Toe Trouble (and Other Medical Mishaps)

Time for another Medical Monday.

Just a recap on the general health issues from the family these past few months.

 I'll start with a cute picture!

I've been mentioning #2's toes in the last couple "Medical Monday" installments ... but it was basketball season, so what do you do? Ingrown toenails are a pain. Literally! I suffered through them my teen years. #1 had issues and we had to get him in and taken care of. #2's turn.

Here's a bit of a before ...

... and you can see it's not only the big toe that's the trouble. He has a lot of chafing and itching and irritation between the little toes too. Nothing as serious as years ago when his case of athlete's foot morphed into something crazy (The Agony of Defeet). Anyway, I finally called the podiatrist and took him in (top picture). His toe was so bad, the doctor said they wouldn't be able to do the permanent fix. He cut in and did what he needed to do to get this one cleared up. I didn't watch, but #2 did. The doctor cut down and simply removed a big slice of the edge of the toenail. Bandaged him up and said he could return to activity when he felt ready (which was playing in a basketball scrimmage the next day). Had to stay out of water (shower) for a day, and any swimming or such for about a week. He recommended that we come back in during the next month or so for the permanent fix (what #1 and I had done ... no problems since!) but we haven't made it back.

I've had a little toe trouble myself. This second toe on my right foot has been afflicted with this scaly dryness for ages now. Not a huge deal, but it can feel fairly painful and burning at times. It hasn't spread at all, but it also hasn't gotten better. It's such a small problem, I can't quite justify going into the doctor for it, but it really bugs me!

... and my poor baby boy's baby toe!

 (added 08/12/2017) After my original post, but it certainly belongs here with "toe troubles" right?! His shoe rubbed and created a big ol blister, and the little man peeled the skin off. Probably shouldn't have done that! He had to sit out his basketball game, he just couldn't play through the pain (even with different shoes). We tried to leave it out in the open air (Sat/Sun/Mon) and then when he had a basketball clinic Tues/Wed (and school starting, needing to wear shoes) I bought some of the special "blister band-aids" and they seemed to help. By the following Saturday, he was able to play in his game.

... onto other issues!

I'm seeing RED!

This has happened to me a few times in the past. Usually I can pinpoint a "violent" event that caused the burst blood vessel (such as sickness/vomiting ... or tickle time from Hubs, in which I fight him off!) This time, I have NO idea what happened!

It took about a week for it to fade. 

Until then,
I just gave everyone the evil eye!

... then there was my mouth.

Back in April, I had such a sore throat. I didn't really show any other signs of sickness (coughing or sniffles) and when I did a glance in my mouth with a flashlight, I saw several little sores. Canker sores on the roof of my mouth.  It was SO painful, and lasted a couple weeks. It impacted eating a bit ... not enough to shift the scale though!

 Poor #4 came home from a neighborhood walk with a dog bite!

... and the same child's thumb(nail)

He smashed it playing basketball and damaged the nail bed.
Then he bites his nails to complete the look.

Hubs and I had some general testing done as we were applying for a life insurance policy for us both. Blood and urine samples taken. Tons of questions. Ages/health of parents and siblings. Smoking was asked about multiple times ... yet I can't recall them asking anything about alcohol. Weight changes are asked about, medical issues, etc.

Happily Hub's Meniere's hasn't raised its ugly head in a while. There was a time or two when he felt twinges, but no full fledged attacks. We are more than okay with that!

Not a bad few months. Staying pretty healthy!

Until next time ...

Medical Monday ... 2017 so far

Every once in a while I'll pop in with a post updating medical issues going on here at our home. Happily, nothing too serious over the years. Time for another Medical Monday to follow-up on my last post ...

Back in December I went in for my annual exam.

I failed the urine test.

Not drugs. Not pregnancy. 

Blood in the urine.

It wasn't anything visible to the naked eye, but that is why they have the little test strips I guess. Often it can point to something simple, like a UTI, but I wasn't showing any symptoms of that. Some infection somewhere? The doctor wanted me to follow up in a few weeks.

