Saw the Orthopaedic Surgeon at last

[Mish]

After 6 weeks on crutches I was SOOOOO ready to see him!!

The good news:

He said the thick fatty/muscle/whatever it is ( ) that covers & protects the metatarsal bone area of my foot, is separating from the bones. This is leaving the bones unprotected & eventually it would feel like I am walking on marbles when the bones are no longer protected. This is in turn is causing my toes to lift & they are becoming deformed & there is constant swelling in the entire forefoot area.

Thankfully this doesn't need surgery & hopefully will be able to be fixed simply by having a metatarsal done support made for my shoe which will cause my toes to lower back into position & hopefully in turn eventually reverse the problem. (I REALLY hope I'm explaining this right!!!)

The bad news:

He also suspects I have arthritis in my foot/feet. Given my history of joint pain since I was a teen & the level of stiffness & pain that I get in my hands, hips & knees he's pretty sure that's what it is. He's sending me for a multitude of blood tests & then to a rheumatoidologist. If he's right then there's nothing they can do to reverse arthritic conditions, they can try to ease the pain levels, but it would be one more degenerative issue to add to the list.

Hopefully it wouldn't degenerate too quickly though because while I know in the future a wheelchair because of my back problems is a very real likelihood, loosing the use of my foot would speed that up considerably... and I don't want to be in a wheelchair any sooner than I have to be!

Part of me is hoping since the rheumatoidologist will be checking for this in my foot, he'll be able to do the whole lot of my joints & that finally maybe we can get to the bottom of all my joint pain. Guess we'll see what happens.

Sooo, that's it for now. Still on crutches & playing the waiting game until I see more Drs! Let the fun begin!

[Kazadoodle]

Super hugs Mish, not sure what to say. Great news on the no surgery, bummer on it possibly being arthritis.

I'm glad at least they have an idea of what is wrong.

[Mish]

Originally Posted by Karin M Designs

Super hugs Mish, not sure what to say. Great news on the no surgery, bummer on it possibly being arthritis.

I'm glad at least they have an idea of what is wrong.

Thanks Karin. You don't have to know what to say, it's not the best of situations, but life goes on! I'm too stubborn to let it get the better of me. Besides, my kids need me up & functioning & that's what I will keep doing no matter how badly my body disagrees

There are too many Dr appts & things for my kids to learn in order to make it through life as close to "normally" as possible for me to not keep going!

My mind is far more stubborn & determined than my body.

[Jill D-Zines]

(((Hugs for Mish))) here too! I had to have foot surgery about 1.5 years ago now, and currently holding off on the other foot for as long as possible. I was also on crutches for 6 weeks, but most of that I had to use a wheelchair, cuz the crutches messed up my back too much. Foot surgeon said he was surprised by the amount of arthritis/degeneration I had in my foot (I'm only 44!), and it's very likely the other one will be the same. I also have degenerative disc disease with 2 multi-level spinal fusions, and arthritis in other joints as well... no fun, so I do know what you're going through.

I have custom orthotics (which sounds like you'll be getting too, right?) and they really do help quite a bit - for me anyway. When/if I have to be on my feet, I always feel better with them on - I hope they give you good relief and results! You're welcome to PM me if you want/need to talk.

[Mish]

Originally Posted by Jill D-Zines

(((Hugs for Mish))) here too! I had to have foot surgery about 1.5 years ago now, and currently holding off on the other foot for as long as possible. I was also on crutches for 6 weeks, but most of that I had to use a wheelchair, cuz the crutches messed up my back too much. Foot surgeon said he was surprised by the amount of arthritis/degeneration I had in my foot (I'm only 44!), and it's very likely the other one will be the same. I also have degenerative disc disease with 2 multi-level spinal fusions, and arthritis in other joints as well... no fun, so I do know what you're going through.

I have custom orthotics (which sounds like you'll be getting too, right?) and they really do help quite a bit - for me anyway. When/if I have to be on my feet, I always feel better with them on - I hope they give you good relief and results! You're welcome to PM me if you want/need to talk.

Oh my goodness Jill, you sound just like me! Apart from my older sister I have never met/known anyone with a similar issue with their back/arthritis, etc to the extent I have.

Yep I'll be getting a metatarsal dome type custom orthodic. I hope to get to see the podiatrist this week, but can't try for an appt until Monday, so we'll see. I also hope the wait isn't too long with the rheumatoidologist, I really want to find out the cause of what's going on.

[4noisyboys]

Oh...I'm so sorry!! I'm certainly no stranger to feet problems. I'm going in for surgery on Wed to mainly see why I have this huge mass on the top of my left foot. The MRI in inconclusive, so we have to go in and take a piece of it and biopsy it. If it is simply a mass of something, they'll go ahead and take it out. I've had a bunionectomy on my left foot, neuromas removed on both feet, I work on my feet...8 hour days on hard surfaces. I'm supposed to be wearing orthodics, but haven't yet (only 8 years later). I have osteoarthritis in my feet...something about the metatarsal bone growing wrong...swelling...pain...and more. I usually suck it up...do the best I can.

I'm hoping that this little surgery will give us some answers. My podiatrist is sure that all my problems are unique only to me...but after reading here...I'm not too sure!!!

Good news about not needing the surgery though Mish!! Surgeries are NEVER fun...and I think they can cause more problems. I'm hoping this one is just a quick one...no problems!!

[jmama]

Well I guess the good news is they have some idea of what is causing the pain. A bummer to still have it and have to wait more though. (((HUGS))) hopefully they can get you off those crutches soon.

[Mish]

Thanks girls!

Originally Posted by 4noisyboys

Oh...I'm so sorry!! I'm certainly no stranger to feet problems. I'm going in for surgery on Wed to mainly see why I have this huge mass on the top of my left foot. The MRI in inconclusive, so we have to go in and take a piece of it and biopsy it. If it is simply a mass of something, they'll go ahead and take it out. I've had a bunionectomy on my left foot, neuromas removed on both feet, I work on my feet...8 hour days on hard surfaces. I'm supposed to be wearing orthodics, but haven't yet (only 8 years later). I have osteoarthritis in my feet...something about the metatarsal bone growing wrong...swelling...pain...and more. I usually suck it up...do the best I can.

I'm hoping that this little surgery will give us some answers. My podiatrist is sure that all my problems are unique only to me...but after reading here...I'm not too sure!!!

Good news about not needing the surgery though Mish!! Surgeries are NEVER fun...and I think they can cause more problems. I'm hoping this one is just a quick one...no problems!!

Debra, I hope you can get some relief soon too! Good luck with your biopsy, I hope they can find some answers.

ITA about usually "sucking it up" that's what I do too. I have some pretty heavy painkilelrs for my back that limit what else I can take & unfortunately they don't touch the pain in my foot, so while I do take Ibuprofen for the foot, there's nothing that eases it a whole lot, so I find I sometimes need to just ignore it & keep going anyway. it's rather impossible to rest it properly in this house!

I just got an appt with the podiatrist for this Thurs, so we'll see how we go!

[Scorpiosue1102]

At least you now have an idea what it's all about. Thinking good thoughts for my friend Down Under.