Charcot Joint Disease - Page 2

marip · ‎07-24-2016

Drythe This last week was not a good one for me first my mother-in-law who is 96 years old broke her arm, then finding out about my brother's cancer on Wednesday then my spouse's diagnosis Charcot's. I'm trying to hang in there and keep positive. Talking to everyone here has helped.

wishmoon · ‎08-14-2013

@marip I'm so sorry, sometimes life comes at us until we almost break. Stay strong, ppl are thinking of you.

phoenixbrd · ‎03-27-2010

@marip I am so sorry for all that you are going through. You efforts to stay positive and take some quiet time for yourself, will help. Maybe you could find a support group for this specific diagnosis. We know that you are seeking medical help, but sometimes we need people to talk to that understand what you are experiencing. My best to you.

JeanLouiseFinch · ‎10-03-2011

@marip wrote:
My spouse was recently diagnosed with this serious ankle disease. He has neuropathy in his feet which caused the joint disease. His foot is very swollen. Next week he's going to get a shoe boot. He was told to stay off that foot as much as possible. The bones in his ankle are fracturing and deteriorating. Thank goodness because of the nerve damage from the neuropathy he's in no pain. What can we expect with this disease? I know amputation is possible if gangerene sets in.

@marip My sister and I both have neuropathy in our feet and ankles, but we are not diabetic, even though there is some family history. My sister is trim, I am overweight but working on it. A couple of years ago, she ended up with an infection in her toe. She never noticed the pain due to the neuropathy but it ended up getting into the bone and the toe needed to be amputated. Then her foot started turning and the doctor put her in a boot. They monitored things for awhile, but she ended up having reconstruction surgery this past January for Charcot Foot. I think it was something like a six hour procedure. Following surgery, she was off her feet for 12 weeks, except for using the bathroom and sitting on a shower chair. She had to use crutches to get around to those tasks but the rest of the time she was either sitting with her foot elevated or laying down in bed to sleep. Once her cast came off she was back in a boot and eventually moved to a brace. She is back driving and returned to work on a limited schedule. Whatever happens, follow the doctor's orders to a T and be sure your husband checks his feet every night for any sores. If you see something, don't ignore it.

Mathgal · ‎02-28-2011

My husband has been dealing with Charcot foot/ankle for over a year an a half now. In February 2018 he was diagnosed with it in the foot. He was in casts and non-weight bearing for 3 months. Then he moved to an AFO (ankle-foot orthotic) and finally a specially made orthotic. Then in September of 2018 it started happening again in the ankle of that same foot. Another 3 months of casts and non-weight bearing. Again a new AFO that is more supportive and he is now awaiting another new orthotic. If I was to give any advice, I would say follow the directions of the orthopedic exactly. The more weight and use the foot/ankle gets the more damage that can be done. Since the bones are weakened, reconstruction is not always possible.

Some people are treated using a CROW boot (which is a full contact boot). There are pros and cons to using a cast vs boot. Either way, mobility will be restricted. My husband used a knee scooter. Luckily he works from home!

My my thoughts are with you both. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Montana · ‎03-09-2010

@marip

Here’s another link

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3644892/#s1title

“Charcot foot associated with chronic alcohol abuse”

marip · ‎07-24-2016

Update: My spouse still waiting to get his CROW shoe boot. I've neen looking up online information about this disease. My spouse foot is not red looking. Online it says with Charcot the foot is red and swollen. His is just swollen. Also his foot swelling does go away at night comes back again in the morning. Is this typical with Charcot? or wonder if his doctor misdiagnosed him. He's not due to see his doctor again in a few weeks.

nagrom · ‎07-03-2010

I was recently diagnosed with Charcot ankle/foot. I am a diabetic with a stable A1C of 5.1. My foot started to fail and hurt. Having a big dog that stepped on my foot and breaking my toes in the past, I thought it was due to him. But I learned that it also is affected by other causes. In my case my mid foot section is collapsing. In 1991 i broke my ankle dislocating and reading tendon and ligaments. I needed screws and steel plates to fix it. Because of that I figured it was the result of history. Anyway, I will wear the boot for a year. It comes up to my knee and prevents any movement. Daily i clean the boot to avoid infection. Wear it ten to twelve hours,a day. Cannot stride with it and needed to purchase an even up apparatus for my good foot. I need to check foot daily for red angry areas of foot. I use foot cream twice a day to keep the skin healthy. So far so good. My doctor tells me after a year I will need custom shoe to wear. It's a lot of work and hoping things will work out.

Thought you would appreciate hearing from someone that is experiencing charcot foot too. Good luck and take it day by day.