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Shopping for diabetic shoes
By Meg | September 12, 2007
Ahhh, the pain I will suffer for cute shoes. While I love shoes that are both comfortable and cute, I have also been to known to wear shoes that give me blisters despite the fact that I end up with band aids on my feet. I’m fortunate that I can just shrug off minor foot sores as the price of feeling fabulous. However, for my mom - and many, many others - a small foot sore could spell big trouble; it could lead to the amputation of that foot or even the entire leg!
For people with diabetes, foot sores are a major - though rarely spoken about - issue. Diabetes can slow down the healing of a wound, leaving even a small sore open to infection. Plus, many people with diabetes suffer from nerve damage resulting in loss of sensation in the feet - meaning that they might not even know that their shoes might be hurting their feet. Therefore, people with diabetes must be very careful about the types of shoes they wear.
A pain to find
According to the Center for Disease Control and and Prevention 2005 Diabetes Fact Sheet, the number of people in the U.S. with diabetes could be as much as 7% or more, with numbers expected to rise. Seven percent might seem like a small number, but that’s about 1 out of every 14 people. You’d think then that there would be great selection of diabetic shoes alongside all those killer heels, but of course there aren’t.
They are sold at some specialty stores, but often the lack of selection or lack of a nearby store means that the shoes must be ordered online, through a magazine, or even through a store itself. Since this is one type of shoe that must fit perfectly, I recommend going with a live person who can make sure that it fits right.
Unfortunately, my mom had not been able to find the right shoe and fit at the store that she had gone to, so today we went together to another store, further away. Fortunately, the salesperson was fantastic, as was the selection. Although we have to bring in my mom’s prescription before she can finally buy the shoes she wants, it looks like we’ve found a couple pairs.
A pain in the pocket book
That’s the other headache… they are prescription shoes (well, technically it’s the orthotic inserts that are prescription). So, my mom has to get a prescription from her doctor. The shoes aren’t cheap. Granted, there are people who pay hundreds and even thousands of dollars for designer shoes, but normally you wouldn’t see my mom spend a hundred and some dollars on a simple pair of shoes. Fortunately, Medicare does provide one pair of shoes per year.
However, Medicare will only pay for certain styles of shoes. For instance, I found out today that there has to be a fastener - such as laces, or a velcro strap. Plain loafers are not covered (not that I like them), though the salesperson said that they really aren’t a problem for people to wear. In fact, he admitted that some of the straps are, let’s say, more for looks. The big difference is that the shoes have more room in the toes, to keep them from rubbing.
Style still matters
Because Medicare only pays for one pair of shoes per year, my mom has to consider her style choices very wisely. As I said in Can’t Afford to NOT be picky, the less you have to spend, the more important it is that what you’re buying works for you. Assuming that she doesn’t buy any others herself, the shoe must go reasonably well with her clothes - whatever the occasion or season. For a girl that has as many shoes as I do, it seems practically impossible.
Plus, diabetic shoes haven’t traditionally been very stylish. Because of the extra toe room, they tend to be bulky. Most of them are or resemble sneakers, but my mom wanted something that she could wear with dresses at church.
Fortunately, the store we visited has several Mary Jane style ballet flat styles that don’t look like nun-wear. Our pick right now is one of those in beige. In fact, the pair is nice enough that I wouldn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable wearing them - as I told my mom, looking down at my favorite pair of shoes, a pair of white Mary Jane style ballet flats. My mom did say that she might splurge and buy a second pair in red out of pocket. Guess what her favorite color is.
Hopefully, things will work out well. I’m very glad that my mom invited me along as I not only got to spend some great quality time with her shoe shopping, I also learned a few things. If you’d like to learn more about diabetes and foot care, I recommend the following two links from the American Diabetes Association on Foot Complications and Foot Care.
Tags: Fashion, Health, Shoes, Spending Money, Style
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September 13th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Meg, your mum might try the body glide stuff to stop the blisters first. If she has no wounds, she shouldn’t have a problem (should she?) That might mean she can get another pair of flat shoes for occasional wear that aren’t orthopaedic.
September 13th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
She still needs special orthotics… but that is an idea. I’ll look into it. Thanks.
November 5th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Meg, our shopping trip for diabetic shoes was so special. There were so many shoes, I felt like a kid in a candy shop when I was able to actually see shoes instead of trying to visualize them in magazines. You brought up so many important points, especially, don’t leave home without your prescription if you want Medicare to pay for them. I’m thrilled to finally have a pair of shoes I can be proud of, instead of “Ole Granny Shoes”, but even more, I relish our special time together. Mom
November 5th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
I enjoyed it as well! Shoe shopping with my mommy — what could be better?
And I must say, diabetic shoes have come a long way.