~Mostly a Health Update
2005-09-24 - 5:48 p.m.

So there are these New Zealand shoes called Kumfs that are made especially for people who have foot problems, including many that are deeper/have removable innersoles so people (like me) can fit in their orthotic inserts.

I have an amazing amount of trouble finding shoes that fit my wide/high feet under normal circumstances, but finding shoes that also fit my orthotics is nigh-on impossible. There's a shop about 20 minutes away that sells Kumfs and I got a pair of neat, black dress mary-janeish shoes. They were around $200. I used to blanch at paying near $100 for shoes, but considering the pain I was in before I had my orthotics (and how the only pair of shoes I had that originally fit my orthotics are falling apart), $200 is definitely a price I'm now willing to pay.

Except that today I went to a factory outlet in Brunswick. I got a pair of similar, but flatter, more comfortable and brown Kumfs: $102. (If you do browse the catalogue of shoes, my full-price black pair are Dierdre and my new pair are Savannah.)

In other news, my neck/back/shoulder aren't really any better. I've been to physio and it hasn't really helped. I've tried a few different pillows. A couple were no better - not supportive enough or too high or too lumpy. One was better but I didn't get as much sleep on it. The last one I think was a leetle better but I slept very badly on it. So I went back to the other one I mentioned and slept a bit better. I think my shoulder movement is a little better. Apparently it's got a bit of impingement syndrome. The back of the shoulder-back area and the shoulder reaching up to the neck, though, are pretty excruciating and causing a lot of painpainpain in my head.

I tried an osteopath on Friday and I think that's helped my shoulder movement a little bit, but then, the Physio has helped my shoulder movement and it's gone straight back to bad again, so we'll have to see. I was saying all yesterday that Queensland will fix me up. Emma and I are going to Queensland from Monday to Friday (well, Emma's coming home a bit later). In some circumstances, it could put extra strain on me: I'm in a strange environment, not in my own bed, with my own pillow and so forth. The thing is, all of this pain has been dragging me down and put a bit of stress on me because I haven't been on top of things at work and I haven't been getting better. I'm not expecting to feel fantastic up in Queensland, but I'm determined to really sit back and relax. If all I want to do is swim in the pool all day, then that's what I'll do. If I want to walk around or sight-see or go to Sea World or wherever, that's what I'm going to do. I don't have to do anything if I don't want to - but I can't do school work. I can't have optomotrist appointments, dentist appointments, do necessary shopping. I can't feel obliged to do any of those things that I've been trying to squish into this week. I'm just going to enjoy it all!

Speaking of optomotrists, I have astigmatism (an astigmatism?) in my right eye and need glasses. I haven't got bad eyesight, but I've been noticing, particularly with all these migraines, that my eyes have had a harder time focusing than usual. I can't wait to get them, now, but they'll be ready at the end of next week at the earliest. Since I got them tested on Thursday, I've noticed more and more the times when I work harder than I used to to focus and when it hurts my eyes and my head. I can't wait for my glasses, now (even if they are rather ordinary-looking).