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Does Anyone Else Get Muscle Spasms/cramps In The Bottom Of Their Feet To Their Toes?
This happens mostly at night, while I'm sleeping. When it happens once, it will normally happen several times that evening. It happens more on the days that I am more active than others. I don't get very good sleep now, because of all the pain I am in. These cramps are horrible and take forever to get rid of. I've tried some muscle cramp/spasm spray. That doesn't seem to help much.
@A MySpondylitisTeam Member. Hi Peggy, i hope that you are comparatively well today. ππ
Regarding the appointment times, I've mentioned the following unfortunate fact a few times: There are far more patients seeking care than there are medical staff from receptionists to surgeons. The largest percentage of the population in the developed world is now over 61 years old, the "Baby Boomers", and this includes doctors. To further exacerbate the challenges, they all have access to healthcare now if they want it, and the vast majority of them want it because it is no longer culturally acceptable to endure pain without seeking medical relief. It's a basic supply and demand economics 101 model. Demand for medical staff far exceeds supply. On top of this is the insurance requirements of extensive documentation from the drs. 15 minutes of facetime with us leads to an hour, sometimes more, of complicated lengthy documentation requirements from the patients' insurance company. Therefore, behind the scenes after you leave the office your dr and staff is still giving you well over an hour of his time. This situation will definitely get much worse too as each year passes. Baby Boomers want to live painfree forever despite the strain they put their bodies through for decades. Doctors and their staff are getting yelled/grouched at by impatient patients every hour of every day because the patients dont feel well and are clueless of the problem the medical community is facing. Burnout for drs and staff is an extreme problem leading to their own health problems and early retirement further straining the system.
I used to live in a country where everyone paid enormous income taxes largely to fund the public health system. Well visits for basic physical exams even for persons with complicated chronic conditions were only once every 2 years. If a specialist such as a cardiologist is warranted the average wait is 2 or 3 more years. To see a specialist sooner to save a life private insurance must be bought and typically runs over $100,000US per year. Patients regularly give birth or die in the ER waiting rooms of the nation's capitol cities because wait times to see a nurse or dr averages 3 days. This is what healthcare for all results in. This country i wont name here is a first world nation and key partner to us.
When you see your drs, have your questions ready and express great gratitude for their time as well as their check-in clerk and nursing staff. Without them we'll all be stuck at home wracked in bewilderment and pain without any hope of relief.
Goodluck with your new meds and referrals Peggy. At the end of it all, diet and PT along with mental health will serve you best. Kindest regards ππ
@A MySpondylitisTeam Member. It is my pleasure to share what I have learned with you Peggy. You're off to a great start. What we do and don't do won't necessarily cure us (it might though), but it will definitely help us suffer less I believe. I'm much better than I was just 3 years,ago at your age. I'd say a good 75-80% better. Some of it is just plain acceptance. I posted about Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) a few months ago.
I meant to comment about your eye issues you mentioned. Uveitis is a common co-condition of AS, PsA, etc and can cause early cataracts. I had to have cataract surgeries for mine last year or year before. I was seeing completely double at all distances and nearly constant pain in one eye from the strain. That eye had a rough time recovering from cat surgery. If you need this done I highly recommend allowing plenty of time in between for healing completely before having the second one done. Also, if one eye seems worse than the other, do the good eye first. That first eye I had done really concerned me. I couldn't even open it fully for 10 days, almost worried I would go blind. It healed, but took way longer than it should have. The second eye was as everyone else describes, painless and a memory in just a couple days.
Mine is also psoriatic disease, I had guttate psoriasis (now in full remission again) on the heels of Strep throat that eventually became Psoriatic Spondylitis axial peripheral bilateral. Reach out anytime Peggy. It's a frustrating and sometimes quite frightening condition. You are not alone.ππ
@A MySpondylitisTeam Member, yes, when he walked in the room, I had my little notebook and pen out. He was quite shocked, I believe. I also told him about this site. LOL I have been working on my diet. I have cut caffeine out, slowly. I am to the point to where I drink maybe one pop(soda) per week. I used to drink a lot of coffee. I have slowed myself down to 2 or 3 cups in the morning. I may still have one in the afternoon for a pick-up, but that's it, as far as the caffeine. I have also cut out the sugar and cream in my coffee, and now drink it black. I ordered some fruit smoothie products to help bone and joints with my groceries. This definitely has been one of the biggest medical shocks to me, yet. Thank you so much for your support!
@A MySpondylitisTeam Member, hi again! I am 56, soon to be 57 on Christmas Eve. I just returned home from the Dr's office. We had quite the discussion at the very beginning. He came in saying they were behind, that he has strict rules and can only spend 15 minutes with his patients. My response to him was: When I told you I was diagnosed with AS, all you said was ok, let's refer you to a Rheumatologist and he left it at that. Now, you're saying you only have 15 minutes. I went on to say, I do understand the rules. However, with only having a 15 minute time limit, are you going to be able to give me the time I'm needing? Any patient that is a complicated/complex case, may take more than 15 minutes. We deserve the same treatment as any other patient. I have been dismissed/disregarded about my issues and that cannot happen any longer. He fully agreed and understood. πHe also said he does not deny anything of what I tell him. That was Very comforting! We had a great visit. I have also been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. He put me on Triamcinolone 0.1% cream. He put me on Restoril for sleep, took me off of oral Voltaren for pain, and put me on the gel. He said to just put it on my back, knees and ankles. He also prescribed Tizanadine, for the muscle relaxer, as well as magnesium and potassium supplements. He is setting me up with a dietician and a Rheumatologist. I have to call on my MRI and low-dose CT scan for lung cancer. I had those tests done in mid July and they hadn't been read yet. πThe receptionist checked today to see if they had them and they don't. I have an appointment with him on Monday to let him know if I'm having any side effects, etc., since I am so medication sensitive.I can also only read etc for a certain amount of time, or my eyes get pretty blurry and irritated. Everything in moderation, I guess--that hampers my research, learning, and reading, dammit!! π He's going to order the HLA-B27 gene test. He said that was a great idea! I am happy with the outcome of this visit. I also refuse to let this get me down. I still help out my best friend that's legally blind (Diabetic Retinopathy) with her dr's appointments, etc. I am her main driver. We have at least one meal together a week and talk/text every day. She's been my rock through all of this. I am completely on my own, which makes things more difficult, as I could use some help, as we all could. However, I muddle through whatever I'm doing and get it done. Thank you so much for your support. It truly means a lot to me.
@A MySpondylitisTeam Member. Hello again Peggy. I have had the issues that I've seen you post about. I'm 59, tiny framed, used to have insomnia like you describe all my life until i started Trazodone 20 years ago for sleep, low dose but keeps me sleeping well a good 7 hours. For the muscle spasms in the feet, mine eventually went up my legs, very painful. Then i found that eating a banana a day keeps the muscle spasms away. Ive heard others say magnesium supplements help them. Nutrition becomes more and more impactful as we age. Find your right balance. I think we'd all save a lot of time and agony by first starting with a dietary blood test and consultations with a professional nutritionist or dietician along with a Dr of Physical Therapy. ππ
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