Prolotherapy - treatment #3

last post on this here: http://beyondkona.blogspot.com/2009/11/prolotherapy.html

I went in 2 days ago for my third prolotherapy treatment. Each of these treatments is $100 out of pocket. The treatments are 1 month apart.

I was hoping for much more significant improvement, but with the way my foot felt, I am not surprised that there really wasn't much improvement since the last time.

It may be my fault to some extent. I continue to ride the bike, do elliptical, paint the house on a ladder, and after reading "Born to Run", I've been getting around in bare feet much more than I should.

So treatment #3 he tells me is going to hurt much worse and I should have to use pain relievers (but not anti-inflammatory meds). Well, I'm tough and so far haven't used them. Actually, I really don't like to mask pain (to a point). I figure that if something hurts, I should compensate (e.g. walk with a limp or not walk at all).

So yes, it is much more painful (not during the treatment of course, but a few days after). The reason for the additional pain is that he not only put dextrose in, but also fish oil. The idea is to invoke a healing response... that part seems to be working - let's hope anyway.

Well, the good doctor also tells me he is back from a conference where he was showing my ultra sound to his podiatrist buddies and they all seem to have had a good laugh on my account. Bastards! Apparently, the tear was very significant and barely hanging on the bone. He admitted that being the patient in this situation isn't the best thing, but he and his friends were looking to learn a lot from me. GRRR

So I'm trying to take it easy. I'll be swimming for sure. Probably biking. Avoid barefoot walking. Trying to use the boot around the house to stabilize things a bit.

I'll be going back in 4 weeks. Hopefully we have some good progress this time and don't have to resort to PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) treatment, because each of these is over $800 out of pocket and I'm just not down with that!