For at least 10 years I have suffered from flat feet. I've been to podiatrists and consulted surgeons over that time. I have been wearing orthopaedic insoles in my Asic walking shoes, which I live in, but the pain is so bad now sometimes I have trouble standing, let alone walking, for more than a few moments. At night my feet burn, they burn all the time but so much worse at night, my big toes feel swollen and very hot. After some time shuffling into a comfortable position, they settle and I fall asleep, usually with the help of panadol.
My arches are very flat and walking in bare feet is hopeless. I also have arthritis in my ankles.
The surgeon told me they wouldn't consider doing anything to my feet until I had a knee replacement which I had done 10 October 06. It was a TKR as the joint was worn out. I am nervous about having surgery if there is anything that can be done, as now at least I can walk a little but if anything went wrong I would be worse off.
Does any one know of surgery for this problem? What would they do? I live in NZ so don't have access to your USA specialists.
Linzee

Sounds Familiar.....my Feet Feel Just Like Yours If Not Worse...its Been Suggested To Me By 3 Of 4 Doctors That I Have A Triple Arthodesis Surgery.. I First Saw 2 Podiatrist And Now Going To Be Treated And Operated On By An Orthopedic Surgeon.. Im Glad Your Knee Surgery Went Well...good Luck With The Feet...zer

Hi,

Sounds familiar to me as well! My parents and family members had suspected some foot problems in me as a toddler, took me to the doctor & was told it's just baby feet and nothing was wrong, I would grow out of it. Well, I sure wish he could see me now! Over 20 yrs I've had problems and flat feet, and went to podiatrists for it. Had many orthotics done, etc..When I was about 20, though, I started developing severe inflammation around my entire right ankle joint, which then spread to the left, and eventually to many other joints. Then out of the blue the swelling & pain would just go away. This has happened many times over the years (including swellings in other joints) & I was diagnosed with synovitis....however, no treatments worked over most of the years. I guess it would run it's course, then I would feel fine again for while. Now, over the course of 20 yrs, my right ankle is deformed, my foot is turned out to the right and I cannot even try to put weight on the outside of my foot. I've had swelling, redness, intense pain, burning, cramping, pins & needles,hives, not able to sleep, some times pain was so bad I had to hop on my left foot, had to quit jobs, etc.. So I do know the pain you are feeling and am sorry you are going through that. I finally saw rheumatologist about 2-3 yrs ago when I had a bad flare of various joints, tried different anti inflammatories and finally was given oral prednisone. The pred completely wiped out every swelling & pain in my body, including my ankle, to the point I was able to exercise again. Since then I've been diagnosed with lupus and osteoarthris in various places. I have been tested for RA several times, but was always told I dont have it. Recently I was given MRI's to check for Ankylosing Spondilitis (as I also developed swelling and pains up & down my spine, in my sacroilliac area, hips, and shoulders)....but the MRI's showed no evidence of AS. Actually, my bloodtests for LUpus didnt show anything either, but he went by all my symtoms and tried treatments until something worked. Now I have alot of bony overgrowth on my inside ankle, just got more Xrays done...and it showed all is fine! <eyeroll> So my physical therapist urged me to see another podiatrist he say's is very good in my area. I have an appt with him on Monday, so who knows what this one will say or do. (in the past, all the foot doctors i'd been to didnt know what else to do for me and I was told there was no surgery anyone could do).

Have you ever been tested for any type of inflammtory or reactive arthritis...or any autoimmune diseases?

I am sorry to have been so long replying, I had forgotten my user name and password and by the time I tried all sorts I had the computer totally confused!
Thank you for your comments, I am going to see my TNR surgeon at the end of January so I will discuss my feet problems with him. I do wonder about periphial nuropothy, (SP???) when reading up on the subject it sounds very much like my painful feet. To me its the nerves of the feet that give me the most pain, its a thought. I will let you know of my progress, if any, as time goes by.

My feet have some of the same symptoms you mention. Into wearing slippers that are indoor/outdoor my feet hurt so badly. However, have found out a couple of things that have helped a lot although not easy to figure out. Discovered that I have allergies to some additives in prepackaged foods. I have to watch my level of carb & sugar intake also. Seems that carbs & sugar make my feet hot more than anything else. So hot I can make a pan of cold water warm. lol. Figuring out which things I can't have was hard until I
discovered muscle testing, also known as kinesiology (not sure of spelling). Also look for packaging that says no additives. Stauffer's has some & Bryer's Ice Cream if it says all natural. Sugar alternatives are very bad at making feet hurt & making my heart rate rise and causing sinus problems. Beginning to think that unless it is fresh & natural I'm taking a chance at 12 to 24 hours of hell. So I skip it. Best of luck to you all and hope some of this might help you.