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Permalink Reply by lee herring on July 1, 2009 at 2:49pm

there is a lot of people out there that doesnt have diabetes that goes through that, and had to get there toe nails removed. so not saying it is the diabetes or not the diabetes, but since you have diabetes be careful with those toes. if you feel like he mite be crazy you always can consult another doc about it to see what they might do. incase you do decide to remove the toe nail though it is better to lose it to infection than your whole toe. hope you can find an answer. are they turning into ingrown toe nail or are the just getting infected out of the blue.

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Permalink Reply by Peter on July 1, 2009 at 2:56pm

The left foot toenail has fungus does not hurt, but before I had D it had been more of an ingrown toenail problem for years. The right foot toe is the one that is second time infected, it is sore, but the nail seems fine to me.

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Permalink Reply by lee herring on July 2, 2009 at 7:06am

so do they usually cut the sides out when you have this problem. my cousin had the same problem and he was not a diabetic, and they had to finally remove his toe nai. he kelp getting infections over and over.

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Permalink Reply by Peter on July 3, 2009 at 3:32pm

No. I usually put cotton under the toenail edges and then grow it upward for three to six week by adding a little cotton at a time, usually once a week. A doctor told me this years ago.

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Permalink Reply by lee herring on July 4, 2009 at 8:37am

good to know i never heard that before about the cotton.

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Permalink Reply by Dena on July 3, 2009 at 5:07pm

Do the toenails serve any purpose? I'd be for getting rid of it just to avoid the problems.

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Permalink Reply by Betty J on July 3, 2009 at 6:00pm

Peter be aware since you now have Diabetes foot care is vital and keeping your bs undercontrol is important. When we have problems a specialist is always adviseable. A lot of our healing has to do with how well we manage our bs. I have been using Podiatrist for as long as I've had D (50+ years).

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Permalink Reply by Peter on July 4, 2009 at 9:01am

I think you are right. I am going to have to push my doctor for a referral to a podiatrist. I have asked him twice and he said no. I will ask one more time, if he says no, then I will call my insurance company and tell them what the situation is and I want to see a podiatrist.

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Permalink Reply by Kathy on July 3, 2009 at 7:17pm

I had a problem a few years back on one toe, but it just went away as the nail grew.
There are a couple of antigfungals you can take orally - one has the trade name Lamisil.
Thedrugstore is also full of topical things you can paint on the nail, but I don't think they are very effective and hence a big waste of money.
It was always my understanding that if the nail was removed, a new one would grow back, but it would take about a year.
It sounds like your intuition is giving you doubts about this guy. Is there someone you can go to for a second opinion?

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Permalink Reply by lee herring on July 4, 2009 at 8:41am

i do believe they will grow back, but if it is a going problem docs usually put some kind of chemical on it to stop the growth and it never comes back. which takes care of the problem since it doesnt grow back.

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Permalink Reply by Peter on July 4, 2009 at 9:05am

Thanks. I forgot that there was oral medication. I will ask the doctor about Lamisil. Previously, on my old insurance and with my old primary care physician, he referred me to a podiatrist who gave me a fungus tincture to put on topically, but it never helped.

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Permalink Reply by Peter on July 4, 2009 at 9:18am

Running a culture is an excellent idea and the ankle brachail index also. I think I have had diabetes for a lot longer, my critical care doctor at Cigna 9 years ago or more said I was diabetic, not pre-diabetic and my pcp at Cigna argued with him about it and said I was not diabetic at all. They both kept testing my blood every month for three months. The critical care doctor eventually filed a grievance against Cigna and the pcp, and then the critical care doctor took a job at Depart.of Health.The ironic thing is my current pcp ran a set of blood test to see if he could give me something for the toenail, he said the med goes through your liver and the test were necessary. The test were ran about 3 months before I was diagnosed. One day the pcp left due to an emergency and I saw his partner who ordered the A!C. My pcp never looked at the results until 3 months later.

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