does anyone just HAVE to kick off shoes – or…

[billd]

GO CRAZY??

Twice this summer while at work I’ve HAD to kick off my shoes – otherwise I was going to jump up and run or have to take a brisk walk or jump into a pool or something. But then taking shoes off settled down this restless feeling in my legs.

I went to a sleep center and they said a LOT of what’s going on with me could be sleep issues – deprivations, abnormal sleep, etc….. or could be ADHD related. She said that a lot of the symptoms of ADD are actually also caused by lack of the correct sleep. I’ll be finding out next week after a study……… but to have had almost all of this since I was a little kid – and the shoes thing………

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[Anonymous]

Well, I certainly like to go around barefoot (inside during the summer) and with just socks on my feet in the winter (yes!!! inside of course, I hate the snow).

At work (I’ m a teacher) I would love to pad around in my classroom in sock feet but that’d be against the rules of everyone always having a pair of shoes on their feet so as to be prepared for a fire/firedrill.

I feel much more relaxed with no shoes on my feet and this is coming from someone who loves, loves, loves to buy shoes and admittedly, is nearing an Imelda Marcos-like collection of shoes. With shoes on I feel like I have to be up and moving around all the time. Maybe it’s an ingrained kind of patterning in our brains. I know I never wore shoes at home when I was a kid unless going out somewhere when my mom would show up and put shoes on myself and my other siblings. Shoes on meant we were heading off somewhere ‘important’ to my little kid mind.

I’m a very restless sleeper if and when I do fall asleep. I also get leg jerks that start up when I’m in bed. Oddly enough, they started up the other day when I was sitting watching TV. That was a first. Anyway, my legs don’t do the jerking thing every night but I do all kinds of flipping and flopping every night. My husband loses sleep and our 2 little dogs immediately leave the end of the bed when I arrive and head for their own little beds (down at the foot of the bed they’d take the brunt of my legs flayling around). First, they always give a little grrr to let me know I’ve annoyed them.

My son, another ADDer, is also another VERY active sleeper. It was very interesting to watch how he would travel around his crib from one end to the other once he was able to ‘squiggle’. When he moved into a bed, we’d always be awakened by a huge thump when he’d fall out of bed and hit the hardwood floors. We doctored all sorts of bloody noses and cut lips (teeth hitting lips during face plants on floor).

We installed those portable bed ‘sides’ to try to keep him in the bed but they weren’t much help. With his excess activity and his increasing size, he destroyed the first one and it had to be replaced with another. I began to think he’d need one of those ‘cage’ cribs that I’d seen used at a hospital I’d worked in.

He throws his shoes off the minute he comes home from work too, but that may just be a Canadian thing. My American husband and his family (from the south) were amazed to note most Canadians take their shoes off when they enter a home.

Good luck with the sleep study. Perhaps you’ll find some answers!

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[Anonymous]

I have a hard time wearing shoes that flop off and on if I am in a situation where I have to sit a long time, like meeting. God, I could never work in an office with all that sitting. I flip and flop them all over the place and distract my neighbors. So no, I do not have that same problem that you have, but the shoe does connect for me work or no work. If they are on, I am working, otherwise I am off duty.

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[Anonymous]

I have a mini ottoman under my desk. It came with a long gone lounge chair I got at Target. I love taking off the shoes at work. One other trick if you work long hours, is to change sox after lunch. It makes a big difference.

I thought this was weight-related, but maybe it’s ADD.

I can’t go barefoot, though–podiatric tactile sensitivity disorder (ticklish feet).

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[billd]

pete-puma (which begs the question – one lump or two?)

changing socks? Really? Interesting.

Query – do you have any thoughts as to why this seems to help? Not doubting, just curious.

If it would help – I’d try it. I’m trying sandels (sp) today.. I’m told they are “ok” at work.

For home and hobby, I can’t to that. Anything less than solid shoes with me in a shop is asking for burns, cuts, loss of digits, or worse in my shop. Shoes are a must with my hobbies, and for my former jobs. This is the first “desk job” I’ve ever had.

zsazsa – I now and then find myself “jerking” as I fall asleep. Not a lot or all the time, but it wakes me when I do it.

I fall asleep SO easily, it’s dangerous. I’m a VERY restless sleeper apparently – sheets off the bed, blankets in a wad at times on the floor and my wife at times has to leave the room and go to the couch for sleep.

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[laddybug3]

Gym shoes brother me. My feet feel trip.

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[Anonymous]

My theory on new sock is that the old ones get sweaty and worn/compressed. Plus, you’re paying attention to your feet for a few minutes.

I can’t do sandals. Too abbrassive without socks.

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[billd]

I wear ’em WITH socks – otherwise agree with you. Can’t stand stuff rubbing. I also can’t wear anything EXCEPT 100% cotton on my feet. No blends or fancy socks. Leather shoes can make me NUTS, too (not that I’m not already nuts)

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[quizzical]

Back when I had a desk job, I was ALWAYS putting my feet up under the desk – couldn’t help it. I still do it at the computer at home. It’s not a subwoofer; it’s a footstool!

We are Asian-style in our house; no shoes. Comes from my husband’s side. Now I can’t keep my shoes on in anyone else’s house; it just feels weird, like not taking your coat off. I much prefer it, with the exception of summertime – the kitchen floor makes me crazy, because with three kids there are ALWAYS crumbs, and I hate stepping on them! I’m like the princess and the pea; I feel every single one!

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[Anonymous]

@billd, another thing that works for me, is I bought a 12″ diameter foam bolster and had them cut it in half (so you get two semi-cylinders): (http://www.foambymail.com/PolyCylinder.html). It was about $20 including the custom cutting fee plus shipping, which is another $13. I had other stuff I had to order, so I went over the $75 and got free shipping.

But I digress.

Point is, you put the semi-cylinder on the floor, flat side down, and use it as a foot rest. With shoes off, it’s fantastic. I always felt like my feet were pressing on the floor, this relieves the pressure. I use one semi cylinder at home and the other at work. (I thought it was my height and weight–long legs and lots of weight being supported), but maybe it helps for everyone.

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[Tiddler]

I never thought about this but I take my shoes off often when I shouldn’t. I once took my shoes off when I was working in a bar, after it had closed and we were tidying up. The manager didn’t like it and told me to put them back on. I didn’t like how he spoke to me so I walked out and never went back – didn’t even pick up my wage packet. Stupid really.

But when I became a teacher, I never thought anything of it. I walk around with my shoes off and sit cross legged on tables. No wonder people think I’m flaky.

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[billd]

Tiddler – I see no problems there! Flaky? Says who?

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[Tiddler]

LOL Thank you. Says just about everyone except a few close friends and my husband. But that’s one of the nicer words. I don’t mind ‘flaky’. I can’t stand the ‘lazy’ label though.

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[Anonymous]

I often get odd looks or comments (I’m sure even more behind my back) about my shoes and choice of clothes. I like being comfortable and that combined with having to shop at Big & Tall means I don’t exactly wear Gucci shoes and Brooks Brothers suits. In most jobs that’s not an issue, but to shallow people in M&A, how you dress is a status symbol.

I use it to my advantage. They think I’m goofy or underestimate me and that’s when I pin them down, rip out their throats and feast on their carcass. Metaphorically, of course.

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[billd]

that’s the puma coming out in you………

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[Author]

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