Part 1 and Part 2. I know personally I don’t have an attention span to read more than 500 words at a time with no photos…but what do you want…a photo of my feet?
So for close to a week, I begged people on twitter if anyone had had similar results of a cortisone shot. If it had not worked for them, or made their muscle worse (it can be given at multiple places in the body for multiple reasons).
To my surprise so many people were very against cortisone. Out of the 20 people that gave me responses, I had two say cortisone was a good idea at that point. I got so many rude comments about how cortisone is not the answer; let it heal naturally…blah blah blah. It was hard for me to say that cortisone was my final choice before getting invasive surgery. Why would the doctor recommend a shot that wouldn’t work? Why would my doctor point me in the wrong direction? So for that week in mid October, I was back to crutches.
Then all of a sudden, It went back to the normal pain tolerance that it had been preshot. I could live with that. Then two days later, I noticed it was slightly better then the previous day. Every night I prayed to the high heavens that my foot would slightly get better. Enough that I could walk briskly without feeling my muscle. Not run. Not walk for more then 10 feet. But walk quickly.
Then it was getting a little better. Slowly the pain was going away. Slowly but surely it felt like my cyst was going away. (I still was only in week 6 of my bone break healing though).
The following week, my doctor told me I could go for a very short run. A 1 mile run. A glorious 1 mile run. Although it didn’t feel great by any means, or even good…it was 1 mile. My fascia immediately locked up afterwards and I thought…could I have done too much too soon? A mile in 8 weeks, was that too much?
So I took a couple more days off and my fascia seemed to have loosened back up. I went back to my doctor who took more x rays and said I could begin running as a hobby runner (not as a 90 mile athlete but hobby runner…LOL…he himself has a very good reputation up here with runners.). My plantar fasica was still extremely tight and it was making me uncomfortable to run on. I honestly felt like I was heading in the same direction as the beginning of all my injuries back in September.
It was the worst feeling imaginable; thinking after all I had been through…my injury was coming back. My cyst was like a small minion growing and becoming more controlling everyday. Growing and growing and growing. My bone was bruising and I had thought another fracture was immediate. One day in that time frame I had a complete meltdown again that it was like déjà vu two months before…Goodie…
I rushed into scheduling another deep tissue massage. I knew it was another 80 dollars down the tubes but I was hoping it would be worth it. I took three days off from running after my deep tissue massage and it seemed everything was going really well. My muscle, although tight was cooperating. I had logged my first 30 mile week without too many issues.
And that is where I am now. Logging my second 30 some mile week without any serious issues. My muscle is a little bit tight in my foot and My cyst is not guaranteed to stay away. It could come back at anytime and at any moment. My biggest fear is that it will come back. Or that I’ll continuously have to pay 80 dollars weekly or bimonthly (something I cannot afford).
So that is where I’m at. Not every day is a perfect pain free run, but I have not had any painful runs either. I’m hoping this is just the beginning of getting back into running but I can’t tell you that for sure and don’t want to jynx it.
Thanks for reading friends.
This is yet another super honest post. It really is terrifying so I’m glad you’re sharing your story with others. It makes us all stronger. I wouldn’t listen to other people criticizing you about cortisone. You did what was best for your body and what works for you isn’t necessarily what works for someone else. You’re finally doing what you have been waiting to do for two months! That’s huge and you should be super proud of it, girl! And even though you’re not racing today, you are running and that is awesome 🙂
Thanks girly! It’s so nice to be somewhat back in the game! 😉
It must be nerve-wracking to have to constantly deal with that black cloud of ‘will it come back?!’ hanging over your head, but it’s great to hear that you’ve been having pain-free runs and I really hope that that continues to be the case to that you can go on to do more of what you love 😀
So honest and so real, Hollie–snaps to you. 😉 Even though it’s been a long road, it’s great that your listened to your body and are currently building your mileage back up. You know what they say: “If it were easy, then everyone would do it.”
Thanks that means a lot! And so true-that is what I constantly tell myself with running.
