oh those feet | Arthritis Information

 

Okay, my feet are getting in the way of life.....especially my left foot.  It swells so badly I can't get my shoe's on which makes working a bit odd.  I am lucky in that much of the time I work from home but when I do "go to work", I usually get on a plane and travel somewhere in a suit.  Its not pretty.

My iritis has been my biggest problem thusfar with the return of my RA and I have largely ignored the foot but can't seem to continue to do this.  The doc's (eye doc plus rheumy) are talking about upping the MTX to 25mg or adding remicade.  My stomach doesn't handle the 15mg I am on now (plus plaquinel) but the eye doc says I can't stay on the eye steriods much longer.  I've had 4 flares of iritis in the last year.  Injectable MTX has also been suggested.

What do people do for their feet?  Also, if you switched from oral to inj MTX, did you see a reduction in side effects (GI distress, exhaustion, spaciness)?  What about remicade?  I hear its best for eye disease. 

Many decisions to make in the next week or two and I would love to hear from others.

Thanks

Hi,

Before my MTX kicked in I had to buy larger shoes for my swollen feet.  I also put my heels away -- actually almost gave them away.  I found a great pair of Clarks that had a small zipper on the top (I would open the zipper according to the amount of swelling!)  Once the MTX kicked in the swelling went down.  I now wear my old shoes carefully and don't overdo it.  Having a couple of differnt size shoes works for me now -- I have choices depending on the state of my feet.

For relief when the really ached, I found immersing them in heated dry lentils to be soothing.  The heat wasn't so great for the swelling, but the heat felt good for a while.

On a recent flight my feet became very swollen (6+ hour flight).  Walking around helped as did having the flight attendant find me a jump seat where I could elevate them.  Some on this forum suggested that compression socks might have helped.

I didn't have any problems with MTX in pills and only moved to injections when my dose increase to 20 then 25 mg.  No problems with that either.

Sorry, I have no experience with remicade to offer.

I hope you find happy feet soon. 

Hi, my feet are acting up since I've been hitting a few tennis balls on the court (left one) and playing golf, (had to quit playing and just ride in the cart after 16 holes last week, this week I walked 9 holes, RAH!, and rode for 9) my foot was starting to get crampy and achy. I have big shoes, (comfy 'Dr. Sholls are ugly but work), and mostly soft tennis shoes. yes, heels are out. But I'm taking the remicade, mtx & Pred, so my doc says it will 'fix' my foot problem. Maybe he's right. My hands are swollen, but better. We'll see. I take the MTX (20mgs) Wednesday, and Remicade at the end of the month.Sarah

I have no experience with the iritis or with remicade...sorry.

I did switch from pills to injectable mtx and lost all of my gi side effects when I did.  The only side effect I really have now is fatigue the day after the injection. 

Im just now starting to have foot swelling w/ my RA didnt even just noticed one day my shoe was tighter at the end of the day and now its gettin pretty common if i stand alot... All I know is to put them up and rub them.. I had ALOT of foot swelling while I was pg and that was the only thing that helped.. I would prop them up and rub them w/ lotion and it did help some. Soakin them made mine worse.HTH
Linda

I've been having trouble with my right foot. I have developed (in the last 6 months or so) what looks to me like a bunion, but my rheumie doesn't think so. I had Xrays last week and he says he needs to talk to the radiologist about what's on the films at the base of my big toe!!

I have different sizes of shoes also to accommodate swollen days and good days. The last time I wore heels it was a disaster and I am not resolved to just accept that those days are gone, even on dress up occasions. I have had RA for 4 years but you know, my right toes were always bigger than the left ones - even years before the diagnosis.

Have you tried compression stockings?  They are HARD to get on and off but do help with the swelling.  You can buy them otc at the pharmacy or order them online, they are a bit pricey though, starting around for the medium weight.

I also have chronic iritis.  Since doing humira weekly, it has only flared twice and doesn't last nearly as long.

I would definitely talk to the dr about switching from the pills to the injection form of mtx and it sounds like you may also need to consider a biological.  I believe they usually try enbrel or humira before remicaid but it might be drs choice.
I had to stop oral mtx due to elevated liver enzymes. About 6mo later I pleaded with rheumy to let me try the inj form of mtx and have not had a single problem with it - been on it about 9 mo now. I love my crocs shoes! They are so comfy and roomy, but casual looking. I also have 3 different kinds of birkenstocks. I bought heels to wear to son's graduation next week. Hubby freaked out about it, but I want to try. LOL
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