Poor Alan!!!
 

Well, we thought he might be having the flu for the past two days because he had ALL the symptoms and it's going around my neighborhood and he did not get a flu shot. So I've been treating the symptoms. Chicken soup, tylenol (his fever two days ago shot up to 102.5 and thankfully it went down).

He rebounded like nobody's business yesterday saying 'I feel great, no more fever and sure enough, his temp was normal and he had a good appetite.

But he's been sleeping quite a bit. I figured 'he has the flu, he's going to sleep it off" No other symptoms by the way, no cough, no sore throat, no diarrhea, no nothing. Just the temp and the feeling of malaise.

Well!!!!! this morning I come back from my errands, he is still asleep (from 1 am.) and it's 11 a.m.

He stirs and I say "how do you feel" He says "I have pain in my foot' I took his temperature and it was 100. I said "how the heck can you have a fever, you were fine yesterday and last night, and eating and you felt fine"

I then said 'your foot??? you haven't been on your feet, how can you have pain in your foot".??

He brings up his foot and he goes "uh oh, look at this'

and there (not on the ulcer, but about an inch to the side), was this HUGE big blood filled blister thing and I said 'oh my god, you didn't know you had this"?

He said "but I thought I had the flu"

So I called the podiatrist and they can only see him tomorrow at 1 p.m. He is taking my appointment.

So (and we did this a long time ago, so this is not his first blood filled blister) but it was years ago that he had anything resembling this, and he did get a new pair of shoes but he had not been going out so he was wearing the OLD orthotic in a pair of orthopedic slips ons (that people wear when they wear a cast). Maybe it caused friction on that part of his foot and caused this blister?????

So I got out my glovers, my first aid kit, I lanced the whole thing and the FLUID that came out was beyond belief, and some pus and blood. the whole thing went down and he immediately said "oh my god, I feel so much better". I had given him two fever reducers a few minutes before and I don't think they work THAT fast. As soon as all the blood and pus and FLUID fell into the bowl I had put under his foot, he said "oh my god, I feel much better".

so I cleaned it all up, no more fluid, or blood (I know what I'm doing, and I've done this before), I bandaged him up, and we'll go to the podiatrist tomorrow.

So here is my question. Do you think he had the flu? or.....do you think he has an infection, that didn't present outwardly but gave him a temperature, he had to sleep, and this morning, the whole thing blister blood pus thing showed up?

I just want to know if he had the flu or not? Same symptoms but then we had this THING show up on his foot.

Thanks to anyone who has a clue. I'll be giving him fluids (as I have for the past two days, and getting this man to drink water is like pulling teeth)

But he's drinking.

Oh, and this is important. When we first thought he had the flu, I checked the color of his urine. Dark dark yellow. I said "aha, you are dehydrated, you have to drink water and pee until it's pale yellow"

so that's how I got him to drink water.

It is now pale yellow.

so any comments are welcome because I'm exhausted.

Thanks much

Melody

:eek::eek::eek:
Jeepers Melody! I have no idea, but I sure hope somebody does and that he gets better! Sorry.:(

Sounds pretty terrible to me!

Needs a doctor evaluation ASAP.

Well, as soon as I finished wrapping his foot, he got up, went on the computer and said he felt fine. He has had NO fever since that happened and it's now 6 p.m. and he's hungry and because today is binge diet day, we are having pizza.

Tomorrow, when we come home from his podiatrist, I'll tell you all what he said.

He looked at me and said "thank god I'm married to you"

I said "I've been saying that for 31 years"

lol

Melody

Symptoms of the flu:
http://www.flufacts.com/know/symptom...uFACTS%20Broad

The flu often has sore throat and or/ stomach ache.

The aching muscles are typically felt severely in the back and legs.

An infection in the foot/ or blood/ typically does not have the runny nose/ sore throat/coughing the flu brings. A high fever however, may make a person weak, and sore all over.

Check for Alan's foot: redness spreading up, swelling, throbbing, or red streaks on the lower legs. Redness and/or swelling suggests cellulitis. The red streaks suggest infection getting into the blood stream.

Most blisters have only clear fluid in them. Blood and pus? That is more serious IMO. A blood test for CBC differential would show if this is a serious infection.

People with psoriasis, often show slightly different skin responses to injury. My husband tends to make blisters easily...but they never have blood in them or pus. (only clear fluid).

Alan's foot had NO red streaks, tenderness, hotness, swollen this, or that. He had nothing.

He also since Friday when he began the fever, acted like he was hit with a truck. Just slept all day. And because I had checked his foot the day before and saw NOTHING, well this thing had to have developed after (or it was developing????)

No sore throat, no stomach ache .

