toe arthritis question

[coonsanders]

hi

i have toe arthritis and i was wondering if anyone else here has it..how do you

live with it?are you able to wear cowboy boots?do you take meds for it?

[helixhelix]

Hi there,

I'm not sure quite what you mean - do you have osteoarthritis in your feet or is your RA attacking the joints in your feet and eroding them?

[teekay]

Hi,i have ostoe and rhuemy. Recently had a fusion opperation on my big toe joint. So far it is pain free and seems to be a success, i'll know more after seeing the surgeon next week.

The opp was as day patient, i'm wearing a wedge type sandal, had crutches for a while and just carried on with everything as normal. Only thing i can't do is drive.

Hope this helps if you go down that path.

[coonsanders]

hi

i have hellix ridgid..its ra in my big toe..i think its eroding them...

coonsanders

[coonsanders]

one more thing..i heard a fuse throws your foot off kilter because you lose an inch off your toe making it hard to walk..isnt this true?

coonsanders

[Ella32 in reply to coonsanders]

I have had most of my toes fused.... now that they are fused they don't cause me any problems walking.............. it depends on how arthritic your feet are? Yes if you have absolutely no other problems you will probably find that it makes it slightly harder to walk, however, if you have other joints involved or lots of pain in that joint, you are just sooooooooooooooooo grateful for it to be fused that you don't notice!

Hope this helps

Ella

[Hidden in reply to Ella32]

HI Ella what does Fused mean

[Ella32 in reply to Hidden]

Fuseing is where they in essence take out the arthritic joint, mix up cement (not so crudely as i say) and then put the cement in your joints place to stiffen the joint, hence no pain/swelling able to happen but negative the joint is PERMENANTLY stiffened. Only a option for toes/fingers/wrists/feet/ankles and not knees/hips/shoulders/elbows (where you need a joint to bend).

Ella x

[NinaPWA in reply to coonsanders]

To a certain extent, yes it does. Both of my big toes are fused (because ALL my MTP joints have been removed) so it makes my one foot sort of pivot on the callous that has formed under one toe. Since the toe can't bend, the foot pivots side-ways a bit. It isn't bad, but no way in hell can you wear cowboy boots!! You can't wear heels at all!! I end up wearing men's shoes just because all of the stupid women's shoes have some sort of heel.

Good luck!

[LavendarLady]

Hi I have RA in my big toes as well as plantar fasciitis in both feet. If my big toes are going through a painful stage I wear low heeled loafers and ankle boots or knee boots with a broad 1 " heel on them for comfort. When everything is ok, I wear 2 " heels and for going out in the evening (provided not too much walking is involved) 3" heels.

My husband had his big toe done a few years ago and it is shorter than the other but doesn't seem to cause him any trouble with walking. He still continues to play golf as well. He is due to have the other toe done at some stage but whilst it is not bothering him, he is leaving it. He had osteoarthritis in the big toe joint.

LavendarLady x

[coonsanders in reply to LavendarLady]

thanks guys...boy you hear this stuff all the suffering its amazing..

[Hidden]

HI coon i have ra in my second toe and this causes great discussion among the rheumys. Its annoying and a bit painful but so far not disabling.

[coonsanders]

thanks mads..mine is in the joint of the big toe....from a horse stepping on my foot..

coonsanders

[LavendarLady in reply to coonsanders]

Hi your response made me think. My toes have been stepped on so many times by horses over the years who usually then lean their weight on me as well - hadn't made the connection. I have RA in both big toes and trouble with some of the smaller toes although that could be the plantar fasciitis as well.

I also have a damaged shoulder which I think is the result of years of a 12 bore slamming into it when out shooting although the physio is not sure about that! LavendarLady x

[Tinwoman2]

I had my right big toe fused 2 years ago because I had bone on bone and it was very painful. The fused bone feels Ok, but now the end joint is inflamed & has started to deviate towards my little toe. It hurts all the time, and I get ingrown toenails on that toe ever since the fusion. I actually had my entire foot reconstructed-because my other 4 toes were dislocated & the bones were pointing down, so every step was really painful. Overall, my foot feels 90% better than it did before the surgery, so I'm glad that I did it.

