Feet feet FEET!

[Seenie]

Finally! Seenie makes an appearance. Thanks for speaking for me, GrandmaJ! You’re right:

At the risk of speaking for @Seenie, I’m pretty sure she can relate to this. There’s never a day I don’t feel pain. Once your feet are ruined, it’s nearly impossible to be pain free

Weight loss helps, but when you can’t walk comfortably, weight loss is damned difficult. I wear army boots. No, not really, but they give me complete support:

Of course, in the summer I’ve got a problem. Oddly, I’ve discovered that crocs aren’t too bad. For some reason, this model seems to have a footbed that fits and the straps hold my foot pretty well.

I found the “winner” by trial and error. Lots of discards went to the thrift shop! (Oh well, may as well make someone happy!)
Thank you for your question. Because … In looking for a picture to show you, I happened upon a pair that I ordered, in the middle of writing this post. I’m excited: have been looking for “dress up” sandals, with no luck and then saw these. They will be comfy and close enough to fancy sandals that I will be able to get away with wearing them as evening wear. Look closely … sequins! giggle!

And I found them because you asked. Oh how I love my PsA peeps!

[Grandma_J]

Thanks, Seenie, for not getting mad…I didn’t mean to step on your feet (excuse the pun ).

The crocs look sooooo comfy and stylish! I really don’t need any more shoes for the summer–well, maybe one more pair would be nice…
These are the Under Armour slip ons I just bought. They’re really comfortable, but I haven’t worn them anywhere yet because I don’t want to wear them out! Should’ve bought two pairs!

[Grandma_J]

I’m having a hard time uploading the pic…hmmmmm…

[Seenie]

What is comfortable really depends on exactly what your problem is, I think. Those look comfy to me, but I know from experience that they wouldn’t be. Why? Because the enclosed part of the shoe wouldn’t hold my foot in place securely enough. There’s a bit of forward/backward motion as you walk, causing the bottom of the feet to have to conform to a slightly different contour with every step. That hurts me. The V with the toe post holds my foot securely on the foot bed without movement. It’s just an accident of Croc’s design exactly fitting my fat foots. (They are very snug, but don’t hurt.) If I try the same style on from Vionics, they hurt. Weird. But them I am.

Get angry with you? Never Grandma_J, never!

[Sybil]

@Seenie

What is comfortable really depends on exactly what your problem is, I think.

Too true. I marvel at the fact that although I appear to have the feet of an 80 year old, hard-working peasant farmer with PsA, they are and always have been as tender as a baby’s. That V toe post thingy would be a killer.

[Seenie]

@Sybil

I appear to have the feet of an 80 year old, hard-working peasant farmer with PsA

LOL you always generate a vivid image!

[Grandma_J]

@susieb17

I walk like a crippled old fart. But my ankles are miserable!

That’s become my problem lately, too, and it’s so embarrassing…I absolutely hate being noticed and especially presenting as a “crippled old fart”!

I’ve been scanning the feet discussions because I want to know if anybody has had injections (lidocaine or steroids, whatever) in their midfoot…I can’t take the pain anymore so I messaged my doctor to get an appointment with the podiatrist.

My husband got a Ritsche brace for his drop foot and he never wears it—he says it’s uncomfortable. I doubt if I’d be a good candidate for that. My orthotics never really helped so I stopped using them. I like a sturdy shoe but with a soft cushy insole. Seenie, those sandals look good, but is the sole cushy? I take (every day now)Tylenol arthritis and some aspirin and rub Diclofenac gel on my arches but they still hurt enough to cause me to limp.
So, I’ll go for the injections if that’s possible. I didn’t see on here anyone mentioning they had injections in their feet.

[Seenie]

Hey Grandma_J!

I’m so sorry your feet hurt so damned much. When I say “I know the feeling”, I really do. (Unlike those unhelpful souls – pun intended-- who say that when you know darned well that they haven’t got a clue what it’s like to walk in your shoes.)

Right on this thread, @schoonerbird mentioned the good his Ritchie braces did for him. I told my pedorthist, and she thought that was an interesting idea, seeing they were usually used for foot drop. We put that idea on “hold” for another time. Then she disappeared on mat. leave.

Back to your question, though: nope, I’ve never known of anyone who’s had injections in their feet. If I were you, I’d start a new thread for that one, with the key words in the subject line. It’s got nothing to do with feet, but for what it’s worth (not much, probably) I had an injection in my spine
a few months ago which was a freakin’ miracle. But that was on one tiny spot for a pinched nerve, so nothing like your feet. The spine thing is a whole different story, unrelated (or so they say) to my PsA.

