Definitive answers

If I was hoping to go and see the doctor yesterday and get definitive answers on what was wrong with my foot, then I was sadly mistaken. He scratched his chin a lot, disregarded bursitis of the second metatarsal because he had never heard of it before (which surprised me with his extensive list of credentials) and also was unable to open the MRI scan on the CD, however, after much deliberation he decided a cortisone injection into the joint of the second met was the best option as this would help any inflammation in the joint and all surrounding tissues (which includes the bursa).

It was a dull sort of ache as he injected it but it wasn't too bad. He told me if this doesn't work within a week I should go for an X-Ray, if it works but then I get a relapse within 3 weeks I'm to go back and get a second injection, as, due to the very small area that needed cortisone, he was limited to how much he could administer and therefore I may need a little bit more.

As I drove home, the pain got worse and worse, and by the time I got home my toe was very sore and I felt like I was walking on a big hard lump under the joint of the second metatarsal. I saw this as a good sign though, because it was like being reinjured again and it gave me confidence he had hit the right spot.

I'll admit I was narked though... why couldn't he agree it was definitely bursitis? I feel like I've seen 3 people now with 3 differing opinions. I had mentioned it felt exactly like the previous times I'd had the condition but he seemed to think that after 8 months it would have resolved itself. Well, we shall just have to wait and see I suppose!

I emailed Tim this morning and told him what happened. He said even if it feels absolutely brilliant I'm not to do anything whatsoever for 10 days. I'm happy with that... 10 days is nothing compared to the months I've had trying to sort it out. As the day has progressed my foot has felt a lot better. My toe still hurts but the thick hard pad 'feeling' on the sole of my foot seems to be diminishing.

I'm actually becoming excited at the possibilty of running again. I had a nervous outlook about it a week ago, but now I can't wait to get going. Graeme and his brother (both recently vegan) keep telling me that they feel amazing while running and doing other exercise because they feel less sluggish and feel like they have more energy. I'm dying to see if I notice any differences. I have to be honest and say that day to day I don't feel any more energetic, however when you do nothing at all you don't have any opportunity to feel energetic do you? The only thing I can go on is when I was able to do the hill climbing machine at the gym. In a very short space of time I felt like I'd had a jump in fitness... unfortunately this was short lived only because I had to stop putting weight through my foot and could no longer do the exercise. I'd been vegan 28 days when that 'jump in fitness feeling' happened, so you never know!