[MelodyL]

Okay, Alan took off his bandaid last night before retiring. Both our neuropathies went through the roof because the temperature rose yesterday.
But he has had the foot ulcer for 18 months. He wore the cam walker and it cleared 3 weeks ago. He's been wearing the new insoles in his new shoes. No problems.

Monday, he walked all day in NYC and came home exhausted and his feet hurt. But no bleeding. So we just did the bacitracin and bandaid thing. Checking his bandaid every so often for blood ....no blood.

Well, he just woke up and looked at the bandaid that he took off at 1 a.m. That's when I put the cotton balls between his toes. Of course, he fell asleep in two seconds flat. (But I never looked at the bandaid that he had just taken off).

Well, 9 a.m. this morning, he reaches for the bandaid and goes UH OH, I've got problems again. I said "what?? and he said "there's a bit of blood on the bandaid".

I said "let me look at your foot". I saw nothing, no hole in his foot (that I could ascertain), but obviously something made the blood right?

I told him "you must call up the podiatrist today, he is in and maybe he will see you". He said 'no, I have my appointment next week". SIGH!!!

Then I said 'you have to wear the cam walker shoe boot thing until you see the podiatrist" This he agreed to do.

He also put a dab of the regranex in the same place he did this 3 weeks ago.

So do you think the ulcer came back?? See, I don't know if a bit of blood means the ulcer has returned or if it's just a (for want of a better word), just a boo boo that bled a little because he walked too much on Monday.

He won't go to the podiatrist, he won't even call him. The area looks none the worse for wear, there is no hole on the botton of his foot, that I can see, and I know if he wears the cam walker until he sees the doctor, most likely all will be well.

Now my question is 'if this is indeed the ulcer returning, does this mean that he has to wear the shoe boot thing for the rest of his life??

Or only when the thing bleeds, and he'll wear it for a week or so?

Thanks to anyone who knows.

I really did check the area where the ulcer was and honestly, I saw nothing, just a bit of a tiny red spot right in the middle (this has to be where the blood came out of). I guess what I'm asking, is does this mean that the ulcer is back??

Thanks guys.

Melody

[Silverlady]

Melody,
There is no way we can tell what is going on for sure, but from your description it sounds as if Alan is having problems again. Tell Alan he needs to see the doctor now!!

Billye

[belinda1317]

Dear Melody:
I agree with the previous poster...he needs to go to the Doctor now...or at least call them and let the dr decide after he hears. I have heard that all can appear ok on the surface and it not be healed properly underneath...and this could be the case....you just can't mess around with these things without putting yourself at risk.
Hope all is well in the end...but tell Alan please make that call...today!

[MelodyL]

Actually, there is no way for us to get there today. The guy only has office hours Monday, Tuesday Wednesday.
If this had happened yesterday, we could have phoned Access-a-ride, but you can't do that on the same day. We can't afford taxis back and forth.

His next appointment is next Wednesday. You know, Old Stubborn Alan, you have to drag him.

But he is wearing the shoe boot thing, you should have seen him. He walks like a champ. No pressure, no nothing.

Since he won't call, and we obviously can't go today, the only thing is that he wears this contraption, we do the same thing on the foot (using a dab of regranex),that we did for the previous 3 weeks while it healed. (It did heal completely, thank goodness). I really believe that if he hadn't spent all day Monday, walking on that foot, that this could have been avoided.

We are checking it twice a day now.

I have a thought though. What if he needs to wear this contraption ALL THE TIME?? This particular one goes up to his knees. It's very hot, (while he walks great in it and this is the contraption that allowed his ulcer to heal), I have seen smaller versions of this thing. Looks the same on the foot but only goes up to the ankle.

IF Alan needs to wear this for the rest of this life, (or even intermittently), can he switch to a lower cut down version??

Maybe this ishoe boot thing s the only one that the guy had in his office.

But when I went online I saw all these variables of this shoe boot and the one that struck me the most was the smaller version, (up to the ankle). I said 'wow, that has to be more comfortable than the one up to his knee. Same rocking motion on the foot. Same "no Pressure on the ulcer area" thing going on.

I wonder, if a person like Alan, who they really don't want to operate on, and who, from time to time, will get this bleeding thing, well, can a person, for the rest of his life, intermittently, wear the shoe boot on one foot and the $90 shoe (with the orthotic) on the other foot?

Anybody understand where I am coming from here? Not one of his doctors wants to operate on him. Something about moving the tiny bones underneath the ulcer, and they will have to reposition the big toe and that MIGHT affect his balance. So no one wants to do this.

