Have questions or concerns about your feet? Join us!

Hello,
I’ve recently began dancing ballet and with the constant point, the outer corner of my big toe’s nail has become very sensative! I’ve tried different ways of cutting the nail, straight across, curved, that type of thing. nothing has worked and i’m worried it has something to do with my diabetes.

I joined this group because I love my feet.BIG LOVE. YAY FEET. I’ve been doing tai chi for the last three years or so and I think that it has been helping my sense of balance, hard to tell because changes over time have not been dramatic. It does seem like practice does work to improve our skills even with skills that we don’t think of as skills, like balance. One of the significant women in my life had been a dancer until she realized that she wasn’t gonna be able to be a professional because her body wasn’t right. She had trashed her feet. Toe shoes are horrible bad and point is not a thing our feet are made to do. They can but it is not kind to them. I hope I don’t sound just way too negative. I don’t think that it has anything to do with being diabetic

Brandi- I just read what you wrote about your toe nail. There is a member of Diabetic Dancers who was a professional ballet dancer for many years. Her name is Zippora. She is featured in the Big Blue Test video. She was also featured on dLife, the TV show and in Diabetes Forecast magazine. She would be the person to ask about your toe nail problem.

Catlover- Thank you ! This might sound dumb, but im new to this site, how would i contact her? xD
thanks!

Brandi- Go to the group D Dancers and look for the pics ( like we have on this group). Click on view all. It will take you to all of the pics of the people who are members of the group. Just keep looking until you find her name. There aren’t that many people in the group. I am sure you wil be able to find her.

What do you guys do to help with your calluses? Do they go away or do you have it forever and just treat them? I got my first one on the ball of my foot under my middle toe and for the most part it does not bother me but, sometimes it gets REALLY sore and hurts to walk.

I got shoe inserts that are supposed to prevent calluses on the ball of your feet. It has a raised part near where the callus formed, but closer to the center of my feet. At first they felt uncomfortable, but then I got used to it and it did help.

I also do sometimes use the sander to smooth out the callus to make sure that it won’t break open, but I’m not sure if that is actually good or not.

As a diabetic I see a podiatrist every 10 weeks. She cuts my nails and checks my feet for calluses, and any other undesirable growths. You should find a good podiatrist and have them check out your feet. It isn’t wise to dig around with your feet.

thanks for the replies catlover and Kristin! I’ll look into the shoe inserts! I had no idea they made them to help with calluses LOL I definitely need a podiatrist, I don’t have one. Isn’t that crazy :)~

Podiatrist is definitely a good idea. I don’t see one, but my endo does a thorough foot exam once per year. I went to a specialty shoe shop where I bought my inserts. They are kind of like these ones (in that they have this raised part in the middle of the foot), but mine were cheaper.

I love my feet! I walk around on them all the time. wrap them up away from air and light and they still walk me around. broke my hip in an auto accident years back(how I found out about hypoglycemic unawareness) andd broke my hip so I couldn’t walk for two months. I will never feel sorry for having to walk, no matter how cold or tired or wet YAY! FEET!

Hi 24HrRevengeTherapy. Sorry about your problems. I also went thru a bad foot wound that included MRSA and came close to losing my leg. I am surprised that you are not allowed to see a podiatrist for the problems you currently have. I would suggest trying to see if there are any wound centers in your area. I originally went to one at one of the hospitals near where I lived and when things were getting worse, I decided to jump ship and look for a better doctor. The wound center I switched to was part of Diversified Clinical Services. Unfortunately you have to actually call them to see if there is a wound center near you – I would suggest doing that. You really need a doctor that specializes in wounds. Here is the link to their website.

http://www.diversifiedcs.com/

I had a 3 hour drive to get to one. I can tell you if I had not gone, I would not have my leg today so it was worth the trip! If they have one in your area, they will know which doctors take Medicaid or not. The participating doctors have private practices but then spend a certain amount of time at the wound center.

The doctor I currently see used to be a doctor at the wound center. He is a GP but only sees wound patients. He is very good.

One of the more successful treatments in wound care has been with honey dressings. Hopefully you can find someone that uses those.

