It might be a bit late to ask for advice on equipment I might need! Have ordered a knee scooter but not quite sure how to use it without putting my poor rheumatoid foot to the ground.
It was this d****d foot that crumpled under me and caused the fall that broke my shoulder. Got a reverse shoulder replacement just before the quarantine which is doing well. The big toe will get a plate to straighten it out and the next toe gets pins due to no connection between the bones. I have been told not to put any weight on it for 6 weeks. Thanks RA!
I live by myself with 2 small dogs. A bit concerned about getting around to let them outside and generally taking care of myself. Any tips?
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Gio1997
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I have no idea what a knee scooter is but if you’re having surgery on your foot I wouldn’t think it’s a very good idea....but maybe they are?
I‘Ve had foot surgies and been on crutches and my best idea was to get a little vegetable trolley on wheels.
I piled everything I needed on that.....& shoved it around with a crutch at first, then with the injured foot as it was in plaster and I couldn’t feel anything through it.
I also made a flask of tea/ coffee every morning and made sure I had at least a couple of cups out so that I didn’t have to do a tour of the kitchen to have a cup of tea.
One thing you should get is a plastic Limbo to put over your foot so that you can have a shower. They’ve got loads of them on Amazon. I can’t remember what they call them but if you just write “cover for plaster in shower “ or something similar I’m sure you’ll find them. Limbo is the trade name of the one I have but there are lots of others.
I have had quite a few foot surgeries ....not RA related ...& you will get on fine.
Just take your time & you will work out your own way of coping.
I must admit I did have Frozen meals delivered from one of the companies like Wiltshire Farm Foods. ....trying to balance on one foot...to prepare food was a no no for me.
Trying to retrieve it when I dropped a crutch was the worst thing that happened to me! ( phoned my neighbour and he came in and picked it up for me)Good Luck..hope it all goes well tomorrow!
Yes, talk to the staff in hospital. They will give you advice. They wont let you go until you can manage probably. Make sure you take pain relief home with you.
Get frozen food on the freezer. Call in a few favours from friends and family . Make a flask of tea and put a backpack bag on !, helped me x
I had that done 2 yeas ago and it was plastered and then just had an orthotic blue boot and a stick. It was fine and I was told just to make sure it did not hurt my hip and it was in plaster for 6 weeks then just the boot and great feet. I'd add my foot was straightened and shaved big toe bone and pinned all me toes back straight. Still looking good now and it never hurt at all. Straight feet mean nicer shoes so a lot to look forward too. They operated on the side on my foot and from top of toes with nicks at the bottom of each toe so its hard to see the scars .
RA has only affected my left foot the right one has stayed straight. Weird disease and the Benepali has been awful. Second time I've tried it and felt so bad. Going to talk to RA team tomorrow as the treatment is worse that the disease. lol x
I had the neuromas surgically removed about 8 years ago....they grew again,,,,Then had them injected about 2 yrs ago & they are now 10 times worse than they were before.
I often wonder if I just left them alone and put up with what I was putting up with I might not be in the position I’m in now.
I have to speak to my surgeon and see what he says last time he said just leave them alone “for now”!
Whatever I do I shall wait until the winter ......I’m not going to be hopping around in the summer,
Mine came back and were removed again. Injections eventually don't work because the steroids cause a cavity. Thats what the surgeon said, and he showed me on the MRI so they grow; we remove; really not much else can be done. So thats what I do its done privately at a cost of about £1600 but worth it. Might be worth having done again, nothing worse than painful feet but after they straightened my foot they've not been a problem since. No idea what though except it might be no more irritation.
Yes, I will have to have it done privately the NHS won’t ‘redo‘ that particular surgery ....but at least when I can get into the private hospital I know it won’t be CV19 infected.
My feet aren’t exactly painful ..,I just feel as if the sole of my foot is like a cut in half tennis ball .....so I’m not very well balanced,
But give me a glass of red wine and I can walk a straight line so no hurry!
I know what you mean its like walking on broken glass so painful, my surgeon said worst thing is a lot wear sketchers to ease the pain and it makes it worse. But at least you've got sensible shoes on (Pikolino's boots with a small heal). He said always wear a small heal and say no to orthotic insoles as they simply don't work with Mortons. I like,my shoes so in true style I bought a pair of heeled gladiator sandals in blue leather with silver stitching to look forward to wearing. And I still do. lol xxxx
I believe that a surgery is often the lat resort for NHS, quite rightly but if you go private it can be first resort as it works. And a good surgeon won't do anything unnecessary. My foot had twisted and was painful so the NHS referred to a podiatrist why did make any pairs of insoles none of which worked. So tearfully I went private best thing I ever did he said insoles won't fix this foot madness and a waste of money to even try. So a couple of weeks later foot was operated on and put in plaster. a bit itchy but no pain at all. I know its not for everyone but it really was no big deal a couple of days scoffing quiche and watching tv in a nice room was a hardship at all. They said no need for crutches as I had a trail walk with a stick and managed just fine. I have a few scars on side of foot and 5 minor ones on top but would say gof all the impacts of RA this was the worse and very ageing to wear such awful shoes so was worth every penny to be painfree and able to ramble and dance again.