When I returned home, I thought of an issue. A troublesome tooth. It was infected I knew, but wasn't causing me any pain, so I'd been putting off getting it taken care of. I didn't know if that could be the infection in question, but it was enough that I did get into the dentist and got it taken care of. Along with that tooth, I had a regular cleaning/exam and had a couple other issues fixed. Then an old filling cracked, requiring a new crown. So ... a few visits to the dentist these last couple of months.

Unfortunately, as I went back for my follow-up urine test ... I failed again. The doctor wanted to have an ultrasound of the kidneys and bladder. Now that wasn't terribly invasive or anything, but was a bit of a pain. Drinking a lot before the procedure. Having to twist and turn and hold my breath to get a clear picture. Happily, nothing appeared amiss on the ultrasound, and a further study (beyond just the simple dipstick) didn't show a problem. So ... follow up in a few months.

I haven't received the bill yet ... not sure how/if our insurance covers things (it changed back in November, higher deductible). I did notice that my monthly prescription (for my thyroid) has tripled in price! It was one of those $4 a month, $10 for 90-day deals. Now, $12.50 for a month and they won't even allow a 3-month supply. It's nothing that breaks the bank but still ... medical costs increasing. I wonder what the future will hold.

On the Hubs front ... he went in for an eye exam and got glasses! He doesn't wear them much. Mostly for seeing further away. Helps clear up the basketball games some. In the first part of January he had some Meniere's attacks. It almost made him call off his trip to Mexico at the end of that month. But we crossed our fingers and he was okay. He's had a few smaller dizzy spells since then, but no full fledged attacks. He also went in to the doctor for an exam and hopes to improve his overall health in the near future.

#4 got quite the shiner during a friendly game of football ...

Evolution of a Blackham Black-Eye

Now that basketball season has ended, I might need to get #2 in to get his toes looked at. We'll see. There have been a few sniffles and such, but no Flu this February or winter season. Knock on wood!

Now that I got MY dental/doctor visits in ... it's time to get the kidlets in. #3 actually stays on top of his ... he wants to get his braces off eventually so he always reminds me to make the appointments, and they keep his cleaning up to date too (our dentist is also our orthodontist). Ah ... appointments!

Medical Monday - The Last Half of 2016

Medical Mondays aren't a regular monthly post here on my blog. That's a good thing. Generally, there just isn't that much going on, and I'm okay with that! I'll just add "Medical Mondays" here and there as issues come up (and this blog is my journey, so I need to include it all). Here's a look at the last little bit of 2016 in our home ...

I had to go to the Doctor and the Dentist in December.

I pop a pill everyday for my thyroid. My bottle was empty with no refills left. I was NOT looking forward to my annual physical. No reason really, I was just really not in the mood. That is why doctors hold prescriptions hostage I guess though, right? To force reluctant patients in? So I went. The visit itself was fairly uneventful. A longer wait in the lab for a blood draw. Urine sample did have an issue (an infection?) so I'll have to come back to check that, once I get my known infection take care of ...

One of the doctor's questions is about dental health/last dental visit. Yes ... that's another one I've been putting off. I actually had a problem, a back tooth, broken off so just the roots remained. It was infected. I was so afraid I'd have to go to an oral surgeon, but my dentist was able to take care of it, with antibiotics for the infection. I'm still scheduled to go back for a cleaning and a little more work.

As for the family ... we had an allergy issue!

