This is an update on the foot issue. I figured a new topic rather than keep adding to to the previous one which would just get longer and longer ....
Sat morning foot swelled up, really painful, difficult to walk - so went to A&E.
They did blood test and x-ray. They concluded all indicators in the blood test were good, and there was a good foot pulse so it wasn't vascular. X-ray showed no problem with the bones so it wasn't clear why the necrotic tissue. They figured there was more than one thing happening with the foot. First there was an infection - now being treated with anti-biotics. The best theory they could come up with was the infection caused the swelling and this cut off supply of blood to an area of the foot and resulted in the necrosis.
Upshot was, keep taking the anti-biotics, take something for the pain and get it treated at diabetic foot clinic. Not something that needs immediate treatment. So that was a relief. Seeing my gp again today (the better one, never going to see the first one again - worse than useless he was! You'd think recognising necrotic tissue was basic med101 wouldn't you?) to refer me to the diabetic clinic.
The biggest issue is ignorance. I hear horror stories about diabetics and feet but don't have sufficient knowledge to know where I fit on a scale of 1 - 10 with 10 = amputation and 1 = no big issue. So you go and prod the NHS only to find you're probably 2 or 3 and then you feel like you kinda over-reacted to it.
Anyway the antibiotics are working. I slept well and woke up without pain for the first time in a while! Man that felt really good! In fact I lay in bed an extra hour just enjoying the lack of pain in my foot! The swelling seems to have gone down and things are looking up.
Sat morning foot swelled up, really painful, difficult to walk - so went to A&E.
They did blood test and x-ray. They concluded all indicators in the blood test were good, and there was a good foot pulse so it wasn't vascular. X-ray showed no problem with the bones so it wasn't clear why the necrotic tissue. They figured there was more than one thing happening with the foot. First there was an infection - now being treated with anti-biotics. The best theory they could come up with was the infection caused the swelling and this cut off supply of blood to an area of the foot and resulted in the necrosis.
Upshot was, keep taking the anti-biotics, take something for the pain and get it treated at diabetic foot clinic. Not something that needs immediate treatment. So that was a relief. Seeing my gp again today (the better one, never going to see the first one again - worse than useless he was! You'd think recognising necrotic tissue was basic med101 wouldn't you?) to refer me to the diabetic clinic.
The biggest issue is ignorance. I hear horror stories about diabetics and feet but don't have sufficient knowledge to know where I fit on a scale of 1 - 10 with 10 = amputation and 1 = no big issue. So you go and prod the NHS only to find you're probably 2 or 3 and then you feel like you kinda over-reacted to it.
Anyway the antibiotics are working. I slept well and woke up without pain for the first time in a while! Man that felt really good! In fact I lay in bed an extra hour just enjoying the lack of pain in my foot! The swelling seems to have gone down and things are looking up.