Charcot's Foot was discovered in the eighteenth century by a Frenchman named, Jean-Martin Charcot (pronounced-Charcoh). I never heard of it until I got it. I wish I had never heard of it, at all. None of my friends or family ever heard of it before. Almost all of my doctors and nurses knew about it. It is a fairly common disease among Diabetics but it is not exclusively their domain. Doctors still aren't exactly sure why it happens. Some thoughts are that it is due to Diabetic neuropathy or nerve damage to the feet, which is a fairly common condition among Diabetics. They think that Diabetic neuropathy softens the bones in your feet and allows them to shift and to fracture easily. Also, since you can't sense pain with Diabetic Neuropathy, you aren't even aware that anything is happening to your feet. It isn't necessary to have any trauma, for this condition to occur. At least that is one theory.
Usually the symptoms are simply that one foot is warmer than the other even though circulation is usually good. There may be some swelling or redness. This may be all the symptoms that initially show and they can come on quite quickly. These symptoms really don't alert anyone to the seriousness of this disease. If the condition is found early enough, the best treatment is rest. The foot should be completely immobilized for six to nine months. When a doctor told me that, I thought he was absolutely crazy. I was wrong. If it is not caught early enough, the most probable next step is surgery.
Muscles can no longer support the foot. Damage to the foot can easily go unnoticed because of Diabetic neuropathy and not feeling your feet. As a result ulcers and deformity of the foot can occur. The arch may collapse. The foot alignment may also go haywire.
This is what happened to me. It seemed like it happened suddenly, out of nowhere. My arch totally collapsed, I developed a huge bump (from bones shifting and breaking) in the middle of my foot, on the inside, where my arch was. It is unbelievable but I felt No pain because of the nerve damage. My foot veered way off to the right. When I went to see my Podiatrist, he dubbed me,"Mr. Crooked Foot". It looked awful. I can't recall any trauma that began this condition. It just seemed to happen.
From researching on the internet and talking with my Podiatrist it became very clear that the only way to stabilize my foot was with surgery. My doctor told me he would have to fuse the joints of my foot so that they would not deteriorate any further. In layman's terms, this meant putting a bunch of titanium screws in the bones of my foot to hold them together until they were able to fuse naturally. It is about a nine to twelve month process for the bones to heal and fuse completely. That means being in a cast or a boot up to my calf for that time period. Also, being mostly on crutches or in a wheelchair. It was essential that there was no pressure or weight-bearing on my foot for this whole time. Whoopee! Thank God for my computer. It definitely kept me sane while I was in-firmed.
So, on May 4, 2010 I had yet another surgery on my foot. This one lasted for seven hours. The doctor made three incisions on the top of my right foot. Each one was about two inches long. He inserted thirteen titanium screws into the bones at the joint where my arch was. It had collapsed and the bones now sort of overlapped each other. The screws job is to hold the bones in place until they could fuse together. Amazingly, I felt no pain, before, during or after surgery. I really like that part. He also added two kind of braces to help align my foot. The screws held the braces in place. When looking at my X rays, I count thirteen screws. It could even be more. I guess I'll never be going through metal detectors any time soon. I broke one of the screws while healing. I'm a big guy. My doctor said that was not uncommon. It was kind of scary though.
For the next nine months, I saw the foot doctor about every three weeks. First, X-rays were taken before each visit for the doctor to study. He could see how the healing was progressing, inside my foot. Weight-bearing was not permitted on that foot. My days and nights were in a wheel chair. If I needed to walk, it was on crutches. Sad to say, I gained quite a bit of weight because of my inactivity. That will come back off in the next six or nine months. (I hope!)
If you are really courageous and aren't easily grossed out Go to Google, type in Charcot's foot and then click on images. There are many pictures of what this disease looks like and they ain't pretty.
In retrospect, I wish I had taken my Type 2 Diabetes more seriously from the start and kept my blood sugar under better control. I had no idea how dangerous a disease it was. I can't change what happened now. I doubt that I would have had these complications if my blood sugar had been under better control. My ignorance of Diabetes cost me greatly. The good that has come out of this experience is that my blood sugar is now very strictly controlled. My health has improved. I am conscious of what I eat at all times (well almost all times. I still have some weaknesses). I count carbohydrates for better blood sugar control. I exercise. I like to walk but it seems that when I do, I get blisters or open sores on my feet. They may be dangerous. So now I am riding a bicycle for exercise. It's a lot less demanding on the feet. That's something I haven't done since I was fourteen years old. It is fun, though and I enjoy it.
Some doctors told me that they thought that I probably had my Diabetes for ten to fifteen years before diagnoses. That sure came as a shock! A simple blood test will give you a Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) reading that tells what your average blood sugar was for the past three months. This is necessary for the doctors to see where your blood sugar has been in the long-term. It tells you more than just one moment in time which you can get from a finger stick. My current doctor has me shoot for an A1c of under 7. (my last test was 6.2 which is excellent). Every Diabetic should have their A1c tested every three months. Then once your blood sugar is under good control you can stretch the testing to every six months. When I first walked into the doctor my A1c reading was 15.6. That's about equal to blood sugars in the mid 500's. For a Type 2 Diabetic they should be around 160 or less. I was pretty sick and didn't even know it. I believe that my inaction and ignorance was what led to the complications that I have suffered through, since.
My sincere goal is that anyone who reads my story, may look at Diabetes a little more seriously. You should see a doctor for a diagnoses if you have any suspicions or family history of it. The symptoms are pretty easy to see. Family history of Diabetes. Unending thirst. Many, many trips to the bathroom. Burning, tingling, or "pins and needle" sensations in the feet and /or hands. These are only some of the main symptoms to look out for. If you manage to control Diabetes early, many of the serious complications, that happened to me, shouldn't happen. If you let it go on, it could be years before it is even noticed. By then, it's too late. Diabetic Neuropathy and its many possible complications may have already begun. Share your story with me. I know mine isn't the worst.
I am Robert Emanon and I am a retired carpenter with the double whammy of diabetes (type 2) and tinnitus. I am going to write about my experiences with both and recommend help that I have found through my research. Take this dangerous disease seriously. It can attack every part of your body!
If you want further information please contact me at: bobemanon65@gmail.com
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