Health- roller coaster
Tomorrow I go to see my ankle Dr to see what is going on with my heel...
In 1999 my first surgery (the infamous one where my BP went up in the middle of surgery, they treated it and my BP vanished completely leading to a week on a ventilator in CCU with my foot being held together with plastic wrap then another surgery a few weeks later to finish the surgery under spinal anesthesia) they cut off my heel-bone and moved it to the outside about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch and I swear that there is still a sharp ridge or shelf there, but that is not what is going on now.
To put it plain and simple... my heel hurts.
It hurts to put pressure on the bottom of my heel and with every step I take... and probably has a lot to do with the fact that my heel takes all my weight and I do not and can not push off with my toes with every step... it is more like walking on a peg leg with my heel as the peg. After over a decade of this happening there is probably some damage happening in the bone itself (heel spurs? micro-fractures? downright crumbling?) and I need to find out what it is before things progress to a point that it is impossible to walk at all anymore. It is not that I do a lot of walking to begin with (I am lucky to walk 50 yards a day) but I would like the option.
It is going to be a bit of a round robin as I am sure one of the first things they will want to try is cortisone shots, but I can't have those... so they will then want to try that injection for joints that adds a layer of protection to damaged joints but the fluid they use contains eggs, and once again a no go.
And, of course, pills for pain management are not an option for me... so this is going to be a very frustrating appointment for the Doctor I am sure and I really do not expect to have what is going on 'fixed'... I just need to know what it is and what I can do to prevent further damage.
Once again it is my Gastroparesis sticking it's nose into the business of other body parts and functions that is making treating anything so very difficult and why I am mentioning the ankle and heel issues here.
If I could take pills (they sit undigested in my stomach for so long they literally eat into the stomach lining and duodenum causing ulcers) then I would be in so much better shape health-wise and better equipped to handle every day life. My blood pressure, thyroid, heart rate issues and more would be treated...
If I could take the liquid medications available (they are all formulated with artificial sweeteners to be diabetic friendly which is a major migraine trigger for me) then I would still have a fighting chance at things...
If I was not so severely allergic to adhesives then I could use the patches available... but in order to use the patches I have to be on high doses of Benadryl, which I can't take as a pill or as the liquid...
See where my frustration and the frustration of my doctors comes in?
My one and only visit to a GI since we lost our insurance I begged and pleaded for a J-tube so I could take medications and get fluids through that but was told I was not thin enough for them to consider that and was 'informed' that pills dissolve in the stomach and would not cause any issues... even though when I could still vomit I would throw up pills (plus a little blood) hours after taking them still in very recognizable form and have EGD proof of the damage.
So... as a result of not being able to take medications I always get the same frustrating thing from doctors when I go see them-
"What do you expect me to do since you can't take anything?" (accompanied by a condescending smile, shrug and palms up)
Guess what... I am NOT a friggin doctor and I expect them to THINK OF A WAY to FIX IT so I CAN take medicine!!! They are the ones with the fancy degrees on the wall, yet I am the one that has to live this life...
So... anyway... tomorrow I go to see my foot doctor...
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Reminder to please please please go to my story entry in the Reader's Digest contest on facebook and vote daily. We desperately need awareness and better treatment options and Doctors need to learn more about this terrible condition so they start treating it properly and those like me can have hope for a better quality of life.
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