Specifically the heel pain in my left foot that simply will not go away! 

I noticed about two months ago that my feet were really hurting when I got home from work every night. 

Since I have a job where I am on my feet most of the day, I thought it might just be that I needed new shoes. 

So off I went to the shoe store, selecting a store that specializes in running shoes, and after telling my story to the sales rep, and trying on countless pairs of shoes I settled on a new pair of Asics, a brand I had never tried before.  Wow... those shoes really did feel a lot different than my old ones.

But unfortunately my heel pain did not get any better. 

In fact, it got worse.  It got so bad, in fact, that every step was painful, and especially those first few steps after getting out of bed every morning or those first few steps after I had been sitting for any amount of time. 

I did some research and decided that it sounded like I had plantar fascitis, so I started treating myself in hopes that my foot pain would get better.  I did the foot stretching exercises that I found on line, I started wearing my new more supportive shoes, and I even started to ice my foot every night after being on my feet all day.  Based on my research I learned that the icing was supposed to help with the inflammation of plantar fascitis and it felt pretty good, so I figured it wasn't hurting anything. 

For a few days I was hopeful and it seemed things were getting better, but then the strangest thing happened.  One day while walking to my car from work, my opposite foot, the “good one” began to hurt, especially around my ankle and the lower part of my leg. 

It seemed strange and I just chalked it up to having had a long day at work.  But within a few days I could hardly walk on either foot.  And to make matters worse, the ankle of my “good foot” was getting more tender and swollen.  There was even an area about the size of a fifty cent piece that was red and warm. 

Good grief! 

I need my feet... and putting up with heel pain of self-described plantar fascitis and now an increasingly painful “good foot”... well enough treating myself and that is what finally caused me to go to my primary physician. Six weeks of painful feet... six weeks of a pain in the heel that wouldn't go away... six weeks of one foot hurting followed by the other foot joining in on the fun!

I needed help!

So at today's visit, I was happy to hear that my doctor agreed that the pain in my left foot was plantar fascitis.  She agreed that I should continue all the things I was doing for my plantar fascitis and the incredible heel pain it was causing. 

Well that made me feel better about my self-diagnosing!  She prescribed a packet of steroids to help with the inflammation and some prescription strength anti-inflammatory medication which should also help out.  I am excited to finally have something that will help. 

My doctor felt like we should just keep watching my “good foot”.  She thought maybe it was just strained since I've been babying the bad foot so much and the “good foot” has had to take all the pressure. 

Since I had no specific injury to the “good foot” my doctor decided that x-rays weren't necessary since it sounded most like a strain.

What a relief!

So it's off to the drug store to fill my new prescriptions.  I am feeling better already!  I will most definitely keep up the plantar fascitis exercises, and my doctor even suggested a few more than the ones I was already doing.