Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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Big Toe UPDATE

WarriorGal
WarriorGal

So I have been having pain in my L big toe off and on for the past few months. Sometimes it would be excruciating to walk, then it would be fine for weeks at a time...


I finally got it x-rayed to see if it was gout, RA or OA.  Ruled out gout. Last joint in big toe is RUINED. Only treatment is fusion. I will wait and only do that if the pain gets constant.


MarleneJ
MarleneJ
Fusion of toes is a nightmare! In fact, the top joint in my big toe on the right foot is the only one not fused. I have trouble balancing, the big toe in particular needs to hold the ground.

But, a wrecked joint probably is doing nothing helpful either. Sorry you are going through this. I hate RA!
WarriorGal
WarriorGal
Well, i managed to stave off ankle fusion which i was told was my only option. But it was not an option for me because i live alone and at the time I was in a 2-story toen house with my only bath/shower upstairs and i would have had to be non-weight-bearing for 6 weeks!

Amazingly I got very lucky to have the head of a major hospital dept that makes artificial limbs, designed AFO leg braces for me that i wore for ten years and what all the surgeons told me could never happen - it fused itself. Had I had the fusion surgery I would have had a permanent limp.

And the bonus is that it only fused the side to side part of the ankle joint and not the up and down! And now I am leg brace free and no pain in my ankles!!

This toe will be a new chapter.... but fusion is definitely a last resort.
doodlebug25
doodlebug25
WG - I assume you have already tried a few things for this big toe, but was there any discussion about a brace to immobilize the toe similar to your ankle AFO? Maybe that can give you some relief and help avoid fusion.
WarriorGal
WarriorGal
I was thinking maybe a splint.