I posted earlier about my ankles. Well, I went to a podiatrist, who by the way is clinically insane, but OK... and he did an x-ray, and all was well, so he checked my walk and determined (duh) that I needed orthotics to correct it.

Trouble is, my insurance doesn't cover orthotics, the jerks, so he gave me OTC ones. And I'm not a happy camper. Maybe they're corrected my walk, but who can tell? Problem is, I've got little to no room left in my dang shoe with these things in. So instead of the sore spots I was having, I've got all new ones from trying to stuff my poor foot into a smaller space. I don't know how to get around this exactly. Shoes aren't usually made with much thought of the vertical aspect, I think. Either way, I can't afford to buy all new shoes. At the same time, he noticed my feet were a bit swollen. Well, OK, they surely still are. And now much more so, right?

So here I am. I either wear the stupid things and suffer, or I don't wear them and suffer. I'm kind of frustrated. :(

You are taking the original shoe inserts out before putting the OTC ones your podiatrist gave you in first, right? That is, if your shoes are the kind that come with removable inserts, like most athletic shoes.

If that's not the problem, and wearing your shoes tied looser to make more room isn't helping either, you might need to go back to your clinically insane podiatrist to ask about this. I have some doubts about whether OTC shoe supports can really do the same job as custom made orthotics anyway, but you'd probably have the same problem with the orthotics as you do with the OTC inserts.

Alternatively, maybe a sane podiatrist could help you?

Yeah, my insurance co doesn't cover them either, but I had one made and dished out the money anyhow.. If it works, it is a lot cheaper than corrective surgery or anything else.. and could be worth the not being in pain part. Yea, I would buy at least one pair of cheaper shoes that are maybe wider or bigger depending on the problem.. then consider possibly buying more later on.. That way you only replace one pair to see if that fixes the problem.. And see a sane doctor, lol. :)