I know EM affects in many different ways; this is what helps me. I have EM in right foot only, it varies from mild to severe pain, and besides the burning sensation, there are sharp jabbing pains in toes and various parts of the foot. My foot gets very red and some swelling when on the floor, looks almost normal when elevated near heart level. For several months, I have worn "Medi Peds" socks from Walmart; they are mild compression and thin, do not hold heat, and help some except during a flare. Recently I have been wearing sports compression Sox; they have graduated compression, wick out moisture, and do not hold heat. They help more than the medi peds. They keep the blood from the tissues when the foot is lowered, and reduce swelling. The jabbing pains are milder and less often when wearing them. I have a pan of cool water, and soak the foot when pain is worse. Wearing the wet sock helps. I sleep with the Sox on. Also, I get good sleeps by taking one acetominipren tablet and one acetominipren/sleep tablet at bedtime.
If you want to check on the Sox, Google Amazon, and search for "Sox Sports compression".
I have severe EM in both feet and have tried putting compression socks on and it is a NO GO for me as my big feet are even bigger most days with the swelling and that painful I can hardly walk - I couldn't manage to get one sock on over my heel without causing the pain to be so severe that I had to stop and remove it - it was a painful tearful episode for me and will not do it again -
BUT - for you and others that may be able to do it I am glad it can give some relief for the EM pain - I have and will try anything within reason to help - but when your feet are so bad even the slightest touch brings tears it won't help .... not to much will - I usually have to load myself up with about 400 to 500 mg of Tramadol plus 2 or 3 paracetamol, 150mg pregabalin and a couple of ibuprofen to get some relief and this can't be good for my internals - desperate people do desperate things to STOP the excruciating pain in the feet -
I sincerely hope that no others ever get to have feet like mine - they are not good and very little I can do about it as I have tried many types of treatments and the above cocktail does cut out the bulk of pain so I can get some sleep for about 5 to 6 hours during the night ...
I am happy to hear that the compression socks are helping you and may help others but in my case they did no good - maybe if I had have percivered more in getting them on I may have got some relief - I couldn't even manage to get one on and gave up - I am of the opinion that if something causes my feet to be more painful than they already are then I stop doing it immediately - My pain tollerance levels have dropped over the years to the point now of even walking can be quite an epic journey to go into town and do the fortnightly shopping - it is a little like being Gun Shy - Shell Shock they used to call it during the war when you would cringe whenever you heard a shot fired - I have become Pain Shy and it is not a pleasant way to be ....
I HOPE that you never get to that stage with your EM - or anyone else for that matter - very unpleasant way to exist ...
Cheers to you and Take care of those precious hard working Feet -
frostbite (Greg)
Cooma NSW
Australia
PS - And Sammy - Be very careful with soaking the feet as it can cause more damage to them long term - I know from personal experience and don't do it now - Please research any treatment before doing it, I wish I had done so.
I am like frostbite. I cannot put anything on my feet or legs like compression stockings. I wish I could. I cannot wear socks of any kind nor can I wear shoes except open shoes. Frostbite, you were talking about the misery of going to do your shopping. I am the same & can no longer be on my feet walking at all. So, I’m getting a power wheel chair. You might look into that. My dermatologist gave me an RX for it. I will be submitting it to my insurance company. My doctor & my husband said that I’ll just have to suck up my pride & use one if I want to get out of my home & into the world. So, I’m going to try it. I hope you can find one to help you. I ride the carts in the grocery stores & I’ve finally gotten accustomed to doing that. It’s not so bad. Saying prayers for all of us.
Hi Sammy~~so glad the sox help you. Like others posting here, I can't bear to have anything on the tops of my feet. I gave away all my sox. I tried putting sox in the freezer, but they heated up in just a few minutes. Nothing but flip-flops for me, even in winter.
Hi Greg,
It is always good to hear from you and your words of wisdom. I have found compression socks to work but only in perfect conditions. As you say, pulling them on when your feet are that painful is just not worth it. I can’t put them on when I have a flare at all and must cool them first, while considering myself very fortunate that with a cold floor and a fan, chill spray etc I can do that. I wore them once from London to Melbourne. It was Winter and with Raynaud’s my feet were icy cold when I put the socks on. Not very comfortable but definitely kept flares away on that 23 hour flight.
