Hi I have type one diabetes and got told snapped a tendon in my right foot bout 10 weeks ago been back and forth 2 see consultant... only 2 be told 2 days ago I have charcot foot and got 2 be in plaster till swelling goes down before can do operation as bones have dropped and out of place ...getting concerned about what can be done and if will lose leg all together....
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Charcot foot
- Thread starter Jezza42
- Start date
- Status
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome.
Really sorry to hear about your diagnosis of Charcot Foot. @Flower is our resident expert on Charcot..... much as I am sure she would prefer not to be..... so hopefully now that I have tagged her, she will be along to share her experience and knowledge.
I didn't know they could operate so that sounds quite positive.
Probably the key thing that you can do yourself, is to manage your BG levels as well as possible.
How do you manage your diabetes? Multiple Daily injections (MDI) or an insulin pump? And which insulin(s) do you use?
Do you have Freestyle Libre or other CGM to help you monitor your levels and provide data to help you smooth out the peaks and troughs?
Really sorry to hear about your diagnosis of Charcot Foot. @Flower is our resident expert on Charcot..... much as I am sure she would prefer not to be..... so hopefully now that I have tagged her, she will be along to share her experience and knowledge.
I didn't know they could operate so that sounds quite positive.
Probably the key thing that you can do yourself, is to manage your BG levels as well as possible.
How do you manage your diabetes? Multiple Daily injections (MDI) or an insulin pump? And which insulin(s) do you use?
Do you have Freestyle Libre or other CGM to help you monitor your levels and provide data to help you smooth out the peaks and troughs?
I have a freestyle libre 2 and inject multable times a day on Fiasp and Tresiba at nite .....took them 9 weeks to finally figure out I got Charcot foot ....
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Charcot is quite rare and unfortunately it is therefore not the first thing they consider to be a possible cause of foot pain but very unfortunate that it took them so long to figure it out for you. Hopefully you have been immobilized during that time.
What sort of Time in Range do you manage with Libre? Is there room for some improvement in BG stability. Is there anything like post meal spikes etc that we can help you with or are you happy with your level of management?
Have you been diagnosed long?
How do you find the combination of Fiasp and Tresiba? I use Fiasp and Levemir. Absolutely love my Levemir. Fiasp has been hard work but I can make it work for me if I am very proactive and keep levels below 8 as much as possible. Once I go above 10 it is like I am injecting water. The best thing about it is that it is spent in 3 hours rather than 5hrs with Novo(not so)Rapid but it still doesn't work that fast for me. I often find I need to use more Fiasp than I would NR to get the same result.
What sort of Time in Range do you manage with Libre? Is there room for some improvement in BG stability. Is there anything like post meal spikes etc that we can help you with or are you happy with your level of management?
Have you been diagnosed long?
How do you find the combination of Fiasp and Tresiba? I use Fiasp and Levemir. Absolutely love my Levemir. Fiasp has been hard work but I can make it work for me if I am very proactive and keep levels below 8 as much as possible. Once I go above 10 it is like I am injecting water. The best thing about it is that it is spent in 3 hours rather than 5hrs with Novo(not so)Rapid but it still doesn't work that fast for me. I often find I need to use more Fiasp than I would NR to get the same result.
Flower
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi and welcome @Jezza42
I’m really sorry you’ve dealing with Charcot foot. It is unfortunately difficult to diagnose at the start as it is similar to infection/sprains but it is something that needs to be diagnosed as soon as possible to try and prevent destruction of bones & joints and permanent changes in foot shape. It still doesn’t appear to be flagged up as a potential diagnosis when someone with diabetes presents with a swollen hot painful foot & that leads to late diagnosis.
My initial X-rays were clear although my foot was very swollen and hot. I was diagnosed with a sprain although I said I hadn’t knowingly damaged my foot. I’d never heard of Charcot until I ended up back in A&E a few days later with a completely collapsed foot & multiple fractures.
Plaster casts are the main method to try and contain the damage until the temperature and swelling in the foot starts to reduce. It can go on for months and it can be really hard to be patient especially whilst non weight bearing on crutches.
There are things that can be done including surgery and reconstruction. Charcot can be a tricky thing unfortunately and for me surgeries haven’t stopped things from going wrong. Once the shape of the foot has changed often with collapse of the arch you start putting weight through the wrong parts of the foot which can cause pressure ulcers
Hopefully surgery will help your foot to be in a better shape and prevent ongoing issues. I’ve had Charcot for about 25 yrs with fractures in both feet but my left foot and leg have been very challenging with a collapsed ankle and failed surgeries.
Don’t despair about the future. There is a lot that can be done, there is a world leading centre at Kings College with Charcot experts finding new ways to treat and save people’s limbs, they’ve helped me a few times over the years. Hopefully things will settle down for you - it does take a long time to start to settle- then you can hopefully get some custom made insoles and/ or shoes to protect your feet ongoing. Charcot feet are very high risk feet and need super vigilence for blisters or cuts that can develop into ulcers.
As ever the better you manage all the usual diabetes stuff we have to juggle helps with mending and reduces the chance of infections. Wishing you well with it all.
I’m really sorry you’ve dealing with Charcot foot. It is unfortunately difficult to diagnose at the start as it is similar to infection/sprains but it is something that needs to be diagnosed as soon as possible to try and prevent destruction of bones & joints and permanent changes in foot shape. It still doesn’t appear to be flagged up as a potential diagnosis when someone with diabetes presents with a swollen hot painful foot & that leads to late diagnosis.
My initial X-rays were clear although my foot was very swollen and hot. I was diagnosed with a sprain although I said I hadn’t knowingly damaged my foot. I’d never heard of Charcot until I ended up back in A&E a few days later with a completely collapsed foot & multiple fractures.
Plaster casts are the main method to try and contain the damage until the temperature and swelling in the foot starts to reduce. It can go on for months and it can be really hard to be patient especially whilst non weight bearing on crutches.
There are things that can be done including surgery and reconstruction. Charcot can be a tricky thing unfortunately and for me surgeries haven’t stopped things from going wrong. Once the shape of the foot has changed often with collapse of the arch you start putting weight through the wrong parts of the foot which can cause pressure ulcers
Hopefully surgery will help your foot to be in a better shape and prevent ongoing issues. I’ve had Charcot for about 25 yrs with fractures in both feet but my left foot and leg have been very challenging with a collapsed ankle and failed surgeries.
Don’t despair about the future. There is a lot that can be done, there is a world leading centre at Kings College with Charcot experts finding new ways to treat and save people’s limbs, they’ve helped me a few times over the years. Hopefully things will settle down for you - it does take a long time to start to settle- then you can hopefully get some custom made insoles and/ or shoes to protect your feet ongoing. Charcot feet are very high risk feet and need super vigilence for blisters or cuts that can develop into ulcers.
As ever the better you manage all the usual diabetes stuff we have to juggle helps with mending and reduces the chance of infections. Wishing you well with it all.
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