Serious Question about my own Neuropathy!!!!
 

I hope someone can help me. This is about me now, not my Alan.

I was diagnosed with the beginnings of Diabetic Neuropathy last year at Cornell. They were examining my feet, they put the tuning fork on the tips of my toes, I didn't feel some of it and they declared "Okay, you have neuropathy". Of couse, having taken care of Alan for 18 years (he is not diabetic), I know about neuropathy. But I had absolutely no symtoms and I have good control over my blood sugar and health matters.

So over the past few months, ONCE IN A WHILE when the weather changes dramatically, I would get a slight buzzing. I said to myself "oh oh, my neuropathy is acting up". It would go away. I exercise every day,eat my fish, take my B vitamins and go to my doctors religiously. I have read up on diabetic neuropathy but since I never actually felt what Alan felt, I had no idea exactly what neuropathy felt like.

So fast forward to yesterday. We both go and see our podiatrist Dr. Baird. I was being measured for a pair of diabetic shoes (my insurance covers it). So I'm sitting in the chair and he's doing my nails and stuff. I had an ingrown toenail so for three seconds he took to get it out, I jumped, but he was good and it was over. So far so good. I was talking to him about the fact that one in a while I get the buzzing. He said to me "that's vibratory". I had never heard of that. But yesterday (before the appointment), I was just fine.

Well, after he finishes my nails, he takes vibrating took that smooths off the nails and I almost jumped out of the chair. I DIDN'T LIKE IT AT ALL!!! I think I scared Alan because everytime he put that tool over my nail tips to file them down, it tickled and affected my toes. Can't explain it any other way. He did my calluses and the bottoms of my feet and made everything smooth.

When I got home, there was an extreme dip in the weather. We have been having 70 degree days and it dipped to 50. Well, last night, my feet were on fire. I have never had this in my whole life. They were buzzing and on fire. I was beside myself. I said "Holy *****, is this what diabetic neuropathy is about". My poor Alan!!!! He's had this for 18 years???????".

I asked him and he shook his head and said "Melody, I had to go on the fentanyl patch, the buzzing is nothing, I had stabbing besides the burning.".

I just looked at him. I took a hot bath because it was cold in my house. The hot water did not help. Didn't make it worse, but while it helped my arthritic joints, the burning in my feet stayed. I took my sleeping pill and went to sleep at 10 p.m. I was really afraid to wake up because I didn't know if they would burn again. I got up and there was no burning, but there was slight buzzing. I had an idea. Maybe, when the doctor did that vibrating tool thing, could he have woken up some nerves in my feet that started to do the burning thing. This never happened before. And it's the only clue I have.

Today, there is no burning, but my feet are cold. It's nice outside but in my home, it's very cold. I had to go on the front porch and look at the sun to warm up. The weather is changing extremely as of late.

So here's my question. Because I know I have Diabetic Neuropathy, could the vibrating tool have affected my neuropathy and made it worse for that one evening.

While it's much better today, I am hesitant to be hopeful because I know that you can't regenerate nerves (well, as far as doctors are concerned). I'm going to start taking Alpha Lipoic Acid because as we all know, DOCTOR'S DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING, RIGHT??

I've looked up Diabetic Neuropathy on the internet and there are different kinds and the one that stood out for me was the one that says "it can present as numbness or it can present as heightened sensations". I never heard of that and I said to myself "jeez, that must be what I have".

The doctor kept saying "good good, when I said "I'm feeling everything you are doing". I know that they don't want your feet to be numb because you can't feel stuff, you might get an infection and this can lead to amputation. I now this. But this heightened feeling. Well, what does one do about this (except to control one's blood sugar, which I have done).

My doctors at Cornell once told me "melody, you are a diabetic, you can control your blood sugar to the best of your ability, but never forget YOU ARE A DIABETIC, you will get high readings sometimes.

This has happened twice in two years (the high readings). For no reason at all. I do not eat what I am not supposed to eat. But I do have diabetes, I know the facts.

And I know that the gold standard is the emg and nerve conduction tests. I've had two of those and don't care to have another, I almost punched out the nurse the last time. And the emg wasn't on my feet either of these times. First emg was my wrist (carpal tunnel), second emg was my arm (that's when I jumped off the table and almost punched the nurse). I don't care to have this repeated. I know I have diabetic neuropathy. What on earth would having an emg tell me? The kind of neuropathy, axon, focal, small fiber, large fiber??? I mean, if I know these things, does it make any difference??? It's neuopathy. Alan has had it for 18 years. I know all about lyrica, neurontin, super blue stuff, capsacin, I KNOW THE INFO!!! If having an emg would be a way for them to say to me "oh, now we know, we can give you this, we can fix it", well, that's different. But it's diabetic neuropathy, and the only way to TRY and do something is to keep a tight control on my blood sugar. This I do every day, believe me.

