Happy New Year

Hello everyone!

It's the first Saturday of 2020 (wow!) and I hope you all enjoyed your holiday season. The last year of the decade was probably one of the most difficult that I've had in a very long time. As my stress increased due to Real Life events (job change, missing the kids in my daycare, declining health and struggling to deal with chronic pain and exhaustion) I've come to realize how lucky I was to receive a diagnosis 21 years ago so quickly. I have family and friends (most of them) who are supportive and don't expect more than I can give. I can't express how much I appreciate their support and encouragement.

2020 will continue to be tough as I try to take care of some things I've had to let slide due to lack of energy, ability to think myself through a process as my comprehension slipped some. I have 2 more Dr appointments coming up this month (the 14th & the 17th) to try to address some of this chronic pain that I can't seem to get a handle on. Please pray for me that we can either 1) get a handle on it naturally or 2) find a medication that doesn't make me constantly nauseous or dizzy. The Dr appointment is for a trial for Fibromyalgia that is being done to possibly find a new medication for Fibro. To be honest I'm not sure I will join the trial due to my sensitivity to meds of any kind.

I will be popping in occasionally to post on GivingNSharing. I'm hoping to be able to participate in more book reviews and share some of my sewing as well as new treatments and ideas for pain relief this year. I'm in the process of trying to figure out what to do job wise as my illness increases and will hopefully be sharing some tips and methods for relief as well as daily living tips for living with a chronic illness.

Happy New Year my friends!

And life continues... Shoes for Crews review

Hi everyone - well, life continues. I'm finding I'm really enjoying my new job now that the stress and frustration of not knowing what I'm doing and worry about finances is finally easing up. My feet are still causing me many, many problems tho. I will be sharing some mini reviews of the shoes I order and try. Hopefully others will benefit from my experience.

Yesterday my 3rd pair of tennis shoes (in 3 months) were delivered. I bought a pair of Dr Scholls shoes when I began the new job. I've used that brand for years and other than occasional issues with achy feet did very well with them. I did have to use plantar fasciitis insoles with them when I had issues with that. Between the insoles and my chiropractor I hadn't had issues for quite a while with that kind of pain. So, I bought a new pair for work.

Then the serious pain began. At first I just figured I was out of shape and needed to work up some endurance since this job is 100% walking. I was expecting back and hip pain. I've had absolutely none of that. It's all in my feet, ankles and legs. The chiropractor says it's in my calves though.

So I ordered pair 2 from Shoes for Crews online. They were recommended by my good friend Marybeth. Her husband has used them for years and loves them. They had great reviews for plantar fasciitis and foot/leg pain. I signed up for their newsletter and received a 20% discount to use on my first pair. Paid $71 I think for a pair of the Revolution II. Unfortunately I barely managed to wear them for 1 1/2 days before I had to set them aside. My pain intensified & I barely made it home. I even had to write my boss and tell her I may need to take the next day off to get my pain to go down.

The Revolution II is a cute pair of shoes - with a hard sole that isn't flexible at all. I knew as soon as I removed it from the box it wasn't going to work but I gave them a try anyway. This pair of shoes has a noticeable arch support, the tongue rides up against the front of the ankle (which was very uncomfortable and triggered my nerve pain in that area). They are very roomy in the toe area and didn't seem to be very heavy to walk in and I think could be comfortable for many people that aren't dealing with nerve pain in the feet and ankles.

So, as the company has a 30 day return/exchange policy on shoes I'm going to try to order another pair that hopefully will work for me. I'm looking

at the Jasmine I think. I've been emailing customer service back and forth for the last several days and Sabrina from customer service was able to find a pair of the Jasmine shoes in the office and she told me that the sole is flexible and that the toe area will bend. So, I guess I'll give those a try. They are a bit more casual and will look nice with slacks, jeans and shorts. Fingers crossed they work. I'll post another mini review when I receive the new pair and let you know my thoughts.

Customer service with Shoes from Crews has been great. I get prompt response to my emails and they have been willing to figure out if a shoe has a flexible sole if they can. Evidently they don't work in the same place the shoes are shipped out of. I have a feeling I'm going to be losing money in this endeavor since the Jasmine are about $10 cheaper and I'm sure I'll have to pay to ship them back in forth while I try to find a pair I can actually wear. I strongly suggest you read the return policy - there is a $6.95 restocking fee and you have to cover the original shipping fee (which I had to pay at time of ordering) so I guess I pay shipping each time I return the shoes to exchange or get a refund. I'll let you know when I update you... I don't do a lot of shopping online obviously.

If you're looking for new shoes that are supportive and styish visit Shoes from Crews. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to get the discount. I think their prices are comparable to what you'd pay at Kohl's or JcPennys.

Stay tuned for an update and more reviews until I find the shoes I can wear with little to no pain.

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Disclaimer: This mini review is my honest opinion and shares my experience with this company. I was not asked to post a review, received nothing in exchanged for my review and I will not receive anything as compensation. I am not an affiliate of the company.

Leg pain, yoga & chiropractics

Hi everyone! 

About 3 weeks ago I began training for a new job as a merchandiser in one of the big box stores and am really enjoying my job. One of the things I didn't think about when I joined was the fact that I would be walking on hard concrete type floors and that is something that my fibromyalgia or my back doesn't like. Last Friday I worked 6 hours and it took me till Wednesday of this week to fully recover. I also worked this Monday and I think that's why it took so long. BUT yesterday (Wednesday again) I worked 6.5 hours and I'm in NO WHERE near the pain I was in. So, hopefully my endurance is growing and soon I won't feel the pain I was in.

Today I visited my chiropractor. My chiropractor specializes in trigger point and myofascile release and I have used her for relief of my chronic pain with fibromyalgia as well as my migraines for about 3 or 4 years. I have spoken on GivingNSharing before about the severe pain I've had with my new job and today I decided to ask Dr Kayla if she had any stretches or tips I could use to ease the severe pain.


Dr Kayla told me today that the issue isn't my feet or ankles - it's my calves. Which really surprises me. At first my calves were really sore because of the bending required for one of my tasks but yesterday and today they aren't bothering me at all. She showed me a couple of stretches. One focuses on the achilles tendon & is also helpful for Plantar Fascitis and the other focuses on stretching the toes. (My pain has been in the arches of my foot, the sides of my big toe and the side of my baby toe.)

One of my favorite yoga therapists on YouTube is Yoga with Kassandra. She has a video called Yoga Poses to Relieve Foot and Ankle Tension.  I also really like Michelle Kenway who does more work with Kegels and Core Strength. I didn't see anything on yoga though for feet/ankles and calves on her YouTube page unfortunately.

I hope this information helps someone else avoid the severe pain I've had for the last week. Stay tuned and I'll try to post some of the things that the guy at the health food store suggested. He made a couple of suggestions that I'd like to try such as magnesium, enzymes, water drinking, etc but I need to learn more and then actually buy some of it so I can give my opinion on it. 

As always, Thanks for Listening!

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Disclaimer: The information found in this blog is not intended to take the place of a Drs advice. Please contact your medical team with any questions you may have and before you begin a new routine. The information shared on this blog is based on my own experience and whether it has helped me or not.