4/26/14. The post where I try a short-term solution.

4/26/14: woke up in the 5.5-6 range again, which was fortunate because there were a lot of chores on the agenda today.  We were whirlwinds of activity and knocked out a bunch of things that had been on the to-do list for way too long.  We even put my bicycle on the trainer so I can use it inside as an exercise/PT bike.  It was really nice to ride my very own bike again, even if it was only for a few minutes while my patient, long-suffering husband adjusted the trainer.  

I also took a slow walk around our block to see if it would be a feasible do-it-yourself PT option.  When both your street and your neighborhood have the word "hill" in their names, finding a flat surface for walks is no easy task, but my house happens to be on the only flat block in the neighborhood.  One round trip didn't feel too bad, but one was definitely enough.

At my last appointment, my doctor had a few ideas that he thought might give me some short-term relief while I consider the longer-term option he recommended.  (Sorry I'm still being mysterious about the long-term recommendation.  I figure there's no point going into detail about it until I'm sure I want to do it.)  One of the short-term options was a prescription for a cream to rub on my foot.  I've tried several over-the-counter analgesic creams with zero success, so I was skeptical, but I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a try.  It is a compound of several medications, so it had to be ordered from a pharmacy in another city and it arrived in the mail today.

I decided to try it this afternoon.  I was hoping it would be magical fairy dust that would give me total relief, but expecting it to be a total bust.  The truth was somewhere in between.  For about 30 minutes, I couldn't feel any difference.  Then I felt some improvement for about an hour.  Then my foot turned bright red and felt significantly worse for about 15 minutes.  Then, it was back to normal.  And by "normal", I mean the way it felt before I applied the cream.  

While I wouldn't exactly call it a success, it was promising enough that I intend to try it again tonight.  I used the minimum recommended amount the first time, so I'll use a little more tonight.  I can use it up to four times a day, so I'll give it a fair shot tomorrow and sees how it goes.  Who knows, maybe there's a little fairy dust in that bottle somewhere.