Alison Dyson

This review is going to be a long one… I HOPE EVERYONE WITH FOOT PAIN WILL TAKE TIME TO READ IT!  MY LIFE BEGAN TO CHANGE THE NIGHT I CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE AT Protalus ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO!!!!!

I’m going to start with a little background of my pain and what I’ve had to deal with over the years.. then, on to the BEST part!!  The part where Protalus and Chris Buck came into my life! Chris Buck’s amazing customer service is the REASON why I’m able to write this AWESOME REVIEW!!!

I’ve had CHRONIC, DEBILITATING FOOT PAIN for 25+ years!  I don’t mean a little bit of pain.. I mean EXCRUCIATING pain!!!  I was diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis when I was in my early to mid 20’s.  Nearly every time my feet have hit the floor since it started, I have to bite my tongue, stand there and grin and bear the pain until I can take a step.. I’ve spent MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS on trying to find a remedy for my foot pain!  I’ve had very painful injections that either did not work at all or worked for as little as 3 days to 3 weeks..  I’ve bought regular inserts, custom orthotics.. I’ve been to many different types of doctors, massage therapists (I’ve already spent $1,000 just this year on a new one)….  I’ve been to several excruciatingly painful Chinese Acupressure Massage therapists, Chiropractors, etc.. I’ve bought the most expensive athletic running shoes that I can find just to allow me to be able to stand on my feet at work.  I’ve occasionally use prescription strength Ibuprofen just so I can make it to my job as a nurse on my worst days… I see thousands of patients each year and I’ve not seen one yet who appeared to have anything close to the pain that I have endured on a daily basis for more than half my life..  I’ve cried, I’ve been mad at God (only for a short while though, and only on my worst of worse days because I am THANKFUL TO HAVE FEET!)  Some of my patients do not have feet or they lose their feet after I get them ready for surgery.  So, I am very thankful to have feet!  Even though I constantly have the thoughts, “I hate my feet” go through my head with nearly every step I take.  I actually don’t hate my feet, I have to keep reminding myself, that I just hate the pain in my feet.  I cannot wear anything but running shoes or occasionally for a short while I can wear certain flip-flops.. The ones that have sort of an orthotic built in them..   I’ve not been able to wear any type of dress shoe in the past 25+ years.. If I wear a dress, I’m wearing my ASICS running shoes with them.  Not to pretty!  But you do what you have to do!

I already mentioned being a nurse.. Most of you probably know that the majority of nursing is done on your feet..  I work 12+ hour shifts and am very thankful for our new computer system we got last year that allows me to sit for a short while with each patient..   My foot pain at work takes away my concentration at times for what I’m doing.. It makes me feel slower thinking than I should.. It makes me have “double thoughts” in my head..  I’m thinking about my task at hand and what my patient is saying, but alongside those thoughts, I’m thinking “Uhhhh my feet!!”  “I can’t take this anymore!!”  “I wish I had normal feet!!”  “I wish my feet didn’t hurt so bad!”  “Oh I wish I could sit down!”  But, mostly my mind is screaming to me, “I HATE THIS PAIN!!!!!!!”  All those thoughts are in my mind as I’m talking to patients, starting IV’s, talking to doctors, etc….  They are in my mind because of the SEVERE PAIN I’ve endured for so many years..   I’m telling this because I want everyone to know where I’ve been with this pain and I want them to know the progress as of yet with my insoles, stretching exercises and coaching that I’ve received from Protalus and Chris Buck!!!!!!