That's fine with Alan. He doesn't want any operation. I mean who wants an operation? But if a person will keep getting ulcers and then has to switch to this shoe boot thing, I mean, can they do this forever??

Might be a stupid question but no one has ever explained this fully to me.

Thanks.

Melody

[Silver Swan]

Hi Melody:

Don't you think you had better give the foot doctor a phone call? In the meantime Alan wear the boot as when healing and all the other things that helped him heal? Probably was on his feet too long at a time.

Shirley H.

[MelodyL]

Nope, I'm not calling anybody. Alan has to be responsible for himself. We went out to breakfast, he wore the shoe boot. He is just fine.
He relaxed all day. I checked his foot, the only thing that is there is a tiny pinprick red thing. Everything else looks fine.

I know what a problem looks like because I took care of it for 18 months. This is no problem. He walked too much on Monday.

Today through October 3rd, which is his podiatry appointment, he will wear the shoe boot thing.

His doctor does not have any office hours anyway till next Monday. I am doing exactly what he would tell me to do because like I said, I've been doing this for 18 months and this little thing looks NOTHING like it did when it was BAD.

Alan has to learn to take care of himself, and make his own phone calls. What will happen when there is no Melody around? He just told me "I looked at it and it seems fine, but if it gets worse, don't worry, I'll call up the doctor". So I just have to let him do his own thing.

Please, at least he makes his own lunch and sometimes his own tea.

Gotta give him credit for that, right??

He's a slow learner. lol

If I called the doctor and he found out, forget it. It's a man thing going on there.

I once had a boyfriend when I was 24. He was from another country and we were new in our relationship. We were running on the beach at 7 p.m. one beautiful night. He was chasing me and we were playing with each other. A police car pulls over, puts him in a headlock and they were about to arrest him. I started yelling "what the hel* are you doing, this is my boyfriend, let him go, are you people nuts (my boyfriend said absolutely nothing during this whole altercation). The cop looked at me bewildered and said "oh, this is your boyfriend, sorry". And they went away.

Well, you should have seen my boyfriend when we got in the car. I thought I did something good in defending him and he looked at me slowly and deliberately and said "don't you ever do anything like that for me again". I said 'what did I do?" He said "I understand, you really don't know what you just did, do you??" and I said again "what did I do??" and he said "I'm a man and I don't need a woman defending me to the cops".

Well, of course we broke up a year later but I never forgot. There's one thing to take care of Alan and speak to his doctors. There's quite another thing when he tells me "Melody, If I want to speak to my podiatrist, I will".

I learn fast, believe me.

Melody

[Brian]

Hi Mel, i am certainly no expert, but even to me it does sound like " he over done it " with all that walking, seeing it was a pretty awfull looking ulcer he had and it hasn't been all that long since the surface looked a lot better, but you would imaging it probably be still pretty tender inside though.
I can understand him wanted to call the shots about himself, but i am sure if it deteriorates in the least he will make the call, who would want to go through all that again.
PS- gee's you made me laugh about the old boyfriend getting arrested on the beach , you should right a book Melody
take care
Brian

[MelodyL]

Brian.

Alan wore the shoe boot today. He likes to wear it even while he's sitting on the couch. I said "let your foot breathe". So I took off the shoe and took off the bandage. I had put some bacitracin and a wet saline dressing and wrapped it (exactly what I had been doing before it all healed up).

So there was a little drop of something when I took off the bandage but the area itself looked just fine. No lines of red (signs of infection), no irritation, no nothing. I just put a dab of bacitracin on and put a dry 4 x 4 bandage and then his sock. He is staying off of his foot. He knows what he has to do.

This thing just needs to heal. He has to go to work Friday night and Sat Night but he doesn't walk around. He keeps off his feet. Then by Monday, we'll see if all that resting worked out, or by the time he goes on Wednesday, if the doctor will say "Yup, it's back, we have to do the regranex thing again". I honestly don't know because this is his new podiatrist and he got Alan's ulcer all healed by giving him the shoe boot.

ALAN IS A LUCKY DOG TO HAVE ME , don't ya think????

And if you liked my story, remind me someday to tell you what happened in the bathroom at the hospital, the day after I delivered my son. You'll laugh your rocks off. I might have already told that story. Lots of senior moments going on lately. lol

Send me a pm, if you want to laugh.

Melody

[Brian]

He sure is Melody, PM coming, love a good laugh