As I type this, my feet are not giving me any problems. Let's hope they stay that way.

So if anybody out there has an opinion if the vibrating tool thing jump started the buzzing and the burning feet, I'd sure like your opionion.

Thanks,
Melody

((((((Melody)))))),

I don't have diabetic neuropathy so I can't really "sound like an expert" on that. What I do have is neuropathy caused by a blood condition -->> MGUS. My hands and feet, fingers and toes, and forearms and lower legs are all affected to varying degrees.

In my case, I think the neuropathy is sort of like a bad connection. Some days, the sensation is "off" -- everything just feels weird -- touching things feels different -- sometimes cold things feel slimy. Other days, the pain is horrendous. I've been taking Effexor XR and for me that pretty much keeps the 'horrendous" at bay.

I think you're on to something with thinking that the vibrating tool set something off. The sensation was probably so intense that it *demanded* that your nerves wake and pay attention. To my way of thinking, that probably means that any *STRONG* sensation is going to get through and be felt much more intensely. It's probably the nuances that aren't getting through. That's one reason why I started using a cane, 'cause I was having trouble telling where my feet "really where" although I could walk OK.

I'm like you relative to the testing. If you already know, why bother?? I sort of suspect that testing on you would set everything off just like the vibrating tool did. They wanted to do a sural nerve biopsy on me -- I figured why kill a nerve just to tell me something I already know.

I imagine that as long as you work with your doctor and you stay on top of everything by keeping yourself educated about what to watch out for, you're probably fine. But, that's the nerve-test-chicken in me talking :D

Hugs.

Barb

Melody, I can only speak for ME here...
 

in that AS LONG AS I CAN FEEL anything! ANYTHING! That has to be one heck of a good thing.
The first and second times I'd had nerve conduction tests, well, I was set up, almost feel asleep on the table [tho I was COLD] and found out it was all over? Not felt a thing then. Now when my podiatrist takes out the dremel tool and I FEEL it...well...to me HECK it's a good sign! Yes you mite 'over-react' you now have what I call 'fussy' nerves, but Chill. YOU CAN FEEL! It's when you can't feel that things have happened that you can get into trouble...sometimes BIG-TIME? I used to have THE most tickleish feed in the universe...IF I giggle at all while at the pod's at all, that's one really GOOD THING for the month! At least, in my book.

Alan is right, the 'stabbing' well that's like someone is taking hot nails and inserting them willy-nilly... It has to be an ultimate definition of HURTS...When I had my 'onset' or whatever it was...I really was wishing for amputation of my legs and hands...it HURT so bad- just so it would STOP. As for now, I get something akin to amputee's 'phantom pains' even tho I've got the limbs...Sometimes I'm able to 'feel' others not...tho none of it is NORMAL. I don't think I could define normal now...
As for diagnosing and 'fixing' it. You should know by now ...it's not that simple! I surely wish it was. In the meantime, your brain is humming, and your stress factor is peaking...well, who wouldnt? IT is a scary thing to have happen! David often advocates the 'mental approach' it can help. YOu have to turn off your stressors! Me? I shut down and sleep. Not a bad option given lots of alternatives...ya know?
We are given what we have, we have to deal with it as creatively as possible and BE our own advocates as best we can. Melody, at least you have good, contiencious docs who care for you, and do it well... Face it, you are better off than 80% of the other posters here. Dont look your gift horses in the mouth...USE THEM! and plain old CHILL in the interim.

