Yesterday I went to see the doctor about my foot. I'm very glad I did. The doctor's office was a model of efficiency.
We arrived at 3:45 for our 4:00 appointment and as Kevin was talking to the receptionist I thought "this is an awfully long conversation." Then I heard the words "später" which I know means later, and I thought oh great, we've misunderstood the appointment and are too late. Then I heard "achtzehn" which means 18, or actually 18:00 which is 6:00. There was some more discussion, and siebzehn (17) was brought up and agreed upon. Then Kevin filled me in. We were 2 hours early. Our appointment was for 6:00, not 4. Fortunately they were able to switch me to an appointment at 5:00, so we only had an hour to kill. Oh well, better 2 hours early than 2 hours late!
We walked down the street and found a coffee shop with indoor seating so we spent the hour drinking hot chocolate. When we returned to the office everything was fine. Kevin filled out some paperwork and we waited a little bit. When I finally got a room, the nurse didn't speak English, so it was a little tricky explaining the problem. The doctor spoke English, however, (which was why we chose him) so that was easy. We had a brief chat where I pointed out where it hurt and he thought it might be a heel spur (an extra growth of bone--yikes!). He wanted an x-ray, which they did in the office a few minutes later.
When I saw the doctor again, he said there was no heel spur (whew!) and I did indeed have Plantar Fasciitis. He decided I needed some custom insoles and a 5 day course of an anti-inflammatory (Vioxx). Then a nurse came in holding two cardboard boxes full of foam. I stepped down into the box to take an impression of my feet (both feet get the insoles) and then they informed me I could pick them up a week from Monday. It was that easy!
So hopefully once I start getting some good support for my feet I'll be back in total action. I still want to get a pair of Birkenstocks this weekend, even though it might still be too cold for them. I'll see what they have to offer. I've wanted Birks for a long time.
Posted by Shelby at March 19, 2004 02:24 PMSo glad that you were able to get a diagnosis and treatment so easily! I was told to get those insoles as well, but my insurance didn't cover them and I didn't have $800 in order to buy them myself. Easy Spirits seem to work for me in the meantime and Birkenstocks feel absolutely glorious as well. I'd definitely recommend getting a good pair of those, especially in Germany!
Posted by: Annastazia at March 20, 2004 12:31 AMOuch! Plantar fasciitis is painful! I had problems with it for a while but wearing Birkenstocks actually made the pain go away completely. And I've never been bothered with it again.
Posted by: suzi at March 20, 2004 07:33 AM