Swollen feet & ankles, bad toe nails

[tiger449]

Back in January 1970, 15 years before I was diagnosed as Type-2, I had an industrial accident involving dropping 56 lbs (25 kg) of steel plate on my right foot which broke 3 toes, the three largest ones. The nails on the two largest ones were loose enough to pull out but the A & E doctor said to leave them and they would come out naturally, then grow again. He thought I had been through enough trauma for one day so I was plastered up to just below the knee for the next 6 weeks. Alas when the plaster was cut off the nails had set hard in the wromg position, pointing at an angle up and across. Since then, even my chiropodist has been unable to cut them. She has had to grind them down with a high speed rotary grindstone. Due to my diabetes and prostate cancer which has spread to adjoining bone joints, I can no longer reach my feet. A diabetic complication is peripheral arterial disease (P.A.D) and I have had 2 episodes of DVT both in the left calf, treated by topical heparin massage after 30 minutes of heat pad application. Both the veins and arteries in my legs are badly occluded. Add to that multiple parachuting accidents since 1975 involving 12 breaks to assorted foot bones and spinal compression from landing on my coccyx (base of the spine). I have been offered private surgery to remove all my toe nails under general anaesthetic for £1200 which I'm quite happy to pay so as I can get back to paragliding again. I still cannot reach my feet but I'm just feeling very depressed to be confined to the house and virtually unable to walk. I am too terrified to see my chiropodist again as she carries out her regime of torture without any anaesthetic. I have kicked 6 chirpodists on the chin and have been barred from all 6 practices! At least surgeons have the decency to employ an anaesthetist who ensures you are impervious to any pain arising from surgical procedures. Chiropodists on the NHS offer free toenail removal but it involves a ring-block technique. meaning 4 injections in each toe. With G.A., it is one injection of Pentathol followed by halothane gas which I can handle.

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi tiger,

I am bumping your post up in the hope that someone has had a G.A. courtesy of the NHS for the surgery you need. It seems a lot of money that you need to find.

I am sorry you are feeling so down and I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like for you on a daily basis.
Take care and keep posting.

CC.