in one of the visitor spaces right near the door, where there was plenty of room to maneuver with the boot.

For short walks into sandwich places to pick up lunch or to put gas in the car I make an exception and don't put the boot on, but for everything else I remind myself what the doctor said: it won't work if you don't wear it. Last night after work I had three errands to run in stores that were next to each other. One store was Whole Foods, so I made that my last stop, bought a salad at the salad bar for dinner and ate it there. It generally is less annoying if I can park the car once, put the boot on, then run multiple errands.

The other night I managed to go to the gym for weight training. I had to skip a few exercises but was able to do most of them. No cardio, of course -- walking around the office or in grocery stores is the closest I get to that. At least I'm weight bearing and not forced to use crutches. And I have a few pairs of shoes that are close enough to the boot in terms of heel height, so I'm not having problems with hip or back pain.

p.s. I do like the crocheting. So far my single crochet, half-double crochet and double crochet stitches are pretty good. My first row of chain stitches is still a mess, very uneven in size. But I think I am ready to move on from practice swatches to an actual pattern. I'm thinking of starting with one of the pink hat patterns from the pussyhatproject.com. I'm also starting to think about possible Christmas gifts that I might be able to make for people next year -- I like the snowflake decoration idea.