Dolfinz- safe visit and good pain control an the airplane to you.

Let the Fla sun warm you to your core and enjoy every second of it...sauna without trying

don't know whether to laugh or cry. I had to go back to the podiatrist and I knew what was probably coming I have to have surgery #4 on the same foot- a bone spur and inflammed bursa on the bottom of the head of the 5th metatarsal. He'll be breaking the bone and setting it in a better position- otherwise, I'll probably continue to have spurs form. He'll also remove a screw from the second surgery I had to fuse my big toe. This time it isn't supposed to be as bad as that one was but I'll still be on crutches for 2 wks.- which is better than the 8 wks. last time. Up 'til now, I've been having to get cortisone injections in the joints of my toe to keep the pain away but just couldn't stand the thought of another one of those- they're incredibly painful. So, surgery here I come....Realistically, while I'm not at all happy about it, as I always try to say, "it could be so much worse", and there's nothing I can about it so I might as well try to make the best of it.

I'm sorry to hear that Red- I hope they can fix it. I've been having pain in my left big toe for the last 6 wks - almost right on the ball of my foot. Its gotten so bad that I can't really walk properly right now without horrible shooting pain - the kind that makes you see flashes of light..... I was planning on going to an orthopedic doc, but then i read that you mentioned podiatrist. So is going to an ortho worth it? so *#$*$! ing frustrating. just one more thing to add to the pile. I know it could be much much worse, but dealing with the mental side of this has been more difficult lately. arghhhhhhhhhhh. oh well.

anyways- i hope everyone is doing well around here.
Dolfinz- take care of your self, and I hope things go well in FL
Dawn - I hope that keeps on working!
Mark - I hope the morphine pump does the trick for you!!
Peg- - take care of yourself too.....
Shelley - haven't seen you around much (then again, i've been something of a stranger....) so....
Di- haven't heard from you in a while- i hope you and katie are doing well...

Dabbo,
When I first started having problems several years ago, I got advice (alot of it unsolicited ) about both- the ortho and podiatrist but had more people recommend going to the pod since that's all they do. The one who's done my last 2 surgeries and the upcoming one is really good as was his partner who did my first surgery. On the other hand, the first pod I saw several years ago was a fruitcake (legend in his own mind.... ). I guess I would advise you to maybe try seeing one of each and see who you like the best. I can sympathize because when your feet are hurting, it's miserable. And by trying to walk so you can avoid more pain, you throw everything else off- you can have back aches, hip pain, etc. The only "good" thing I can say about it (if you can call it good...), the pain of this makes me forget about the TOS pain/issues. Kinda like the old joke where you have a toothache and someone hits your toe with a hammer and tells you that that'll take your mind off the toothache....Good luck- I hope you don't have to go through any surgery for this and as in any surgical case- don't let anyone operate on you that seems "knife happy"- trying something conservative first might be all you need- such as orthotics or an injection ( ).

had an appointment with my shoulder-specialist. I haven`t seen him since 2004 and in the last weeks my shoulder hurts more than usual and the arm is extremely weak, so I decided to see him again.
The subscapularis was reconstruced by him 4 years ago and now he suspects a re-rupture. Isn`t that horrible? I will do an arthography next week and then we will know more. Not to know what exactly happens and living with hypothesis is very difficult for me.

Thanks you - so I could vent and feel a little bit better now.

Dolfinz, dabbo, mark - I send you good vibes - hope they will help.

To all others: I wish a pain-less day and send nice greetings
Barbara

TODAY I.... will share another E-mail that I received, hope no offense is taken by anyone as I share it in just in humor not in picking on any person/group !

A redneck was stopped by a game warden in Georgia recently with two ice chests full of fish. He was leavin' a cove well-known for its fishing.
The game warden asked the man, "Do you have a license to catch those fish?"
"Naw, sir", replied the redneck. "I ain't got none of them there licenses. You must understand, these here are my pet fish.."
"Pet fish?"
"Yeah. Every night, I take these here fish down to the lake and let 'em swim 'round for awhile. Then, when I whistle, they jump right back into these here ice chests and I take 'em home."
"That's a bunch of hooey! Fish can't do that."
The redneck looked at the warden for a moment and then said, "It's the truth Mr. Government Man. I'll show ya. It really works."
"O. K.", said the warden. "I've got to see this!"
The redneck poured the fish into the lake and stood and waited. After several minutes, the warden says,
"Well?"
"Well, what?", says the redneck.
The warden says, "When are you going to call them back?"
"Call who back?"
"The FISH", replied the warden!
"What fish?", replied the redneck.
Moral of the story: Georgia rednecks may not be as smart as some city slickers, but they ain't as dumb as some government employees.

My best to all for a low pain day

Mark~n~Goober

I can empathize with the foot pain thing!
I somehow managed to kick the telephone table dead center on my left foot. GGRRR...
Not as bad as what Red & dabbo are experiencing at all - but it is throbbing and a bit uncomfortable to walk on.

Barb - I hope you get answers from the test.
Dolfinz - have a safe and sane?? trip.

Best wishes for all today.

Thank you for the advice! I'm trying to get a couple referalls from my primary care doc- things seem to happen quicker that way.

Mark - thanks for the laughs! I'll have to remember that next time I get to go trout fishing......they don't play where I go in Arkansas. $250+ ticket for having a brown or brook that is under the limit. oh, and they have an agreement with TN and MO that they can take your drivers license if you don't pay.

Forgot to mention in my earlier post, if the dr. can't find anything wrong with you- as in "nothing" (where have we heard that before.....) shows up on an Xray, ask if they can ultrasound your foot. The last surgery I had, nothing showed up on the outer side of my foot until he did that and it showed a cyst. Same with this latest problem of mine. He didn't see the bone spur on the bottom with the Xray- although he admitted that part of the problem was because it's uncommon to have 'em on the bottom so he wasn't looking there....But when he ultrasounded it that time and yesterday, the bone spur is clear and so is the fluid from the bursa.

I'm beginning to think I broke or fractured my second toe - small purple spot and some swelling plus I can't put much pressure on the ball of my foot.
So I'm hobbling around in between icing and elevating it.

On a whim, I replied to an ad about part time work and the lady actually replied and wants to meet with me!
I'll have to see how she is set up so I can decide if I'm able do the work or not with out any problems.
But she is totally willing to work within my schedule.

I hope my foot is much better by Monday so I'm not limping in to the interview- LOL