Poor #3 ... we KNEW he had allergy issues (#1 and #5 too).  Unlike his brothers, he hadn't had any accidental ingestions over the years as the other boys have. It's nuts! What they are allergic to I mean. He'd "experimented" a bit of late, and seemed okay with Nutella (hazelnuts) and a BananaNut Muffin (walnuts) so he decided to try a cashew (actually a few ...). Still reacts to those! Normally with our boys, it isn't a life-threatening allergy (although we did end up overnight at the hospital with #5 when he was a toddler). There is swelling, itching and misery, but it doesn't quite get to where it impacts their breathing. #3 was miserable though. His nose wouldn't stop running, spots all over, itching all over. His slips and eyes were swollen. Of course we gave him Benedryl immediately. An on call doctor gave us a prescription for Prednisone and an EpiPen ($700 for that!). A cold shower seemed to help too and he moved from the angry itching phase to the drunk Benedryl phase (have you seen the movie "Hitch" ... many similarities this night). We were a heartbeat away from the ER if he indicated any breathing issues. He fell into a deep, exhausted sleep ... but I kept checking on him all night long! No worse for the wear in the morning (still a bit swollen around the eyes) and NO MORE cashews or other experimenting!

Hubs has unfortunately had a few Menerie's attacks this month too. He hasn't had any for a while (since June I think) and these weren't as bad as some (no vomiting) but each one still lays him out for a few hours each time. They are just so hard, because you just never know when they will hit.

As far as feet ... there's been a touch of Athlete's foot on a couple of the boys (#3 and #5) and #2 has what I think is an ingrown toenail (or two), but we can't really do anything during until basketball season is done. Feet issues aren't really anything new for our family unfortunately (The Agony of DeFeet) but at least these aren't as bad in the past ... but I'm keeping my eye on them!

So I still have some follow up with the doctor and dentist. 

Wish me luck!

Miscellaneous Medical Mishmash for May

This blog is a bit of an online journal for me ... I like the labels and the links and the search function, so I can review past topics myself, regardless of if anyone else ends up reading them. A couple months ago I touched on some medical issues, and I have a couple other posts with "medical" as the label.  I almost wish there wasn't enough to talk about for a post this May ... but there has been stuff, and what can I say, the alliteration of the title was too much to waste.

Nothing major for me, but a couple of minor problems. I developed a rash under my arms. I know it's not really that visible in the picture above ... but it hurt! I figured that this was from sweat and friction from my frequent exercise. I would really try to change after each workout, but I often stop and shop on the way home from Zumba classes (while I'm already out and about) and then as I hit the elliptical several times a day ... shifting shirts doesn't always happen. I did a Google search of "underarm rash" and that did confirm that it was most likely moisture and rubbing related. It also made me VERY glad that's all I had, as there were some NASTY things out there! My little rash, I think I can handle this! Still, it was making movement a little miserable during dancing. One obvious solution would be to wear a tank top (no rubbing material, easier evaporation) but ... I just don't feel comfortable (mental, not physical). I did wear one a few times, on days I wasn't sure I could handle sleeves. 

I also invested in some Bodyglide, and then found a less expensive Gold Bond "Friction Defense" stick. So in addition to deodorant/antiperspirant under my arms, I'd apply a similar stick right there at the top of my underarm. Happily, it has helped. I'm no longer uncomfortable ... but I feel like there is a permanent "scar" if you will ... just a slight reddish shading that isn't fading. Oh well ... like I said, it's not like I wear tank tops anyway.

Back in March ... I mentioned having my IUD removed (after 10 years). While there was a bit of drama there (um ... we can't find it) it was ultimately taken out without trouble, and I had the Mirena inserted instead. On of the positive side-effects can be the reduction or elimination of monthly cycles. I'm thrilled to say that seems to be the case ... THRILLED! I really should have gone back in by now for a string check ... I'm bad at getting back in, it hasn't happened yet.

As May is coming to a close ... I'm struggling with a sore throat. While I guess it could be strep, it just doesn't feel like strep (no fever, fatigue, or mouth swelling like I usually get). I can actually SEE several sores on the rear roof of my mouth. It's so painful ... yet it's NOT keeping me from eating. It really seems like it should, right?

That's it for me ... but poor Hubs! We had several Meniere's attacks back in March. He has since gone to an ENT for for insight. He had an MRI, to rule out a brain tumor (it showed nothing, which is good I guess, unless it was a benign brain tumor that could have been removed and it would have solved the problems ... now we're back to just waiting for the next attack. It happened today BTW). It's miserable, but we've been part of a Meniere's support group on Facebook, and we can see just how much worse it can be! This makes us grateful that we've been able to deal ... but can make us nervous about the future too!

