Thank you everyone for the great advice. I suspect it might be Platars Fascitis too. My aunt has been battling it for several years now, so figures I'd get something like that too, however I've been battling it for much longer than she has. I can't use Ace bandages cause I have a latex allergy. Same reason I can't wear my write braces for my Carpal Tunnel either. I am definitely going to try the stretching exercises though and see if those help some of the pain. I always wear shoes because the bottoms of my feet are so sensitive from when they cut the blisters off in the Army. They cut off all the skin on the ball of my foot, the bottom of my bog toe, and my entire heel, on BOTH feet. Plus more skin was cut off too where there was smaller blisters. It was the worst case of blistering I had had ever seen, and it left me with a lot of sensitivity in my feet. I haven't been able to wear a cheap pair of shoes in ages. I used to be able to go buy a $5 pair of slip ons at the store and use them for years, but after coming back from Basic, I've not been able to spend less than $30 on a pair of shoes ever since. I'll have to look into Crocs, see if those help at all. I'd like to finally be able to find a comfortable pair of shoes. I had to stay off my feet most of today because my right knee and hip were hurting so much, and then my left heel decided to act up too, so I took it easy. It's feeling better though after some ibuprofen and rest. I'm going to try the hand exercises for my Carpal Tunnel too, see if it helps. I have lost a lot of the strength in my hands, especially my right hand. I have limited use of my right thumb and I can't begin to tell you how many gallons of milk and tea I have dropped over the years and busted because I forgot and tried to carry them in my right hand. Good thing I'm left handed! Lol! I took a bad fall in 2003 that just compounded my other problems too. I tried to stop my then 4 yr old daughter from running on the slippery floor at a bowling alley, and I ran forward to grab her,p not realizing that the floors are as slick as ice ( I don't bowl much, and didn't have the shoes on that day, only my daughter did), and I immediately slipped and fell backwards, landing so hard on my back that my head cracked into the floor and actually bounced! Left me with whiplash, but no insurance at the time, so I couldn't go to the doctor, and after that I began to have limbs going numb, fingers, toes, etc., and now I just feel like I'm falling apart. Oh, and as for the Ganglion cysts, there are two kinds, the fluid filled ones, which dropping a heavy book on can help, and then there are ones where the underlying ligaments actually push up through the muscle walls and form hard lumps on joints like fingers, wrists, etc. I have the second kind. This is my 4th one. I had one on my left wrist that lasted about a year and a half, and I had one once before on my left wrist that actually dislocated my thumb, and I had one on the joint of my right forefinger, right where it connects to the hand. That one didn't last long though. This one is on my left wrist and it's been there for about 4 years now, give or take. I tend to lose track of time and just live with it. It's finally beginning to show signs of shrinking. If I could wear a brace on that wrist, it would help it shrink faster, but I can't handle the latex, so I have to wait for it to go away on it's own.
As soon as I can get some GOOD insurance, I plan to visit a podiatrist AND a chiropractor. I need them both! But in the meantime, I'm going to try those exercises. I'm going to go see if I can find some good orthopaedic shoes online. My mom says it's time I visit a place that sells good shoes, like Hush Puppies, or someplace like that. I think she's right. Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice. I'll keep reading this thread, see if maybe someone has more ideas to ease the pain. I'm so glad that there are such wonderful, caring people here on BYC.
