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Toe Amputations

R

RGS

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Im a 60 year old, have been type 1 diabetic for 46 years. Over the last 6 years i have had 2 toes removed from either foot due to problems my bad circulation couldn't cope with.
Im going to hospital again in 3 weeks to have toes 4 and 5 removed on my left foot, they also are advising me to have toe 1 (big toe) removed at the same time (this is up to me), to minimise the risk of future issues.
Has anyone here had all their toes removed and were you able to walk, drive and carry out relatively normal life aferwards.
Has anyone lost all toes and wished they hadnt taken the option of toe 1 removal?
Thanks in advance.
 
Hi @RGS Apparently, some people manage fine with either one or even no toes on a foot. I remember way back in my youth here was a cricketer who even played for England who had lost all but his big toe on one foot due to an accident with a motor boat propeller. Unrelated, but there was another who had either lost an eye or was blind in it, but he still managed to field and bat at county level.
I think that a person's attitude to a physical misfortune makes a huge difference to the eventual outcome.
 
RGS said:
Im a 60 year old, have been type 1 diabetic for 46 years. Over the last 6 years i have had 2 toes removed from either foot due to problems my bad circulation couldn't cope with.
Im going to hospital again in 3 weeks to have toes 4 and 5 removed on my left foot, they also are advising me to have toe 1 (big toe) removed at the same time (this is up to me), to minimise the risk of future issues.
Has anyone here had all their toes removed and were you able to walk, drive and carry out relatively normal life aferwards.
Has anyone lost all toes and wished they hadnt taken the option of toe 1 removal?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I still have all my toes, but I am picturing myself in your position. I am wondering if you would be able to ask for a second opinion about your toes? I understand that we all are entitled to a second opinion on NHS. If you have been told that it is up to you if you have your left big toe removed at this stage, it makes me think that perhaps the left big toe could be saved.

It will be difficult to walk without a big toe, so I would try to find out if it can be saved or not. If/when the condition of the big toe becomes so bad that keeping it would result in you having to have the foot amputated, then I would not hesitate. This "... minimise the risk of future issues..." is something that the current surgeon, and the one giving a second opinion, ought explain in detail.

Good luck.
 
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I had my big toe removed and it’s definetly possible to walk without a big toe . I had both my legs amputated below the knee and yes it’s still possible to walk without crutches with two prosthetics it’s all down to the individual . Personally I’m totally determined and won’t let anything get me down some call it stubbornness whatever it is it definitely works for me
 
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