Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Just need someone to listen

I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers. I am having continuing pain in both feet and can hardly walk. I am hobbling from side to side, which is worsening my back problem! Seriously, sometimes I feel as if my feet will not support me and that I will collapse.

I just returned from the orthopedic surgeon's office who said he has exhausted every avenue and that my only hope for walking without pain is to try surgery. The problem? I have pain in BOTH feet, and he can only do the surgery on one at a time---and there is a long recovery period.

Although my MRI does show severe plantar fascitis problems, he said the pain I'm experiencing could be nerve pain related to my disc problem in my back, and if so, the surgery will not help. But I can only try. He wants me to see my spine/back doctor to see what he thinks. (I did have a nerve conduction test done last February which showed no nerve damage, but he said that could've changed since then.)

The foot doctor says I have to wear the custom orthodics after the surgery---or the pain will return. But I have not been able to wear the orthodics (for even as little as 15 minutes a day) without having severe back pain---and sciatic nerve pain running through my rear end and down my leg. And that prevents me from getting good sleep at night.

I am terrified of having the surgery and messing up my disc problem even worse, since I will have to be on crutches and a hard cast for 2 weeks, a walking cast for 3 weeks, and a boot cast for I forgot how long. It would take 3 months before we would know whether the surgery was successful, and he could even talk about doing surgery on the other foot, and it would take 6 months to fully recover from each surgery.

I have been dealing with this foot pain for about 6-7 years, and now it is preventing me from doing much of anything. I have gained a tremendous amount of weight from not being able to walk or exercise, and I know that will probably get worse sitting around after surgery.

And if he does the right foot first (the worst of the 2 feet), then I cannot drive for 6 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am at my wit's end. I don't feel like I have a choice. I don't know how I will make it through this.

I see the back doctor next Tuesday to get his opinion. My back problem is not one that can be corrected by surgery, so I have to live with that.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart if you've made it through this long post. I just need to get this off of my chest.

Any good thoughts you can send my way would be appreciated.
I love you all!

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