I am very humbled by the show of support I received when I said I wasn't going to write about my health anymore. With your encouragement, I've decided to continue. For my friend, Mamie, this is how it all started.
One day I innocently went walking at the lake in a new pair of slip on canvas sneakers. It was hot and I didn't wear socks. By the end of the walk, I had rubbed blisters on the big toes of both my feet. Ironically, the blister on the right healed quickly. The one on the left decided to be stubborn.
We've all had blisters. Right? So, I thought nothing of it. I kept it clean. I bandaged it. I put triple antibiotic ointment on it. I thought it was going to heal. I stayed active, so that probably didn't help its pace of healing. However, it didn't cause me pain. I watched it and gave the area attention daily.
Somewhere along the way, some well meaning person suggested that I soak my foot in Epson Salts to help it heal. I did that. That's really when I started having problems. My toe got tender. So, I backed off the soaking. (I have since learned that if you know you are diabetic you shouldn't soak your feet.)
August 18 was a very hot Saturday. I felt yucky. I was chilling and felt feverish. I thought I was coming down with something sinus related. That wasn't the case. It was the infection starting to go wild in my toe.
I woke in the night with a huge red swollen toe. My whole foot felt like it was asleep. That feeling didn't go away. It scared me and I went to the emergency room. I ended up being admitted.
They worried about infection in the bone, which did turn out to be the case. I had an MRI and a bone scan. The results were that the infection was in a tiny portion of bone in the top of my toe. However, the infection in my toe was channeling in the tissue. I was put on some very strong IV antibiotics. The hope was that with six weeks of this treatment, my toe could be saved.
Then one morning the doctor took off my bandage to look at my toe and I nearly fainted. There was puss at the surface and it had to be opened by a surgeon to see if draining would help. The next day my doctor decided to transfer me to a larger hospital where I could see an endocrinologist, an infection specialist, and a wound surgeon.
All this was happening as my blood sugar remained hard to stabilize. You can imagine my fear. I kept telling myself that it was only a toe, but still I didn't want to lose it.
The infection turned out to be staff, but it wasn't in my bloodstream. It was contained to my toe. I wasn't contagious, but I was placed in isolation as a cautionary measure. That also scared the hell out of me.
The surgeon had scheduled me for surgery on Friday the 24th, but I was too scared to go through with it. He told me that if I was his sister, he would want me to do it. He explained that I could try and fight it with antibiotics (IV) but I would in all likelihood lose my toe anyway if not worse. I decided to see what the infection specialist thought. He agreed with the surgeon. So the following day, August 25, my toe was surgically removed.
My entire immediate family was there. They were allowed to be with me as I was given the sleepy juice. My nephew said the last thing I did was laugh before I was completely under because he asked if he could hold my cellphone for me. (That's a running joke between he and I.) I don't remember any of that. It was my first surgery in my life.
The wound area had to be left gaping open to heal because infection in the tissue had spread down to where the incision was made. (As you all know I had the wound vac until I had the bad reaction to the tape. Now that area is packed with wet gauze and covered with dry in what is called a wet to dry dressing and changed three times a day.) As my surgeon would say, it has to heal like the cavemen did it. This isn't the end of the world.
I was in the hospital another five days before I got to come home.
The endocrinologist was wonderful. I had to be on insulin at the beginning of my stay. After the toe with its infection was off, my blood sugar stabilized with only the need for two oral medications. It fluctuates a bit still, but I am told that is normal while I am healing.
That pretty much is how this whole ordeal started. It made my head spin with the speed in which it happened.
People, if you suspect your blood sugar is high or have a history of diabetes in your family....please, please....stay on top of it.
CW
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CreativeWoman posted on Sep 10, 2007
| views: 225
Comments
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Mamie said on Sep 10, 2007....
CW: thanks so much for sharing this story. It is important info for those of us who are T2 and learning how to live with this too. I will comment more later, but just wanted to give you a hug and say thanks. I hope others who have info that could help us will share it. It is scary, but it is doable and we will do it together. Be strong, Lady!! Mamie -
wombat said on Sep 10, 2007....
