I think you should sit down and have a discussion with your leggist regarding the foot you are using and the limitations imposed by it. You are probably wearing a fixed heel height foot. Few, if any, of your shoes have the same heel height. Your foot was set up by the leg person with the shoe you furnished him at the time of final adjustment. When you vary shoes, the effect of the differing heel height of shoes effect the proper adjustment of your foot. There are feet that have adjustable heel height. Here is a link to one of many different brands of adjustable heel height feet. http://www.ossur.com/prosthetics/feet/elation . Best of luck on getting a different foot to fit your needs of wearing several different shoes.

BillF

hello, oh yes I do know exactly how you feel. Im almost 6 mts, lbk. And i used to love to wear sandals, and like you need something with no heel. Well just keep looking. I went to wal mart and found some cute sandals low and they dont look bad at all considering what its going on.Its open toe there called earth spirit very reasonable, and look nice. I also found tennis shoes just sit there bring a little sock for tennis and try some on, I know you will find something. Now as for the clothes , yes I have tht issue to. I wear shorts most of the time. But Ive never tried to get jeans on cause i just feel like theres no way its going to fit over that. Maybe cute dresses to wear around the house. Im not sure yet. I know its hard but some how we will be stronger through it. keep in touch linda

I discovered the Earth Spirit sandals too! I wear jeans with my prosthesis. I just have to dress my prosthesis first! Actually, that is how it was when I first got it. Now, I usually have my prosthesis on and then get dressed. I just have to remember to put my fake foot in first!! I wear dresses, shorts, jeans, etc. with it all the time. Its been 3 years now since I got it and I'm well aware of the looks I receive, especially when I wear a short summer dress! But I don't let it bother me. I figure I'm the one that has to wear the dress and fake foot, so it's no one else's business how I look. Of course, there's always the initial spasm I feel when I'm out in public but I quickly quell it and go on with my business. I've become very adept at looking at people in the eyes and smiling at them. Kids are the most curious about my prosthesis.
It's a learning process dealing with a prosthesis and you can do it - look at what we've survived so far....we can handle anything now! I know with fall coming, I'll have to look for shoes for winter and so that's my next project. I haven't tried boots yet but that's mainly becaue I park in a heated underground garage and don't have to deal with weather too much.

I agree with the theory that you put your soclet thru the leg opening of the jeans and then see if you can slip it on and get the jeans on that way. Be aware that your prothesis is going to put a lot of ear and tear on your pants, and you might be replacing them more often. I fyou see wear on the inside, get some iron-on patches at the fabrick store, ansee if will delay the wearing out of the pants. Good luck!!

The Prosthetist designs the leg for a particular heel height and then that height is fixed once the leg is finished. Most legs do not have any way of being adjusted. You are likely stuck with what you have and unless you have a very kind insurance company (not likely) you need a second leg/foot for the heel height you want to use for dress shoes that have a taller heel. My legs is not made for wearing tennis shoes most of the time but when I do have to wear a dress show (with higher heel height), I have the very same reaction you have - I feel like I am being pitched forward. Walking is OK but standing and talking to someone is very awkward (not very comfortable). Not having an ankle to compensate for these adjustments we took for granted, mkes life very challenging. While there are adjustable feet and feet that can pivot to be used with things like swim fins, that means redoing the prosthetic leg and throwing out the old foot and design. There is not free lunch here!

Men generally have it a bit easier than women when dealing with varying heel heights, only because heel heights have much less variance in mens shoes as a rule, exception being cowboy boots verses shoes etc. If your leg person sets up you foot adjustment using the shoe with the lowest heel height, then subsequently adds heel pads inside the shoe as he fits different shoes to the foot, you end up with proper adjustment for each shoe you wear on the foot. The key is having the leggist have all the shoes you will be wearing with the foot available to him at the time of final fitting, so he can determine the shoe with the least heel height to use as a starting point in his foot adjustment, subsequently adding heel pads to remaining shoes.

You may want to think about having an adjustable ankle instead of a fixed one. If sandals are what you would like to wear then there are feet with a split between the toes for that. I have both and can wear almost any shoe I want. I even wore high heels to last years Xmas Party.
You need to talk to your prothetist concerning these matters. You should have been asked about what was important to you in regards to footwear so you could both make the decision on the best foot and ankle to go with your leg. Best of luck on resolving these difficulties.

