Here is the best treatment for plantar fascitis, freeze a soup can, and while wearing socks roll your foot over the can, lightly stretching the ankles at top and bottom of the movement.

Now for the junkie part of this post.

We are not junkies nor addicted, we are dependent on our pain meds to sustain a certain quality of life.

Doug/Ouch

Sorry to hear your feet are flaring, & oh do I understand your frustration! B4 I offer suggestions, maybe I should ask you what you have done for this so far?

Everything. Including the frozen soup can thing, except I used a water bottle. I have taped, had three different orthotics before the ones I got at the good feet store. They worked fine until the type of shoe I needed was no longer made!!! I have spent thousands on more shoes and nothing works any more. Yoga, Physical therapy. Sometimes I just have to do almost nothing for a while, but that sure is a bore. The doctors around here are very stingy with pain meds. You practically have to show up with your arm half cut off to get anything.

Have you tried night splints? They stretch out your feet all night.

Have you had steroid injections? Has anyone talked about surgery with you?

I would say - be honest with your doctors about your pain, and make sure they know how it is affecting your daily life. Make sure they know, even if you have to bring a list with you, all the things you have tried before. And if they aren't willing to prescribe narcotics, push for NSAIDs, ask about doing a steroid taper. There are other meds that can help you that they may be more willing to prescribe. So often the conversation just ends at, "No narcotics." rather than, "Let's see what else can help you."

Ah, yes. I too am on the quest for the holy shoe...they discontinued mine & I haven't found a replacement. And yes, the docs are scared to prescribe strong pain meds. The "war on drugs" has turned into "the war on patients." Anyway...One overlooked cause of plantar fasciitis is trigger points in your foot. I've been through every treatment you've mentioned & more, B4 finding out about MPS & trigger points. What helps me, is to warm the feet up first, then roll a hard rubber ball, (about the size you find on a paddle ball), underneath your foot. When you hit a sore spot, (trigger point) gently work the ball back & forth (no more than about 30 seconds) on each sore spot. If an area is really tender, be extra gentle & don't work on it very long. After you've worked all the trigger points, stretch your foot. Over time you should notice some improvement. If you can tolerate a night splint, as celticfif mentioned, that would help also. Perhaps you've already done this in PT, but since it wasn't mentioned, I thought I'd throw it out there.

Thanks, peeps! I have tried everything but the night splints and the trigger point stuff. I will definitely give the triggrt point stuff a go. I would not be opposed to trying the night splints, however since I teach and or practice Yoga every day I think having tightness in the back of my ankle is not the problem. I also ride English so my heel is jammed down in a stirrup a lot.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Sure hope we can find that holy shoe again Crow!

I don't know what this is, but I hope you find relief for it.

check out cold laser therapy. alot of chiropractors know about it. check your phone book for doctors who utilize it..also, i use foam orthotics..they are awesome! and boy do they work..better yet, they are very comfortable. so do the google search on the cold laser treatment. i hear it works very well. lots of luck. i hope u feel better.

Hi beiceth,
I am 39 and I have lived the same pain you live now!! I have tired the shots in the feet. They worked for about 4 weeks and caused me to swell.
I am the one that has spent days in bed with ice packs on the bottom of my feet to help the swelling. My feet stayed sore from the ripping and stiff. I went through a pair of shoes every three months.
All this to tell you that I bought a pair of Z-coil shoes a month ago and with in 2 days of wearing them I have no pain, no swelling, and I can walk all day without pain!!! Before I could not walk in the house with out resting my feet every few min.

hi i've had planters feet i did get the steriod shots in bothfeet the first 48 hours very painfull but i'm very glad i had it done! i have other major feet issues but for the planters feet the cortizone shots worked great for me!!i hope you find relief some way
flutterbug

Quest for the holy shoe...haha, don't mean to laugh, but my mom was on this quest my entire life. If she ever found one that didn't hurt, she bought them in all the colors. I prefer birkies myself, just wish they were not so ugly.

I have serious health problems...but my feet are my Pain Pain...I have the planters fasciitis...Morton's neuroma in both feet. I also have RA in all my toes especially the first joint of the big toe. All I know is thank you for this thread. It is so hard to make family understand how bad this is.

I have had the shots and am begging for them now. The V.A. has me set up to see the podiatrist in 3 days or less...pray is less. My husband looked at m like I was crazy when I want to go through Triage for my feet.

I am going to try the ice bottle and the trigger points. I hope they can get me till I see the doc's. Has anyone ere had surgery for these problems???Please PM me I am desperate.

i wish i had the answer to the pain meds, my doctors are the stingiest, i just had the doctors office call and say they called me in a prescription for flexerail and that it is for 1 tablet three times a day, then the nurse said the doctor thinks that is too much? then why did he prescribe it that way duh, what in the world is going on, if he thinks it is too much then dont write it that way.

Come check out the neuropathy group...
http://dailystrength.org/groups/neuropathy