Wandering through the woods

The good news is, I can self-diagnose accurately. (Especially when the cause -- recent increase in exercise -- is obvious, and the test for the condition is pretty unmistakable.) Kim has plantarfascitis, an inflammation of the connective tissue shock absorber at the bottom of the arch of your foot.

So I went to see the nice podiatrist, who confirmed my assessment, and gave me an injection that brought the swelling right back down. After the initial excrutiating pain that shot over the fascia and then referred up my leg, I felt like I had a new foot! The power of drugs =) And ice, which I'm liberally applying now after walking.

Sadly, all of this (despite being on Neil's insurance) ended up costing a small fortune. And the custom orthodics, while being well worth it (they last over 11 years), are still going to cost about as much as... um, food for the next four weeks.

Meanwhile, the doctor she told me not to exercise on the ellipticals anymore, so I'll need to use the bike (which burns less calories) and to go on a diet if I intend to lose weight.

Of course, doctor's bills are sort of equivalent to food, at least in cost ;)