In addition to these dizzy/vertigo/nausea spells ... he also pinched a nerve in his neck. It's been causing him SO much pain. After suffering for several days, I encouraged him to hit Urgent Care (it was a weekend) and he got some muscle relaxers and a set of steroids. It seemed to help some (and steroids are also a course of treatment for the Meniere's issue as well! Double duty?) But just as Hubs was feeling better, he'd tweak it again. Some days he can hardly move, other days, he can work through it, but it's miserable. It's been a miserable May :(  He has an orthopedic appointment tomorrow. Hopefully we can get some help. 

Happily, no broken bones ... and #3's wrist hasn't had any problems. He played in a Spring basketball tournament shortly after he got the cast off. He played great, bouncing back from the break with no impact to his balling. I'd also mentioned a medical bill for #2 ... a basic physical that was coming in at over $200. I was able to work with insurance, and they were willing to work with me, and make a one time exception and pay the bill as if it had been in-network. Thanks Select Health! It does pay to make a call and ask ... and I'll be more careful in the future to make sure I am current on our policy and which doctors we can go to (even though it's SO confusing at times!). 

So there's our family medical recap of April and May ... I kindof hope that nothing much happens and I don't feel the need for another "medical" blog post for a while!

Meniere's and other Medical Mishaps this March

Last Monday, I was pretty motivated. I got up early and got started on the day. An hour of elliptical, Zumba and weights. I was planning on hitting the bike in the evening, when I got a call from Hubs. Just a quick call. He was having a Meniere's attack. It had come on in a single moment. He'd been stopped at a light, after glancing down he looked up and the world was spinning. He managed to pull over into an empty church parking lot ...

Have you heard of Meniere's Disease? Unless it affects someone close to you, it's not likely you have. It isn't one that makes the news. Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes episodes in which you feel as if you're spinning (vertigo), and you have fluctuating hearing loss with a progressive, ultimately permanent loss of hearing, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), and sometimes a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ear. For Hubs, the hearing loss and tinnitus have been constant for years now. It's just something he's learned to deal with day to day. The attacks on the other hand ... severe vertigo can cause loss of balance, nausea, sweating and vomiting. Usually he can feel an attack coming on, it time to get horizontal. A fan is helpful, and NO movement. He needs to fix is eyes on a single spot in an attempt to stop the spinning. Usually we just have to wait it out (several hours) and then there is definitely a drag for hours, even a day after the spinning stops.

Hubs has gone months, even years without an attack ... then had several close together. Caffeine, salt, stress are all thought to be possible triggers, but we haven't had much luck with lifestyle changes. If you have been following my Day to Day Doings I've mentioned that Hubs has recently (the last month or two) been improving his eating and exercise habits ... which makes it especially discouraging to have an attack happen now, when he has been being good!

I still remember his worst attack, just a day or two before we had baby #3. I was glad it happened before ... not during or in the days after (when he was helping out with the other boys). I remember having to leave a movie theater, as the jittery camera work was starting to set him off. We once had to cancel a weekend getwaway as an attack took over. Overall though, we've been pretty lucky. As bad as it is at times, there are others who have it worse (I joined a Meniere's Group on Facebook, and oh the stories there!). 

Last Monday ... we had the evening free at least, as Hubs sat for four hours in his truck until the attack passed. He was fairly close to home, I did drive out to check on him, bring him some water ... but there's not much else I can do but wait it out with him. Needless to say, I didn't get my session on the bike in, and poor Hubs felt totally gypped of his evening. He did recover enough to work the next day, and do a couple derbies that week, and jog five miles on Saturday. Crossing fingers that the next attack is far, far away!

