I have psoriatic arthritis in my hands and feet. My left foot is severe. It hurts pretty much all the time. Today is a bad day. I can hardly walk, it hurts so bad. I wear custom orthotics. I'm taking my meds, plus Tylenol and it's not making a dent in it. I'm going to put myself on crutches for a few days and see if resting it will help. Gonna call the ortho on Monday.
Has anyone here had to have surgery on their feet? How did you know when it's time to give up? As much as I'm dreading going to the doctor, I really hope he will cast it for a couple weeks. The joints on the top of my foot are bone on bone, right where your foot bends. It's even swollen and painful to touch.
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Pepperoni wrote: Gabapenten is my best pain med for bone pain. I also responded very well to hydroxychloroquine, which helps is about 50% of patients.
is hydroxychloroquine the same as Plaquenil? Cuz i'm on that and Voltaren. Those helped at first, but now I'm having little shots of electricity from mid-foot to my toes, especially when I'm off my feet. I think I have some nerve impingement there.
Chock Full o' Nuts wrote: Gonna call the ortho on Monday.
Call a rheumatologist! Get some real treatment. Many people are helped by biologics. Remission is possible if you treat the cause rather than the symptoms. Stop the damage NOW!
I have the same, and the best result I had was changing diet, got rid of 50lbs, snoring, fatigue, inflamation. No sugar, no grains, no nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes). I went down to just a few foods, and then added things back in to see their effect. Figure what worked for me may not be the same for you, but the travel trailer is part of dealing with this, no eating out, make all my own meals on the road. Might be something to think about. I ate a couple marshmallows with the kids trip before last, and I fell apart, horrible pains for a few weeks. Doctor thinks I'm funny, dismisses it, but it has changed my life.
I have claw toes but I got damage stopped before it got to your point.
I, like you, have suffered similarily for many years and suffered to the point wear at times I actually walked on the outside edges of my feet with my toes curlrd inward(cupped). I had otho shoes for a number of years and was never comfortable because as I found out, after many changes, that what they were trying to do was change my foot configuration rather than adjust the shoes to make my feet comfortable. Quite by accident, after trying literally hundreds of different brands of shoes over the years, I discovered SAS shoes made by San Antonio Shoe. They are a shoe that rather than make your foot conform to the shoe, conforms the shoe to your foot after about two weeks of wear. I still have problems occasionally, mainly around the bunion behind the big toe, when I wear different shoes such as runners or loafers, but I have worn out about 8 pairs of SAS shoes. They are not cheap at about $250.00 pr CAN$ but I consider it cheap comfort. I also take meds as well, but have not had to consider surgery any more. I have purchased some of them in the US while on holidays and know that they are widely availible and in many places SAS have their own stores. Hope this may help you.
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stubblejumper wrote: I, like you, ....left out.... Quite by accident, after trying literally hundreds of different brands of shoes over the years, I discovered SAS shoes made by San Antonio Shoe. They are a shoe that rather than make your foot conform to the shoe, conforms the shoe to your foot after about two weeks of wear. I still have problems occasionally, mainly around the bunion behind the big toe, when I wear different shoes such as runners or loafers, but I have worn out about 8 pairs of SAS shoes. They are not cheap at about $250.00 pr CAN$ but I consider it cheap comfort.
You are the third or forth person who have mentioned SAS shoes to me .. I wear cowboy boots due to ankle weakness caused by MS .. although when I changed from a neurologist to a family physician (after physical therapy worked to get me back on my feet), the family physician said in order to completely get rid of pain, one has to get rid of the swelling, and so I am on Naproxen.
Naproxen over a long period of time does cause GERDS and/or ulcers, so I am on a stomach med also, and have limits on what I can eat also. But am willing to pay that price in order to do my cardio walks.
And I agree ... to yourself to a rheumotologist (sp?) as soon as possible, or have your doctor refer you to one if your insurance requires a referral.
Fortunately I only have arthritis in my hands, and only one hand is really affected to the point that I cannot open bottled foods, but have a hubby who helps with that.
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I am surprised you are paying so much for your SAS shoes. Mine are around $100 here in Texas and last for years. I have terrible knees and they are really the only shoe I can wear and be able to walk the next day.
GET TO A RHEUMOTOLOGIST NOW! An ortho is good for bones but you need complete care and the only dr who can do that is a rheumolotogist. The biologics that are out there work wonders (such as Enbrel, Humeria, and others). You need to stop the progression of the arthritis as well as manage the pain.
I used to take the same drugs as you and with Enbrel I have been able to completely stop them. I have RA not psoriatic so there is some difference but please get to a rheumologist as soon as you can. I used orthos and general practitioners for years before I found my rheumotogist and the joint damage was massive. I now have a fairly normal life because of the care of my Dr.
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