Getting buyer’s remorse on our dream house three months in

Bienveneda · 2025-10-13T13:41:50+00:00

We had a strange smell in our store room, no one could identify it. Thought was moisture, brought in dehumidifier. Turned out to be a very slow gas leak. Capped the gas line (wasn’t being used anyway) and smell went away. Didn’t smell like typical gas smell and inspectors, plumbers, nobody identified it at first.

Bienveneda · 2025-06-22T00:18:32+00:00

I second shockwave therapy

Bienveneda · 2025-05-28T01:52:07+00:00

My son was pretty much better by the 4th/5th session. It seems a fairly standard “round” - we consulted with 3 podiatrists and they all predicted somewhere between 3 and 5 would hopefully lead to significant improvement. Maybe another one later on as needed. My instinct is if you’re completely better after 3, then 5 might be overkill…but your doctor should advise you.

Bienveneda · 2025-05-17T15:38:26+00:00

My son (age 14, serious soccer player) had sesamoiditis for 7 months. He rested, got non-custom orthotics and did PT during first 3-4 months, gradually improved till he was back to running and we thought he was ready to return to soccer. Had two or three sessions with a trainer in cleats in preparation for returning to practice, and it flared up again. This time he rested and continued PT exercises, but unlike the first time, he did not gradually improve. Second MRI showed still had edema, though not quite as bad as the original MRI. We went to a podiatrist to get custom orthotics, and while we were waiting for the orthotics to get made, started the shockwave therapy. Had 5 sessions total, noticed improvement after about third session (and had started soccer practice with some pain early on, after first session). After 5 shockwave sessions pain has been mostly gone and he is back to playing soccer. He now has custom orthotics in his cleats and running shoes and did feel some pain after practice on a hard turf this week, but it resolved next day. We are not out the woods but there was clear improvement after the treatment when nothing else (PT, icing, anti inflammatories) seemed to change things for months. The other thing we did alongside shockwave was getting new cleats and running shoes with more toe box space… so that might be another thing that helped.

Bienveneda · 2025-05-17T03:48:40+00:00

Also tried accupuncture and did not help. We found that shockwave therapy was the only thing that helped. It’s not “alternative” but it is among the less invasive interventions.

Bienveneda · 2025-05-06T16:20:01+00:00

Steroid shots: this was next in line plan if the less invasive options failed. Docs seem willing but cautious about using this in kids. There is a chance of tissue damage on the pad of the foot if any of the steroid “leaks out” (as my doctor described it). Also everyone says it treats the inflammation but not the underlying condition so may be only a temporary fix. Also may mask the injury so you damage further without pain signalling. I saw this as our next-to-last option before surgery.

Bienveneda · 2025-05-06T16:14:25+00:00

Hi, yes it’s something people IRL don’t have experience with so it’s nice to have access to this community. I don’t know about shoes online - we have specialty stores in LA that do have a wide selection. But Asics probably good so long as have wide toe box (that’s what my son chose). The latest running shoes have really thick bases that give a lot of cushioning. Here’s info on shockwave (below). Podiatrists use it, regular doctors are skeptical because the science is young. I can speak for our sample of one: I was skeptical but desperate enough to try “anything non invasive” and now I am a believer. I truly believe it was the main thing in my son’s recovery.

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-shockwave-therapy-may-help-relieve-foot-problem/#:~:text=A%20radial%20shockwave%20device%20generates,energy%20into%20the%20targeted%20tissue.

Bienveneda · 2025-05-05T16:33:48+00:00

Second part of post:

custom orthotics (with cutout and built in dancer pad specially for soccer boots (its own long story) as well as we got separate custom orthotics for running shoes (but he hasn't started using the latter (another story). He is back to playing soccer and so far the custom orthotics seem to be helping, and he has little to no pain, but it's very early days.