This March has had a few extra medical issues ... #3 has been in his cast this entire month, he'll be getting it off tomorrow unless there are complications. I had my followup with my doctor this month as well. I'd mentioned in one of my earlier Friday recaps that while going in for a routine IUD removal ... the doctor couldn't find it. There was a bit of stress, I've heard of them "migrating" to other locations in the body, requiring surgery, but we were lucky again, as an ultrasound showed it was still in place and with it as a guide it was able to be located and removed. 

I'm dealing with insurance issues as well ... back in November I took #2 in for a basic sports physical. I see these advertised many locations for $20. We do have insurance, and I went to one on the list, only now, months later, receiving notification that it wasn't covered, and the bill was almost $200! So much fun! Still working on figuring that out.

I'm ready for March, and the medical issues therein, to be done. 

Hoping for an awesome April! 

To Medicate or Not to Medicate

I've been battling a bug for almost a week now. Last Friday I felt fine, until I went to bed ... then there it was. A tickle in the back of my throat. I do think it's just a bad cold. Sniffly, sore throat, but no fever. The last few days a cough has come in too.

It's nice to have medical options in this day and age. The picture above is from my kitchen counter ... first, I guess you can see I'm a "generic" gal. I don't really care about the name brands (Let's same some money! $$ Thrifty Thursday! *Ü*) I also prefer to treat the individual symptoms ... rather than taking a combo pill, I generally will just hit what I feel I really need. If I'm just stuffy ... just the decongestant. I've had a headache ... and a bit of an earache too. I have been needing to add the ibuprofen and cough medication at times too though.

Sometimes during the day, I try to go without medication. I want to see how I'm really feeling. I don't just want to mask some symptoms if that then makes me continue to push too hard. I want a true judge if I'm feeling better or worse than the day before. At night though ... I want my sleep! So I will usually medicate. Even with it, my sleep lately has been lousy.

I have still been exercising a little, but I have toned it down this week. I tried going without medication Wednesday, but by afternoon I was pretty miserable and went ahead and popped some pills. I did make it through today without them though. Hopefully I'm on the mend.

Hubs had this a week or so before me, and still has some lingering coughs and sniffles. He says the it's really been going through the office at work. I've been trying to be careful to wash hands and such here at home, so the kids don't pick it up ... #3 has been sniffling though.

Just thinking out loud ... do YOU prefer one pill, or do you like to limit it to the specific symptoms? Do you ever try to tough it out without medication, or do you take advantage of modern medicine?

The Agony of De"FEET"

One of my "rewards" for activity, is a foot rub from hubby. He does an awesome job. We actually said that if I hit 30k in a day, that would "earn" me a foot rub. We've been a little hit and miss of late. I'll hit 30k, and he'll be too tired that day. Other days, I don't actually earn a rub, but I get a pity one anyway :)

Our feet are impacted a lot by our exercise. Any issues with the feet almost always negatively impact activity. Right now, I have a couple very minor issues. My baby toe is always really prone to problems. Any prolonged activity while wearing shoes often leads to a calloused ridge or a blister. It's not as bad as when I posted about it before (Blister On A Baby Toe), but it's been bugging me this week. Another toe has rubbed too ... I felt it after my jog Monday night. Yesterday I thought I should hit the treadmill, but I just did NOT want to put a shoe on, so I did elliptical and bike instead (I wear slippers for those). 

We seem to have quite a few foot issues at our house. I just took #1 to the podiatrist on Monday. He's had a big ol' wart on the bottom of his foot for a while, and it's really been bothering him. We've been waiting for a time when he could be out of commission to get it taken care of and decided to just bite the bullet and get him in. 

The top left is a picture #1 took of how it looked before any treatment. The second picture I took, after the doctor had scraped away the callous that had formed over the wart(s). The final picture is after the doctor scooped it out. He had given us an alternative to treat it with medicine, but that would have taken more time and multiple visits. We just wanted it DONE ... but poor #1 has been limping around since the "surgery". I hope it heals quick. He has a trip to New York coming up quick and will be doing a LOT of walking around!  #3 had an almost identical issue a few years ago, and I seem to recall it healing pretty fast.

