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!

I'm not sure if this fits the requirements of a hard sole...it's a regular shoe and the sole is rather flexible...but the best shoes by far that I've had are Patagonia Maha Breathe. When my feet swelled up really bad these were great (they swell a little with bad flares but when I was pregnant...omg...never seen anything like that). They stretched out without cutting into my feet. The shoes are also incredibly light weight. I was able to put these on right out of the box and immediately wear them for a full 9 hour day at work where I was on my feet. They aren't cheap...but seriously are some of the best shoes I ever bought. The mesh on them awas nice too. Not sure if any of that helps...but they worked great for me and shoes are a difficult thing for me too.

Our PN forum has some threads on shoes, might find some ideas there too.
Here's one thread-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread121539.html

I have had the same kind of trouble. I finally found some Danskins at WalMart that mostly did the trick. I suggest wearing your thickest sock (or 2) when you try them on and start with a half size larger than normal. You may have to buy 2 different sizes if you only have trouble with one foot swelling more than the other.

These are the ones I ended up with

Thank you all so much! I will have to look into these and see if they work. At least the weather is starting to warm up so having the top of my foot exposed shouldn't be as painful. Let the shopping begin!

NurseKris,

There are some great comfy, shoe recommendations here but I don't know if they will work for the stiff sole requirement.

Some ideas that alleviate stress on the first toe joint are Dansko or Birkenstocks (many have adjustable straps).

If this a temporary thing you might even consider a med-surg shoe. I used one by Darco that was black and looked somewhat like a sandal. It had a more ergonomic sole than a regular surgical shoe that rockered slightly. It is fully adjustable, not very expensive and of course stiff soled.

Good luck on your hunt,

That is so funny you mentioned Danskos. I bought a new pair less than a month before my injury and they have been sitting in my closet ever since. We tried a med-surg shoe but the straps across my feet hurt too bad. I can't even wear socks without pain.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will continue my quest!

I'm not sure if the sole is hard enough (it is plastic), but my daughter tolerated UGG like boots pretty well, and she has severe allodynia in her CRPS foot. Additionally, the UGGs were nice when she has cold flashes in her foot. May not be the best for the warmer weather on the way though.

Dansko have such a hard top I think that could be uncomfortable. I mentioned that particular med-surg shoe because like you, I couldn't tolerate the straps on a normal one. The Darco had a fair amount of padding on the dorsal area and behind the strap so they weren't at all binding. I put moleskin with foam as another layer and did fine. I actually had to sleep in mine for months to hold my arch staight and was able to do so. If you Google "Darco Surgical Sandal" it will come up. They run about ten bucks for a single.

I wear my UGGs in the summer all the time because of air conditioning.