Footsies
Thank you all for proving what I already knew: we live in a douchebag-filled world. 
I hereby declare my feet healed. Tentatively.
In a perfect world, I’d be able to market Mr. Fred’s Miracle Foot Cure and retire wealthy, but the simple truth is they just stopped hurting. Literally almost overnight. No pills, no stretches, nothing. One day agony, the next ecstasy. And I ain’t complaining.
For a long time, I was taking anti-inflammatories to make my elbow not hurt so bad. A beneficial side effect of the pills is that my feet didn’t hurt either. A little over a month ago, I happened to miss the pills one day, and the next day my feet hurt worse than they ever have. The pain was new, covered both entire feet (even the tops), and was so bad it even hurt to touch them. The pain was especially bad at the base of each toe.
When I started taking the pills again, the pain didn’t go completely away; it just became manageable. For several days I took the pills, then I missed a day and the pain came back with a vengeance. That’s the “new pain” I wrote about back in May when I did the entry about shooting at the raccoon. Ultimately — and with a little help from Dr. Google — I convinced myself I had gout because the pain was so bad around my toes, and because my feet felt hot.
Dr. Judy believed otherwise, and told me she thought it was my old friend plantar fasciitis, who’d been in hiding while I took the pills. I accepted the diagnosis, but I had my doubts. This pain was far worse than anything I’d had before, and like I mentioned, it was all over my feet, not concentrated in the heels.
I went home and resumed the pills for a few more days. But really, who wants to take pills all the time? I knew that the anti-inflammatories would eventually exact a price from my liver, what else might they be doing to me? I resigned myself to surgery and stopped taking the pills.
The pain came back, but only for a couple of days. Then it was just…gone. After more than a year of having it as a constant (when I wasn’t medicating) companion, I don’t miss it a bit. It’s been two or three weeks now. I didn’t want to say anything at first, because sure as I did it would come back. But it’s stayed gone.
Even better, my elbow doesn’t hurt all the time any more. I can move it freely with no pain, but lifting things with my arm extended still hurts pretty bad. As long as I’m careful, I can get through most days without it bothering me. I do still overdo it from time to time — particularly when I’m using a saw or hammer — and it spends the evening aching.
All in all, though, I’m a happy camper.
I guess I should actually say “mostly stayed gone” when I talk about my feet.
When my elbow started bothering me back at the beginning of the year, I had to stop lifting weights. Then, as my foot got worse and worse, I stopped using the elliptical trainer too. For about two months I haven’t worked out at all, though Robyn can attest I still stay fairly active.
If that were the extent of it, it wouldn’t be so bad. But, as is well-known, I turn to sugar when I hurt. I did it with my shoulder, I did it with my back, and sure as shit, I did it with my elbow and feet. Now that I’ve declared myself healed, the time has come to do something about the almost twenty pounds I gained as I worked out less and less and medicated with sugar more and more.
So, this morning I got up early and worked out on the elliptical. My feet were fine while I was on it, but the arch on my right foot has the slightest pain when I walk on it now. Trust me, I’ll be watching it like a hawk; I would do just about anything to keep it from hurting like it did just a few weeks ago. Hopefully this pain is just from the new motion, and not a portent of things to come.
It felt good to work up a workout sweat, which is very different from a “work outside” sweat.
Now, some pictures.
Meet the new Jezebel, better than the old Jezebel.
She’s green. Though the guy I bought her from may in fact be a douchebag,
I didn’t get her from the douchebag in the last entry. This Ram has 50K less miles,
is in better shape, has a towing package, and is a newer model.
Best of all, she only cost $100 more.
The pigs get bigger and piggier. They’re much closer in size now,
thanks to two troughs.
The right side of the garden: soybeans, green beans, okra (two plantings,
which is why the ones in the back are smaller), blackeyed peas, and navy beans.
The middle of the garden: cukes, tomatoes, those soybeans and green beans
from above. There are peppers and eggplants on the rows with the cukes.
Wall o’ green beans.
Roma tomatoes, not yet ready.
Celebrity tomatoes, also not ready.
We want some damn tomatoes. You’d think with 56 plants we’d be getting more
than the few cherry tomatoes we’ve gotten so far.
The left side of the garden: corn and squash (yellow/white/zuke).
You can see some of the peppers and eggplants to the right.
