hey guys
just found this site tonight and i already have so much info from it. its fantastic. this is my story. im 25 and since i wasa 16 ive had JRA. been seen my arthritis doc for nearly 10 years now so he is like a member of the family
when i was 21 i was also disgnosed with crohns disease so some of my joints they dont knw if its the crohns flaring or the arthritis since crohns can bring inflamation of the joints. anyhoo, i had a hip replacement done back in march. really successful thank god. that was my main thing to look after cos i could barely walk. for the last 3 years my big toe has been sore. on and off at the start but the last year and a half or so its bee getting worse. some times it would feel like my foot was broken. it always seemed to get worse if i was barefoot or in my socks. even if i was just sitting down it would kill me
so finally went for my check up on my hip and saw a new doc who just happened to specialise in feet so told hima bout mine and he had a look, mademe go down to xray and saw me immediately then and said the best thing for me was a fusion. he said that every single one he has done so far has been successful, tho i do know it just takes one to break that trend. he said what he does for fusions is that he will take away the cartilage and put a metal plate over the joint and hold it in with a couple of screws. he said it should be about 1cm up off the ground so i can rock on the ball of my joint to walk

how weird is it walkin w hen you cant bend your toe? i go back to see him in two weeks to let him know if i want the surgerry. i asked him what would be my reasn not to have it and he said if i didnt want it fused. so i guess im just trying to find out as much as i can at the moment. i just wasnt prepared for it at all today. i mean i kneweventually i would need an op but i thought there was a standard one where they just fiddled witht he joint and made it better. so was a lil upset when i heard what it entailed. its hard to talk to family and friends about it cos they dont know what its like so im grateful to have a place likethis to come to and talk to people

thanks you guys
jo

sorry just thinkin about it all and have a couple of questions. firstly, some of you said that you can feel the screws in your toe when you touch it. is it sore to touch

also some of you said you got the metal and screws removed. why? my doc said that hwen i get it done thats it forever. it will be there always

thanks guys
jo

Dear Joanne
It sounds like you have reservations regarding the procedure. I don't blame you. It is not uncommon to hear that a fusion type of procedure is recommended to a patient with a history of Rheumatoid arthritis. Your doctor probably saw an extensive amount of joint destruction on the x-ray. If you feel uncomfortable with your doctor's recommendations, I would suggest a second opinion. That way you can get another doctor's point of view, if that is what you want.
The hardware( such as pins, plates, screws...) left in the body following surgical procedures can be left there for years, although the most common reason to remove hardware is usually secondary to pain.

Good-luck and thank-you for contacting foot.com,
SBarlizo, DPM, CPed
foot.com expert