Next Surgery
will probably be on the metatarsals on my right foot. Saw my rheumatologist today and got x-rays of my right foot taken:
Apparently my metatarsals (toe knuckles) are too far down towards the ground, which is what's been making them hurt so much. You can also see where one of my mid-foot joints has mostly fused (which is why I can't bend my foot one way). The good news, though, is that most of the joints have space between them.
Anyways, I can get new orthotics made to take pressure off the metatarsals. Complication is that my current orthotics move the weight from my ankles to my metatarsals, because otherwise my ankle swells. So, I'll be curious to see if I can get orthotics made that will help my metatarsals without hurting my ankles. Frankly, I'm a little skeptical. And even if I can, how long will those work? Frankly, if I'm going to need surgery at some point and the orthotics will only let me postpone it for 6 months or a year, I'd be tempted just to skip this step and get the surgery over with.
There is a part of me that's kind of down about this. I often feel like I'm living a Russian Roulette with my joints: which one will go next? And it's very likely that all of them will, eventually, go. It's just a matter of when. And in which order. But that's just how my body is. My life is all about learning how to adapt. This is just something else I'll need to learn to adapt to.
Apparently my metatarsals (toe knuckles) are too far down towards the ground, which is what's been making them hurt so much. You can also see where one of my mid-foot joints has mostly fused (which is why I can't bend my foot one way). The good news, though, is that most of the joints have space between them.
Anyways, I can get new orthotics made to take pressure off the metatarsals. Complication is that my current orthotics move the weight from my ankles to my metatarsals, because otherwise my ankle swells. So, I'll be curious to see if I can get orthotics made that will help my metatarsals without hurting my ankles. Frankly, I'm a little skeptical. And even if I can, how long will those work? Frankly, if I'm going to need surgery at some point and the orthotics will only let me postpone it for 6 months or a year, I'd be tempted just to skip this step and get the surgery over with.
There is a part of me that's kind of down about this. I often feel like I'm living a Russian Roulette with my joints: which one will go next? And it's very likely that all of them will, eventually, go. It's just a matter of when. And in which order. But that's just how my body is. My life is all about learning how to adapt. This is just something else I'll need to learn to adapt to.