They took out the top joint in my other 4 toes, so they are shorter now, which makes finding shoes hard since my right foot is a size shorter than my left foot.

[coonsanders]

thanks tin

[Hidden]

Oh gosh! Yes, My Psoriatic Arthritis has affected all of my feet, hands wrists and spine. My toes have become so distorted, they have all moved sideways and overlap the next one. Like, my second toe reaches over all the other toes and extends over the edge of the little toe on my left foot. My right one has hammertoes and both feet are very tender to touch, or wear shoes for very long.

Buying shoes is very difficult as I have to have extra wide for my left foot, but only wide for the right, but I'm not about to buy two pairs of different sizes!

Unlikely that I could ever wear cowboy boots! Best shoes are New Balance and Dr. Scholls. Really fav's are my Dr. Scholls sandals. Even though Summer is gone, I wear them with socks around the house. Good luck with your feet!

[CathySmith]

Yes i have RA and Osteoarthritis in my toes, especially my big toe. I also have what they call' Over-lapping" where my toes over lap each other because of the cartdlidge and tendons being swollen and becoming damaged..Advil or any anti-inflamatory md will help with that! Good luck....

cathy

[coonsanders]

hi guys

thanks for your input..the shoes to wear are claks..very very comfortable and dont hurt my feet..try em youll like em..lol

coonsanders

[NinaPWA]

I agree with Coonsanders: Clarks are great shoes. Also, now, I like Keens, because they have more styles without heels. I used to wear Birkenstocks, before they were popular, but with both big toes fused, with all my other toes being "floppy" toes, and one ankle fused.....I positively LUST after shoes that won't hurt my feet. I read shoe catalogs like they were romance novels.

Love to everybody! Nina

[Tinkerbell5 in reply to NinaPWA]

I have synovitis and bent toes I find sketchers bearable

[coonsanders]

hi

ive heard all about these fuses...i have also heard that most people dont like them.i guess it depends who the person is hand how the fuse operation went.

yea im sold on clark...rather cleaver thoes brits...lol..clarks are britisn

lenny

[mindy13]

I wear toe socks and my feet feel so much better.

[coonsanders]

Hi

Boy that's an old thread...thanks

[Mikejohnson89]

Ingrown toenails should be treated as soon as it is recognized. In many cases, people with uninfected ingrown toenails can obtain relief with the following simple regimen:

Soak the feet in warm salt water

Dry them thoroughly with a clean towel

Apply a mild antiseptic solution to the area

Bandage the toe

Wear shoes that are long enough with a deep toe box or open-toed sandals.

See a doctor if the condition does not improve

footsolutions.ca

[Poppy78]

Hello All,

Please could anyone recommend any tablets chemical or herbal that you have taken that you have found help or at least ease the pain off a bit, my husband has just at long last been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in his big toe joint, he has been prescribed Naproxen which is all good and well, but is there any supplements that actually work that he could take on a regular basis? when it is really bad he can hardly walk any advise or tips greatly received. Thanks in advance.

[nomoreheels in reply to Poppy78]

Not that I know of or tried I'm afraid. I've found the pain of OA is not touched by anything non medical (apart from topical). That said i admit I'm not one to put up with pain for any length of time before getting really ratty, coping with both Rheumatoid & Osteo isn't overly easy. So my meds for OA consists of BuTrans patches (20mg/hr), amitriptyline (25mg am, 50mg pm), co-codamol 30/500mg as required, etoricoxib (Arcoxia 90mg) & Pernaton gel for specific joint pain.

He could try taking Omega 3 fish oil, it does help somewhat, it's the only supplement my Rheumy ok's apart from the calcium/vitamin D prescribed.

Poppy, as this is quite an old thread so you may find you'll have more responses if you create your own post, more members may reply. It sounds like you're a caring wife, it's not nice to see our h's in pain is it so I hope you find something which helps. Different people respond differently to meds but I'm one who doesn't get much relief from naproxen so maybe he'd be best seeing his GP again if it's not cutting the pain, usually there's a quick response to NSAIDs so if it's not working now it may not even given time. I hope he's also been prescribed a ppi (stomach protector, omeprazole or similar) to take with it as NSAIDs can be harsh on the tum.