I always thought the only reason to have our feet checked was to make sure we don't develop neuropathy and then get injured without knowing it, infected, etc. So I haven't particularly worried about my feet (and haven't had long periods with high numbers).
I've read the threads about neuropathy symptoms, and I don't think I have that. No tingling, no numbness and I can feel it when I run my nails over my feet.
But I've been having some problems with my feet and plan to mention it at my next doctor's visit, but thought I'd run it by you to see if anyone has a clue: For several months I've had what I thought was a Plantar's wart on one of my feet. But I've treated it with the otc meds several times and it doesn't go away. No suddenly I have a spot that feels sensitive and where I have a slight swelling place under the skin. My feet, which are normally dry have gotten much drier, but that may just be winter. In the last few days I've also noticed little red spots on a couple of my toes, and when I look at those toes they look swollen or puffy. Nothing too serious, but all except the original wart have developed in the last week or so. Sound familiar to anyone? Thanks
Zoe
I've had a couple of times I went to a podiatrist, once referred by my endo, as I have one toe that got colder than the other ones when the dojang was cold during the winter. I figured I'd ask and she was like "go to the podiatrist and do not pass go". The podiatrist figured it was a circulatory problem and rx'ed some off-label neurotnin (sp?) and then spring came and it went away. Now my winter "lair" is a sunroom with a heated porch. I guess all my toes get cold when I run outside but I presume that's ok? The other time, the first time I ran > 30 miles in a week a toenail turned blackish red or reddish black and got slightly infected with what the doc dx'ed as cellulitis. It cleared up with what she described as a strong antibiotic. All the medical people involved were like "you are totally correct to come in, we see these when the people don't get to the doc in time and it's not pretty..."
Thanks, AR. Though the symptoms aren 't the same, it does sound like it's important to talk to the doctor. At my point in life I've learned to basically ignore small things until they get bigger or don't go away when they should. I'm ok with that approach (and definitely prefer other locales to spend my time other than the doctor's office!) but I can go too far in the other direction.
I've always had cold feet and hands; my father had some kind of minor circulation problem too. Now that I live somewhere cold again I've got good wool socks and cozy boots and got great mittens sent from LL Bean (one of my favorite stores!)
Guess it's time to make my list for the doctor visit. (which usually is 90% prescription writing. It's amazing I went to the doctor at all in Guatemala where you can buy anything without a prescription. I did actually write my own a few times years ago but we won't talk about that too much. LOL.
Thanks, Sally, that's definitely the message I need to hear. I do use a daily intensive moisturizer but wasn't in the habit of using it on my feet. Dumb I know, but I used to actually take pride in how I could walk barefoot over rocks and stuff! Pre-diabetes of course! When my three year old great-niece asked me "what is that?" about a callous that had cracked I thought maybe it was time to add the regimen to my feet as well and now do it nightly before I get in bed.
I was like you, Zoe, & joked that I had Hobbit feet. Once, I pulled a roofing nail out of my foot & kept walking. No more. I use oils, not moisturizer on my feet, almost every night. Oils, those close to our own natural oils, keep skin supple. I put thin cotton socks on to keep the oil off my sheets & from slip-sliding around the floor.
I've had plantar warts & OTC treatment didn't help. They weren't strong enough. Went to the podiatrist for some serious acid treatment, Burned like hell, but got rid of them.
Thanks, Gerri. Good to know that the plantar warts need stronger treatment; makes me less worried about their failure to heal. What kind of oils do you use? Do you use those on other parts instead of moisturizer?
Just going to reinforce what everyone else has said. Seems to me that it's worth it to see the doc anytime anything CHANGES on your feet. Some things turn out to be the normal changes of age, but how are you to know?
I developed a red spot on my foot that turned out to be a telangiectasia -- a collection of dilated capillaries, and of no significance. But my APN praised me for bringing it to her attention, because some things that appear innocuous really aren't.
Hope it turns out that what you have is easily treatable, but never hesitate to see a doc about your feet! :-)
I tried every OTC treatment available. Useless. Plantar warts are deep, so they don't really heal unless treatment goes deep. What the podiatrist used was canthacur. He warned me that it was strong, but I wanted it gone. Thought my foot was on fire. Hurt! Was worth it because I could barely walk from the pain of the plantar wart.
Emu oil is the best I've found, but it's an animal product. Very close to our natural skin oils. I order it from Swanson's Vitamins. Only a small amount is needed. It's thick. I've also used coconut oil. I don't use moisturizer on my face either. Great info about why moisturizers & lotions don't work at www.skinbiology.com.
Thanks, guys. Sounds unanimous! I tried to call the doctor today and realized it was a holiday, so I'll try tomorrow. Also decided to accept his suggestion of kidney protection med which I'd asked about on here. I figured if it gives me problems with low blood pressure I can stop it. What would I do without TuD?
Just to update. I saw my doctor yesterday. He froze the wart I've been treating with OTC for months. For the rest of it - the redness and swelling, he said that was from poor circulation and other than asking if I take an aspirin a day (I do) he didn't recommend any treatment. My father had poor circulation also and my feet and hands are often cold. Has anyone else suffered from this (unrelated to diabetes) problem? Is there anything to do for it other than wearing warm socks and gloves in the winter?
