twr done now my toes to be done

lavenderlady

having had my wrist replaced last Novemeber I knew sooner or later my feet were next to get sorted and that day has come, I saw my DR yesterday and when he saw my toes was amazed I could still walk as like my wrist the bone was totally deformed on my left big toe joint by OA,
he dictated a letter to my first surgeon to deal with it as soon as possible got to have new xrays of the toes and feet he said the toe joint will be removed and like my wrist will be replaced with metal joint,
some of you may remember all the skin problems i had after my last op with blisters and swelling and it resulted in a nasty scar and weekly trips to hospital to get it sorted after a bad reaction to the anti biotics etc, has anyone had this op done?, both feet are affected but think only the worse affected will be done first, DR said it was a very painful op and will be in plaster for 6 weeks how can I use crutches with my new wrist which I have been told not to bear weight on etc any help would be much appreciated michelle

cherrybim

Oh Michelle, Sweetpea what a lot you are having to cope with!

I have only had 'ordinary' ops on my feet so I am devoid of any advice to offer you.

It's only my experience but having RA all over the shop and not being able to use crutches I find that using hand splints with the metal walking sticks is preferable. Just an idea

I do hope that you'll get great relief from the op. Modern day orthopaedics are so wonderful these days.

Cherry x

julie47

Hi lavenderlady
So glad that you are going to have your foot sorted I hope your wait isn't too long.
I can understand you worrying about not been able to get around cause you are unable to use crutches. Neither can I.
This is only a suggestion but would you perhaps be able to hire an electric wheelchair? That way you dont have to self propel. And as for moving to a different seat, bed, etc you could probably borrow a transfer board from the hospital or one of their departments.
I have 2 electric chairs (both bought by me) one upstairs and one downstairs. And when I am not using my leg I transfer to a different area using a piece of laminate floor board (is cheaper) you just slide across.

This may be a daft idea and totally unsuitable for you as you may be in a house. I am also in a house but have bought a stairlift.

Wishing you luck anyway
Take care
Juliepf x

frogmorton

Hi Lavenderlady

Is it anything at all like what Elna is having doen on her feet? Sorry if I have it wrong :oops: I often DO get it wrong :roll:

You did have trouble recovering didn't you? Would yo be allowed to take anything like arnica for healing?? Just a thought...

love

toni xx

lavenderlady

I never thought of using my wrist support it has a metal bar in it so could save me damaging my new wrist joint, thanks for that idea, all I know dr said the big toe joints are badly deformed I usually wear Hotter shoes but can not get shoes on across the front anymore , he did say they would need to remove the damaged joint and replace it with metal joint which will fuse it in one position so I dont get the excruciating pain when walking luckly we live in a bungalow so stairs are not a problem,
I am really scared about getting the same problems with blisters and infections etc again, still having to cream my scar up as its so dry am now using bio oil, the itching drives me nuts but Dr said its a good sign of the nerve endings in my skin that were cut are working, thanks for your advice,
am trying to get used to his idea of regular ops being done to help me , at least hes helping me as some Drs can be so insensative as I've noticed on here , so should count myself lucky hes a good Dr, he even said dont worry about seeing your Rhumatologist we can go stright to the surgeon as I saw him before about my wrist, so I do feel lucky compared to some of you with uncaring Drs , michelle

Wonkylegs

HI

wow! no wonder you're worried about how you'll manage afterwards.

I can't really help from personal experience, but perhaps if you could contact an Occupational Therapist they could advise on how you could get about safely after a foot op.

I did see an interesting contraption being used when I was waiting to see my OT one time ..... a lady had obviously got wrist problems, but also had one foot in plaster, and was getting about on something akin to a large wheeled triangular walker, where she had a rest for her bad leg (almost like she was kneeling on it), and two sort of arm rests which ended in handles , so she had three points of support and hopped with the other leg.

Now I don't know if what I've written makes it sound like a good idea or not because reading it and seeing it in my head are two different things but it is obviously not an unsurmountable problem, but may need forward planning.

Hope that helps

WOnky