Living with Foot Pain

I went to my regular doctor and told her I was having terrible swelling and pain in the front part of my foot and pad. She sent me to the rheumatologist and I didn’t have arthritis. Then I went to a podiatrist and they took xrays come to find out I had two bone spurs. We we talked a little about my options, one being a boot and the other being surgery. I asked him how much was it going to hurt and he used is fingers and showed me about half an inch as pain scale the showed me an inch after pain scale.

Dummy that I was I said just do the surgery and get it done. I ride motorcycles and it was fall going into winter and well it will be healed by then. I am clumsy already and I told him, I can’t do crutches, etc. So I went and had the surgery. I was bed ridden for a month and then tried walking little by little. I go to my first preop appt. and he takes a look at and says I am doing to much and the fusion is not taking. I need to stay off it. I am a 43 year old woman who works. I took two months of work. Well after the surgery and the doctor yelling at me. I fell trying to go down a stair. I ended up in a cast. I fell down and ended up in emergency. They acted like I was a drug addict but little did they know my leg was swelling so bad, the cast had to be cut.

I talked to my original podiatrist the next day and he yelled at me about all I had to do was put it up. No one told me this. So they put another cast on it. I fell again. Once again, I get yelled at. I went to my regular doctor and explained I did not like him and could we see if I could get a second opinion. She sent me to someone else who took xrays and looked at my original xrays and told me I didn’t have to have to surgery. The problem I now have is the fusion of the joint is too high. It is putting all the weight bearing on the middle toe and it is making the side of my foot and ankle swell whenever I walk for 10 minutes or more. Now the new podiatrist wants me to try inserts in my shoes. How am I going to do that when I can’t get a shoe on my foot? He took pictures and I can’t put my big toe down for the life of me. I don’t think this is going to fix it. How could it. I am terrified of surgery again. This time I would get a non weight bearing cast. This sound to me like another 2-3 months off work. This has been the worse experience in my life and I have had cancer, complete hysterectomy after losing a child, and a spleenoctomy. If I knew what I was getting into, I NEVER WOULD HAVE DONE IT. Now my delimma is what do I do?