I know it is hard, but stay off your feet! Walking on the wound will only stop it from healing. They make something called a Knee About that you put your knee on and scoot around – that won’t help if you are having problems with both feet. If it is both feet, ask about getting a wheelchair. I had to get one when I went thru my big wound and when I had a smaller one after that, I used the wheelchair just because I could get around more and not put weight on my foot.

As far as the specialist for neuropathy, you will be seeing a neurologist. There are two primary tests that they will most likely do – an EMG and a Nerve Conduction Study. When I had mine, I did not thing they hurt but there was a guy there the same time I was an when he walked back into the waiting room, he told his wife that it did not hurt as much as one he had done at another hospital

If you want to see pics of what my foot looked like & read some of what I went thru you can check it out here. It is possible to get thru something really bad like what you are going thru – just don’t give up!

http://kellywpa.wordpress.com/diabetic-foot-wound-picture/

Hello, I’m new here. I was diagnosed T2 4 years ago, with a 9.1 A1C. Three months later I was down to 5.2. I’ve been between 4.9 and 5.3 for over 3 years, but I keep having problems with my feet and legs. First I had an infected big toe that was amputated. Then I had Diabetic Amytrophic Neuropathy and couldn’t walk for a couple of months. It took almost 2 years to work through that. Now it’s Charcot. Other than having nasty feet, I’m the healthiest person I know. I keep my numbers low with a low carb diet only. The prescription shoes I was given are almost impossible for me to wear, they are big and heavy. My legs are not strong and my balance is still poor. Inside those shoes my feet get no sensory contact and start to contract. I grow calluses very quickly. The remaining toes on the foot with no big toe are starting to become hammertoes, I think my poor balance makes me use them to grip. Without looking at my numbers, the docs tell me that I can expect these foot problems from having uncontrolled diabetes for so long. I was never that high, not for very long. It was easy to get under control and stay that way. (Sometimes I have to wonder if I’m really diabetic.) Does anyone else have feet like this? The doc wants to cut tendons in my toes now, it’s just one thing after another.

Hi Jan. What awful luck with your feet, but for goodness’ sake, don’t blame yourself. I have a bit of a problem with my right foot, a hammertoe and the other toes take some care. The shoes I’ve found worked for me are Saucony’s running shoes. I buy the Saucony’s for pronation control and in men’s sizes, which have a larger toebox than women’s. I buy them from www.roadrunnersports.com. For my leather shoes, I buy Drew’s. The Drew brand can often be found in local specialty shoe stores, and can be found online, one source being www.footsmart.com. Don’t know if they would work for you, but I kind of like looking at shoes and clothes that I don’t buy! Good luck.

Thank you, Trudy. I’m wearing a pair of Drew’s right now. They protect my feet very well, but I can’t walk very far in them, they’re a bit bulky. I had some Arcopedico soft net shoes before the Charcot and I loved them, they’re light and washable. But they don’t work with inserts. I’ll check out the Sauconys.

I had my regular foot doc appt today. My doc suggested trying the Laser on one of my toes, since I have a bad foot nail fungus on all 10 of them. So I tried the Laser on my Rt. big toe. Didn’t feel a thing. He said the Laser kills the fungus spores and the nail should start to grow out clean in about 6 weeks. I’ll let you all know how it goes. I was really tired of the ugly nails. I may do another one next appt.

I guess general discussion of Charcot would help me since I was just diagnosed with it. I have been wearing orthopedic boot but am not told I will need to wear an "Arizona Boot"to hold the bones together in my foot. I have always been picky about "pretty" shoes but I guess I will get over that.

Rene, here's a discussion on it, also look at the link I posted in this discussion
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/charcot-marie-tooth-disease

I wanted to know all that could happen to me if some how my feet got damaged.I'm just asking!-kiley

Let me put it to you really simple, since I am now an amputee. TAKE CARE OF YOUR FEET!

I broke my big toe back in October 2012. January 2013 I started what would eventually be a 34 day stay in the local bed and breakfast here in Abilene. February 24 my leg was amputated below the knee. All because of a broken toe that would not heal.

It is now June and the incision still has not healed. I am on a wound vac to try to get it to heal up. This journey has not been fun.

Take care of yourself!