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Charcot Foot

S

soundo26

Member
I've been a type2 diabetic for a few years now and went over to insulin about six years ago. I have lots of problems keeping the sugar levels down as I can't seem to see any tangible result for whatever course of action I take. I have suffered for many years now with neuropathy in the feet and parts of the hands but on a checkup the other day was found to have a condition called Charcots foot, which is quite painful and requires me to wear an aircast boot for a long period (I wouldn't let them fit me with a cast as I have to try to earn a wage)!
Other than a softening of the bones and collapsing/deformation of the foot, I don't know too much about this, does anybody have any useful info?
 
Welcome to the forum :-)

I am so sorry to hear that you are struggling with your diabetes, tell what are your bg readings like and what is your diet, do you restrict carbs?

I had neuropathy for a while, I wasnt able to walk, no feelings in my legs up to my knees and had to use a wheelchair, after a very serious and drastic lifestyle change I gradually recovered and am walking normally now, I have been very lucky there.

I dont know very much of Charcots foot, one of my now ex-colleagues developed the condition and I believe this has improved over the last year; he had to wear a moonboot style contraption and use crutches which was very inconvenient indeed, he found out about a company called Dorset Foot Orthopaedics and got a very interesting SAFO, it is expensive, I think over £2000, so he applied for funding with his hospital consultant and GP backing and this was successful so it might be worth for you to look into it, discuss with your medics, this walking aid may be suitable for you too??? I know it certainly made a lot of difference to my ex colleague.

Your local PCT will recognise that it is important for you to go to work, so they might just agree funding for this, esp if you have the backing of your doctors.
I enclose the link for further information, I hope it is not getting deleted though as it may be seen as a commercial advertisement I dont know
http://www.dorset-ortho.co.uk/index.php?page=1000042

Its very important that you keep your bg steady and at the level of a non-diabetic, you may also need supplements, but they would not work on their own, control of your bg is the most important.

I hope you get all the support that you need and that you can get better again, although progress would be slow and I am not making promises but surely I cannot be the only one that can recover from neuropathy so there is hope isnt there?

All the best

Karen
 
My T1 husband has both feet defromed by Charcot . One of the problems is that the nomal bone renewal cycle doesn't work with severe neuropathy and the bones crumble. The ligaments and tendons then pull the foot out of shape. The doctors ask the patient to wear a cast until the bones knit together, but it doesn't seem posssible to put them back in all the right places and the foot remains deformed. Characteristically, both arches collapse and one of the bones grows downwards to produce a "rocker" foot. this causes a tendency to ulcers on the sole. from the pressure on the bone, when walking.
My husband had recurrent ulcers for years and now has his shoesmade by the NHS with special padding inside the soles. He cannot wear ordinary shoes at all any more. This is one of the reasons that diabetics should take extra care of their feet.
Walking for my husband is a real problem. there's not much pain, because there's practically no nerve function left. but with no functionin arches and pressure on the rocker bones, it's very hard.
In his case the cause was poor BG control for years. partly his fault, partly the medics.
If you are developing this problem, get those BGs into the non-diabetic range ASAP.
 
Soundo, I have spoken to my ex-colleague this morning, he is very happy with his SAFO still, it has made things a whole lot easier for him.
He reminded me to tell you that you should be applying for DLA, if you havent already done so, and also apply for a blue parking badge and a freedom travel pass.
Re DLA - he said that he is eligible for both the mobility and the care component, this is due to him being unsteady on his feet and too nervous to carry hot pans to/from the cooker, etc, to lift heavier items which would make shopping more difficult and so on, he admitted that on the application form he piled it on with a trowel, but still was honest, just that he stretched it all out a bit. Hmmm....

All the best

Karen
 
My husband, of the 2 Charot feet, has a blue parking badge, but I provide everything else, except money. He still works. We have bus passes by virtue of age.
 
He's working and claims no benefits at all. It's worth knowing he might be able to claim, once he retires. It might boost our joint pensions.
 
Oh Hana, but the thing is that he CAN claim Disability Living Allowance, even though he is working, it doesnt matter, he has a disability, its a mobility problem, he can claim, read the above message I posted to Soundo, and put in a claim, if you need help completing the forum send me a PM.

This is one benefit that people can claim even if they are in full time employment, it doesnt matter. He has a mobility problem, he probably has an unsteaday gait, he is not safe to carry around hot pans in the kitchen, etc he will probably qualify for both the mobility and the care component.

Love

Karen
 
thanks for the replies, it's nice to find out about these things. my control of sugars has never been very good, I work as a conference technician & sound engineer so my hours are very antisocial & irregular, I live out of suitcases and am in a different environment every day so the strict regimes needed to tackle diabetes are very hard to keep up as mealtimes are at different times and meals are often snatched or missed completely, it's impossible to get into a routine, this coupled with the fact that my testing kit & insulins, tablets etc are often in a completely different place to me at the moment I need them and my sieve like memory are all things that compound the problem.
I have managed to get my sugars down from mid twenties to between 9-12mmol as a background level, still very high, I do get (false) hypos at around 6mmol and since recently being made redundant and going freelance I am finally getting a bit more control, I am now up to 70 units for the Lantus injection and an average of about 16 units per meal for the Humalog. I am also taking 4x500mg Glucophage SR. My HbA1c reading two weeks ago was 10.
I am due to go for an MRI scan for the foot soon and will no doubt find out then about things such as DLA and mobility issues. I will say that the Aircast does seem to be doing some good as a lot of the swelling has gone down but things are still painful. The SAMO looks good and can be worn with normal shoes by the look of it so I will ask about that when I go for my appointment next thursday. Again thanks for the comments so far.
 
Oh gosh soundo, all this stress is most certainly not good for achieving good control, though I dare say it can be done somehow, its really, REALLY important to get your bg down to a non-diabetic level.

There is another member on here who has posted about charcot foot, do a search, type in charcot in the search box in the top right hand corner.

I hope all goes well for you, with the MRI scan and all that and if you do have any problems walking do apply for DLA, every little counts doesnt it.

Karen
 
Charcot joint is funny condition. Is poorly understood and seems to get better with rest and offloading. You need a good orthotist. The bast results are probably obtained with total conact casts (a form of below knee cast). Aircast boots can be good, but it is easier t cheat, Non weight bearing may not be necessary. Follow up shoud be monititored with serial skin temperature measurements. 4 deg c difference or greater is severe. 2 deg and under is under control.

In my own case, my left foot looks and behaves like a charcot, but I have underlying bone infection (oseomyelitis). It is deformed but non progressive. I us emy aircast boot and AFOs as necessary, but not full time. I see a specialised diabetic foot physician who is convinced that it is not charcot. My foot infection started 2 years ago and the infection came to light about 12 months ago. I have finally got some light at endof the tunnel. Bloody hard work mentally to cope with the uncertainty especially when you read of the amputation rates involved.

Good luck and try to comply as much as you can tolerate. I believe the longest time to settle is about 2 years in an aircast boot.
 
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