I just asked Alan if you had any muscle spasms and he said "Well, right before you lanced my foot, I had a muscle spasm in my calf"

Since then, NO FEVER, HE'S FINE, his urine is clear, no body aches, no headache no nothing.

He just said to me 'I feel perfectly fine".

so we shall be leaving for the podiatrist soon and I'll update later.

thanks VERY much

melody
P.S. I have to add that the blister was not coming out of the foot ulcer area, it was adjacent to it. He had formed a callus around the foot ulcer (he always has this and the doctor debrides it whenever we go) But right NEXT to the ulcer is where this thing was growing. I wonder if it's connected to the foot ulcer. Will update

Mighty strange... almost as if there were an abscess that was blocked from draining, and moved over some.

See what the foot doctor says. Blood work would be useful.

White cells are typically depressed during viral infection.
Elevated from bacterial infection.

Just came home from the foot doctor. Will update.

going to get him antibiotics. He has cellulitis.

I'll tell you the whole story when I get back.

Melody

Okay, He'll be on his first antibiotic soon. He has to take them two times a day.

We go to the doctor he takes off his shoes and socks, the doctor takes one look at his foot and goes "Holy cow, Alan, what happened?" I said 'Well, we think he had the flu (and I tell him the story), he goes "how on earth did he get this, by the way, he has cellulitis" Alan goes 'what???" I go "you have an infection, he'll give you antibiotics, you'll be fine"

I then said: "I hope you are not mad at me but I lanced it yesterday, dressed it and wrapped it"

He said "thank god because you got a lot of the bacteria out, you know what you are doing". (So that part was good).

So he goes "but how did he get this". I said "well, I have a theory", He wears these shoes in the house with the old orthotics, OH, TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEW ORTHOTIC HE HAS BEEN USING"

Well!!!!! the doctor takes on look and says "I don't have to look at anything else, IT'S THE NEW ORTHOTIC,!!!

We both look at him. I hadn't seen his new orthotic because he keeps it in his right shoe. When he took it out, there was this extra piece put on that was supposed to oft load the ulcer but it didn't. It wasn't made right.

The doctor said "these people DID NOT DO A GOOD JOB."

He told Alan to use the old orthotic and contact the guys who made the new one and tell them what happened. I'm doing this tomorrow morning.

Also, he calls me over to watch what he's doing and he shows me "Look at Alan's ulcer, look at the pus". I said "but there was no pus yesterday" He said "It traveled".

So he cleaned everything up, put on what he had to put on, told me tomorrow around 12 p.m. to do what I always have done with Alan's foot (I have all the stuff in the house). and bring him back to the doctor on Saturday.

I asked him about red lines, hotness and there was none of that. He said "thank god you lanced it yesterday, you did a good job".

So right now, he has been fever free for 24 hours, he feels fine. and the doctor really thinks he never had the flu but the infection in his body gave him the fever.

Just wanted to update.

thanks much

Melody

That sounds truly awful.

I hope the medication helps.

Well, he ate dinner like a horse, he just had his coffee and a small piece of cake, and I'm sure later he will have one of those sugar free eskimo pies.

This man has an infection???????

lol

Melody

best of luck! i had cellulitis once, should clear up with the antibiotics :hug:

yes, i hope it heals quickly. treat one thing, cause another, its a vicious cycle. get well soon.

FWIW, my podiatrist made me a new set of orthotics. I wore them at the gym and figured I needed to break them in. So I kept wearing them over the next couple of weeks and I kept getting blisters on the soles of my feet. I only discovered them when I actually looked at my feet because I don't feel them happening. At first I was stumped and I didn't put 2 and 2 together. I finally went back to the podiatrist and he had them put a different cover material on them initially and that was causing the problem. Who would have thought!!:eek:

Isn't it amazing what we find out? Our podiatrist had always made Alan's orthotics. A few years ago, Alan went to Beth Israel to see an ortho guy there who operated on Alan's leg, doing a procedure that was supposed to relief the pressure on a muscle (he was an expert at this operation) and people had this done when they had recurring foot ulcers.

In Alan's case this procedure did not work (no fault of the surgeon), but the surgeon used an Orthotics company and Alan needed a crow boot and shoes, etc, so from that day on, we have used that particular Orthotic company.

I will call them tomorrow and tell them what happened.

Now before I do, ALL INPUT IS WELCOME.

How would you word it when calling the Orthotics company. I'm not coming off all bitchy because that would accomplish nothing. My husband's doctor said they did a lousy job on his orthotics.

How would you word this when you called them AND WHAT SHOULD BE THEIR RESPONSE IN THIS MATTER?

I just need a little input on how I should phrase all this.

