Margaret, you wrote me in response to my complaint about my thickened toe nails:
>Please let me know everything about this particular "wonderous"
side effect
of our disease. I too am plagued by these elephantine toes, and aside from
the looks of them -- the PAIN! I have been mostly barefoot/sandals for
spring and summer. But, winter is coming -- so, any suggestions you can give
me would be most appreciated.
Margaret, you may have heard the old wise-crack. There is "fungous
amoungus". I had surmised my problem was mostly because as I stumble around,
I have banged my toes many times. I am most vulnerable when I do not have
shoes on in my bed-room. On occasion , I have even lost a little blood. I
mistakenly assumed that trauma alone would do enough damge to the corium of
the nail to thicken it.
My Father had a truly awsome thickness of the nail on one of his big
toes, and he told us kids that appeared after he had a cream can slip out of
his hand and bang down hard on said toe. My brother took a look when he came
clear down from Bemidji Mn. to KCI International airport to be with me at my
first surgery in January. He diagnosed fungous infection. My brother and I
are bothr retired veterinarians. His comment when I reminded him about Dad's
big toe, was that the injury had merely made the toe vulnerable to the
fungous. Both Dad and myself grew up on North Iowa farms, and there are all
kinds of fungi in the barns, I am sure.
My family physician concurs in Bob's diagnosis, and has prescribed a
90 day supply of an antibiotic product called Lamisil tabs, 250 mg. The cost
is almost prohibitive at $426.38, but it is supposed to be very effective.
I have some concern about reinfection later on. Do you folks out
there on the list have some advice for me?? Has anyone for instance burned
or discarded all there old foot ware. Is that an important thing to do??
What else should I do to avoid reinfection, and on what schedule?? I am
serious about these things. In case anyone thinks, I am joking, I'm not!!
