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Foot check

Lobsang Tsultim

Well-Known Member
Messages
526
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Just had my first foot check so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What actually happened was the nurse told me their machine was broken (like everything else in surgery!) then she manually felt for a pulse on the top and by the ankle of each foot, and that was it…. I don’t know (it’s my first time like I said) but I thought it was a bit more involved than that. Was that it? Seems a waste of time.
 
I’ve usually been asked to close my eyes while they use an extremely thin fibre to touch areas of my feet and am then asked to say when I can feel it.

I think feeling for the pulse is a proxy for that.

Given my feet are so sensitive that it only takes the tiniest speck of grit for me to be tearing my shoes off to get rid of it, I wouldn’t bother attending a foot check on its own, but am happy to have it done when I’m in the surgery for other reasons.
 

Had mine yesterday also, just a bit longer, checked sensitivity with their little fibre wand (with my eyes closed), then totally checked every sq cm to make sure no bad hard skin or ulcers.

Yes Lobsang Tsultim, it's worth having as my mum and dad didn't bother and both ended up with ulcerated soles which needed lots of painful treatment for a long time.
Sorry your nurse was so lax with your feet but on the plus side sounds like you have good pulses in your feet. x
 
Yes I can see how the sort of test you had would be worth it, but just checking to see if there's a pulse, that seems a bit lackadaisical to say the least
 
My foot checks have always consisted of both the pulse and the thin fibre touch test
 
I think for most of us the foot check is hardly worth the time but as it's quick best to have it done. The pulse check is the most important as it checks the blood supply to the foot. Then fibre touch test or tuning fork will find nerve damage if the blood supply has been bad or you have damaged kidneys due to high BS.
 
My foot test consisted of the doc using a little doppler device checking for pulses in my feet and using the fibre strand also. Another test she carried out was for sensation and she used what I can only describe a what looked like a music tuning fork if it actually was one. It was tapped on table and placed on my feet in different spots. Strange I thought
 
I've never been asked for a foot test.. is it something that is usually done when you go for a yearly checkup.?

I'm sorry for being so thick, it's just that my previous doctor never explained anything about diabetes to me. Just put me on Metformin twice a day and told me I had type 2 diabetic.

When I asked about the blood sugar testing, she told me I didn't need to bother with it as I wasn't using insulin...
 
I ,like others have said, have had my foot pulse checked and then the sole touched with the tiny nylon wand. This has happened at my annual diabetic review. The nurse always checks the skin on my heels too for hard skin and cracks. Fortunately, thanks to the Flexitol cream I use , my heels usually pass inspection.
 
Lobsang Tsultim said:
Yes I can see how the sort of test you had would be worth it, but just checking to see if there's a pulse, that seems a bit lackadaisical to say the least
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Couldn't agree more Lobsang Tsultim,
If they are going to do the job they at least should do it properly!
 

That’s exactly how mine go!

- Doppler for pulse
- Pricky sticky thing for sensation
- Musical tuning fork for vibration test
- little moisturiser for funsies
 
I've only had two foot checks since 2013.

The first was at a private podiatrist (I was about to go away, thousands of miles from the NHS, for a few months) who went for the whole doppler, fibres and inspection process. The other was at my GP surgery when I got back to UK. She did the fibre test, and manually palpated for a pulse.

I have very standy-outy veins all over, so I find it easy to find a pulse myself, and my feet are sensitive, so I just keep an eye on things and ensure any cuts or suck likes are kept very clean and covered.

Both steps are important as the circulation can be iffy, but nerves OK and vice versa.
 
AndBreathe said:
I have very standy-outy veins
Click to expand...
This reminds me, I've been meaning to ask what causes standy-outy veins.
I have very standy-outy veins on my lower legs which I never had pre diabetes, or is it pre-3 stone weight loss.
I've also just checked my arms and can see the vein on the inside of my lower arm which never used to be possible - I've flummoxed many a phlebotomist at my previously invisible veins.
What causes them to stand out?
 

As I understand it, some people just get them. For obvious reasons, less padding feeds into that.

On the upside, I'm fairly certain the phlebotomist could draw my blood from the doorway.
 
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