:hug: Untill - whatever... - j

Mel,
I'm not diabetic either- but as far as I'm concerned - PN, is.... PN !
(At least in the fact that symptoms and treatments are similar)
The vibrations probably intensified your sensitivity in some nerve endings.
My feet are hyper-sensitive. I know if I've stepped on a thin dime....big time! I can't stand anyone touching my feet orr ankles - but sometimes they feel numb, or so swollen (they aren't) they feel like over-filled water balloons and the ache deep down to the bone. The there's there's the little Leprecaun with the ice-pick that runs out from hiding and jabs me one or two times and then runs back so quickly I can't see him. Sometimes I have a hive of angry stinging bees under my skin and they want to get out.
PN will be different for each of us, but we learn to recognize it as our own individual symptoms.
(I call it thePrincess & the Pea syndrome)

Bob - that was what was running....
 

thru my own mind! Thank you! - j

Hi All:

I really did get scared last night because I have never had this happen. Remember back to when all of you had your first 'BUZZ, PINS AND NEEDLES THINGS"??? Well, last night all I could say to myself was "This is what the guys and gals on the board and my Alan have been going through??, ALL THE TIME??? wow, never knew it. And mine was just a taste. I do not want the whole recipe,believe me. That's why I'm doing all I can do to keep my sugar nice and even. But I have been diabetic for a long long time and only the past two years got it under control. I was stupid. I was told about the seriousness of diabetes but did I listen??? noooooo!!!! Kind of like telling people not to smoke when they are at a funeral for a friend who just died of lung cancer (I've been to so many of these I can't count) and when I go outside and see the people smoke I look at them incredously and they go "i know, I know, she died of lung cancer and I'm smoking, I know I know, BUT I CAN'T QUIT!!!

See, I knew about neuropathy just from living with Alan. But I was overweight and never took my diabetes seriously until I got into the protocol at Cornell. I and I figured that because my eye doctor said I had no evidence of diabetes in my eyes, and my dentist told me last year that I did not have diabetic gums (whatever the hell that is), I thought I had a pass.

Well, obviously no more passes.

I do however question the fact that some of you think that feeling ANYTHING!!! is better than being numb. Last night I had just a taste of what the buzzing, burning, etc. and I told myself. "Why the hell can't I just be numb?" It was not pleasant.

I did some reading on vitamins and that's where I'm deficient. That much I know. I have only been taking my B vitamins. Well I just came back from CVS and they some special diabetic vitamins on sale and it has all the vitamins plus Alpha Lipoic Acid and Chromium. Thirty to a bottle. So I bought a bottle. Got to start somewhere. If I see any improvement, then we shall see. I also bought some Super Blue emu (that used to help Alan tremendously).

See, I'm like a girl scout. "BE PREPARED". That's my motto!!!!

Alan's at the gym making like Rocky Balboa. Yesterday Dr. Baird says his feet are doing nicely. So that's good.

Alan thinks he has psoriatic arthritis. Why he thinks this, I have no idea.
His podiatrist said to him: "Alan, you have psoriatic toes, I don't know if you have psoriatic arthritis". How does a person know if they have psoriatic arthritis? Alan has arthritis, (like most of us 60 and over do) but is psoriatic arthritis something special (because he has psoriasis)???

thanks guys.

Melody

Yes, psoriatic arthritis--
 

--is soemwhat differnt form traumatic or other kinds of arthritis that comes from wear and tear on tissue. Psoriatic arthritis is closer to rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosising spondylitis (and like the latter, is often associated with the HLA-B27 genetic marker) in that the breakdown in tissue is autoimmune in nature:

http://www.medicinenet.com/psoriatic...is/article.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pso...hritis/DS00476

It's entirely possible that Alan's recent IVIg treatments are "reordering" his immune system to some degree and contributing to these flares--although people with psoriasis are quite prone to flares from stress, viruses, environmental triggers, and the like, anyway.

Now, back to you Mel--I suspect that what happened to you at the podiatrist had to do with the stimulation of damaged nerves, that, when stimulated, could not shut off their signalling properly and took time to "calm down". When nerves are damaged incompletely (complete nerve degredation tends to cause numbness or inability to discern vibration or mechanical touch), stimulation to them may set off all sorts of weird signals that the brain interprets in varying ways. In some cases, the nerves may be unable, as they are damaged and not responding to appropriate feedback mechanisms, to stop sending signals even when the stimulation is removed. This is referred to as hyperesthesia--"overage of feeling". Within that category, one can have parasthesia--"weird feelings"--and "allodynia"--pain from normally non-painful stimuli. While many people associate diabetic neuropathy with numbness, and that certainly does occur, it's actually more likely for diabetic neuropathy sufferers to experience pain and other weird sensations that are not consonant with the stimuli felt.

