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Has anyone with long term PF ever got rid of it?

Posted , 7 users are following.

jack1996
jack1996

I've had what most doctors say is Plantar Fasciitis for just under 2 years now and tried everything but surgery (I think). After 3 years of "rest" with Osgood-Schlatters at 13-16, at 18 it seems like somebody's out to keep me away from sports. I used to play for Everton academy too so having 5 years out of football as a teenager is quite a pain in the backside. Anyway, has anybody on here had PF for say, over a year, and managed to get rid of it? I've not seem many positive posts about, just doom and glood.

Thanks for any replies in advance

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • beckymay
    beckymay jack1996

    Posted

    Hi,

    Yes I managed it last year. I was advised to take ibuprofen and wear different height heeled foot wear each day and wear gel inserts in shoes for a month. Then also flex my calf muscles regularly and lastly rub ibuprofen gel on my foot at night and cover with a sock. I'd tried everything else and was at my wits end when a local pharmacist told me this is what she'd done. It took 6 weeks and now I've been pain free for months. Good luck! 

    • jack1996
      jack1996 beckymay

      Posted

      That's strange and wonderful haha, glad you're pain free. Thanks!
  • craftymammy
    craftymammy jack1996

    Posted

    Hi Jack, I am new to PF (Nov 2014) my GP told me it could last up a year. I hope to God it goes before that but to think it may go on for longer would be awful.   I am an old bod you seem a young fellow I do wish you well and hope it leaves you as fast as it came,
    • jack1996
      jack1996 craftymammy

      Posted

      If there's any advice I have for you then it's stay as flexible as physically possible and take action as soon as possible. Mine has gotten worse as it's gone on, but apart from college all I do is sit down because of it. The quicker you act upon it the better I think. Hope you get some relief.
    • craftymammy
      craftymammy jack1996

      Posted

      Thanks for your advise. I am hoping the vibrapower disc machine helps. I am trying to keep active but like you said it is not always possible because  of the pain. Good luck to you
  • lianne1981
    lianne1981 jack1996

    Posted

    Sorry my reply is going to be a negative one I am afraid. I was first diagnosed with PF in March 2012. I have had time off work, insoles bought & made for me. I have special shoes which cost me a small fortune, countless amount of steroid injections, some under ultra-sound & my last treatment back in May last year was having both my calf muscles released. ( not a pleasant operation ). 

    I saw my consultant in November & he suggested having shock wave therapy since the operation only made a slight difference to the left foot. I was refused this earlier last year due to it not being available on the nhs. Visited my doctor the beginning of December to be informed that it is no longer available on the nhs. 

    So now I am waiting to see my consultant again regarding having the plantar facia released.

    Really hope you can find something that helps you. It's been nearly three years of agony which only a PF sufferer will understand

  • ladyjack51
    ladyjack51 jack1996

    Posted

    Hi jack1996,

    Like you, I've read all the posts and even tho I'm trying to absorb info I usually get pretty depressed after reading them all.  All I can tell you is I've had PF for almost 2 yrs and at one  point it even had me bedridden bc i could not put any pressure on that heel for a few months. But in Sept I was rushed to the hospital bc I couldn't breath. I had learned to be living with a very low level of oxygen in my blood and lungs (72 pulse ox) and was diagnosed with COPD and put on oxygen 24/7. I was admitted for 6 days and mostly in the bed getting oxygen that whole time. That foot and heel began getting oxygen in the tissues and when released I noticed the intensity of pain in that heel was much lower. Since Sept my blood oxygen has stayed around 92 with medicine and my heel got better and better. So today....I still feel like a rock is in my heel if I try to go barefoot but it's almost gone when wearing a padded house shoe or slipper and some shoes. I have not been able to wear a matching pair of shoes for nearly 2 years and today I wore some matching indoor/outdoor slippers to the dr. Thats huge progress for me and I thank God. So I'm say all this to tell you it can get better and it can hopefully go away. Anything is possible with God Jack. I just know that soon mine will be all gone but I won't make the mistake of going barefoot anymore. I'll keep my feet padded as often as I can. I never want PF to come back and i have read many posts where it has. Different things work for different people but that's what has worked for me. Prayer and oxygen.  Sincerely....ladyjack51

    • jack1996
      jack1996 ladyjack51

      Posted

      Glad to hear you're getting some sort of relief ladyjack51.
  • vanda29910
    vanda29910 jack1996

    Posted

    I have PF in both feet and have been having steroid injections every 6 mths for the last 7 yrs (honestly!).  They have probably only been any good on 2 occasions, including the first time, but they do take the swelling out of my feet for a short while, which is a massive confidence boost for me.  I have gained loads of weight over this period of time as you would expect, even though I have one dose split across both feet rather than a full dose in each foot. That did happen though on one occasion when my new GP took over and it was horrendous, like my whole body was completely out of control. Just before Christmas my GP told me that he wasn't happy giving me the injections any more because they have caused a lot of muscle damage, particularly in my left foot.  They also bled a lot this last time.  He is going to refer me to Podiatry because someone I was speaking to recently said they had laser treatment and I am wondering if this is the same thing someone has mentioned in this forum - 'Topaz coblation'?  My GP hadn't heard of laser treatment and said it wasn't available on the NHS. Having read the comments in the forum I am also wondering if I have a rupture, and perhaps my GP suspects that too.  My partner also had PF for a short while but with good trainers he literally 'walked it off' which I cannot do.  People don't appreciate just how debilitating it is; it's changed my life and as a result I am now registered disabled.
    • jack1996
      jack1996 vanda29910

      Posted

      I've just had my foot flooded with the injection to see if that will work but a week on there's only been a significant increase in pain. The Doc said he used 5-6 shots of it at once but the other Doc reckons I have some sort of nerve problem, they can't even figure out if I definitely have PF. I've just sent off for a disabled badge, did you have to go for a mobility test?
    • vanda29910
      vanda29910 jack1996

      Posted

      I have tried the fanning technique as well but it did nothing for me.  Regarding the badge, I think it varies from Council to Council.  My first application was refused but I was in the process of moving house to single floor living due to my mobility and my GP told me to apply again under my new Council and it was granted with no questions asked.  However, when it came up for renewal I got through the first stage OK (paper application) then had to have a telephone interview and it was then referred to a Physiotherapist to make the final decision.  My badge is unrelated to any disabled living allowance/benefit (which I do not receive).  You do have to be mobility tested for that.
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