20 + 10 points
Time (and medical attention) Heals All Wounds by Amoeba Man
June 18th, 2008 6:10 PM
Warning. The images below are kind of gross.
For about seven months now, my toes have been acting really weird. First my left toe, then my right. The problem is uncertain- the only thing that is certain is that I have nasty, pus filled growths on my toe. The left toe cleared up on it's own, but the right toe (the one seen here) is much more persistent. I have been on four rounds of antibiotics (three different kinds), one round of anti-fungal, and have been to see a doctor at the duty clinic, my GP, my dad's GP, a dermatologist, a podiatrist, and a doctor in the emergency clinic. None of them are sure what it is. Everything from gout to psoriasis to my toenail being too stiff and jabbing into my toe has been suggested. I've had blood work done and had a bone scan, and just a little while ago, went for a biopsy (the stitches are from that).
Now, keep in mind, this isn't a minor issue. This whole issue has been going on since December. DECEMBER. This toe alone has been mucked up since mid-April. We're talking about seven months of blood in my socks, band-aids, gauze, and antibiotic creams. Seven months of worrying about what the hell is going on down there. Seven months of visiting doctors who've told me jack. I wasn't able to dance at my high-school grad, there are times on the job when I can barely walk, and don't even get me started about the time I had to buy new sneakers.
As you can imagine, walking has since become an adventure in pain.
Don't get too worried, though- for one thing, it looks a lot better than it used to. It still hurts a fair amount, but not as much as it used to. What you see in the first image below is as follows.
(Day 1- June 18, 2008)
Towards the left side of the foot (it's hard to see) is the first growth. It's kind of a yellowy-pale color that blends in with the skin and toenail. The reddish part you can see right at the base of the nail is the second growth, which has slipped under the toenail (which is falling out and which I have been informed is fungal). The blackish-red spot on the right is some dried blood, I don't know what that's from (but given the progression of it so far, I'm not surprised). The blackish bits near the midpoint of the toe are stitches from my recent biopsy. The front of the toenail has been clipped off by me, to prevent it from getting ingrown (more likely since the toe is swollen).
Anyways, that's the first day. And yes, I know that I need to spend at least 4 days documenting this. Rest assured, pictures will be uploaded for each passing day. (I kind of need to get this one going because it's cluttering up my "tasks" box).
(Day 2- June 19, 2008)
Little has changed. I cleaned up most of the dried blood, which was from another stitch I hadn't seen. The toenail is out a little more. I had a doctor's appointment today regarding it, the bone scan showed no signs of a bone infection (which is really good), and the blood work didn't turn up anything too serious. In fact, according to my blood, everything is normal. The white blood cell count isn't even up. It's probably just a very nasty infection.
(Day 3- June 20, 2008)
Looking a lot better now. The redness around the stitches has cleared up and the dried blood is almost entirely washed away. The toenail continues it's glacier-like movement outwards. It hurts a lot less now, which is good.
(Day ???- May 25, 2009)
I know it`s almost a year after the fact, but I just want to close the book on this for good.
A few days after the last update on this, I got the results of the biopsy back. The growths were some sort of fungus that, while painful and frustrating, were not inherently harmful. I was in no danger to begin with. I got some pills prescribed (big ol' blue ones, delicious). Within a couple of weeks, the issue was cleared up.
My left toe is almost back to normal. The old, dead toenail is just about off, and the toenail under that seems healthy enough.
My right toe is another story; the toenail there is in a bad way, but it doesn't hurt and it isn't infected, I'm just waiting until it grows back out.
I just wanted to end this for good for whosoever was interested.
For about seven months now, my toes have been acting really weird. First my left toe, then my right. The problem is uncertain- the only thing that is certain is that I have nasty, pus filled growths on my toe. The left toe cleared up on it's own, but the right toe (the one seen here) is much more persistent. I have been on four rounds of antibiotics (three different kinds), one round of anti-fungal, and have been to see a doctor at the duty clinic, my GP, my dad's GP, a dermatologist, a podiatrist, and a doctor in the emergency clinic. None of them are sure what it is. Everything from gout to psoriasis to my toenail being too stiff and jabbing into my toe has been suggested. I've had blood work done and had a bone scan, and just a little while ago, went for a biopsy (the stitches are from that).
Now, keep in mind, this isn't a minor issue. This whole issue has been going on since December. DECEMBER. This toe alone has been mucked up since mid-April. We're talking about seven months of blood in my socks, band-aids, gauze, and antibiotic creams. Seven months of worrying about what the hell is going on down there. Seven months of visiting doctors who've told me jack. I wasn't able to dance at my high-school grad, there are times on the job when I can barely walk, and don't even get me started about the time I had to buy new sneakers.
As you can imagine, walking has since become an adventure in pain.
Don't get too worried, though- for one thing, it looks a lot better than it used to. It still hurts a fair amount, but not as much as it used to. What you see in the first image below is as follows.
(Day 1- June 18, 2008)
Towards the left side of the foot (it's hard to see) is the first growth. It's kind of a yellowy-pale color that blends in with the skin and toenail. The reddish part you can see right at the base of the nail is the second growth, which has slipped under the toenail (which is falling out and which I have been informed is fungal). The blackish-red spot on the right is some dried blood, I don't know what that's from (but given the progression of it so far, I'm not surprised). The blackish bits near the midpoint of the toe are stitches from my recent biopsy. The front of the toenail has been clipped off by me, to prevent it from getting ingrown (more likely since the toe is swollen).
Anyways, that's the first day. And yes, I know that I need to spend at least 4 days documenting this. Rest assured, pictures will be uploaded for each passing day. (I kind of need to get this one going because it's cluttering up my "tasks" box).
(Day 2- June 19, 2008)
Little has changed. I cleaned up most of the dried blood, which was from another stitch I hadn't seen. The toenail is out a little more. I had a doctor's appointment today regarding it, the bone scan showed no signs of a bone infection (which is really good), and the blood work didn't turn up anything too serious. In fact, according to my blood, everything is normal. The white blood cell count isn't even up. It's probably just a very nasty infection.
(Day 3- June 20, 2008)
Looking a lot better now. The redness around the stitches has cleared up and the dried blood is almost entirely washed away. The toenail continues it's glacier-like movement outwards. It hurts a lot less now, which is good.
(Day ???- May 25, 2009)
I know it`s almost a year after the fact, but I just want to close the book on this for good.
A few days after the last update on this, I got the results of the biopsy back. The growths were some sort of fungus that, while painful and frustrating, were not inherently harmful. I was in no danger to begin with. I got some pills prescribed (big ol' blue ones, delicious). Within a couple of weeks, the issue was cleared up.
My left toe is almost back to normal. The old, dead toenail is just about off, and the toenail under that seems healthy enough.
My right toe is another story; the toenail there is in a bad way, but it doesn't hurt and it isn't infected, I'm just waiting until it grows back out.
I just wanted to end this for good for whosoever was interested.
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posted by Amoeba Man on June 23rd, 2008 2:26 PM
There's some more to come. It doesn't look a hell of a lot different from now, so I don't really see the point in describing the same thing over and over. When the results of the biopsy come in, I will post a new picture, as well as the results.
this was kind of gross. kudos for documenting something that looks fairly severe. i would have liked to have seen more pictures, though. how does it look now? or, is there more yet to come?