The foot problem is, largely, that my feet are completely freakishly shaped – I’m a 6xw, which barely exists even before you take the absurdly high instep and arch into account (and the arch is also located where you’d expect a size 7 to be). The only shoes I can even get my feet into, with required huge orthotics, are a few styles from a New Zealand company called Kumfs, and even those don’t really fit right.

I had heard about the pepper solution, but only as a remedy for standard on-your-feet-all-day pain (which I never get because I can’t be on my feet long); it didn’t occur to me that it might work for my sudden-snap-followed-by-pain-so-severe-you-can’t-take-another-step affliction. Will definitely investigate though – thanks for all your advice!

Something else I’ve been doing that’s really helped with keeping my feet from getting sore is putting cayenne pepper in my work shoes. It really works, one of my patients told me about it. I buy it super cheap at the mexican markets. My work socks are gross but I don’t care. Maybe you could read about the capsaicin creams and find some on the cheap somewhere online. I also wear really good shoes at work, Taryn Rose designer. I buy them used on Ebay but between the shoes and the pepper, I no longer have issues with shin splints or sore feet. Dr. Taryn Rose was born with congential foot problems, became a foot surgeon, (she did her residency at my hospital!), and ultimately a fancy famous comfortable shoe designer.

I hope someone didn’t start you on Lyrica and Cymbalta at the same time, that’s a lot of crazy chemicals for a naive person. I was thinking Cymbalta alone would be best and didn’t suggest something like Lyrica because of the side effects. I haven’t heard of much bad reaction to Cymbalta so that’s a shame. Lyrica and Neurontin both (same type of med) do have pretty major side effects for many, mainly excessive sedation and hallucinations, so for someone naive I would say to only take one dose at bedtime and start at lowest and give the body time to adjust chemically.

Yeah, I’d avoid the opiods for sure. I think they are helpful in acute situations, not good for chronic management. And having high opiod tolerance means your pain receptors are SCREWED and when you have surgeries or acute pain situations its extremely difficult to get any relief. Plus, the opioid physical dependence thing is serious and happens so easily, then addictive behavior can start in and of course, that’s a bad scene. People with Fibromyalgia tend to have terrible pain receptors from the disease anyway but I still would keep away from the opiods.

Well, hope you can try some magnesium, capsaicin, and other more holistic treatments. I haven’t researched it myself but hopefully there are some good options…like diet restrictions/inclusions, doing things that play with endorphin/dopamine levels in your body, etc. I am a big believer in holistic treatments, hopefully there is some recipe for living that will suit your body. I wish you the best! If I think of anything else I will get back to you!

Lexy

Thanks!

And I didn’t want to offer so much advice to a stranger in one day but I am a nurse and sorry to hear you are dealing with fibromyalgia. Look into Magnesium supplements, and maybe even Cymbalta. Though I know it can be an unsettling idea to try chemicals but I know it’s helping a lot of women. As far as Magnesium, watch for stomach oogyness but no other side effects really. I only like to take it at night because it makes me very relaxed. I started taking it because of kidney stones and realized my whole body was less achey. Lately I’ve heard our pain mgt. MDs at work recommending Magnesium, so I guess I was onto something!
Okay, sorry, ha! Take care and Best!

An apartment where pets have NEVER lived? That’s some seriously fine-grained spectral analysis your allergies are doing.

By the way, I installed an extension that automatically links any term it knows the link for, thinking it would be an antidote for my laziness, but seeing it in action here I think I’m getting rid of it. I apologize for the weird fake-marketing look of this post!