One more thing I want to say about my foot pain and work.. The walk is so far from where I end my work day and the parking deck.. I’m just dreaming about getting off my feet as I’m hobbling out, imagining how nice it’s going to feel when I get into my SUV for my 40 minute drive home..  But, SO MANY times when I would get out to my SUV, I would just stand there and look at the door, I look at the running board, and then look at the seat..  By the time I’ve gotten there, I’m hurting so bad that I’ve even cried  TRYING to climb in..  Many times when I had my Mercedes ML350, I had no idea how I was going to manage to climb up and into it.. Now I have a Honda CRV, so that helps immensely!  Anyhow, after up in the vehicle, and off my feet… They pain is so great.. It takes about 10 minutes to get my mind off of it, then I enjoy the rest of the ride home….  Once I pull into the garage, that’s a different story!!!!  Up until I got my insoles, getting out of the car would be much harder than getting into it!!!!  I would slide out, sometimes screaming in pain, have to stand there until I could take a step.. Then, hobble up the steps…   Now, I’m not perfect, but I can get out of my car and walk right in and up the steps!!!

I THINK MOST PEOPLE IN THE PAIN I’VE BEEN IN WOULD’VE BEEN ON DISABILITY A LONG TIME AGO.. BUT I KEEP PLUGGING ON, KEEP DREAMING FOR THE DAY THAT I CAN HAVE A NORMAL LIFE… I RECEIVED MY INSOLES IN THE MAIL ON 8/3/15 OR 8/4/15 AND I’VE ALREADY HAD SO MUCH IMPROVEMENT THAT I CAN WRITE THIS REVIEW!!!  IT’S ONLY BEEN 9-10 DAYS!!!  YES, 9-10 DAYS!!!!

I promise this will the last thing about my pain.. For nearly every single time I’ve gotten out of bed for the last 25+ years, I have had to bite my tongue, slide out of bed onto my feet and just STAND THERE until I can get accustomed to the pain before I can even take a step…  Then, I HOBBLE to the bathroom, or wherever I’m going until I can take real steps.. I’ve felt 100+ years old with this pain since I was in my 20’s..   I also have this problem where I have to just stop and stand after getting up from a sitting position no matter how long I’ve been sitting.. It could be 2 minutes while taking a phone call or talking with a patient or 9 minutes driving to Wal-Mart..  I just have to stop, stand and acclimate myself to the initial pain.. … So that I can take a step…  I’ve dreamed of getting into one of those carts to shop at Wal-Mart for all these years.. I have never given in to it, and am glad that I haven’t.. I just wanted to make the point how bad it has been..

NOW TO THE GREAT STUFF!!!!!

I stumbled upon Protalus about a month or two ago in a FaceBook ad.. I basically ignored it at first because I’ve spent so much time, money and effort into trying to fix this pain of mine for so many years..  But, it kept coming up.. I clicked on it a few times.. But, I ignored it again and again.. But there was something about the unique design… It was different from anything I’d ever seen.. Something inside me told me to call about it, this time it would be different!

The night I first called, it was late.. After 10pm here..  I spoke to a really nice lady.. I was so excited that someone answered the phone at that time of night!  I explained a little of my story and told her just how bad my feet hurt!  I begged her, if anyone is available to take my call I would greatly appreciate it!!!  She said she would do what she could.. I thought I would get a call but didn’t expect one until the next day because it was so late.. Well, to my surprise, Chris Buck called me a while later!!  He listened to everything I had to say, he had suggestions and ideas for me!!  He told me about his insoles and that he thought he could help me with my pain..  I was so excited!!!   I could tell that he knew what he was talking about because of the anatomy language he was using.. I’m a nurse and I could relate to him..  I could not wait for my insoles to arrive!!!  It was like Christmas the day they came!!!  I took them out.. I held them up… Looked at them and the engineering that went into them..  I thought about the blessings I had received that first night I spoke to Chris on the phone.. I thought about all the stretching exercises that I have been doing with his heavy encouragement..   And, then..  I did it, I took the first step to a normal life.. But, with hesitation, I took out my very cushiony insoles out of my ASICS shoes…  I didn’t think I could do without them..  I put the new ones in.. And, when I say “new ones”, I mean “NEW ONES”!  Chris had just gotten in his shipment of a brand new type of insole, one with a higher arch and some other changes..   I was excited to take my first steps…  But, my excitement turned to disappointment with the first few steps..   I remained positive that I’d just need to get used to them, and I did..  I had an easy day at home, so I was up and down a lot, but by about an hour.. I could tell my feet were liking them much more.. It seemed to be easier to walk that first day… I talked to Chris on the phone, he told me to be patient, not to wear them too much and to break them in easy, using them for a short while to start with and to switch them out with my other insoles after 2-3 hours.. I did that for a couple of days and then I had a very busy day at work that forced me to wear them the entire day.  By this time, my excitement was building..  I was noticing that even though my feet still felt tired, that I was getting better each day after.. I began noticing that when I would stand up from working at the computer that I could just get up and go instead of just standing, biting my tongue and waiting until I was able to walk..  I was actually getting up and walking right away… Then, I noticed that my “hobbling” turned into “WALKING”!!!!  I COULD ACTUALLY GET UP AND WALK!!!  It was amazing!  But, yet, I still had the HOURS on my feet that I was going to have to be on..   As each day has come and gone since I first tried them.. I am seeing more great improvements!  Now I am ALMOST in NO pain when I’m actually walking!!!!!!!  My gait or how I walk is so much smoother than I ever remember.. It’s almost graceful!!!  I’ve not felt that way since I was a teenager, now I’m 52 years old..  Imagine that!!  It’s almost like learning to walk again!!!  So exciting!