We have fifty-three squash plants for two people. I may have planted too much.
I picked this squash yesterday.
And this squash too (there are three cukes on top).
Think for a moment about how much squash you see in these two pictures.
I pick that every day.
Fred, what are you using in the way of anti-inflammatories? Ibuprofen? Naproxen Sodium? The top part of my feet have been bothering me (from paying tennis) for a few weeks and I haven’t been able to eliminate the pain entirely. I’ve been alternating between the two anti-inflammatories I mentioned.
I am so glad that I was too young to have to dress that way!!! And ya know…they needed to add more cowbells to that song. I was about 8 when this came out….still a couple of years from getting “into” music…but I still had the record. And it still makes no sense to me
Hope your foot is really healed!
Congrats on your foot.
Congrats on your elbow.
Congrats on your garden.
I am jealous on all three counts.
Sammi
I had terrible plantar facitis in my right foot. Tried everything, multiple steroid injections into the bottom of my foot, excellent form of torture, but only worked for about a week on the plantar fac. I was in a walking cast for 4 months and as long as that was on I had no problems, but that’s really not a good lifetime option. In the meantime I was in a bad car accident and ended up seeing a chiropracter. Which mind you I totally didn’t believe in initially. After having my neck, back, and hips adjusted a few times I’ve never had a problem with the plantar facitis again. Now I didn’t even say anything about the p.f. to the chiro, it was just a lucky side effect of my adjustments.
It’s a thought, if it starts up again, knock on wood that it’s gone for good, but I’m just sayin.
Dear Fred:
My severe plantar facitis in both feet started with an accident when I landed on both heels. I was in pain, walked with a cane every morning and tried everything for 15 years. This year, my podiatrist prescribed Sole Supports. http://www.solesupports.com/index.htm. These thin orthotics are made exclusively for your foot. Along with Dr. Scholls Gel inserts for cushioning http://www.drscholls.com/drscholls/index.jsp, and stretching every evening, the pain in my back, hips, knees, ankles and feet are gone.
For your elbow, check out online for pain relief from golfer’s or tennis elbow. You may just need a bit of pressure to open your compressed nerves.
Love your garden and animals
I also understand that once you have plantar facitis, you will always have it. Sometimes it will flare up for no reason.
Here is hoping for no more pain for Fred!
Is that a carton of store-bought brown eggs under the bowl of cukes?
Just askin.
Sammi
The garden is so beautiful. The pigs, not so much. I see bacon.
I foresee a crooked acres farm stand in 3… 2… 1…
Fred,
I don’t know how long you’ve been using your elliptical, but I had one several years ago and it caused me to have the worst foot pain - I could barely walk, since it’s nearly impossible to limp on both feet. I was diagnosed with plantar fascitis. I went into physical therapy and tested out several things, and the only one that made it flare up again was the elliptical. I sold it, and now I only get the pain on very rare occasions. It never happened with a stair machine or bicycle of any sort, so I think it has something to do with how the foot goes around in a circle while standing on the flat platform. With a bike pedal, your foot can move however it needs to.
$0.02 shared.
Talk about a blast from the past. I had forgotten that song.
Glad your foot pain is better.
How are the arches of your feet? I cannot do an elliptical because the natural arch support in my feet is shot, and since you don’t really roll all the way through your foot on an elliptical my arches cramp up massively after about 5 minutes on one.
Pick some of those green tomatos NOW and make a green tomato pie!!!!!
“Wow” was the first thought that came into my head when I came upon the garden photos.”You could feed us all!”
My next thought was,”Oh,they are going to be a cute roadside veggie- stand couple.
“Pa,where’d ya put the paper bags?” “Ma,right where you left ‘em!”
The city folks lucky enough to stop by will take delight in your odd country ways…Dang I wish I was within driving distance!
Your garden is SO gorgeous! Congrats on all of your hard work paying off so well.
Hmm. I never have any problems with my feet, but when I stay on the elliptical at the gym for 30 mins, I usually have a couple of my toes go numb by the end. Veddy intedestink.
Robyn is going to be ready to kill you when those tomatoes DO ripen. Can you guys hire a local farmer’s wife to help with all the harvesting, er som’m? Maybe the roadside stand is a better idea. You’ve tinkered with it before, selling the eggs ‘n all.