You have been through so much with this and I’m glad you’re coming out the other end! Good luck lady! <3
hey it takes time and I think you needed to find what worked for you. haters gonna hate no matter what, I would have done the same thing. any kind of answer is something that people would want to try. no one can deny that at all.
Good luck with everything. I’m glad that you’re able to run even a fraction of what you could before. Hang in there!
Wow i knew you were in pain because of the shot but I didnt think you were on crutches!! That must have been awful 🙁 So happy to hear you are getting your mileage back up. Slow and steady always wins.
Massages are SOOO good for the body, but soo damn expensive. I was getting them weekly up until a couple weeks ago. I had my insurance pay for them and all I had was a copay..but I don’t have that insurance anymore and my back is constantly killlllinggg mee. I have to foam roll it all the time. Keep praying and taking things slow, you are already making great progress!!
Seriously. I wish they were much cheaper but as is life I guess. My insurance won’t cover them (rude).
I was going for deep tissue massage too a few months back to deal with an annoying discomfort near my butt and it really worked. I know you have/had a much more serious injury but maybe doing one once a month for a few months will be beneficial although it the cost does suck. so happy you’re logging the miles and it hasn’t come back yet. Also, another HUGE congrats on your race today…so happy for you!!! 🙂
What if I said I DO want to see a picture of your foot? Haha, I don’t. Wow, girl, I hope you can keep these issues at bay. It is really unbelievable how long injuries can have runners sidelined. I’m sending you all my best thoughts!! I’m glad you wrote this little series, it helped me cope with my own issues.
I can understand why you would get such strong responses to cortisone because for a decent number of cases, it is only a temporary fix. I have had similar experiences with cortisone shots. I have a Morton’s Neuroma in between my 3rd and 4th metatarsals. It isn’t fun and causes a lot of pain. I’ve had to have cortisone shots twice (once each year for the past two years). When I had my last one, I was already on crutches for a week and a half beforehand, then afterwards I had a similar experience, I thought that I was never going to be able to walk without feeling like my bones were about to break. I was on crutches for another week to week an a half afterwards. I was terrified that I would be on crutches for graduation, but luckily, one day I woke up and suddenly I felt better. That being said, my experience with cortisone shots has shown that you feel worse before you feel better when you have them.
I can only imagine what it’s like to have that dark cloud of worry and fear over your head every time you run, but you’re taking the best attitude possible towards the entire situation. Every person’s injuries and treatments are different, and people shouldn’t feel the need to give their two cents on cortisol or any other treatment you’re doing. It’s what works best for YOU.
I am so sorry for all you are going through. I can tell how much you love running. But I love your attitude. Keep staying hopeful girl and have faith that all will work out. You are amazingly strong and I really believe that you will come out of this better for all of the struggles
It’s crazy how many people are against cortisone!! Even my Physical Therapist gave me a hard time about getting my first epidural, he told me that it just covers up the problem and that it increased the likelihood of re-injuring myself. And when you are injured you REALLY don’t need anyone giving you anymore s!%#. Hearing that you are running without any serious pain is wonderful Hollie!!! I can’t wait to witness your comeback to running 🙂
Oye, I’m glad you are able to run again, just think of it as you are still running 30 miles which a lot of people don’t and now you just have a few extra hours to be awesome at other things! Win winnn
I had a crappy experience with my cordizone shot. I had a boot for nearly 2 months and my shot only worked for 2 weeks. It was bad.
What did you do that worked? I have heard a lot of people that also said it wore off in twoish weeks-months.
Basically I just wore supportive shoes (about 98% of the time). I love to just walk barefoot around my house which I think helped too. Rest. I did alot of stretching on the stairs to loosen up my calf. They recommended PT but I wasn’t really a fan of that. I’m still having some minor issues related to it but until this week I really had NO time to go to PT with Nikki’s wedding and babysitting the puppy!
Yeah I cannot imagine. So do you not walk barefoot at all now? (Sorry for the questions-you can email me at lolzthatswim@gmail.com) if you want! I’d love to chat more!
Um, I do around the house but I’ve been resting alot. I’m also a big fan of my Reef flip flops if I’m gonna wear shoes in the house (No-no in my parents house). They give support and mold to my feet so i feel comfortable