It’s been less than 2 weeks since I received my insoles, and I see my life changing right before my eyes!!!  I’m so excited!  I tell everyone at work about what great customer service I have gotten and what great improvements I’m seeing already!!  I know that my feet did not start hurting overnight and I know that they are not going to be totally fixed overnight either, but with the improvements that I’ve already experienced, I cannot wait to see what the next 2 weeks will hold!!!!!!!!!!!!   Even if they didn’t  improve another bit, Chris has given me my life back!!!!  This week I was walking a lot like a normal person!!!  I was not in excruciating pain!!!   I’ve gone from a 8-10/10 on the pain scale most days to about a 4/10 in only 2 weeks.. And, sometimes I can honestly say I am only about  a 1/10!!!  I can walk down steps much easier than before..  I had gotten to the point that I was having to walk down one step at the time… I would step down with my right foot, then step onto the same step with the left foot… I’d do that all the way down.. But, with all the stretches that Chris has me doing, and the insoles.. I’m doing them pretty normal right now!!!  I do not think my progress is finished!  I have full confidence at this point that with Chris and his training and encouragement and with Protalus that I will be “NORMAL” one day soon!!!   And for me to be “normal”….. THAT WILL FEEL TO ME LIKE A MIRACLE!!!  And, also I can concentrate much better at my job because I’m not always thinking of my feet while I’m working now!!!  That feels like a MIRACLE as well!

I’m sorry it was so long, but my foot pain story has been building over half my lifetime and I’m excited to share what it has done for me so far!  I would also say to anyone who tries these insoles… .You must break them in slowly.. Your feet and legs must take time to get used to being in alignment.. (And speaking of that, it just reminded me of something else to tell you.. I feel that I’m walking much taller and straighter!)  Please do not give up if you don’t see improvements right away..  I could’ve just taken them right out of my shoes when I was uncomfortable the first time I put them on and never tried them again..  But, with Chris’s encouragement, I did it his way.. (not my way) And, am seeing RESULTS that I thought I would never see!!!   I’m still getting used to them in the morning when I first put them on.. My arch does not like the support to begin with, but after 30-60 minutes, my feet are loving the insoles!!!  I’m just saying, please be patient!!!   I HAVE FOUND SOMETHING TO HELP ME, I BET THEY WILL HELP YOU TOO!!!  I HAVE THE WORST FOOT PAIN I’VE EVER KNOWN ANYONE TO HAVE!!!  Remember, I’m a nurse and I see a lot of people every day..   I FEEL ALONE and like I’m the only one with these problems because I just don’t see anyone else like me..

BUT, I know there are other people out there in foot pain…..  It might just be YOU……  To you, I ask you to believe in Protalus, give them a try!!!

Many Thanks!!