Thank you for sharing--especially as my husband is diabetic. He also has "jungle rot" on his feet from Vietnam, and I am after him constantly to take care of his feet. By your story, I can see how quickly it can happen and I will talk to him about how this can occur almost without warning. I am sad still that this had to happen to you, but am appreciative of your telling of it for other's sakes. BTW, he just saw his doctor today for his checkup and you will not believe this. His medication was changed at the last appointment, but the instructions were wrong on the label--he has been taking only 1/2 the milligram dosage since his last appointment--and his blood sugar had skyrocketed! He said, "Oh, that's why I have been so tired lately..." I would be a little more upset than that!I sincerely hope you continue to improve with each passing day, and I am so glad you caught it as early as you did, even though this was the result. Oh, and also I did not know that diabetics weren't supposed to soak their feet! Not that he does, but he puts on tons of this stuff called "Sween Cream" for his dry feet. I wonder if that is as bad as soaking? Do you or anyone else know?Thanks again, and my thoughts are with you.Wombat -
CreativeWoman said on Sep 10, 2007....
Mamie,
You are welcome. I hope the information is helpful so others can avoid my plight.
wombat,
I was told that lotion on your feet is a good thing. Just don't leave it gobbed on there. Rub it in. One of the books the hospital gave me said not to soak your feet. I think one concern is that a lot of diabetics lose feeling in their feet and would find it hard to feel if the water temperature was too hot causing burns. There are so many rules. I am still learning.
CW
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wombat said on Sep 10, 2007....
CreativeWoman: Thanks for the information. I will talk to him and also try to pay more attention to things I can do to help him. He doesn't ask the right questions when he sees his doctor, and when I look up things on the Internet, I get overwhelmed! He still asks me to look up things he should and shouldn't eat. He was drinking grapefruit juice like it was going to be pulled from the shelves tomorrow--and found out he shouldn't drink it, because of the effects combined with his medicine. Anyway, thanks again! -
CreativeWoman said on Sep 10, 2007....
Wombat,
The endocrinologist told me that each person is different. What one person can eat, another can't. I find that so bizarre. The dietitian kind of told me the opposite. She said I could eat 60 grams of carbs per meal. That is too much for me at the moment. I suspect that as I am more active, I might be able to tolerate more. I have already found that I can't eat oatmeal for breakfast. It drives my blood sugar high very quickly.
I am keeping a journal listing everything I eat. I figure if I run into some sort of trouble that I can look through it to see if I find a pattern.
You are welcome. :-) I hope all goes well with your husband.
CW
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Mamie said on Sep 10, 2007....
hey wombie, sorry your fam is part of this club, but I am happy to see you! I think the more info we share the better for all. Thanks for YOUR input too. I have been soaking in the tub for months now for the resolve of my you know what from you know when, now I know to stick my feet out:)) with lotion on them!! rubbed in:))Thanks again CW, you are very brave and a generous soul to allow us to share in this journey. blessed be,mamie -
CreativeWoman said on Sep 10, 2007....
Mamie,
You are welcome. I think I heard a very wise saying once that said something like, "A problem shared, is a problem halved." Maybe we can help each other along.
CW
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wombat said on Sep 10, 2007....
I didn't know "each person" could be different! Thanks again! I will read whatever anyone puts here if I can learn how to help him. It scares me to see him losing his heatlth this way. -
quietone said on Sep 10, 2007....
I am also told that sun is not good when on some types of medication...being type 2. Probably for the same reason as soaking feet...you can get sunburn blister...then the chance of infection is so much higher.. This is a good idea to share info like this. When getting lotion for the feet...get gool lotion, try to avoid the ones with alcohol in them.
CW ~ I am glad to see you are on the mend. It is scarey, and you are a very strong woman.
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silverwhisper said on Sep 10, 2007....
CW, i'm so glad you chose to share this. i've wanted to ask but at the same time i knew you were reticent to do so.
never forget that we who read you know you. this means that we like you, you know. :>
[hug]
ed -
Twylarants said on Sep 10, 2007....
Hi CW - glad you're feeling better about things. Hope you don't mind me joining in. I'm always looking for new info about diabetes in the hope that one day I will read that M&Ms cure it.
I was told also about the sun and heat being bad for diabetics as we tend to dehydrate more quickly than non-diabetics.
There are foot creams specially made for the diabetic foot, but I don't know any brand names.
I wear socks called Med Peds. They're soft, with no seams to irritate the skin.
My doctor never told me about grapefruit interacting with my meds until I couldn't walk a few hours after eating 1/2 of one. She only said not to ever eat bananas again. But I eat 1/2 a banana a week and it doesn't bother me.
I eat fake eggs (Eggbeaters) and oatmeal every morning and my # goes up 10 points, but a forkful of cheesecake shoots it up 40 points 2 hours later.
(sigh *cheesecake* sob!).
If I eat to much at night, my vision is blurry in the morning so I don't test - I don't want to scare myself.
Stress really sends my numbers soaring, more than food sometimes.