The typical diabetic neuropathy presentation is small-fiber damage--these are the fibers that subsume the sensations of pain and temperature, and problems with them can produce all sorts of pain and hot/cold feelings. The distinction is worth discussing with doctors, as many people with small-fiber problems (I'm one of them, though not diabetic) can have perfectly normal EMG/nerve conduction studies (those tests can only measure problems with larger, myelinated nerves). Damage to smaller fibers can be revealed by quantitative sensory testing or skin biopsy, but most "normal" neuros are unfamiliar with these tests (although the people at Cornell certainly should be--my skin biopsies are examined through Cornell-Weill by Columbia Presbyterian's pathology department).

Another thing--the sensations one feels are not necessarily directly correlated with the degree of nerve damage present--plenty of people have been diagnosed with "mild" neuropathy--partial damage--and have pain off the charts, or stabs, lightning bolts, tingles, and a whole gamut of other weird sensations. In fact, I bet a survey on this site would reveal that people with partial damage have odder symptoms, and more of them, than most whose nerves have been completely destroyed. I suspect in partial damage situations the nerves still signal in response to stimuli, but incompletely, intermittently, and in ways the brain has trouble intepreting. AND, damaged nerves have a tendency to signal on their own, without any stimuli, and you get all sorts of bizarre feelings from that--candle wax burning, a feeling of water running down an arm when nothing is there; feelings of small flies landing on body parts; the list is endless . . .

There are some papers that talk about this in the Useful sites:

http://www.neurocentre.com/home.php

http://www.charcot-marie-tooth.org/about_cmt/pain.php

http://www.thecni.org/reviews/13-2-p07-treihaft.htm

http://www.diabetesforum.net/cgi-bin...content_id=341


In the end, what I think this all means is that your foot nerves are not DEAD, and that's a good thing, but living damaged nerves can certainly react in unpredictable ways. It's still best in the long run to control sugar levels and to work out a supplement plan that is nerve supportive. It is NOT true that peripheral nerves cannot re-generate; it is a slow process and can produce odd sensatins of its own, but it can happen under the proper conditions.

I now know why I love you. You can take a horrible condition like PN and make it sound fixable!!! You're amazing. Today is much better than yesterday. I'm thinking to not ever, ever, ever let that foot guy near my feet with that vibrating planing tool!!!

I really should have known better because I was diagnosed years and years ago with carpal tunnel and ever since then I can't handle anything in my hands that vibrate. I can't even hold a vacuum cleaner, and forget about a vibrator. (No, I'm NOT talking sexy kinky sex toys), lol, I'm referring to the vibrators that people hold in their hands and put on their sore muscles. Can't touch them either.

So I shall continue to monitor my blood sugar, low carb diet, etc. and do my exercises (as long as I can). One never knows.

And I do thank you for making me feel hopeful.

Melody

I think when we get the current admin out of the Big White House, we're going to see huge advances in things like stem cell treatments that will help all sorts of problems.

I'm a Discovery Health Channel addict. I remember years and years ago, they showed a man who had phantom limb pain in his arm -- felt like his hand was closed extra tightly, even though he no longer had a hand. They put a mirror at an angle to his opposite hand so that his brain would get a mental image of two hands in front of his body. They worked with him on opening and closing the existing hand while watching in the mirror. Over time, the phantom hand released its grip. I believe those studies were done around here somewhere -- Boston. Boston's got amazing research going on now.

I think we ALL have a lot to look forward to. With lots of :hug: and good researchers, the future's getting much-much brighter :cool:

Barb

Hi Barb: I watch the Discovery Channel, Discovery Health and the Learning Channel all the time.

Last night one of these channels had a show titled "The Shrinking Woman". Never in all my life did I see such a thing. This lady, only 40 years old (she could be my daughter), weighed over 640 lbs and she lost 400 or so lbs. So she had to have the excess skin taken off. They showed the WHOLE OPERATION!! I nearly choked!! They showed everything!!!!!

I can't even type what I saw in that show!!! Oh my goodness (that's the best I can say about what I saw). They put a disclaimer before you watch but honestly, I had no idea what they would show!!!THEY SHOWED EVERYTHING they do in this type of surgery.

Makes you never want to eat a cookie again, believe me!!!! lol

Melody

Yeah, I know. I used to be a home health aide -- took care of home-bound, elderly cancer patients -- I can pretty much stand seeing anything.

