Hi Texas Geek:

How are you doing today??

Just saw your edit about sandals.

Alan has never worn sandals in his entire life. These really are so comfortable.

I now have a big bag full of useless shoes that Alan will not let me throw away. Why guys have to keep shoes (I thought us gals were bad), but pulleeeeze!!!!

He says "don't get rid of those, I might need them someday"

I am putting them away. If he doesn't look at these shoes in 3 months, I'll be ditching them. He cannot wear any of his old shoes with his newer orthotics and the purpose is to keep the ulcer from coming back.

We actually might be able to go for a walk outside tonight. Won't that be something new??? Been married 27 years and his feet are now a walkin!!!!!

I hope this ulcer stays gone.

But I'm prepared. You never know. It was there for 18 months.

Keeping everything crossed.

Oh, I have a question if anyone knows the answer to.

Alan has a tailor bunion. He might need surgery. I have no idea. We will talk this over with the new guy in two weeks.

Now he had the other tailor bunion done 4 years ago. He had to be off his foot for 6 weeks, (only to go to bathroom and to bed).

I had to wait on him hand and foot.

If he has the other bunion done, will he be able to utilize the new boot and walk around?? God, that would be so great.

Anybody know what they do now with tailor bunions? Or is it the same story?? Off of the feet for 6 weeks.

Melody

That's really good news! I'm so glad to hear that he's healed.

Barbara

It's just like with clothing. I'm sure you've gone shopping thinking you know what size top or jeans you wear and then several different stores have several different sizes that fit. It's because of who makes the clothing. It seems there simply is no standard for US womens sizes. Most likely the same thing for shoes. Stupid isn't it?

Melody,
You are so right. I made a boo-boo. Blame it on tired dried out eyes. The swimming pool (therapy) fumes of the stuff they put in the water really affect my eyes. So reading is a difficult chore for me right now. I'm glad the orthodics are working for Alan and I love the Prophet shoes.

Billye

Hi All:

I am still crossing fingers and toes, but I had to update you all.

Alan wore the shoes home from the store. He was commenting. "oh my god, oh my god, these are soooooo comfortable".


I've been checking his foot all day, and it's still good. SO THAT'S GOOD!!!

Then after dinner he goes "Want to take a walk"? Now my husband has never uttered those words in his life, he hasn't WALKED anywhere voluntarily in over 18 months because of the foot ulcer. And for 5 years, he has had the PN so bad he quit driving because he can't feel his feet. The pn between the toes was horrible.

But in the last few days, since we have done the spongy thingees between his toes, well, I guess it's working. Also, the toe flexor thingee is good too.

But the best, the absolute best, is the Propet Shoes he bought.

He only took them off when I demanded to check his foot. He would wear them to sleep, that's how much he loves them.

So he goes "Want to go to the Feast"??

If anyone doesn't know what a Feast in Brooklyn is, it's a bazarre kind of festival with food, dancing, lots of good music, jewelry stands, food stands, tee shirt stands, they sell handbags (I know what I'm buying tomorrow night, believe me), they sell cd's. Well, it's 12 blocks of a lot of people walking on both sides of the street, people selling stuff and you eat a lot of good food (we don't but other people do), Sausage and pepper sandwiches.

It's a lot of fun, and for 10 or so days, it's right around the corner from my house. Alan hasn't been to a Feast in 5 years. He couldn't walk for long periods of time, and after the foot ulcer, well, forget it!!

Tonight, my husband WALKED. He walked the 12 blocks going to the Feast, and the 12 blocks back. We walked slowly, but he felt fine. He also said "It's amazing, I have no pain". He also looked a whole inch taller because of the orthotic and the Propet shoes. And maybe, because he is feeling better, and less stressed????, well his psoriasis cleared up behind his ears, and his eyebrows. Honestly, he looked HEALTHY!!!

But he actually asked me if I wanted to WALK!!!