Yes, NHS in my opinion do waste time sometimes at the expense of patients' pain and discomfort. From your description earlier of how your op was done I thought was incredible putting nicks at the bottom of each toe so it's hard to see the scars. I had two trigger fingers operated on a few years ago and the surgeon did the incision along the natural crease of my hand after a couple of years, you would never tell which crease was incised.
I put a photo of my foot on here last year and barely able to see scars too. Why the NHS puts off things and refers to Podiatrists I don't know as from posts on here few seem to have any success. I sure didn't and funnily enough when I was in hospital for an AKI I said my feet are very swollen as I can see the scars which are usually hidden in the fold of skin between my toes. Then there was a rush to elevate and a doctor called for. I'm glad about your hand as its about quality of life. I did have wires sticking out my big toe like hooks removed when they took the plaster off but I never felt them and a plate was put in to keep big toe straight, the others were broken and pinned and I only know about that because I saw it on the final X-ray they did. A work of art? xx
I used a knee scooter and it was wonderful! But you do need to be careful not to go too fast and not downhill! You will need to push yourself along a little with your foot that hasn't been operated on. Just go slowly, it will go too fast if you let it unless you are on carpet. I even managed to sit on the stairs and pull it up and down so that I could use it both upstairs and downstairs. I used it in the supermarket with a trolley in front of the handlebars, too.
The physio was very dubious about it, she hadn't seen one before, and I had to demonstrate to her that I was safe before she let me out in the corridor with it.
Hopefully before you leave the hospital you will see a physiotherapist and maybe even an occupational therapist who will make sure you can get about.
I’d say to be very careful what you do, when my husband had his hip replacement done he used to think he could do some really silly things - like one day he wanted to change a lightbulb! I used to tell his visiting physiotherapist and that stopped him in his tracks.
Can you arrange for anyone to take the dogs out for you - at least in the beginning?
Might be worth getting one of those ‘litter picker’ things for picking things up off the floor and a trolley for all your stuff is a good idea too because it will keep all of your stuff together. Once you get out, I’d certainly keep my foot up for as long as you are told to.
Thanks everyone! The knee scooter has been delivered and even has a little basket-not sure if it can hold a cup of coffee without spilling but room for the stuff. Oldtimer is right that it can get going a bit fast. Practice will help.
Looking around here for my grabber thing and will find out about plastic coverings for the shower. My surgeon's PA thought that due to recent shoulder surgery I should not use crutches. Here physical therapy starts a few days after surgery and is always very helpful.
Hoping this goes well. I really want to walk again!
I had a plastic covering for my wrist plaster cast - a LimbO that I got from Amazon. I can really recommend it, it is very good quality thick yet soft polythene with a neoprene top that fits very snuggly and doesn’t let a drop of water in.
Maybe you could get one of those travel cups with the lids, that would be ok in your basket.
I use a stroller/ pushchair cup holder on my wheel chair and walker to carry drinks and bottles. There are many versions in amazon. Mine is quite heavy duty and has an additional Velcro attached hook. These would be very useful to attach to your knee scooter with a travel cup or bottle. Hope all goes well. Kind regards wendy
Maybe the hospital will organise for the Reablement Team to call in on you for the first few weeks, or suggest you have carers. Then perhaps ask a relative or neighbour to walk the dogs for you?
Oh gosh! Do you have family/ good friends or neighbours who can help with things like washing, ironing etc or could take the dog's for a walk each day? If not there will be dog walkers in your area. The local Vet will tell you where they are. Apart from that I would suggest making a list of things you will need that could be moved to different cupboards or drawers to make accessibilty easier. Place as many things close to you without causing a safety hazard. I wish you lots of luck with your op. x
I'm home already! Surgeon said it all went well. I have a half-cast which covers the bottom of my foot, lots of padding and miles of tape. I thought it was interesting that I was to keep my mask on until they started oxygen in the operating room. Had a Covid test a few days ago-lots of precautions and protocols in place.
My wonderful neighbor drove me to and from the hospital and picked up the drugs from the pharmacy. They are older than I am so I hesitate to ask too much! Deserving of a fancy dinner when (if) the world settles down. Younger friends are coming by tomorrow and housekeeper the day after, son in law by the end of the week.
The dogs are small and the back garden is fenced, so they are self-exercising. Its just letting them in and out the back door and getting myself around the house that is the problem. If Seamus was a little bigger I'd bet he would be willing to get the icepacks out of the freezer!
Thanks so much for the help and encouragement. Hurts like h@@@ right now but this too will pass.
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