Shoes to Wear? Dressy & Casual dealing with Neuropathy

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wulfgirl4
wulfgirl4 Member Posts: 38
edited August 2020 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

So my most comfortable shoes are Birkenstock's but I have a wedding to go to and I don't want to wear Birkenstock's....however, all of my dress shoes with heels either don't fit anymore or are uncomfortable. Can anyone recommend a good sneaker and decent dress shoes for someone with neuropathy?

I just hate having to wear flats all the time and I can't even wear cute flats because most of them have no support. Thank you for any suggestions you can give me!

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited July 2020

    I have minor neuropathy in one foot, but have bad feet in general. I’m on my feet at work all day so my feet don’t get much of a break (pandemic not withstanding). Many of the higher end comfort brands now make very nice looking shoes. I like Naot and Dansko but there are many other brands. My personal experience has been you get what you pay for. I do try to shop sales online, but I am willing to pay to be comfortable on my feet

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited July 2020

    wulfgirl - I have one pair that I use for dressy. I don't buy any heels anymore, not even kitten heels. And you're right, the cute flats have NO support or slip off my feet. Yeah, they're a little clunky, but I don't trip - which is a major benefit since I can't feel most of my feet. And if you like Birkenstocks, one of these might work.

    1) I bought a pair of "Earth Origins" shoes for a wedding last year. Decent support. Take a look at London, Newton, Galilei, Casey. A little less clunky is the Alma below. Video shows the girl walking in a red pair so you get multiple views. In fact I think I'd better order a pair. https://earthshoes.com/products/alma-black?variant...

    2) Clark's made a strap over MaryJane look that had a lot of support with a soft leather upper, but it's a couple of years ago

    3) Born made a nice Mary Jane in black.

    Sneakers: My podiatrist turned me on to HokaOne 'sneakers' for everyday wear. They have a nice wide toe box to protect my toenails that were damaged by chemo. I'm on my 4th pair. I do have one pair in black that I've worn to concerts & plays (pre Covid of course). They gave a 30 day wear guarantee, which they really do honor.

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  • wulfgirl4
    wulfgirl4 Member Posts: 38
    edited July 2020

    exbrnxgrl & MinusTwo, thank you! I will definitely check those out. I agree, you get what you pay for and I don’t mind paying if I can have relief from neuropathy.

    I teach 1st grade and yesterday I was in setting up my classroom for the year.... I worked for 4 hours and when I was done my feet hurt so bad I could hardly walk. I am not sure how I’ll do it when the actual school year starts and I’m on my feet ALL day!!

    So thank you for these suggestions!

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited July 2020

    wulfgirl,

    I teach first grade too! I miss my kiddos so much 🙁. My district will be starting with distance learning and many teacher have been involved with making sure we will have a robust program when we start as opposed to our emergency distance learning last spring. They are going to let us teach from the classroom which I am happy about because it will be much easier than trying to teach from my dining room which is what I did in the spring. I have no idea what this school year will bring but it won’t be boring! Have a great school year

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited July 2020

    I'm retired, but since I couldn't go to Silver Sneakers or Chair Yoga, and the pool didn't open for water aerobics - I made a agreement with myself to walk 3-1/2 to 4 miles EVERY morning (on concrete no less). Yesterday was day #120. Only missed one day for a dentist appointment and one for a thunderstorm. I definitely ordered some new padded socks, but my Hoka shoes are performing well.

    Good luck to you both with this confusing school year. Standing on your feet all day is hard.

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  • wulfgirl4
    wulfgirl4 Member Posts: 38
    edited August 2020

    exbrnxgrl, First Grade ROCKS! :) we're deciding on Aug. 15 which way we are starting the school year...depending on the virus numbers in our area, but we are offering virtual for all students if their parents don't want them to attend in person. This means I'll be teaching "live" every day. I'm excited to go back, but nervous for all of the prep work it will involve. I'm sure, with time, it will become natural to teach this way.

    MinusTwo, Good for you for walking every day. I was trying to get my 10K steps in every day and thought that was good.... but I know I need to do more than that because the pounds are NOT coming off. I'm going to check out those Hoka shoes.

    Did either of you put on weight w/ chemo and if so, was it difficult to take it off? How long did it take?

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited August 2020

    wulf - I lost 60 pounds with chemo. Well, 10 would have been good & 20 would have been OK. I looked anorexic. It took about a year to get back to "fighting trim", but of course weight always does creep back up. I've lost 10-12 pounds with the walking - so now I'm right where I want to be. But OMG - that means I'll have to walk forever..... However I dothink some of the loss is due to Covid. I haven't had fast food since March, nor eaten in a restaurant - so no fried food. And I just don't buy bread often.

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  • wulfgirl4
    wulfgirl4 Member Posts: 38
    edited August 2020

    oh wow! I gained at least 15 lbs on chemo. Every week the scale just kept going up and up. I’m going to hit it hard again and hopefully do some damage to the scale. Started lifting weights too, hoping to tone up my arms.

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