I have HIT BOILING POINT now!!! SO PISSED OFF WITH MY LIFE RIGHT NOW!
Haven’t been able to walk for 4 days on my right foot. Went to the drs and they said I have plantar fasciitis! Now I BELIVE the cause of this was due to the added weight I’ve gained over the last year from my steroids. Has anyone suffered from plantar fasciitis???
I have lupus SLE, underactive thyroid and chronic ultercaria.
I hate not being able to move about!! I am on pain killers, regular foot exercise, crutches for support! I have to wear a night foot splint to stretch my foot when sleeping and I have literally had enough!!!
With me it’s one thing after the next… Suffering with severe migraines at the moment doesn’t help either!!!
The pain from both are unbearable and it’s hard now to do physical activity to reduce the weight gain as I’m in pain and been advised to rest my foot!!!
Hang in there wer're al thinking of you and here for you to vent to. I also have SLE and underactive thyroid. I had migranes but only for the 5 years or so that I was going thru "the change". I have never had plantar facsiitis, but my daughter has. she struggles to keep her weight over 100, so I dont think extra weight has anything to do with it. It's not fun.
Extra weight doesn’t cause PF per se, but it can make it worse. The exercises and the boot will help, but it takes time. You can adjust your caloric intake and the type of foods you are eating to compensate for reduced activity. That will help manage weight while you’re off your feet more. It’s also good to have small hand weights to work with for your arms when you can’t be on your feet. Any muscle you can maintain is beneficial.
The shoes you wear also can exacerbate plantar fasciitis. Days of flip flops, slippers, flat soled shoes are over. Time to get a good walking shoe with lots of arch support
I now have S.L.E. (around 2yrs). Feet get very painful (tops of feet not P.F.) However I had lots of trouble with P.F. many yrs ago & I was not overweight.
Its the death of a thousand cuts Lupus; & you really do have to just bash away at every issue. I agree with above comments re shoes, weight, exercise.
Good luck to you. I can understand your feeling wretched. but your only option is to keep going.
I have/had this turned out to be the wee beginnings of osteoporosis. My feet collapsed and I lost 1" of my 5' 8" height. Long story short: get a bone density scan. Us lupies are very subject to osteoporosis due to our disease and the meds (esp prednisone). Losing weight does help a bit, but not the only factor. It takes a while to go away.
I had a PT who showed me how to message my foot muscles between the tiny foot bones with a No. 2 pencil eraser. Really helped. Also shown how to hand message my feet with lotion
Plantar fascitis is very painful. Went away when my feet finally collapsed. Again get your bone density checked.
Sounds like a flare…call ur dr…go up on predisone for 3 days… you will be able to move…drs need to help support you especially ur thyroid…keep talking…we are here…
I had plantar fasciitis last spring. I was given the exercises to do and put in a walking boot for over 3 months. I slept in it as well. The pain I was experiencing in my feet led me to my lupus diagnosis. I also had a ruptured tibial tendon, a fallen arch, and bunion on my right foot. The boot helped my foot, but put off the inevitable surgery. I reinjured the tibial tendon which led to my surgery. At that time, the surgeon did a plantar release much like a carpel tunnel release. I've had carpel tunnel in both hands as well. I had the foot surgery in December, he did the bunion surgery, the repair on the tibial tendon, a spacer to raise my arch and put a screw through my heel to stabilize the ankle, and the tendon release. 9 months later and I'm still healing.
The plantar release was such a relief for me after I healed. It did leave my calf weaker than before, but I've working to regain the strength. I use a water bottle and freeze it, and roll my foot over it. The ice feels good and the rolling helps to loosen the plantar faciitis. Try that 2 or 3 times a day.. I also put my feet up on a pillow for the swelling, and sometimes at night if it hurting really bad. I know what you're going through, its like one thing after another. You're in my prayers..
