have any of you gotten painful hammer toes after getting lyme or any other co infection? and did it get straight again after treatment? what did you do to help the pain? i have 2 toes that are so bent and stuck they wont move and even a blanket or sock on is unbearable, the pain is so much and pain killers dont help this pain!! any input would be appreciated, thanks radha
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
Radha, my husband has what you are talking about. He has NO dx lyme disease.
He doesn't complain but we make sure his shoes are extra wide and 1/2" at the top of toes to move around in shoes.
Also, would a good/expensive shoe store have any ideas since they fit folks daily? Good luck. Posted by luvs2ride (Member # 8090) on :
Is this caused by rheumatoid arthritis? If so, what I say may help you.
I have lyme disease which has induced rheumatoid arthritis. I am still getting well but am doing really well after being almost totally disfunctional.
The first and most significant thing I did was to change my diet. Please see www.drmcdougall.com article titled "Hope for Arthritis". This diet took me from barely standing long enough to shower to having no pain in my feet or ankles.
Second, I found a doctor who is working on bringing my entire body back to a state of health. Testing found I had leaky gut syndrome which is damage to your intestinal lining allowing all kinds of fungi and bacteria and parasites into my body that were never meant to be there. This condition alone can cause RA. Tests also found I was 3x the highest safe limit of lead toxic and highly elevated in mercury (mercury can cause RA). The leaky gut had caused systemic yeast, a potentially deadly condition and systemic yeast can cause RA.
Dr began working on first my gut, now the metals, next the yeast, etc. Already, I am fully functional with just some minor pain and stiffness in my fingers upon rising. These fingers and wrists used to be so disfunctional I couldn't brush my teeth or wash my own hair. I often got trapped behind closed doors I couldn't open.
Good health begins in the gut. It is very probable your husband has gut/digestive issues that have allowed foreign things into his bloodstream which are now reeking havoc in his joints.
Don't waste your time with conventional doctors. They receive very little nutritional training and only know how to treat antibiotically (a very damaging thing for your gut). Find a medical doctor who practices integrative medicine to help your husband resolve his problems. He does not have to live with joint pain.
Posted by valymemom (Member # 7076) on :
I know two young girls with this problem and I suspect they both have lyme. Both have had two surgeries. The one - my son's girlfriend - had lyme as a youngster in Poughkeepsi. (I think "has" is more like it.) The other spends lots of summer time in New England and has also been plagued with panic, depression, gut problems for years now.
Posted by alliebridge (Member # 9103) on :
Hi,
I don't have RA or hammer toes but I do get very painful joint pain in my toes, that comes and goes.
I've associated it with lyme or maybe a coinfection.
But now I'm thinking it may be from toxins due to a leaky gut/systemic yeast that I had about eight years back when on antibiotics (without enough acidophilus replacement for my gut). I'm sure there are permanent ramifications from it. Thanks for your post luvs2ride. It got me thinking.
It's true that most docs don't have a clue about nutrition. I'm very lucky that my LLMD also specializes in nutritional medicine. Posted by Radha (Member # 8464) on :
thanks cave for your reply, yes i have a very painful spot on the same foot, on my heel, one red spot that kills me!! guess its related to the hammer toe on the same foot? but i cant take steroid shots, so you think the crooked toe was a result of the lyme? i dont know what to do about the painful spot on my heel either, thanks again for replying radha
Posted by TickSick (Member # 1073) on :
I developed this condition a couple of years ago, and saw a podiatrist last summer. He explained that the ligament(s?) that normally hold the toe down from the top separated and went to each side of the toe. Hence, the big joint bent upward.
The doctor recommended that I "brace" the toe and tape it, but when I did so, the toe began to turn grey!
Because I also have bad neuropathy in my feet, I didn't want to risk damaging the toe further, so I stopped attempting to "correct" the hammertoe.
I've been living in a warmer section of the country since last summer, so have worn open toe shoes for the mostpart. I imagine I'll have a difficult time readjusting to regular shoes when I return to my four season, permanent home.
I know how terribly painful a hammer toe can be. You have my sympathies. If it's any encouragement to you, my toe isn't as painful as it was when the condition was developing. But then, that effect may just be because the numbness from the neuropathy is quelling the pain somehow.
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