As a former podiatrist, I would definitely recommend that you try an orthotic with a "Morton's Extension", which is a rigid extension across that first metatarsal joint that limits the painful motion. Then you can try it with your shoes, although you might have to go up 1/2 size. That should help with the pain even if you are wearing flexible soles. No good news about the heel height though, as the angle a high heel forces that joint into jams the bone together painfully when the cushiony cartilage is gone. (Think of the end of a chicken bone, the shiny cartilage is smooth, and works on both sides of a joint to reduce friction and smoothly glide...sigh, we lose this in some joints as we get older, and through overuse)

Good luck! P.S. What about flat forms?

I wore my cowboy booties out tonight and it got me thinking - could this be a footwear strategy for you? Good quality cowboy boots give you height, but the footbed is such that the pressure is off your toes. And yes they are rigid.

I wish cowboy boots were more of a fashion in Boston because to be honest I'd wear them every single day. They really are quite comfortable and I can walk for hours and miles in them. I find them more comfortable than ballet flats, or converses.

Maybe I'll just have to make them a "thing" here... or .. move!

A rocker sole is like the sole you find on Dansko Pros and Alegrias. When the sole is rigid, the rocker helps to propel you forward so that you aren't clomping quite as much as a horse. Since the rocker doesn't permit horizontal movement, one can twist one's ankles if one is not careful while walking on uneven surfaces.

Thanks, Suz. Honestly, I was so surprised by what she was telling me that I really didn't delve into the reasoning for her shoe suggestions. I need to ask her all these questions when I go back next week.

Greyscale, so glad you found your magic shoes! Hopefully I'll find mine in leopard, black, brown, pink, red, etc. She thinks mine probably started 35 years ago with some gymnastics injuries. I don't know if there's anything I could have done to not get to this point, but if there is, please do it.

GR, do you worry that you're causing damage with the 3' heels even though they don't hurt anymore?

Theodora, so happy you chimed in. I'm taking notes and will certainly ask her about a Morton's Extension next week. What's a flat form?

Shiny, I was thinking the same thing about my riding boots. They'll carry some of the load for the next few weeks, but after that it gets too hot for them here.

Oh Donna, I'm uncoordinated as it is. Let's hope she doesn't tell me I need a rocker sole!

Oh ouch! I see everyone has already given you great ideas, but I just wanted to sympathize and tell you those black and white selections are very cute.

I promise to thank my lucky stars every day that I am able to continue wearing pretty much whatever shoes I like. Foot problems must be miserable!

Thanks, Janet!

Shout out to Isabel: thanks for the Ros Hammerson recommendation! I ordered a pair of black pumps, 1-1/2 inch heel, and they are keepers!! I'd been searching high and low for comfortable black pumps to fill a hole in my closet.

I got the Roxy in Micro:
http://www.amazon.com/Ros-Homm.....8&qid

I ordered both 6B and and 6C/D to compare -- my feet are a touch wide, often B's are too narrow and C/D's work better. The C/D's were too wide, and also oddly enough, were longer. My foot was sliding out of them. But the B's fit like a glove. Lots of padding. I suspect I can stand and walk in these for hours. And they are CUTE.

Carter - this past week, on my business trip, I lived in my cowboy booties and boots. I ran through airports. I stood and walked in them for hours on end. My feet were very very happy. My back is happy too. Even then, I did find that it helped to ROTATE. So that is another strategy to consider. Even if you find THE perfect pair of shoes for your fussy feet requirements, it really helps to rotate. Maximum foot health if you rotate between varying height heels, fits, etc. And spend some time every day walking barefoot too!

Thanks, Shiny. Great input. Those are beautiful pumps, but Amazon says they are 2 3/4". Are they really 1 1/2"? I took about a dozen pair of shoes to my dr appt yesterday, some mine, others new. She disapproved of my black pumps, so I definitely am still searching. She did approve everything else, with a caution on my Clark's loafers that are so comfy (they're too flexible to protect my joint properly). I can wear the Clark's on light walking days, but I'm still looking for a couple pair of low heels that will get me through work. I'll do a post next week on what I have so far.

Oops - typo, yes 2-3/4. Sorry about that! I have standardized on that height for pumps, so I don't have to have trousers hemmed in all different lengths. I have different foot issues/needs/requirements than you do, wasn't recommending them for you. Just wanted to thank Isabel, as I'd never heard of this brand before her post here. I had a hunch Isabel's recommendation might work for me, since she also mentioned Aersoles, which my feet love.

I do not have arthritis, though for about a decade, starting in my 20s, my doctor treated me as if I surely did, hoping to avoid joint degeneration. At one point I also was told I had to resign myself to a lifetime of comfortable, sturdy granny shoes. Unfortunately the NSAIDs the doc had me on created all-new problems, so I had to go off of them. Then about 5 or 6 years ago, he ran x-rays, convinced he'd find significant degeneration..... and my joints are just fine! Turned out I never had arthritis! The joint-like pain I get is caused by something else, there may be an inflammatory process going on, but it's more muscular/ligament related ("lousy" ligaments that tear easily), and also CNS (phantom nerve pain).

So that's very different than what you are dealing with! My foot issues tend to always be temporary, not permanent. Even my supposed "bunions" will come and go. I can have foot pain for months on end, but babying my feet for awhile will heal the damage and then I can go back to the pumps again. And rotating shoes -- not just heights but also flexibility vs sturdy-- has helped keep the issues at bay. Which of course justifies owning a lot of shoes.