The Great Foot Dilemma

On Tuesday I went to see an Orthopaedic Surgeon, or Orthopod as my GP likes to call them, about the Morton's Neuroma in my right foot. Morton's Neuroma is a condition that affects one of the nerves between the toes. Fibrous tissue develops around the nerve, which becomes irritated and compressed. This causes severe pain on the ball of the foot and at the base of the toes.

In my case, it rears its ugly head when I'm exercising, dancing, walking for long distances, or skiing (my family are very patient with me needing to take my boot off regularly!). At its worst my toes 'pop' and I can't put any pressure on the foot.

I've had ultrasound-led cortisone injections in my foot to treat the pain in the past, but the times between injections, where I've noticed the pain coming back, have got shorter and shorter (9 months, 4 months, 6 weeks!). The last time the pain came back two weeks before our epic holiday, not enough time to get referred on the NHS but luckily Mr H has BUPA insurance through work, and I got in privately two days before we flew!

2 weeks after returning, the pain came back - not suddenly but it was there, and has built slowly. Back to the GP I went and she referred me to the Orthpod.

I had a very helpful appointment with Mr Bob Sharp, who took me through the options. Simply put I can have another injection (not my first choice. The injections can cause wastage of the tissue around the area if taken too regularly, and after the last one I've started to notice my bones in the area far more!), live with it or he can operate (as it's a 'very large Neuroma': 1cm is large apparently). Surgery is the last resort with these kinds of things, and for a few people it makes it worse. I'd be in and out in a day, out of action completely for 2 weeks, able to hobble slowly for another 2, back in normal shoes 8 weeks after the op, and skiing (!) in 3 months.

So here's my dilemma. We're about to enter the busiest period of my working year. I have a weekend in Austria coming up in 7 weeks, and a UK weekend away in 2 weeks. I'm starting a training course this term. Brownies is back on 9 September. I don't have time to be off my feet for that long. But then again, this needs to be done, and putting it off just means more months in pain.

DILEMMA!!

This is my thought process in my Hobonichi...

The dates are ranked in sensibleness - but I'm leaning towards number 3 as it's earlier... aaaarrrrgggghhhh.