Day 54: Continued Suckage

So, I weighed in on Day 50 (Week 7).  Back to 298lbs.  Clearly, the Week 6 Weight loss was due to dehydration and food poisoning.

As I said I would in my last post, I switched back over to the Dr. Scholl's inserts from the New Balance inserts.  Previously, the Dr School's insets had helped a lot with the plantar fasciitis, but the ball-of-foot pain got much worse while wearing them.  Switching to the New Balance inserts caused the ball-of-foot pain to go away quickly, but the plantar fasciitis got worse.  I decided to wear the New Balance inserts until the ball-of-foot pain had been completely gone for more than a week, then switch to the Dr. Scholl's inserts in the hope that the plantar fasciitis would then heal, and the ball-of-foot pain wouldn't come back.  I made that switch last week.

So far, so good.  There has been no return of the ball-of-foot pain, and the plantar fasciitis is completely gone in my left heel.  I'm still experiencing plantar fasciitis pain in my right heel.  It is less than what it was before switching back to the Dr. Scholl's inserts, but it's been pretty steady for the past several days.  I'm just going to stick with it, and hope for the best.

The knee pain continues to be a big concern.  I've been wearing my McDavid Level III knee braces as much as possible.  I'd only felt a few twinges in my right knee, and have been wearing the brace on that knee pretty much as a preventative measure, and have had no more problems with it.  The left knee has been strange.  Some days, I feel nothing.  Some days, it hurts, and some days, I just feel a twinge that sort of warns me to take it easy on the knee.

Look down at your left knee.  Put your finger on the kneecap.  Go up to the top of the kneecap, then over to the right side (the inside).  Now go down about 1 inch.  Just to the right of that (the inside) is where I feel the pain, weirdness.  It doesn't swell, but sometimes, when I press there, it hurts.  Other times, it doesn't.  For the past 4 days, the twinge I feel there has been constant.

It's strange, It doesn't hurt when I bend down to get something, or climb stairs, or twist the knee.  The only time I feel it is when I'm walking.  When I walk, I bend the knee as little as possible, and get the weight off of that leg as quickly as possible.  I've just realized that causes me to put more weight on my right leg.  Maybe that is what is causing the continued plantar fasciitis pain in my right heel.  We'll just have to see.

My knee braces are good, and my knees feel much more stable when I wear them, but they don't do anything directly for the spot to the inside of my knee where I actually feel the twinges/pain.  I've ordered the next level up brace, which has cross straps to support the area of the knee where my twinges/pain are.

 http://www.mcdavidusa.com/Product/429RX/MCDAVID_Level_3_Knee_Brace_w_PSII_hinges_cross_straps.aspx

Day 45: How to lose 8lbs in 2 Days

Well, it's day 45, and things still REALLY suck.

The funny thing is, I'm losing weight, and I haven't walked a bit!

My Week 4 goal was 299lbs; I weighed in at 300lbs

My Week 5 goal was 298lbs; I weighed in at 298lbs

My week 6 goal was 297lbs; I weighed in at 290lbs (more on that later).

The foot and knee pain I've been experiencing had barely abated, and I made an appointment with a foot and knee specialist, but of course, I had to wait more than 2 weeks to get in to see her.

I'd been wearing Dr Scholl's gel inserts.  I put Active Series inserts in my walking shoes:

http://www.drscholls.com/Products/ActiveSeriesInsoles

They helped, but the biggest size they come in is 10-13, and I wear 14s.  I can feel the end of the insole with the balls of my toes.  It feels weird, and I wonder about blisters if I ever get to the point where I'm doing some miles again.

I put Extra Support insoles in my work shoes, primarily because they come in a size 14.

http://www.drscholls.com/Products/MassagingGelExtraSupportInsoles

I could immediately feel a difference for the better with both insoles.  My plantar fasciitis(heel) pain decreased almost immediately, but the ball-of-foot pain actually got worse.  I added additional gel ball-of-foot pads, and Pain Relief Orthotics for the ball of foot:

http://www.drscholls.com/Products/BallofFootOrthotics#tab-link1

Nothing helped.  The pain kept increasing, and I could feel the swelling between the bones of my third and fourth toes in the ball of my foot all the time.  It hurt!!!

I decided to try some New Balance insoles:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00513IFJO/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These have excellent arch support that feels great, and the heel is heavily cushioned.  The ball-of-foot pain began to decrease immediately, but the plantar fasciitis pain increased!  While I waited for the Dr's appointment, I decided to stick with these until the ball-of-foot pain had been gone for at least a week, then switch back to the Dr. Scholl's inserts in the hope that they'd cure the plantar fasciitis pain, and hopefully, the ball-of-foot pain wouldn't come back.  It ain't scientific, but if one pair of inserts make the heels feel better, and the other makes the balls of my feet feel better, this plan makes sense.  I'm right at the point where I'm ready to make that switch.

The knees are what really have me worried.  I've done a ton of research, and I'm convinced my problems are torn meniscus in both knees, with the left being the worst.  There's very little bloodflow to the meniscus, so tears don't heal.  I've been wearing my McDavid Level III Knee Braces a lot:

http://www.mcdavidusa.com/Product/429R/MCDAVID_Level_3_Knee_Brace_w_PSII_hinges.aspx

My left knee is worse, but I've been feeling twinges in the right knee, too, and want to make sure nothing happens to it, so I wear them on both knees.  My left knee not only hurts more, but it also feels unstable frequently, and has "given out" a time, or two.  Putting the brace on not only takes the pain away, it makes the knee feel stable as well.

So, the appointment with the knee and foot specialist was this past Wednesday, and of course, I got food poisoning the night before.  It was HORRIBLE!  I couldn't eat, or drink anything for two days.  Just thinking about it sent me racing to the bathroom for another round of hurling.  I was going to try and make the appointment, anyway, but I got in the car to go, turned the key, and the Goddamned battery was dead!

So, my week 6 weigh in, where I'd gone from 298 to 290lbs, is probably a bit misleading, as it took place on my 2nd day of no food, no fluids, and constant vomiting and other things.  I was dehydrated, and I'm sure almost, if not all of that weight loss was due to that dehydration.

I'm going to call and make another appointment on Monday, but I'm sure it'll be another couple of weeks before I can get in to see her.

Oh, well ....................

Meanwhile, Lily still isn't getting her walks, and that breaks my heart.

Day 27: And The Hits Just Keep On Comin'

OK, so I did my Week 3 weigh-in on Day 22.  Back up to 305.  I'm not upset; I haven't been walking, so of course, there's no weight loss.

The pain in my feet and in my left knee have persisted, despite the fact that I've not only quit my daily walks, I'm also minimizing the steps I take everywhere else in my life.

I've been doing a lot of research, and I'm pretty sure I have a tear in the meniscus of my left knee.  I'm going to make an appointment with a knee and foot specialist later today.

Sucks.  Just sucks.