New Member with OA in hands and toes

KatyH

Hello. I’m new to this site and have been reading some of the posts - it looks to be very useful and supportive. I have osteoarthritis in my hands and big toes. I also have psoriasis and was initially diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, although the diagnosis was changed to OA. I’m slightly nervous that the diagnosis isn’t correct...

Anyway, I have 3 questions that I hope people will comment on.

• does anyone have experience of an RA diagnosis that’s changed to a OA diagnosis?
• has anyone had Cartiva implant surgery in their big toes? Has it worked, reduced pain, made walking easier, and how long has it lasted?
• Finally, footwear. I’m finding shoes tricky to buy; one minute they’re comfortable and the next minute very uncomfortable. Are there any specific makes and models for a woman that people can recommend to help ease pain in the big toe joint?

Thanks for reading, K

Ellen

Hi @KatyH welcome to the online community.

We do indeed have people here whose diagnoses have changed some from Osteoarthritis to Rheumatoid Arthritis some from Osteoarthritis to Psoriatic Arthritis etc, so yes it does happen.

You are quite right to say this community is very useful and supportive our members have so much experience between them and will help in any way they can.

While you wait for someone to come along I would like to give you a link to a search I did about shoes for you:

https://community.versusarthritis.org/search?query=shoes&sort=-dateInserted&scope=site&source=community

Some of the replies are very interesting.

This search is about the cartiva implant. Hopefully someone will still be around posting to reply to you.

https://community.versusarthritis.org/search?query=cartiva&scope=site&source=community

Do please take a look around the forum and join in anywhere you wish Living with Arthritis is one of our most popular categories.

My best wishes to you K,

Ellen.