Hello all! I went to my orthopedic doctor the other day because I was having pain in my right big toe joint (the one that connects the toe to the foot). It was different from my CRPS pain so I wanted to get it checked out.

The good news is it's nothing serious I've irritated the capsule in the joint. He didn't see anything crazy on my x-ray and I was very happy to hear that. It's probably due to my irregular gait due to pain and using my forearm/Canadian/Lofstrand crutches. He recommended wearing a hard soled shoe. This is a bit of a problem.

Shoes have been a major issue for me so most of the time I don't wear them. I cannot tolerate anything on the top of my foot so anything with straps are out. Also my feet are always very swollen (I posted pictures in the sticky thread a while ago) so it can be hard to find something that my foot fits into without touching the top of my foot. As you can see this is a bit of a challenge.

The doctor I saw is the same one that did the surgery on my ankle that we think caused the CRPS. Every time I see him he jokes about wishing he never met me and telling me he feel bad for the surgery and CRPS. He is an amazing doctor who still follows my case even though my surgery was in September 2013. He called me the evening of my appointment because the radiologist that read my x-ray called him because he was "very concerned" by the amount swelling in my foot. We had a good laugh about it.

Any advice or suggestions about a type of shoe that has a hard sole, no straps, and can fit my huge swollen foot? Thanks everyone!