I’m still battling it.
Here’s where I am now.
My foot was very slowly starting to bother me again. I had been completely pain free for about 6 weeks because of the MBT’s and the zymessence. But now I’m back to square one because the pain came back.
When the pain came back, I switched to Vitalzym. But that didn’t make a difference. It worked the same as Zymessence.
As it turns out, I think my problem was my MBT’s. I had been wearing them since around November. The same ugly pair of white unisex shoes. I think my MBT’s had lost their firmness and were becoming too flexible for my injury.
So, I went out and bought a 2nd pair of MBT’s some that were on sale for $150 rather than the original 250. BIG MISTAKE! The 150 dollar shoes had a high pivot point of 1.5 inches. That extra .5 inch was painful to walk on. This is why I think the shoes were on sale. They were also too narrow. And even though I have narrow feet, the narrowness was a problem.
When I walk, without pain, I tend to walk from the outside of my heel and roll forward to the outside of my forefoot and then on to the ball of my foot. With the narrower MBT’s I was walking exactly this way. Well, this caused a slight bend between toes 3 and 4 where the neuroma is. (Big toe is 1.) The extra bending there was aggravating the situation. I was so upset yesterday I was beside my self with frustration. The other thing the 1.5 inch shoe did was cause a humongous blister on the heel of my foot. It was more painful that the neuroma simply because it was constant. I was walking like a 90 year old lady.
Anyway, my husband said forget the money and go and get you another pair of mbt’s. Then he asked can I get a refund on the other pair. The answer was no. So what, he says, go and get another pair of mbt’s. In fact, get two pairs. Get you a pair of sandals too. And that’s what I did. Instant relief. 
My heel no longer hurts and the sandals are stiff and won’t let me roll off the side of the shoe. When I walk on the outside of the heel, the shoe rocks me back to the ball of my foot immediately. Now, the second pair I purchased are just like my ugly white pair, but they are black this time. I know they’ll work for at least 4 months.
It’s expensive and I am a Payless kind of person. I hate to spend this kind of money on shoes. But this is a medical necessity. MBT’s are allowing me to walk without pain until I decide whether or not I want surgery.
And now that I know the Vitalzym is the same as the zymessence, I’ll probably switch back and forth between the two. Hopefully that will work.
2 responses so far ↓
Sarah Jo Alban // May 2, 2009 at 2:34 am |
Don’t know if you’ve tried any injections into the neuroma, but I got a Cortisone shot last week and have been relieved since then. Only downside is the relief might not last longer than a few weeks, and the fat-pad atrophies a little bit.
But how I despise those unisex white shoes too!
Geo // October 7, 2009 at 6:53 am |
OMG. i work i a cold storage warehouse 8-12 hours a day, sometimes 7 days a week. on my feet ALL day, and on top of it, we have a labor standard we have to meet.
i have arthritis, plantar fasciaitis, both heels have spurs, and a neuroma between 3-4 on my left foot.
2 cortisone shots for the MN (4 weeks apart) later, and one for the heel spur, and back to square one. unbearable to the point of my foot doctor getting me qualified for fmla at work.
anyways, bought a pair of MBTs today after test driving them. the mens MBT sport. i’ve been thru 3 pairs of mens new balance 926 walking shoes, countless insoles (mainly the new balance arch supports, pressure reliefs and so on…in every combination). at one point, i was even wearing NO insole and that was helping the pain.
we’ll see how the MBT’s help me. i walk a lot at work, and some days have to do a lot of up and down off of a standing hi lift too. we shall see if the 250 was worth it.