Check out footsmart.com to see if they have anything you can use. They have a lot of very low and flat shoes, and you can always embelish them With some e6000 glue,(let dry 24hours, warm enviroment) The glue is compleatly washable, that is if the shoe is. This sounds like fun!!! Sorry guys. I feel sorry for men and thier fashon. Love to all, Torry

There are many ways to get around wearing shoes with different heel heights even if the heal of the prosthetic foot is fixed. The easiest, in my opinion, is to have your prothetist fix your heel height for the highest heel shoes you wear (I'm not talking high heels or wedges or anything too dramatic) then use shoe wedges in flatter shoes. My prosthesist had me bring in 6 pairs of shoes and put the correct wedge in each one. Whenever I get a new pair I either bring them to him (if they are higher than my highest pair) and he adjusts the foot or put the wedge in myself (he gave me several "pull apart wedges"). As far a socks and jeans go... in a few months, when you are not having major volume fluctuations, your prothesist should make you a socket that fits with little to no socks (if he says you will always need socks consider getting a new prosthesist).

HI THERE... EASY SPIRIT AND NATURALIZER SHOES ARE GREAT SHOES.. TRY SOME ON.. HUGSS CONNIE SUE

If you are aa well rounded lady, a big beautiful woman, Then you probibly know about Romans, Woman Within and One Stop Plus, (all are .coms)and they have lots of boots and flats. The problem is you cant uy them once at a time!!!! You need to search for a "shoe buddy", one who needs the other shoe!! This can be long process, but necessary if you have to wear a custom orthotic(another nick name for UGLY AS HELL) like I do. However, if you are able to use both shoes, get a adjustable heel on your prothesis. This will solve your problem quickly!! Love to you, Torry

Bill said it well on heel heights. and OK, I am a guy too so what do guys know. You would be surprised. I had to wear dress shoes to work and they were boots - boots with a zipper on the inside. Once I broke them in, they were easier to get on than shoes as you could yank them on by pulling on the upper part of the boot. They were hard to get off. I imagine you want to wear pants with a small opening and can get them over the leg - again not a problem. Go to your seamstress - most laundry places can do this - have them put in an 8 inch zipper on the inside of the pant leg. I put them in some of my business suits rather than having my foot rip out the bottom seam. Not one person ever noticed and when I told them, they still could not see it...people don't care. We are all different, some have big noses or a visible scar and so what if you have a nice looking pair of slacks with a zipper on the inseam? Not likely you insurance will pay for multiple legs but when you get the next one, get it for a different heel height or get an adjustible one. Also, I see lots of ladies that commute and have to walk blocks from their train station - they wear very nice looking tennis shoes and they don't take them off anymore when they get to work. good luck. John

I don't know if you have these stores in your area but most of the time I go to Ross, Marshalls or Shoe Pavillion and buy a bunch of shoes, then go home and try them on. I am the same as you where I can only wear a very little heel. It's such a pain to try on shoes in the store and I am not a shopper anyway so it drives me insane.
Luckily flats are on sale right now for summer clearance. Good luck shopping.

I forgot to add...I wear New Balance slip on "running" shoes. I have 3 pairs and I love them. They have a small lip on the back and my artificial foot almost never moves in them. I also wear Crocks in the summer. They are loser but have a strap on the pack to keep them in place.

Hi there,

Gee, mention shoes and fashion and watch out!

Here are a couple of great websites for shoes, www.zappos.com (pays for shipping to you ~ and back if you want to return them) and www.6pm.com (has better prices but charges shipping). Both can be filtered so only flats are shown so were not looking at all the pretty heels and sandals we cant wear anymore. Ive had very good luck here, and both have excellent member service with next day delivery.

As far as jeans, well. I love the brand Jag, which you can get at Nordstroms and the Rack, because they have a bit of stretch but dont look like it. I also now look for the wide leg styles which work better over my socket. Ive always had large legs, so I am also having a tough time with this. I just returned to work after being off a year and so am just now struggling with slacks again. I have a couple that work, and they are both from Talbots and again, are the wide leg style.

I agree that you should talk with your prosthesist. Mine commented that I should try to stick with the same heel height, and something about not worrying about fashion (ha-ha, very funny). She adjusted my foot to balance out to a 1 inch heel and gave me some lifts for my good leg (not that my missing leg is necessarily bad) so I could adjust to a flatter shoe if needed and still be balanced. She still adjusts my foot from time to time, as I improve, so if you have an adjustable foot, you may just need some adjustment to help things out. She actually gave me a new foot a while back because as we progress we get a bit more aggressive and the softer foot does not give us the support we need.

As for boots. I ride (oops, rode) motorcycles and love boots. I have managed to find a very low heel style at the country and western warehouse that did not look funky, and works with my foot. It does feel a bit odd at first because it alters your stride, but not drastically. I couldnt get a pull on style to fit, so this one laces up the front and Ive had no problems getting it on and off.

It sounds like you have a wonderful life, and are doing very well. We all have to work with what we have, and Im grateful that Im still reasonably independent and mobile! Im sure in another year well look back and marvel at how far weve come and how accustomed weve become to our situation. We are creatures of habit and its amazing how quickly we can, and do, adjust.

Best wishes!
Andrea