As the weather gets colder, I get less and less interested in jumping into an icy cold pool (temps kept in the LOW 80's - brrrr). I did figure out, though, that rinsing in a cool shower afterwards helps to stop the itching from the chlorine but that's a further brrrr! I just don't know if I want to continue with water aerobics.
Thoughts on yesterday's appointment with Dr. Miller: He was very busy and I was the last patient before his lunch and only saw him after waiting one hour beyond my appointment time (had a 10:30am appointment and saw him at 11:30am).
Also, when I did see Dr. Miller, he seemed "half there", probably as a result of exhaustion and hunger after seeing patients, one after another all morning. I told him several things about how my foot was doing and then, in the course of the visit, he asked me several questions that I had already told him, like where was the pain in the morning. I feel rather low on their list of priorities.
I checked the Aircast website and there are braces that would be more specifically appropriate for my condition, posterior tibial tendinitis and plantar fasciitis (both these terms are currently outmoded as the process in the tendon and the fascia has been proven to be more a degenerative one than inflammatory). I'll ask his office Friday if they have those braces. If they don't, I may reconsider the Aircast as it began to hurt my knee in the short time I wore it in the house yesterday (I'm not wearing it now per their instructions so they can re-use it.) I'm going to call Aircast, they have good customer service - that's how I found out Dr. Miller's office gave me the wrong size - and ask them about the knee pain.
I just now called Aircast about the knee pain. They said be sure to use normal gait when wearing the Aircast and that I'll be able to more easily use normal gait when I have the correctly sized one. She concurred with the doctor that the immobilization provided by the under the knee Aircast would be helpful for the posterior tibial tendon problem since my pain extends above my ankle. They have the best customer service!
Dr. Miller's office has a semi-ogre named Joseph. He looked annoyed because I dared to question them about how I could get my medical records. I can't get them directly from their office by signing a release and, in fact, can't even sign a release for their office to send to medical records so medical records can send me the records. I have to either take a shuttle to medical records or write them a letter (I'll choose that method) asking them to send me the records. I understand the system now and won't annoy him in the future. Then, when Joseph was giving me the physical therapy referral, he gave me this haughty, fake "I'm sorry!" when I asked about the fact the referral read Santa Fe and I may want to see someone in Los Alamos. I reassured him that I had merely misunderstood the form and thought that I was constrained to see someone in Santa Fe. I need to call some physical therapists to see who treats plantar fasciitis and posterior tibial tendinitis.