My meter is my best friend- I call it Liam, for Liam Neeson.
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MissMimi said on Sep 11, 2007....
CDub, this post is precisely why you need to keep writing about your experience. You now have knowledge that might help someone.
Just for myself, I'm glad you decided to keep writing. You are one of the people here that I look for everyday. Many times you've made me think, and you've made me laugh. But the posts where you write what's in your heart and soul are my favorites. {{{{{{hug}}}}}}}
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Mamie said on Sep 11, 2007....
I have heard that bananas have a hgh glycemic value making it a questionable food for us. But I also know that the vitamins from it are good for raising good (hdl ) cholesterol, so I do eat a half with whatever meal a few times a week. That is the hard part, you can't have a lot of sugar but the fruits you need for your digestive and happy heart diets all require plenty of fruits.In case I haven't said this on SC, my mom loaned me a book called sugar busters a while ago that helped me sort out what foods have what levels of glucose to begin to define what I might use in my diet.I lost a lot of weight by changing the foods I ate, reducing the portion sizes and just being disciplined.I also have learned that there are certain things I just cannot digest anymore (might be the diabetes/diabetes meds)....one of them is chardonnay **sob**. My drinking days are over I am afraid. Boohooing over that one... -
husbandhater said on Sep 11, 2007....
My husband was 11yrs old and could not make it to the bathroom at night. His pee crystalized and he started becoming ill. He said he didn't want to go to school which at that time my inlaws thought for him that was unusual. He passed out and woke up in the hospital with 900 sugar level.
In highschool he was in the shower and woke with the fire department around him,a concussion,and lots of blood around him. The seizures are said to be in direct correllation with his sugar level. The lower the sugar the more likely the seizure.
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CreativeWoman said on Sep 11, 2007....
wombat,
I really like my endocrinologist. She is very good at explaining things to me. I am so glad I am seeing her for this instead of just my family doctor. She gave me some examples of how different foods, settings, stresses, etc affect diabetics differently.
I am not so keen on the dietitian I spoke with. She kind of had a cookie cutter approach to things. It conflicted with what the endocrinologist said.
quietone,
I never thought about sunburn. Thank you for that information.
ed,
Thank you. You are very sweet. I always appreciate your encouragement.
Twyla,
It really sucks that we have to give up the foods we love. Doesn't it? I suppose their are alternative versions if we look for them. I'm betting they will be expensive though.
I like how you have named your meter. :-D
Mimi,
Thank you. You flatter me. I always appreciate your encouragement. It makes me feel good that I might be helping others.
Mamie,
I might have to look for that book. Thanks for sharing it. They gave me a half of a banana in the hospital sometimes. I hope I will be able to tolerate them because I love them. I seem to be able to tolerate about 15 grapes with a meal. I haven't tried a lot of fruit yet. I've been sticking with green and red vegetables mainly. I'm still thought of as "acute" so I'm not getting fancy.
husbandhater,
Wow! That is incredibly scary! I hope he has great control of it now. Thanks for sharing the stories.
CW
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skald said on Sep 11, 2007....
Thanks for sharing this. I am sorry about your diabetes. Hope your blood sugar will stabilize. luv -
GrapeKoolaid said on Sep 11, 2007....
You've been through quite a lot recently. I am glad you're on the mend, and doubly glad to know that you're staying on top of your stuff. It's nice to have people you can lean on.
My apologies in advance if my poor pun upset you in any way, as it was only my lame attempt at humor.
Be well, I will pray for you and yours(and all others who left a comment here).
grape. :)
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silverwhisper said on Sep 11, 2007....
some days, CW, i wanna just wrap you up in a great big hug. :>
ed -
CreativeWoman said on Sep 11, 2007....
skald,
Thank you. I hope it stabilizes soon too. I've had a really good couple of days.
Grape,
No worries. You have never upset me. :-) Thank you for your prayers. I can always use them.
ed,
I wish you could. I could often use one. :-) Thank you for being so kind to me.
CW
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Jenna said on Sep 11, 2007....
Cw....thanks for sharing your whole story....sounds very traumatic. Very scary! I hope you are able to figure out this new healthy way of living. I am sure mamie will be able to help you as she has been dealing with this too. God bless you both!(Mams...didn't know about the chardonnay thing...but now I get why you bring your own drinks to parties......you should have told me sweetie.) -
CreativeWoman said on Sep 11, 2007....
Jenna,
Thanks for the encouragement. Mamie has been an angel to me already. :-)
CW
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Jenna said on Sep 11, 2007....
C.....she does that angel thing quite often!xo
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