Ok peeps... I need help here. I just came from a foot doctor because I have been having pain in my feet in the mornings for about 8 months now. I developed a pain in my left heel about three weeks ago that wont go away no matter what I do. I finally gave in and went to the doctor about it. Its plantar fasciitis. DAMN. I am now on prednisone for two weeks and then four more weeks of an anti inflamatory. My surgeon gave his blessing on these meds. I am going to gain weight! Its a steroid! What am I going to do???

Has anyone had to take this medicine post op and what happened? Did you gain, stay the same or loose normally? I am totally freaked out. He did say I can keep doing aerobics though. He also said I got this condition from being overweight, on my feet lot and wearing flipflops or no shoes at home. I cant wear them anymore or go barefeet. I cant win for loosing... I am so upset! Someone please tell me I am not going to gain all my weight back with these damn steroids! If my foot didnt hurt so bad and I could walk right without taking them, I would!

I don't have that condition but steroids (for ulcerative colitis) is wgat made me gain 60lbs in less than two mos in the first place and effected my metabolism to slow down :0( good luck to u guys . I hate hate hate prednisone!!!! :0/

The trick to the stretches is to start off easy and gradually challenge yourself to stretch longer and deeper. Don't do it till it hurts, you don't want to do damage to yourself. But you must stretch often. When I was very bad, I was getting up every hour and stretching that leg and also changing over to the other leg for the sake of balance. I found a reasonable description here:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4479663_do-lunge-stretches.html

The foot stretches are good, but don't forget that the foot tendons and muscles got tight because the back of your leg muscles were tight first. Be sure to stretch all the way up. I did it several times a day, so they would remain stretched. It only takes a few minutes, so it's not difficult to do. I'd actually do it while I worked. If you keep doing this, you may find some relief within 2 weeks, but remember, the plantar faciitis will take a little time to heal. Staying stretched and wearing good shoes just helps it from reoccurring.

Check out the hamstring stretch (very important) http://www.halhigdon.com/15Ktraining/Stretch.htm

http://www.halhigdon.com/15Ktraining/Stretch.htm

These work! Just remember it may take some time.

I work for a podiatrist. I can tell you that 90% of our patients have APF- Acute Plantar Fascitis. Depending on the severity when they get to us they may or may not start with Steroids- it is a LOW DOSE pack normally 4-5 mg pack for 6-7 days. NOTHING MAJOR... IT is to help reduce the inflammation so the anti inflammatory can do it's job. We also dispense stretching exercises REGARDLESS of whether you have had meds or not and dispense a night splint for stretching when at rest. The best organic thing to do is take a frozen Water bottle and roll your foot over it not only does it releive pain but it also is stretching at the same time. Most people get relief with the meds and stretching but often times an injection is needed as well as orthotics. Your podiatrist will most likely reccomend custom orthotics which most insurance companies DO NOT cover. We sell a very high quality over the counter orthotic called Power Steps. I personally swear by them- I personally have them in all of my shoes as does my husband and inlaws. THey retail for about 40 bucks. YOu can also use biofreeze or Cryo therapy to help. NONE Of this treatment will interfere with your surgery even if you have to have the injections of cortisone. Just to let you know... Hope this helps...

You can find a local person that sells the Powersteps and BIofreeze by googling them and looking for a local retailer near you... GOod luck!

Thanks so much!

Again, to reiterate what I said above, the ASTYM treatment was a godsend. Have your Podiatrist prescribe a few physical therapy sessions with someone certified for ASTYM. Google it. Check it out. It did wonders for me. Yes, I still had to do the stretching, but it made it so much more productive. And yes, the shoes. Running shoes are good to use for when you are working out and whatnot, but for day to day walking around, check out the MBT series. They are god awful expensive, so if that doesn't work for you, Sketchers makes a similar line. The ones with the rounded bottoms. It keeps your foot from over stretching when you walk.

Again, to reiterate what I said above, the ASTYM treatment was a godsend. Have your Podiatrist prescribe a few physical therapy sessions with someone certified for ASTYM. Google it. Check it out. It did wonders for me. Yes, I still had to do the stretching, but it made it so much more productive. And yes, the shoes. Running shoes are good to use for when you are working out and whatnot, but for day to day walking around, check out the MBT series. They are god awful expensive, so if that doesn't work for you, Sketchers makes a similar line. The ones with the rounded bottoms. It keeps your foot from over stretching when you walk.

My doctor said I need new crosstrainers. I am buying some tomorrow. I am also getting orthotics for my shoes. I cant afford to have them made custom right now (was self pay for surgery in Texas) so I will get the already made ones for now. I am doing the stretches and I will check out the ASTYM treatment! Thanks for all your guidance through this painful thing they call PF. Tammi

I had bad plantar fascitis at one point and was able to cure it with the stretches, and never going barefoot or wearing flats for a period of time. I think all the non-drug remedies people have spoken of here are excellent. If I were in your shoes (haha), I'd do all of them! It may have taken several months for mine to go completely away. I think prednisone is a very heavy drug and should be avoided if possible. I had to take it after a thyroid procedure and it totally screwed me up. Granted, I was probably taking higher doses than you are talking about. Nevertheless, I gained weight, became severely depressed after going off the prednisone, and developed early cataracts because of it.

Does it eventually go away with weightloss?

Once when I was thin and a gym-rat, I had a personal trainer I worked out with for a year. He was young, buff and in incredible shape. (I found looking at eye-candy motivated me to exercise.) Anyway, he had plantar fasciitis. If he can get it, I think it could happen to anyone. Although like all musclo-skeletal issues, it probably will get better if a heavy person who has it loses weight.