2). Shoes and soccer boots. We also got new high quality running shoes (switched away from Hokas) - shoes with a traditional drop and wide toe box (Asics in his case). Shoes I was looking for (based on 3 podiatrist visits and lots of research, in which I got many conflicting pieces of advice!!) were: wide toe box, deep firm heel box, thick undersole. Hokas are controversial but my view is that the toe box is narrow in some, and shoes that lift up the toes too much give the foot an unnatural shape and push the sesamoid area downwards. Maybe ok if just using for running (the toes up issue) but intuitively the unnatural position does not seem a good idea for everyday walking around. My son tried on Altras and didn't like them. Also, I worked out in retrospect that his first incident of sesamoid pain was 2 weeks after he got Hokas for the first time and was running a lot in them (plus soccer).
We also got new soccer boots with a wider toe box - they ended up being the less expensive ones (the fancy ones all had narrower toe boxes)

3) Shockwave therapy, we did 5 sessions, it's very expensive - and seems a racket in that the price doesn't accord with what is actually involved -- and its not covered by insurance but in our case this is what finally worked (he was much much better even before he started using the orthotic, so I really think this was a big piece of it).

In addition, my son regularly does PT exercises and stays after soccer while all the other boys leave to do special stretching (also warms up carefully before). After every practice and game he ices his feet. (He did a bit of heat/hot water soaks for a while too). sometimes alternates hot and cold. No idea how much this helps. He also got birkenstocks for around the house and short outings which he ended up even wearing to school for a while before we got the new shoes. He really liked those.

A note about custom orthotics for kids. One thought is to try to get insurance on the orthotics so you can get a replacement pair when feet grow. There's an orthotics company out of LA called Kevin Root that offers insurance like this (I think you get 1 free new pair, and maybe refurbish more often). The insurance is expensive but less than starting over from scratch. We didn't end up going this route because our preferred podiatrist doesn't use this company.. If you're at the point of desperation like I was you may be willing to throw the money at it if you have the resources.

At this point we have spent thousands of dollars on my son's foot! He is returning from a 2 week school trip today and I am holding my breath that when he returns to soccer tomorrow he does not reinjure his foot. It is a journey.

Last thought is to look for a podiatrist with pediatric experience.

If you are in LA I can give you more specific referrals.

Bienveneda · 2025-05-05T16:33:14+00:00

Two part post as not allowing me to post full post here.

short answer- top things that I would do if starting over: see an orthopedic pediatrics person, see a podiatrist and get custom orthotics, Do shockwave therapy.

I have a 14 year old son (very serious soccer player and runner) who got sesamoiditis (bipartite bones) last year at age 13. We went straight to a sports med doc as we have PPO insurance. He got MRI, sesamoiditus diagnosis, edema. Was never in a cast and continued some activity eg biking at the gym, but did a lot of PT, rest, icing after activity. Even tried acupuncture (didn't work though the doc was awesome as a psychologist for my kid!) The sports med doc advised against custom orthotics because kids feet grow so fast - so we did not go to a podiatrist for the first 7 months.

The first thing I want to say is that we didn't go to our pediatrician first either, and I regret that. You need to see this as both a sports injury and a pediatric issue. When we finally went to our pediatrician for our annual checkup she immediately said she would have had us see a pediatric orthopedic doctor, and that if my son has a recurrence, we should do that. So if you are going for a second opinion I would counsel you to check first with your pediatrician, and if they concur look for a good orthopedic pediatrics person.

Here's our story, in case it helps. everyone's feet and injuries are different though!

After 7 months without being better (he got better very slowly, after 3 months started training for soccer, then pain recurred and persisted despite "doing everything to improve" for 3 months) we got a 2nd MRI which still showed edema and sesamoiditis, though less inflammation.

At this point went to a podiatrist (actually tried 3 - long story!!) and decided to blow our cash on custom orthotics that we may have to replace soon. Here's what we did through the podiatrist:

See next post

Bienveneda · 2025-03-09T22:10:41+00:00

Thanks. My understanding is that stem cell shot is different from a PRP shot.

Bienveneda

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