I don't have plantar fasciitis, but I had the weight gain. before they found out I had lupus, I was 188, I traveled to see my dad and he smokes, I was not eating at all. I was so sick. I was there for 8 days, when I left the house I weighed 188 pounds, doctor appointment that day before I left. when I came back 8 days later, I was at 230 pounds. I had double knees, and my feet were 3 sizes larger. just so you know, that what happened to be, then my doctor told me that the only way to loose the weight was to exercises, then I went to a different doctor that thought I had a blood clot going to my lungs, long story that is when they started running tests and found out I had lupus. I hope you get help, and I know that foot pain is awful. trust me I know, I've had 3 surgery's for bunions, that I was born with, just because my grandmother wanted to wear high heel shoes, and got bunions, and my mom gave it to me, I have never owned a pair of high hill shoes and never will. I have a rod and a screw in my foot, and every time I see someone wearing high hill shoes, I feel sorry for them because they really don't know what they are doing to there feet.
I also suffer from PF and I can sympathize with what you're going thru. I've had the boot, arch supports, and cortisone shots. It's true that the days of flip flops and flat shoes are over. But the good news is that there are shoes that will allow you to walk about without pain (or at least much diminished pain). I practically live in my Birkenstock shoes. They may not be the prettiest shoes you'll see, but no pain is far more important to me than cute shoes. Give those a try :)
Kaz - You mentioned "tops of feet" - Both of the tops of my feet are swollen and painful; when started, felt like the bones were breaking; first on one foot, then the other the month following .. now they stay swollen and painful.. what is this due to? Do you know? All Rheumy said is "inflammation" - is it R/A or Lupus? or? Thank you... just curious.
Kaz said:
I now have S.L.E. (around 2yrs). Feet get very painful (tops of feet not P.F.) However I had lots of trouble with P.F. many yrs ago & I was not overweight.
Its the death of a thousand cuts Lupus; & you really do have to just bash away at every issue. I agree with above comments re shoes, weight, exercise.
Good luck to you. I can understand your feeling wretched. but your only option is to keep going.
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with all of this. I have dealt with the weight gain simply because I hurt too much to exercise. I get severe foot and ankle pain but they think it’s just the inflammation from the lupus and all the other diseases I have. Shoe inserts help some although they help more with my back and hip pain than the feet. I found that when my feet hurt that much, swimming is about the only exercise I can handle. I have been getting horrible migraines also but I think that is a combo of stress and the Yosemite Fire smoke since I live within 2 hours of Yosemite. If I didn’t have my kids to be strong for I would probably be in bed all day or dead. I’ve had various autoimmune disorders since I was 7 so I don’t really know what normal is like other than when I was pg with my boys. Had no pain during the first 6 months, it was amazing. I really hope that your docs can help somehow. Hugs, Annemarie
I had PF a few years ago. I had the shots, the dr wrapped my feet, yes I had it in both, wore night boots and walking boots. It took weeks if not months to heal. My Dr told me my weight added to the problem, my working on concrete floors actually causes the problem, and the fact that I wore Burkenstocks also caused the problem. Yes my Dr told me Burkenstocks cause PF! Now I wear only Crocs. I never want that pain again. No more Burks for me :) I do think my Lupus also contributed although I was not diagnosed with Lupus yet. Good luck, keep doing the exercises and follow Drs orders, it will get better.
Ugh, I've had plantar fasciitis. I feel your pain. The boot/splint will help gradually. The reason I got it was because I love to walk around barefoot and in flip flops which have absolutely no arch support. It is really important to make sure you have good, supportive, shoes. Sometimes you can even get arch supports specifically designed for plantar fasciitis. Some good brands of shoes.... New Balance, Merrell, Keens, Brooks, Asics, Dansko... that's all I can think of at the moment. I love my Danskos! Some of them are on the pricier end, but they help and tend to last a long time. My mom suffered really bad plantar fasciitis and now wears shoes all the time to prevent it from happening again. Avoid high heals, flip flops (there are some with arch support out there though), barefoot, etc.