orthotics?

I have orthotics and love them!  Nothing bad to report from me.

I mainly only wear them to run, but some days I wear them with work shoes and it feels great.

Just keep in mind that they might take some tweaking or redoing. Mine actually gave me shin splints (and some sort of weird bump thing on my shin) - since it's really TOO much arch for my already high and stiff arches. But the lift in the one shoe makes a HUGE difference. So now the goal is to try to find a happy medium. Just know that it might not be a quick fix. Now that I've had problems with mine, I'm hearing all of these stories from other people I know about all the problems they had with their orthotics!

And yes, customs are expensive and not all insurance plans cover them - my current insurance doesn't. Thankfully, I got them under an insurance plan that covered at least part of the cost, before I changed jobs. 

Were they custom orthotics, or did he just hand you a pair and tell you to try them?

P.S. My insurance covered them 100% when my Podiatrist prescribed them.

Will never again run without my custom orthodics. 

Edit to add:

Mine are custom made from multiple molds. One while sitting and one while standing on one leg. Insurance paid 100%

Plus, the podiatrist had me jog on a treadmill for an extended period of time watching my foot strike. He filmed it and put it in slow motion to show how I overpronate.

Slowly we used different inserts until he found some he liked seeing on film. That gave him a good idea of the degree that I overpronate.

Lastly, he took a measurement from my belly button to my ankle on both legs to measure length discrepency. He lifted one leg by 1/4" to help.

There are a lot of positive endorsements for orthotics here.  They can obviously be very helpful to some people.

I'm going to relay an opposing view.  I've had foot problems for more or less the last 4 years.  I've had a couple of sets of custom ones.  The podiatrist adjusted them a few times as well.  I've tried off the shelf ones.  My feet have continued to have problems and actually developed new ones wearing them. 

I'm now going the total opposite route.  Working on barefoot running and minimalist shoes.  Plantar fasciitis is unknown in cultures that don't wear shoes often or at all.  Or before the 1970s when running shoes with big thick heels were introduced.  Our feet are much weaker today.  The orthotics, etc. just support them and the feet get lazy.  Running shoes also change our running motion with most landing on the heel.  You won't be heel striking if you're barefoot.

Anyway, the bottom line is that orthotics can be very helpful to people.  But be aware that they may not help you and may actually hurt you.  There are other choices out there.

Get a second opinion from a sports podiatrist!