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Foot swelling and pain

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Paul.b

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Type 2
Hi everyone. I have been on 4 different antibiotics, spent a day in hospital having tests, but with no success in finding why my foot is twice the size it should be. I have some leg swelling too.
When I walk it feels very stiff and like I’m walking on hot marbles that move around the bottom of the foot.
I have elevated and rested until I’m blue in the face. My HBA1C is good at 51 .
Has Anyone experience anything like this or have any ideas on what it is?
 
Welcome to the forum @Paul.b.

Have you had electrical conductivity tests done?
 
Hi and welcome from me too.

How long have you been diagnosed diabetic and have you always had reasonably good control of your BG levels? Are you on any medication or just diet controlled? Other than the hot feeling when you walk, do you have sensation in your foot and toes... ie has the tickle test been carried out recently and were they reasonably happy with the result. Have you had any other tests like Doppler or electrical conductivity as already mentioned.
I too would ask if they did x-rays as Charcot foot whilst not common, might be a concern. Our member @Flower might be able to comment on that.
Hopefully you can come back to us with a bit more info.
 
grovesy said:
Did you have an xray to rule out any broken bones?
Click to expand...

rebrascora said:
Hi and welcome from me too.

How long have you been diagnosed diabetic and have you always had reasonably good control of your BG levels? Are you on any medication or just diet controlled? Other than the hot feeling when you walk, do you have sensation in your foot and toes... ie has the tickle test been carried out recently and were they reasonably happy with the result. Have you had any other tests like Doppler or electrical conductivity as already mentioned.
I too would ask if they did x-rays as Charcot foot whilst not common, might be a concern. Our member @Flower might be able to comment on that.
Hopefully you can come back to us with a bit more info.
Click to expand...
20 years a diabetic, and for the last 12 years on insulin and tablets. I have some loss of sensation in both feet and my last needle test was poor. No to the Doppler or electrical tests, to be honest never heard of them And no Xray. Just had blood tests for liver, kidney, HBA1C, infection, swabs and rheumatoid arthritis, all came back negative or in expected range. Both feet feel like they are being crushed, by the way. Lost big toe nail and one next to it has gone black but with no obvious truama.
 
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I would be inclined to research Charcot foot and ask for x-rays pronto. The sooner it is diagnosed and treated (or hopefully ruled out) the better. With your history of diabetes it is a possibility although quite a rare complication.
 
rebrascora said:
I would be inclined to research Charcot foot and ask for x-rays pronto. The sooner it is diagnosed and treated (or hopefully ruled out) the better. With your history of diabetes it is a possibility although quite a rare complication.
Click to expand...
That was thought that is why I asked about the xray! I think @KARNAK is most probably thinking along the similar lines too!
 
Hi @Paul.b and welcome.

I'm sorry you're having such ongoing issues with your foot. As said above get an urgent appointment/phone call with your gp and ask for an urgent referral to a podiatrist asap as you need to rule out Charcot foot as you have a lot of the symptoms - neuropathy, redness, swelling, pain, stiffness and warmth plus odd sensations in the foot. Hopefully it won't be Charcot but bear in mind that initial X-Rays don't always show up the start of bone damage in Charcot and require a CT scan to rule it in or out. It can start without any obvious trauma to cause the amount of swelling and damage in the foot and the pain felt can be diminished due to neuropathy and lack of sensation.

Charcot foot is often overlooked as a potential diagnosis because it is quite rare and can be misdiagnosed as a sprain,gout or infection but it needs quick diagnosis and ongoing treatment to give the best possible outcome. I was given antibiotics due to the swelling and redness of my foot and misdiagnosed with a sprain. Please let us know how you get on and don't stop asking until Charcot has been ruled out. Best Wishes.
 
grovesy said:
Did you have an xray to rule out any broken bones?
Click to expand...
Flower said:
Hi @Paul.b and welcome.

I'm sorry you're having such ongoing issues with your foot. As said above get an urgent appointment/phone call with your gp and ask for an urgent referral to a podiatrist asap as you need to rule out Charcot foot as you have a lot of the symptoms - neuropathy, redness, swelling, pain, stiffness and warmth plus odd sensations in the foot. Hopefully it won't be Charcot but bear in mind that initial X-Rays don't always show up the start of bone damage in Charcot and require a CT scan to rule it in or out. It can start without any obvious trauma to cause the amount of swelling and damage in the foot and the pain felt can be diminished due to neuropathy and lack of sensation.

Charcot foot is often overlooked as a potential diagnosis because it is quite rare and can be misdiagnosed as a sprain,gout or infection but it needs quick diagnosis and ongoing treatment to give the best possible outcome. I was given antibiotics due to the swelling and redness of my foot and misdiagnosed with a sprain. Please let us know how you get on and don't stop asking until Charcot has been ruled out. Best Wishes.
Click to expand...
Thank you . I am on the phone again tomorrow morning and will mention it.
 
I wonder if an email to your doctor might be worthwhile, rather than a phone call. That way, if they haven't heard of Charcot Foot (which is entirely possible) they can research it before replying to you rather than perhaps feeling put on the spot by a phone call and maybe not accept an "internet diagnosis suggestion from a patient".... which you can understand will get up a lot of GPs' noses and perhaps make them more tempted to reject out of hand.
I know I made the mistake of ringing my GP to say that the good people of this forum thought I had been misdiagnosed and was in fact Type1 and needed to start on insulin pronto and I did not get a good response. I tried to be ever so polite about it but they reality is, they don't like to be told their job by us keyboard warriors and you can't really blame them.

An email with details of your diabetes issues/history and a photo and some brief details about Charcot and a request to get it checked out might give them an opportunity to respond more appropriately than the negative gut reaction I got..... and my doctor is a great guy and a very accomplished and well respected senior GP. I like the man a lot but I put him on the spot and it didn't really help my cause.
 
Sorry to hear about your foot @Paul.b

Let us know how the phone appointment goes, and the results of any follow-up checks
 
So pleased you got treatment promptly. Good luck with the recovery. Keep us posted on your progress.
 
I’m so relieved you got seen quickly and have a definite diagnosis and ongoing care.

Charcot goes through different phases starting with acute active disease where the foot is swollen hot and damage is taking place. The foot needs to be protected and settle & cool down which can take a few months. Don’t be surprised if you’re in a cast/ orthopaedic boot for longer than 6 weeks as the aim is to protect the bones and stop the structure of your foot from changing shape .

Good luck with it all ongoing. Sorry it’s happenening but so relieved you’re getting the right help!
 
Flower said:
I’m so relieved you got seen quickly and have a definite diagnosis and ongoing care.

Charcot goes through different phases starting with acute active disease where the foot is swollen hot and damage is taking place. The foot needs to be protected and settle & cool down which can take a few months. Don’t be surprised if you’re in a cast/ orthopaedic boot for longer than 6 weeks as the aim is to protect the bones and stop the structure of your foot from changing shape .

Good luck with it all ongoing. Sorry it’s happenening but so relieved you’re getting the right help!
Click to expand...
Thank you. I’m prepared for the long haul and all being well it will be worth it.
 
Well done for getting seen quickly @Paul.b - and well done to the forum ‘hive mind’ for giving you the suggestion.

Sorry about the diagnosis, but so pleased that your treatment has started so soon, and I hope that leads to improved outcomes for you
 
Flipping heck Paul how on earth did they miss that? hope you can start
to get some proper treatment now, take care.
 
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