Thanks for the replies, and no, it's not a good story, but I think it should be brought out to show how things have gone since it started in late December 2012.
I've had Type 1 diabetes since I was 2, so that's coming up to 53 years now. I had fright when my right foot went cold in the summer of 2003, which was quickly diagnosed as PAD, and after scans was shown I had a severe narrowing in my femoral artery, with more problems in both Anterior & Posterior Tibial arteries and the Peroneal.
It also showed the arteries in the foot to be very restricted, in that it was like having a 3 core cable, turning into a single just below the ankle, ouch!
As a consequence I had an Angioplasty on the Femoral aertery which gave me a breathing space of another 5 years, before it had a major shut down in 2008, which after a discussion with my Vascular Consultant, we decided it best to go for a bypass with the PTFE one, as it would be less invasive and allowed me to get back to work quicker than if I had a blood vessel taken from the left leg,
That sorted it and is still working fine & dandy to this day!
Between these two events I saw the same Consultant at least twice a year and then was changed to one yearly visit to check all was fine, I also had Doppler checks at the Diabetic Clinic at my GP Surgery.
All this was duly put down in my medical notes, for all to see. And started looking after my feet a lot more than I had before
Any whoo, back to December 2012...
One day, I noticed that the right fifth toe seemed drier underneath than normal and put some Aqueous cream on it as I usually did each day after showering, and making a mental note to keep an eye on it.
After a couple of days I hadn't notice it getting any better and as I was going into the Surgery to have a blood sample taken for the Diabetic Nurse in two weeks I thought I would ask the Nurse there who was also going to take a doppler and check my feet, what it might be, that was the Monday.
It turned out it was athletes foot, and she said to get a cream from the chemist, which I did that day and started to look more closely at it day by day, by the end of that week it looked exactly the same, flaky.
The second week, all seemed as before, flaky. But on the Wednesday night, I noticed there was a hair line crack in the skin, which looked a little red and decided to give the Doctor a bell the next morning to see what I should do.
Got through at 8.30am and was told the Doctor would ring me around 12.00 - He rang and I asked him if I should be on antibiotics as I was worried about it leading to problems if nothing more was done with the bad circulation in my leg and foot.
I was surprised by his answer, which basically was a lecture on why he wouldn't give me antibiotics for it could worsen things more than it would cure, he didn't need to see it as I was seeing the Diabetic Nurse the following Monday and keep an eye on it over the weekend. That was Thursday...
Friday night I checked it again and the crack looked about the same, but there appeared to be a very slight darkening space about 2x3mm on the top of the toe, right side, low, which after a closer inspection and a rub with the towel, seemed to be nothing more than dye from the new socks I had been wearing that day...
Saturday, had to go to work again, came home and got ready to shower, that little dark area was now back again, but more pronounced and defined, like a black spot trying to form, ****, was not happy & decided to visit the local A&E next morning, opening at 11.00am, didn't sleep a wink!
Sorry its so long, I'm a bit of a waffler when I write, will try to condense it...
Stu...