How RA (and other ailments) change your feet

In addition to the pain and fatigue that came into my life with my degenerating disks in my back, RA, and fibromyalgia, my foot wear has taken a big hit.

I have never been a fan of high heels, well not since my 20's and 30's when I was going out dancing regularly. My favorite work shoes were low to  moderate heels for years. I had no real problems with my feet.

Since my RA diagnosis, my feet are a big part of my conversations with my rheumatologist. RA frequently affects the small joints in your hands and feet at first. I can tell you my RA did start that way. I get painful hands and feet. Also, I have to use toe separators on my right foot to stop my toes from curling under each other.

I don't shop for shoes by looks or heel height. My shoe choices are no longer low or medium heels. I get to wear flats. I get to wear supportive flats with a big toe box - meaning no points. I get to put expensive inserts ($50/pair) in my shoes that aren't supportive enough. And my feet are now wider and 1/2 size longer.

Shoe brands that I now look for are Merrell's and Clark's. Naturalizer shoes, a good brand of shoes with structure, no longer are an acceptable choice. While they are supportive they do not provide enough support.

I got rid of most of the shoes in my closet as a result of these changes. Yesterday I found I wasn't alone with this. Lisa wrote about this in her blog as well. (I met Lisa a few years before my RA diagnosis and have been reading her blog for a while now.)

Back to my feet. Foot pain sucks. Because your feet are involved in things like walking and standing. Its hard to do much without using your feet. And sometimes they hurt when I am sitting or lying down.

You never think about some body parts until they stop cooperating with the rest of you. I don't miss my gall bladder much now that I no longer have it. My gall stones made things difficult for a while. I also don't miss my left ovary and uterus since they have been gone for more than ten years.

But my hands and feet are a real problem. They are too important to remove. I am stuck with them as they are and hope they don't get too much worse. And wear ugly supportive shoes.