Help for a caregiver

[Cupcake1122]

I am my husbands caregiver, he has dementia and with fibromyalgia it's tough helping somebody else, more less myself. I have lots of symptoms by at this time foot pains are causing havoc in my life! I have restless legs syndrome too.  Any comments?

[KarenWW]

Hi. One of the ways my fibromyalgia first showed was lots of problems with pain in my ankles and arches of feet, especially when on my feet for an hour or more. This was unavoidable with a young family and carer of 3 autistic sons out of 4. So I know how that feels. However after being referred by my GP to the podiatrist at foot health services it was diagnosed I had collapsing bridges due to my ankles being at too acute an angle in flat shoes. Orthotic insoles were made to fit my feet exactly. That helped but didnt cure pain. However i discovered on buying a good pair of hiking boots that went over the ankles stopped my feet from flexing too much and my feet reacting in lots pain. When I talked to the podiatrist he agreed and also recommended wearing walking shoes as slippers in the house. So now i have very delicate footwear, even when dressed up with skirt on! But, along with amitriptyline, I have barely any pain in my feet, and its a feeling of being freed and given energy as i stomp around in my boots! It did take time for the pain to diminish to this extent but I did feel the effects straight away. Dont know if it would help you but anything is worth investigating. Before this the pain in my feet was affecting my leg muscles etc and was agony half way round shopping, so that I could barely walk. Maybe you need an assessment by a podiatrist. But even if not maybe a pair of hikung boots would help!