19 months ago, I was at a concert with my boyfriend. Of course, I was wearing high-heeled pointy toed boots. We walked home after the concert and throughout the next few days, I noticed that the ball of my right foot and a few of my toes seemed numb. Months later, the numbness was still there, so I went to see my regular doctor, who tried cortisone injections which did nothing to relieve the numbness. He referred me to a podiatrist who said I needed some really expensive orthodic inserts for my shoes.

I spent money on the inserts, only to have them make no difference. I was basically told that if I wasn’t experiencing pain, I should just be grateful and learn to deal with it. About 3 months ago, I started experiencing pain (after standing during an open house for a long period of time) in the same foot and area. The pain is really annoying, but I have been trying to not let it slow me down.

I was playing softball 3 weeks ago and bruised some bones in my left foot. I think that all of the favoring of my right foot has intensified the pain tremendously, and my physician said I should see the podiatrist who often comes to our facility (I work at a hospital). Guess who the visiting physician is? The same podiatrist I saw before who told me I’d have to deal with it! I’m a little leary about seeing him again, but unfortunately, he is the only podiatrist my insurance company covers.

My physician thinks I may have a neuroma and I have to make an appointment soon - just waiting for my other foot to heal first. My physician also did express that if I needed to have surgery, I should decide if my pain is really worth going through the pain and recovery that this surgery would cause. I can’t afford to miss that much work, and of course this would be on my driving foot so I am worried that I wont be able to drive to work for quite some time. I don’t want to put others out and have to get rides everywhere. Can anyone tell me a bit more about their recovery from the surgery and how long it took to get back on their feet and back to normal?