Boy, what a good doctor, a good Shoe Boot, Regranex, and lots of love can do!!!

Now, I 'm not kidding myself. I know that this ulcer might re-cur. But we'll deal with whatever we have to deal with.

All I know is that tonight, I took a walk with my husband.

That's a good thing.

Melody

Nice story, Melody and yes, I totally agree, walks are good things.

My husband and I would probably be divorced were it not for the fact that our dogs DEMAND to be walked everyday. (sometimes we might have to skip but they give us HELL) and sometimes my feet hurt like hell but I get my cane and give it a try and take it very slow usually. During our walks, it seems it's the best time for us to talk about things, positive as well as negative.

If we're sitting at home, I may be cooking or we're both watching TV but just doesn't seem the time to talk about anything really. Walks are different somehow, we talk about the good and bad (as well as what we see...). We've even had arguments in the middle of the street, LOL (not a bad thing if that is what it takes to communicate IMO as long as we don't give out too much noise pollution...).

I recommend walks to everyone. So sad that many of us with PN can't partake. I"ve seen a few people on those little carts. I may have to get one of those one day so I can keep on getting out. (and gotta keep the dogs happy..)

And if someone (who knows more than I do about the feet), tells me we shouldn't be doing this, I will tell Alan, but for now, it works.

Here's what happened.

He got the new Propets, he puts the spongy thingees between the toes, he walked during the Feast, we came home, checked his feet. All was good.

Bedtime came. Now Alan takes xanax and melatonin and usually (if the weather outside is cooperating,), well he falls asleep and stays asleep till the next morning.

Well, last night, he comes to bed (after taking his pills), and he's tossing and turning, he can't find a comfortale position. I just looked at him and said "what on earth is the matter" and he said "my neuropathy is killing me". I said "do you have the spongy things between your toes"? and he goes "I don't know"

So I said to myself "well, if he's good with the spongy things, then he'll be great with the Toe Flexor thingees".

So I got the toe flexors, and let me tell you, getting these two things to go between Alan's tight toes, well, it's a struggle, but I did it. Then I put his socks right over the toe flexors.

He fell asleep in two minutes. When he woke up this morning, I asked him "How are the toe flexors working? and he said "I felt so good, I didn't know I had them on".

I really think we are on to something here.

He wore the PROPETS this morning, when we went to Dunkin Donuts.

Did a little shopping, Came home and we checked his feet. Still great.

Thirty minutes ago, while he's sitting in the chair, I see him shaking his right foot (that's the one with the worse PN sometimes). Now he has no neuropathy when he walks. Feels no pain. It's just when he sits for longer periods or lays on his back.

So I just put the toe flexor things on his toes and told him to flex his toes and exercise the toe joints or ligaments or nerves, or whatever is being compressed.

I just walked over to him and asked "how are you doing? and he said "Oh, these things are working, I'm much better".

So, because this is not a drug and has o side effects, is there any reason why, when he sits int the chair, he can't wear these toe flexor thingees indefinitely. He's sitting there right now, doing toe exercises.

Let's put it this way. You know when you are a kid and you put braces on your teeth and they realign your teeth??? Maybe this toe flexor thing is realigning his ligaments and de-compressing his nerves. Maybe????

What do you all think?

Oh, I just came back from the eye doctor. Wait until you hear what he said about my eyes. I'm posting a new thread on this.

Melody

Sounds very good all way round, i am glad to hear the ulcer is healed, awfull things they are...and what you worked out with his toes is just fantastic, i am happy for you both

--he can't wear those things on his feet as much as he wants, as long as they don't otherwise disturb his gait or shift his weight in such a way that it might impact his bunions or ulcer.

It is very likely that the positions they put his toes in take some of the compressive forces off nerves in his feet/toes. With the theory of "double crush phenomenon", you might be removing one factor contributing to his neuropathic symptoms, enough to really reduce them.

I also think that is part of what Dr. T's treatments were doing.