But, some of what they show on TV freaks me out, though; I quick-change to Home and Garden Television -- that's pretty safe, usually :D

Barb

Hi Mel, if it has settled down now, it does sound very much like a reaction from that vibrating machine, after all the small fibres job is to they tell you when it feels hot, cold, and feel vibrations, at least you know now that those nerves are still alive, but not being 100% perfect they could only send confused signals thats why the burning started up.
Seeing that you are looking after your blood sugars now, you have probably saved yourself from all those horrible symptoms that can come with PN and if you continue to look after your blood sugars, in time, they may heal as well, which i know from my own experience can happen.
all the best,
Brian :)

Brian:

Yeah, my feet are fine now. Not that this means anything. Neuropathy presents in various ways, this has been explained to me by the specialists at Cornell. I just did my exercise routine with Alan watching.

If he thinks he's the only Rocky in the house, he's nuts.

All we can do is do our best, right?

Hope you are having a pain free day.

Melody

Melody
I was talking with a friend yesterday who told me she has found tremendous relief for her diabetic neuropathy by taking INOSITOL (vitamin B8)

I noticed a small bit on iHerb's Health Encyclopedia about that too

My son takes Inositol for his OCD/anxiety but I had not been aware of the potential benefit for PN as well

yes, I have posted
 

the data several times about inositol here and at OBT.

Inositol is lost in the urine (like magnesium) for diabetics.

An inositol analog is in the pipeline in studies for diabetics..supposedly to "cure" them! d-chiro inositol
example from among many:

"(MIOX-EC 1.13.99.1) catalyzes the first committed step of the only pathway of MI catabolism. In the present study, extra-renal tissues and cell types, including those affected by diabetic complications, were examined for MIOX expression. Western blotting results indicated that kidney is the only major organ where MIOX protein is expressed at detectable levels. Immunohistochemical examination of the kidney revealed that the proximal tubular epithelial cells are the only site of MIOX expression in the kidney"
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I do so love it when you guys talk dirty!!!!!lol

But seriously, every time I read one of these things, it goes completely over my head. I should have went to med school just to keep up with you guys. You KNOW EVERYTHING about molecular levels, Immunhistchemical examinations, proximal tubular epithelial cells, etc. etc. etc.

I'm lucky I can speak 5 languages, let alone learn stuff about epithelial cells. Oh, I can learn just fine. I just can't remember anything I learn. That's the bad part about turning 60. While I still have the capacity to learn, I can be smart for about 5 minutes, then forget it. Can't retain much. I looked it up. Supposedly it's the hippocampus in our brains that stores the short term memory stuff. Now if you put me on Jeopardy or Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and answer questions about anything before 1980, well, I'm your gal. My friends have even had bets going and while I was at work once, I got a call about a question from Star Trek. I didn't even have to think about the answer. I either know it immediately or I don't. I'm a sci-fi junkie and I was raised on all the Sci-fi shows.

But as I said, my memory AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE.

By the way, this morning (AND I HOPE NO ONE YELLS AT ME FOR WHAT I DID!!!), at 7 a.m. Alan goes: "Oh NO,!!!! I immediately woke up and said "oh no, what????" and he said "I have another blister on the bottom of my foot". I said "what did you do between yesterday and today that you got a blister?" and he said "well I went to the gym, but I didn't go on any treadmills" I said "well, what did you go on and he said "Oh the rowing machine and the leg press". I said "are you serious, you can't put any pressure on your feet, no more leg pressing or rowing machines. Do the upper body stuff" Then he said 'Do I have to go to the doctor? (we were just there last week). Now, he's not diabetic, and he heals real fast.

So I took one look at the blister, saw there was no infection, no red lines up the leg, (like last time), no big thing, just a blister that had formed from yesterday. I said to him "do you want me to do it, we have all the stuff we need" You see I've watched Dr. Baird do this so many times, I could do it in my sleep. And this was not a case of debriding, just a case of sterilizing the area, lancing the blister, putting on a dressing and keeping it clean. Dr. Baird believe that the skin is a natural covering so you don't cut off the top of the blister, (if there is no infection, I mean). He usually lances it, gets all the stuff out, does the desitin thing (he completely believes in the power of desitin). And he dresses it.

So I sterilized the area, (the blister looked nothing like the big thing full of blood he had last time by the way). I got out the towels, the bacitracin, the guauze, etc. etc. I sterilized the needle, I gently lanced it, Some kind of light pink stuff came out, mostly clear stuff though, no pus or anything. I made sure it was all drained. Didn't hurt him at all. I disinfected everything around the wound and the wound itself. I looked inside and saw there was nothing black or anything. Everything looked good (I mean I've watched Dr. Baird do this, he always says to me "melody, come around and watch what I'm doing). So I cleaned up everything, put some desitin on it, bandaged it up and he was good to go. He's keeping off his feet and I just checked it again (4 hours later) and it looks nice and clean. I will do the cleaning and re-dressing again later. Don't want to disturb the healing.