I'd actually had #1 in to the podiatrist just a couple of years ago too, 

for ingrown toenails. 

I had a huge problem with that myself when I was a teen. I had the surgery when I was a junior in high school. It looked like it had become much less invasive over the years. I remember my poor toes after we took the bandages off ... they looked SO bad. And then I developed a staff infection (on a weekend, so I couldn't get in immediately). I've never been in so much pain! I still say that was the most physically painful thing I've ever experienced (even after childbirth and everything else!)

A few years ago I had a similar situation. My toe was so painful and swollen. I went into the doctor and they did an xray although I didn't remember any specific impact. Not broken. I had recently had a pedicure, but they didn't think that was the cause. He suspected a spider bite, but again, no definitive diagnosis. It was a miserable week until it finally went away. I actually still exercised a bit during this time. No treadmill. I could not put a shoe on ... but the elliptical in my slippers. It almost made it feel better, or at least a different type of pain while I worked out.

Ah ... de feet! Last year, poor #2 broke his foot right before basketball season started. The bone extending just under the little toe ... a "Jones Fracture". It is sssllloooww to heal. Poor kid was in a boot for months. We probably should have sought out a second opinion and considered surgery.  It did finally heal and the boy was back playing basketball ...

And he broke his foot. Jones Fracture.

It was his left foot this time (it had been the right originally). Seriously? Another four months of "das boot" and doctor's appointments every few weeks.

I'm so grateful we made it through this year with no serious injury and that his basketball skills didn't suffer too much of a setback (he just won first place in a region three-point contest this last Saturday). 

Because the boys spend so much time playing basketball, their feet often get sweaty and staying stuffed in their shoes for hours on end ... we get some fungus among us! Several years ago, #2 was struggling with athlete's foot. We tried all the over the counter remedies and nothing was working. Then suddenly it morphed into something awful ... seriously, not sure if I should show you the picture (if you are squeamish, look away).

Poor kid! It was Christmas Eve and we ended up at the Instacare. They almost hospitalized him. We ended up taking him to a pediatric specialist at Primary Children's Hospital and did manage to get it better.  A year or so ago we could see the signs of it starting again so I took him in quickly to see what we needed to do to prevent it. We got some prescriptions, and the doctor said to try and air out the foot (not stay in shoes all the time), change socks the moment there was moisture, switch up shoes and only wear shoes that were in decent condition. So far so good ... although we're always watching!

Hubs had his foot problems too. Several years ago he ruptured his Achilles Tendon. He had been very active just prior to this, and this was a big setback. He did manage to get back to activity though. Very grateful for modern medicine!

Well ... it's time for Zumba.
I need to wear shoes for that.
Hope my toes survive!

Annual Checkup

I'm pretty healthy, and SO grateful for that. I don't ever take it for granted. I did go into the doctor for my annual physical and got a clean bill of health. I'll admit ... I'm not that great at keeping track of things myself. When I'm given my blood pressure numbers, I have to wait for them to say "that's good" because I'm not really up on the standard. Cholesterol was fine. He checked a few other things, all which seems to be normal. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism many years ago and have been on medication every since. Unlike some others who really have hardships with thyroid issues, I've really never seemed to have it impact me much.  Checked those levels and got a new prescription (same dosage, just to get me through the year ... they only prescribe one year to FORCE you back to the doctor's office I think.) I'm also to take some iron as I struggled with anemia in the recent past.  Got a gynecological exam and an appointment at the women's center for a mammogram. Right as I was awaiting my appointment I came across this funny post on the MFP blogs (here) ... it made me laugh. Got my reports back that everything looked normal, so that is good. 

So another year down ... It was nice to be able to answer honestly about exercise when the Dr. asked ... I can definitely improve on diet, and hope to be in the "normal" weight range when I come again next year.

Are you up to date with your exams?  Here's a quick check list for you.
10 Health Screenings All Women Should Have.