Those Crocs sandals have very firm soles. In my case, the less movement I have in my foot joints, the less it hurts. That’s why my “immobilizer” equestrian boots work so well. And the toe post on the sandals keeps my foot in position on the sole, which happens to be the right shape for me. Again, minimizing movement of the joints. I’ve thought that a pair of those air-cast things could work for me:

Oh, not such a good fashion look, you say?
It does sound like you’re doing everything that you can to minimize your discomfort. Have you tried tensor bandages or those food support things?

Have you had x-rays on your feet recently? If not, maybe you should: if there’s no damage visible yet, then perhaps the pain is being caused by inflammation and your PsA treatment needs to be reviewed. (Sorry if I’ve forgotten where you “are” with this.)

Don’t give up on this issue, Grandma, or @susieb17. If your feet are sore, and it isn’t damage (yet) keep after them. I wish I had.

[Grandma_J]

Thank you, Seenie. Yes, my feet are damaged and it showed on the MRI from Oct. of 2015. At that time the podiatrist gave me orthotics but told me they might not help. They didn’t. He told me surgery isn’t a good option because it could cause more pain. He also told me to wear stiff shoes like you mentioned, and I do wear them, but not all the time. The bottoms of my feet hurt, too, that’s why I like cushy insoles. He told me the cartilage in my ankles was eroding and I’d eventually need ankle replacements…I’m attaching a pic of the MRI result of my left foot from 10/2015. At that time it hurt worse than my right foot. Now they both hurt really bad. I’ve never had an injection for pain, but everyone seems to say they helped for other joints—I was just hopeful I could get them into my mid-feet. I’ll let you know if it happens!

[Seenie]

OMG that’s quite the report. But at least you know why they hurt. Interesting that you don’t have any problems in the interphalangeal joints, where PsA usually settles in. (Neither do I.) The report seems to identify lots of places where you have inflammation, so the question is, which spot or spots would they choose? How many can they do at a time? All worth asking.

I’ve had cortisone in my knee and my spine and it was great. I’d sure be asking the doctor about injections! Dr.Kallas would know who does those things.

[Jules_G]

I’m sorry about your feet too; it’s the absolute pits. The first time I went to get mine injected there was so much inflammation the doc didn’t do any as he couldn’t decide where to inject. When I went back he went with where I was getting the most pain (the second MTP) even though the ultrasound showed more inflammation elsewhere which makes sense with the PsA as we know that pain isn’t always the best indicator for disease activity.

Can you see an interventional radiologist who will ultrasound and work with you to agree where to inject based on what they see and what you feel?

[Grandma_J]

I would sure like to have it done with US…I’m sure that’s much more accurate. Somebody told me injections into my feet would be very painful…but if it calms down the pain and inflammation I have, it’ll be worth a few seconds of a painful shot!

[Jules_G]

I didn’t find it painful at all … or any of the other U/S guided injections I’ve had. Only ones which hurt like hell were the ones the rheumy did blind in both my knees, to the point I will never have another one done blind anywhere by anyone. Trying to decide at the moment whether I’m ready to have my S/I and right hip done.

[Grandma_J]

That’s good to know. My mom had a rooster comb injection into her knee about 15 years ago… It was so painful she tells about it to this day! She said it was the most painful thing she’s ever experienced. I will be sure to insist on US guided injections (and definitely not rooster comb!).

[Grandma_J]

I’m having good luck with the set of exercises my physical therapist gave me for my SI joint (finally). It’s been a slow recovery and I didn’t think the exercises were working at first, but I just wasn’t doing them enough. I’ve done them religiously twice a day for over a week now (she taught me the exercises a couple months ago but I was too lazy or pessimistic to do them at home). My SI joint is feeling a lot better. Maybe my SI pain shifted to my feet, because they’re feeling a lot worse these days!

[Jules_G]

Glad you’re seeing success with the SI exercises, that’s great news. When I went for this maybe two/three years ago the physio really wasn’t much (any) help but maybe now I’ve also had to stop hydrotherapy because the chlorine messed with my skin (no salt or filtered water pools here) it would be worth trying again before going the injection route.

[Grandma_J]

In case you don’t have this, I’m attaching the exercise sheet my P.T. gave me.

[Jules_G]

That is super helpful, thank you. I’ll “borrow” one of the dogs balls and give these a go while I get sorted with an appointment to see the physio.