Thanks much

Melody

First of all Melody, I gotta say that Alan having his health issues: not so lucky. But having you to take care of him and stand up for him: couldn't be luckier!

As for how to deal with the orthotics people, I'm not sure if nice is the way to go. I think maybe putting the fear of God into them is. After all, they caused at a minimum, pain and suffering. Could have been...well, let's not even say it. Since you asked, my opinion is that they should consider themselves as having gotten off easy if all they have to do is make it right and in duplicate--as in several free pairs a year, not just what Medicare pays for.

Are you the type who can raise hell on the phone? How about a letter? Do you have a lawyer?

Well, who is to say "who" exactly is wrong?

Is this foot doctor going to say--- it is my fault, and Alan's problem is a long term infection I am not being aggressive enough with? (since this appeared next to the original lesion )

Or is he going to blame the orthotic company?

Given the odds I'd say most doctors blame someone ELSE.

So getting irate at this point may be counter productive.
Do you have proof the orthotic is improperly made? not at this point.

Has Alan's foot changed any? You don't know that either.
Has this foot doctor ever cultured the pus to see what organism(s) are present? Or does he just give you an antibiotic off the top of his head?
A chronic lesion of any sort is typically cultured to see what exactly is going on...in this day especially with mrsa around!

After reading this long story for many months, I still think you need another doctor's opinion. It is possible this is a deep issue, long standing needing more aggressive treatment.

Perhaps a consult from a wound specialist? Something else of quality in any event.

Well, the only thing I can say about Alan's foot ulcer is that over the past year it was doing just fine, until it re-curred and his doctor would debride it and he has not had any infection in YEARS. This is the first infection (and it was not by the ulcer), it was over on the side of the foot and we looked at the orthotic and it is apparent that it's made completely different than his previous orthotics (by the same company)

And over a month ago when he was measured at Beth Israel by the orthotic person, and she sent out his foot impression so they could make him a new orthotic, well, when it was done, they sent it to the same Orthotic lady and she called us up and said: "I don't know what is wrong with these people, we got Alan's orthotic but they didn't do the oft loading, they didn't do anything, we are sending it back with new instructions"

So she sent back the newly made (but wrongly done orthotic) along with his right shoe, and we waited. When we got the call, "the orthotic is here", Alan went by himself, came home (never took out the orthotic to show me) not that I would have said "oh this is badly done" but it had this extra piece on it and it was placed in the wrong position. Alan doesn't feel anything so it didn't bother him.

He rarely went out so he was mostly in the house and didn't wear it. He uses special slippers with the older orthotic.

but last week he went out for a while and the newly made orthotic must have rubbed along the side (the doctor showed us where the blister was and how the new orthotic was responsible).

It's so obvious because when you hold up the two orthotics side by side (made by the same company but we don't know if made by the same people), well the previous orthotic had the "well" exactly where his foot ulcer was.

and the newly made one had the "well" slightly higher and they had this foamy cushiony piece of something around the well, (never had this in any previous orthotic), and the doctor said "look at the two orthotics, look at this new one (the well), is placed wrong"

He then took a pen and drew a line where the orthotic SHOULD HAVE PUT THE 'WELL"

I then said "should I take a knife and slice around this thing and make the well the correct size"? He said "I'd contact the orthotic company, they did a lousy job"

So that's what I'm going to do as soon as I finish posting this.

Don't know about any cultures. We'll see the guy again on Saturday, and I'll ask him.

He's been our podiatrist for 15 years and Alan trusts him (as do I)

He's always had our best interest. He once said "you know, we sit around and have discussions about Alan's feet"

Alan is very comfortable with this guy and we've had other podiatrists but we really like this guy. I think he is right on the money with the orthotic, because if you just look at it, you see immediately that the "well" was put in the wrong position.

Melody

It wouldn't seem likely, even probable. But....could he have received someone elses orthotic?

Pabb:

What wouldn't seem likely? even probable???


But to answer your second question, could he have received someone else's orthotic, I have no idea. But the fact that they sent the first ones that they made and it had NO well for Alan's foot ulcer, and she had to send it back, well, it just appears that the people who MAKE the orthotic from the foot mold that they were sent, well they didn't read the instructions. Everything was written and it was clear. She had instructed them to make a well in the orthotic to allow for the foot ulcer. The first time they made the orthotic they left out the well.

Then when she sent it back, they made the well and added a piece of foam to it.

The easiest thing I can do is make of video of Alan's new orthotic and you can see what it looks like and how the doctor drew a line on the orthotic showing how it SHOULD have been made.

Be back in a jiffy.

Melody

Okay, made a video showing Alan's new orthotic as it compares to his previous one.

Take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi32b83Rwss

Melody