extent to which the views and experiences of the participants were attributable to foot ulcers and how far they reflected the difficulties of living with diabetes as a condition. For this reason all participants were prompted to talk specifically about the psychosocial effects of their foot ulceration on HRQoL. The researcher commenced each interview with a statement concerning the aim of the study (to explore HRQoL issues relating to foot ulceration). Throughout each interview, prompts were repeatedly framed within a context of this aim such that the emphasis of the interview was consistently on how foot ulceration as a complication of diabetes was affecting HRQoL. Findings Analysis of interviews revealed a number of themes which can be discussed within a context of 'loss'. Participants' narratives recorded a sense of loss of the life they had experienced before the foot ulceration and also an associated loss of 'sense of self'. As a consequence, the data are discussed here within the Charmaz [31] framework of 'loss of self'. Charmaz argued that individuals with chronic conditions become highly aware of previously assumed aspects of 'self' that are now lost. She proposed that this loss of self is exacerbated by four psychological conditions: living a restricted life; existing in social isolation; experiencing discredited definitions of self (as the sense of self becomes both altered and diminished); and becoming a burden. All four conditions were seen in the narratives of the participants. Findings in relation to each of these are discussed below. Living a restricted