Correctiive Surgery in hands or feet?

[RA_Nat]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had corrective surgery for their feet? I've been thinking about it and would like to hear other people's experiences.

Thank you.

RA_Nat

[txsilver]

Bless your heart.  It's painful enough without nodules under your feet!  Surgical removal of RA nodules can be done.  Often, the nodules will come back, but if I had them on the bottoms of my feet, I think I would talk to the doc about it for sure.
I was on MTX for many months then stopped injecting myself due to vacation plans.  For quite a while I had been much better except for the side effects of the MTX.  I decided to give it a couple of months and see what would happen.  I was lucky and found that, after using MTX to bring things under control, plaquenil was sufficient to maintain control of my symptoms.  I do hope you will be able to drop the MTX, too.  It's hard dealing with all the side effects of these meds.  The plaquenil does have the benefit of protecting you from some of the effects of the meds.  I found that out when I asked the doc about giving up some of the meds instead of just layering them on.  I had an unbelieveable number of scripts and was trying to cut back to save money and to get down to one pill case :)  
Please let us know what the doc says about removing the nodules.

[RA_Nat]

Hi tx,

Thanks for the quick response. Really appreciated.

They are RA nodules. I've been on Plaquenil and methotrexate for about 8 months now and on Humira for about 3 months. I am responding well. It is still progressing a bit, but I feel 110% better than a year ago. The medication did me so much good that I don't even have morning stiffness at all. My doc said that in 6 months down the road, if all is well I might be able to stop the methotrexate. The only issue I have now is my feet. The pain is still there. I can walk but after a while, it gets very  painful.

And no, my doctors are not talking about it. The thought occured to me because I was quite the active person before the RA. I would like to be able to go hiking and walk for hours. For me, the more I move, the better I get and I was wondering if those nodules can be removed or not and if it is worthwhile.

Thanks

RA_Nat

[txsilver]

So, I am assuming that they are talking about surgery on your feet.  Have you got bone spurs there or are they RA noules?  How long have you been on your Plaq., MTX and Humira combo?  Do your docs comments mean that you are not responding to this combo of meds yet?  Has your doc modified the dosages?

[RA_Nat]

Thanks for the response....sorry I haven't been online for a while. Almost 2 months now. WOW.

I don't know what kind of surgery. I have severe RA and I'm now taking Plaquenil, Methotrexate and Humira Injections. My Rheumatologist did not discuss this with me. He said that the progression needs to be stopped before even thinking about it, but I was just wondering what kind of surgery is available out there and if there were any success stories. I have bumps under my feet and the feeling I get while walking when I flare up is like walking on marbles. I was wondering if surgery would help eventually and how long is the healing process etc.

Nat.

[txsilver]

Thanks for sharing, ChitChat.  Excellent point, we do need to know what kind of surgery and where to get the most pertinent responses.  
RA Nat, what surgery are you thinking about having?  How does the problem you are hoping to correct effect your life?

[ChitChatNine]

what area of your feet?  I have a severe tibial tendonitis/arthritis in the joint and won't have the surgery unless I cannot walk .. in my case, they said no guarantee it would even work and the recuperation is 4mos.  Instead I wear high top sneakers 18hrs a day and orthotics and live on Mobic and with change in lifestyle, doing pretty ok with it.

C~