I agree with you about medications. I was advised to persevere at least two weeks through side effects but couldn’t do it. The wisest thing to do is start with the tiniest amount. I chop the tablet up or count out the little beads. If I still had nasty effects on that wee dose then I knew to give up.
All the best to you Greg
Nel
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frostbite said:
Hi Sammy -
I have severe EM in both feet and have tried putting compression socks on and it is a NO GO for me as my big feet are even bigger most days with the swelling and that painful I can hardly walk - I couldn’t manage to get one sock on over my heel without causing the pain to be so severe that I had to stop and remove it - it was a painful tearful episode for me and will not do it again -
BUT - for you and others that may be able to do it I am glad it can give some relief for the EM pain - I have and will try anything within reason to help - but when your feet are so bad even the slightest touch brings tears it won’t help … not to much will - I usually have to load myself up with about 400 to 500 mg of Tramadol plus 2 or 3 paracetamol, 150mg pregabalin and a couple of ibuprofen to get some relief and this can’t be good for my internals - desperate people do desperate things to STOP the excruciating pain in the feet -
I sincerely hope that no others ever get to have feet like mine - they are not good and very little I can do about it as I have tried many types of treatments and the above cocktail does cut out the bulk of pain so I can get some sleep for about 5 to 6 hours during the night …
I am happy to hear that the compression socks are helping you and may help others but in my case they did no good - maybe if I had have percivered more in getting them on I may have got some relief - I couldn’t even manage to get one on and gave up - I am of the opinion that if something causes my feet to be more painful than they already are then I stop doing it immediately - My pain tollerance levels have dropped over the years to the point now of even walking can be quite an epic journey to go into town and do the fortnightly shopping - it is a little like being Gun Shy - Shell Shock they used to call it during the war when you would cringe whenever you heard a shot fired - I have become Pain Shy and it is not a pleasant way to be …
I HOPE that you never get to that stage with your EM - or anyone else for that matter - very unpleasant way to exist …
Cheers to you and Take care of those precious hard working Feet -
frostbite (Greg)
Cooma NSW
Australia
PS - And Sammy - Be very careful with soaking the feet as it can cause more damage to them long term - I know from personal experience and don’t do it now - Please research any treatment before doing it, I wish I had done so.
I agree about socks in the freezer Astrosdiva. Lovely when you put them on - for about 30 seconds before they have dried out and heated up. Even the tiles beneath my feet heat up in a minute.
Nel
Astrosdiva said:
Hi Sammy~~so glad the sox help you. Like others posting here, I can't bear to have anything on the tops of my feet. I gave away all my sox. I tried putting sox in the freezer, but they heated up in just a few minutes. Nothing but flip-flops for me, even in winter.
The very thought of wearing compression socks sounds horrific! I do wear socks but I buy the ones for diabetics that are wide fitting and mostly made of cotton, as cotton isn't as hot as man made fibres. The reason I wear socks at all is that it's dangerous walking about with nothing on your feet as you might stand on something that does harm. Frostbite you sound as if nobody is as bad as you, which isn't the case I am sure there will be others suffering just as bad if not worse. I can't even walk around my bungalow now I have to use a powered wheelchair.
As I have said before as far as putting feet in water it's fine if you do what I do and put them in plastic bags first so that the water doesn't actually touch your skin. One thing don't have the water too cold as you will get rebound pain when you take them out Sammy. I have now purchased an ice bucket so that I can put ice cubes in it and when the water warms up which it does very fast I can drop a few ice cubes in. I used to use water out of the fridge, but I was forever emptying my bowl, this way it's much easier as the volume doesn't go up a lot.
Finally if anybody finds a way to help that must be good but it might not be the answer for everyone, we all react differently to things. Always worth a try though you can't lose anything by trying and if it works that's great.
I’ve tried them for two days now. The jury is still out, but I think it’s better with them. I’m wondering if they would have helped early on for those who have EM more severely. Another thought is to use an ace bandage, only from the ankle up, keeping the feet open, but giving the same effect on the legs as the compression socks. Just a thought!