Alan kept laughing and saying "You should have been a nurse (my mother became a licensed practical nurse at age 52 by the way). Must be in my genes.

Anyway, I go to Dr. Baird to pick up my new diabetic shoes in about 4 to 5 days. If all goes well with Alan, well, All goes Well, if not, he'll immediately go there and Dr Baird will do his thing. But honestly, I do believe this was a simple friction blister because he went on the rowing machine and leg press thing.

So either yell at me or say Good Job!!!!

Mel

Good Job Mel~!~

I dont post on here much,however,i do come by and read from time to time.
I also have pn..
You always leave me with a smile Mel..ALWAYS!!
Have a good day...:hug:

Lancing a blister.
 

All I can say is, "Great Job!" :You-Rock:

Having been to RN school, from what you describe, you did exactly what you should have. And why else would he tell you to watch what he's doing if he doesn't want you to it or didn't feel it might be necessary at some point?

I can *so* understand Alan not wanting to make *another* visit to the doctor. Just keep doing what you're doing and it should be fine. Keeping it clean means washing the area thoroughly at least once a day, removing all the old ointment and of course redressing the blister. It's also a good idea to leave it open to the air for a bit before putting the new dressing on (propped up and not in contact with anything, especially the floor). Especially if moisture is a problem for Alan. I've always been a firm believer in letting things 'air' and have never run into a problem yet. Since he's not diabetic, you're right that the risk of infection is not a huge concern. At least not from diabetes. That's caused by a circulation problem among others.

And of course if you see any signs of infection or not healing quickly/normally have Alan's foot checked. "Thank you Captain Obvious!" :wink:

Barbara

Hi Barbara:

Thanks for the kind words. Everything looked good this morning. This afternoon, he was sitting at the computer and his sock was off (because he is numb he can't tell when his socks come off!!!, so I said "let me look at it again, and (with clean hands). The area was not swollen, or discolored. Alan said "I think there's some more stuff in it, and sure enough, when I pressed it, the stuff came out of it. Kind of like a bit of ooz. Nothing black. White stuff, kind of like gel. I made sure to get it all out and I put the antiseptic in it and everything. When I finished, everything was nice and clean and it was flat.

I disinfected the area and put a dab of desitin on it and then put a big band-aid.


When I check tomorrow, what if more stuff comes out? I mean, there are no obvious signs of infection, but when is it healed??? What do I look for??


Actually, this is the first time I've done this on Alan (I've had blisters years ago in the back of my foot when I had a tight shoe but they had clear water in them and I just dabbed antiseptic and put a band aid).

The little ooze out of Alan's blister, well I never expected it to be there.
Hope I did the right thing?????

Mel

Blisters are weird things.
 

I'm not surprised that he still has fluid coming out. For at least two reasons: The first that all blisters vary, how deep, how much actual damage was done, you get the picture. The other is because the blister has been opened and kept sort of moist, so to speak. It hasn't begun drying out yet. As long as the fluid remains clear or even a bit cloudy but *not* yellow or any other 'icky' color it should be ok. I've had blisters I've had to open 2 or 3 times or more before they finally stopped producing fluid. Using a pin to create such a tiny hole in a blister allows the blister to close back up and continue to produce fluid. A blister is natures way of protecting/cushioning the tender flesh below the injury. Sometimes a slightly bigger outlet is needed. You'll know if the blister continues to close back up and refill. I've used a fingernail clipper to actually create a slightly bigger outlet with removing the skin or making too big of a hole. Of course, you'll want to sterilize the clippers first. A 15 minute soak in rubbing alcohol should do the trick. Before and after use. ETA: Use just the very corner at the edge of the clipper. After all, you want a *small* slice in the blister, not a gaping hole.

