Just passing along another little discovery on my journey...

I've had edema in my feet, ankles and lower legs since before developing PN. I questioned early on (based on a comment on the Wiki page for peripheral edema - see Prognosis) whether my PN could be a result of PE, but that was shot down by all the doctors. They just gave me scrips for furosemide & calcium & sent me on my merry...

Anyhoo, between the PE and PN, I haven't worn my hard street shoes for over a year now. I wear some cheapie padded slippers I found that are very comfortable (but provide no support whatsoever) or cheapie padded shoe-boots ditto, ditto...

Yesterday I had reason to wear my shoes again - venue was not appropriate for slippers (or vice versa). It was... interesting, to say the least. I was able to get them on, but just barely; other attempts have failed. My feet hurt all day, and walking became more difficult as the day wore on; it felt like my shoes were now 3 sizes too small. There was no numbness (other than normal) or feeling of circulation being cut off - this is important. I had them on for 8 hrs without a break; fortunately I did not have to stand/walk too much.

Of course when I got home, they couldn't come off fast enough, and I was offered a foot massage (who turns down a foot massage?) which I gratefully accepted. Lo & behold (how often do I get a chance to use that phrase?) the edema in my feet had diminished almost entirely, and I actually had loose wrinkly skin on my feet. (My ankles & lower legs, however, were the same ). I fully expected this to be a temporary effect of wearing my shoes, and that it would be gone by this morning - but it's not, and the pain in my feet is substantially less. Don't know how long it'll last, but I'm going to try wearing shoes more often & see.

This is the second time in about a week that I've found "leaning into the pain" (for lack of any kind of term) has been beneficial. The other time was when I had foot cramps, and instead of treating them like a charley horse, I pressed in the direction that worstened the pain, and slowly, the cramp dissipated...

I don't recommend anyone try these things themselves. They could make others' symptoms worse. It's just something that worked for me that surprised the cuss outta me.

Doc