Thanks guys. I have no guarantee that this darn ulcer is going to come back but if it does, he has the boot thing. I think he should wear it for half the day. But he won't listen to me. He likes the PROPETS. No arguing with him.

But something interesting did just happen.

We just met up at Dunkin, and ate and came home. He said "I think something is wrong with my ulcer". I said "oh my god, why, is it bleeding??, and he still had his socks on and he said "I don' know" (I think he is just apprehensive because of 18 months of this going back and forth to podiatrists every week).

So I unwrap his foot, and it looks perfectly fine. Looks just like it did on Wednesday. Now when he came home from the podiatrist on Wednesday (after the podiatrist pronounced it HEALED), well there was a little bit of red in the middle. But the podiatrist told him it was healed and to use bacitracin, wear a bandaid, wear the boot for half a day and your orthotics in the shoes for the other half a day). Since he likes the Propets, that is the only thing he is doing differently than the doctor told him to do. He does not walk anywhere like regular people do. After 18 months of not going anywhere you tend to be a little apprehensive, I completely understand this. So the only real place he walked was to the Feast and back, and maybe to the store and back. No hikes, no marathons, you know what I mean!!!.

So I'm looking at his foot and it looks just fine, and I tell him "No, everything looks fine". Now, remember, Alan's feet have been completely numb for 5 or more years. I mean completely numb that he doesn't know if he even has a sock on.

So I get the foot lotion and I go on the other foot (not the ulcer one), and I'm putting on the lotion and he says "what are you doing?" and I said "I'm putting on lotion, why"? and he goes: 'because I can tell you are doing something" I said "are you serious? you can feel that I'm applying lotion?" And he goes "yeah, I can". We look at each other and he goes "oh, does this mean I might get my feeling back in my feet". I said 'hey, who knows, but let's keep doing the spongy things between the toes when you walk, and the toe flexor thingees when you are not walking, sitting in your chair, and going to sleep. I just put the toe flexor thingees on his feet. He is now fast asleep.

I think the toe flexors are spreading out his toes. Nerves, that were compressed, are now not being compressed. His ankles (while they were not cold before and he was always told that he had blood flow, and no circulation problems), well now his ankles feel nice and warm, just like the rest of his body. I have absolutely no idea what this means, because he has taken the dopplers for the Peripheral Vascular Disease test, the circulation test, every test in the book and everything was normal. They raised his legs, they looked at the color of his feet, (he's had this done by every doctor), every thing was normal. They would cluck cluck and go "good blow flow". They would put stethoscopes to his ankles and lower extremities and go "good blow flow, blah blah".

But always the PN. But since the toe thingees and while he wears them while he's sitting down, he does the toe exercises, well maybe he's stretching nerve stuff and ligaments. I really have no idea.

I do question why, after 15 years, not one doctor, not one podiatrist, ever told Alan, "wow, look at your deformed toes, they are all squeezed, especially your pinky toe, (his pinky toe is so small and it is so into the toe beside it, it takes me forever to get the toe flexor pushed all the way down so it separates each toe from each other.

Now how come, after 15 years of going to doctor, after doctor, specialist after specialist, and asking question after question, and yes, while I never mentioned toes being squeezed into each other, I did mention, "maybe he has a nerve problem that is compressed in his back, and maybe it is going down his spine and compressing something, and maybe THAT'S WHY HE HAS PN?? Every single doctor told me "no, it's idiopathic, we have no idea why he has this, this happens sometimes.".

When he did go to his newest neuro and she ordered the spinal tap, and they found protein in his spinal fluid, she did say "oh, he should have IVIG, there's auto immune stuff going on.

But in my honest opinion, (and I'm no medical doctor, but I have been taking care of this guy for 27 years), I think his toes are all squeezed together, the nerves have been compressed, and that's why he has PN.

So we shall see if someday, he tells me, "wow, I can feel my feet".

My god, now wouldn't that be a miracle???

Thanks for all the nice words.