As to healing. The skin of the blister itself will sometimes attach back to the site of the blister. Sometimes not. Either way is fine as the the skin at the actual injury site will begin to regenerate almost right away. The blister, with or without the skin flap over it, will simply dry out and look almost like any other kind of blister that's healing. If there's any redness (redness, swelling and heat as well as drainage are all cardinal symptoms of not healing well or possible infection) that would most likely be the first or second sign that things are not well. Increased drainage with a change of color to the icky side, yellow etc and pus-like, is interchangeable as a first or second sign of not healing well or possible infections. Heat in the tissues along with any swelling is another good indicator. By the time you see red streaks it's been infected for a while and not good. So, so far it sounds as if Alan's blister is fine and you're doing exactly what you should! :)

And look at it this way...if you have serious worries you can always call Alan's doctor and describe the blister to him as well as what you're doing. He will be able to confirm that you're treating it just as it should be treated and maybe calm your worries a bit. ;)

Barbara

This is exactly what I did the first time I saw it. After cleaning all instruments, I took a needle, sterilized it and poked some holes. Some fluid came out, kind of pinkish. I knew there was more inside so I got my cuticle scissors, sterilized them and made a little incision right in the middle of the blister. Lookes like straight line down the middle. Got most of the liquid out, did the disinfecting and the desitin, and then bandaged.

Cleaned it up again the next morning, but did not notice any pus or anything. Maybe I should have sqeezed it more, but I never noticed it. A few hours later, when Alan lost his sock and when I said "let me look at it again, he brought it up over his other leg and said "oh look, I think there's more stuff inside, and I went, "oh, I don't think so", but when I gently squeezed it, more whitish stuff (definitely not yellow). No red areas and no lines (like the last time. I got all the stuff out, and did what I mentioned in my previous post. I just checked it now (before bedtime and it's still flat).

So tomorrow, when we get up, I shall take a look. Now here's my question?
When I take off the bandage, and I see the little opening down the middle, do I gently squeeze it again (to see if more ooze comes out), or do I just do the cleaning and desitin and rebandaging again?

Thanks for all your help, honestly!!!

Melody

Sounds good so far!
 

And no problem.

I wouldn't express it unless it needs it. You'll be able to see if there's more fluid in it. You can also feel it.

It can be scary dealing with blisters. If I remember correctly they're one of the injuries that are most likely to become infected if not treated properly. Mostly because of the surface area beneath the skin a blister exposes. We're mostly bags of water. So when you get a spot that big in the skin surface it's no wonder it 'leaks' :D

In the morning, look at it and if it seems ok, no more fluid that is, do what you've been doing. You'll see there's fluid if it's there. A little bit doesn't matter and may even help. There's white blood cells in there too. Helps with the healing. Follow your instincts...they seem to be doing right by you so far. :)

One thing I do know, any time you have an injury to the body and you think you need a boost in healing, Vit's C, E, and calcium (I think it is) all aid in tissue healing. There may be more that I've forgotten. You might want to speak to Alan's doc about this first. But I've noticed when people are taking these kinds of vitamins they usually heal with no problems at all. After any surgery helps alot too. Any injury, intentional or otherwise, stresses the entire body.

Mel oouch!!!!!I
 

:eek: :eek: They just cut my toe nails and i can't stand it the thought makes me shake,i'm not kidding. When i take a shower the water i guess that falls on my old pn skin makes may hand and feet burn all night does this bother you,I SURE hope not..BUT please stay away from my toenails..:eek: Many blessings new Sue

Hi there my friends.

Last night I noticed that if I take a really really hot shower, immediately when I get out, my feet have ever so slight a buzz. Nothing to really talk about. Went away immediately. I guess this means I can't go in really really hot water (like a hot tub right). Sigh!!! And I always dreamed of owing a hot tub!!! yeah, right!!!! lol

I checked Alan's foot 5 minutes ago. We got up at 9:30 a.m. (lazy bums, right?). The blister now is turning into a callous (or whatever it's called, when it gets harder). Didn't see anything else. I guess it's in the process of healing, right).

I'M A NURSE.. HOORAY!!!!

Oh the infusion people just called. He'll call back after breakfast and make the appointments.

Wow, more anti-body people floating in his body.

melody

Whoo hoo!
 

The blister sounds good. It's healing. Just continue to keep it clean, etc, for the next few days and it should go away on it's own. Wonderful!! Good job, Nurse Mel! :hug:

The heat thing, I've seen where that's supposed to be a treatment for PN. How in the world?? My feet don't seem to like very warm water either. But it does seem to make them feel better afterwards.

Barbara

Just wanted to thank you for walking me through this blister thing.

The ivig guy just called. I'm updating all the info under the thread about Alan being approved for IVIG.

read it, okay???

regards,
Melody

Will do!
 

Off to read the IVIG thread!

Barbara