Is anyone familiar with "Charcot Foot" ...

[Phranp]

"Charcot foot is a progressive degenerative condition that affects the joints in the feet. It is associated with nerve damage (neuropathy) that decreases the ability to sense stimuli, including pain, and decreases muscular reflexes that control movement. As a result, the joints in the feet are subjected to repeated trauma and injury, causing progressive damage to the ligaments, cartilage, and bones. ... Charcot foot occurs most often in people with diabetes mellitus."

I have been having terrible foot and leg cramps at night (and sometimes during the day). While researching this I found "Charcot Foot" which also causes a deformity of the foot ... I took a look at my feet and sure enough I've got two bulges on the inner side of each foot ... I've seen the bulges before but they are bigger now ... I didn't think much of them in the past but now I'm a little concerned ... so, any thoughts on "Charcot Foot" out there? Thanks

[princesslinda]

My brother-in-law, also a T-2 diabetic, suffers from Charcot joint disease, in his foot and ankle. His foot is grossly misshapen due to the deterioration of his bones. He's had to be fitted with special shoes that relieve pressure on certain areas of the foot, otherwise, the bones eventually work their way out, causing an open wound that is very difficult to treat. He has incredibly bad neuropathy in his feet, and has actually broken bones in his foot and didn't realize it until he had swelling and redness because he has so little feeling.

There doesn't seem to be a lot that can be done for this condition. He takes meds for his neuropathy and checks his feet often and NEVER walks barefoot, always wearing the big "specially-made" shoes to try and prevent problems. He's 40, and this started in his mid-30's. He's had 4 surgeries so far to remove bones that were creating pressure ulcers. Since the veins in the foot are so small, this has caused some difficulty healing.

His situation didn't start with an noticeable bulge, rather a red spot that calloused over and kept getting bigger...the first one was on the fleshy pad of the foot, just under the toes.

You might want to have a podiatrist take a look at your feet and see what he/she thinks is going on.

[Phranp]

Thanks Princess L ... I will make an appointment with the podiatrist soon ... maybe ... if I'm lucky ... my feet are just fat ... lol ... after all ... my BG numbers are good 99% of the time ...

[princesslinda]

Hope everything goes well foot-wise for you. Seems everything that happens to me health-wise I try and blame on my diabetes. Your foot situation hopefully has nothing to do with it. Still, getting it checked by a foot specialist will go a long way in alleviating your concern. Keep us posted!

[Alice]

How is this pronounced? Char-cot or Char-coat? or true french...Shar-coe?

[princesslinda]

"Shar-coe" is how my BIL says it....of course we're "Southern" so who knows!;)