I have only been diabetic since Jan’09. I have had trouble with two toe infections and fungus under one nail on different feet(I will not put a pic here for the sake of all). For the fungus the doctor wanted to remove the toenail. For the infection the first time my doctor gave me antibiotics and it helped. Now the same toe started hurting yesterday and I got into the doc today. He says the toenail is the problem and “What do you want to do about that toenail?” I said I wanted it to stay on my toe and he gave me more antibiotics. Am I expected to lose all my toenails to D? Has anyone else went through this and is there another form of treatment? Is my doctor a wierdo who collects toenails and make necklaces out of them? Or is this the way it goes?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Do the toenails serve any purpose? I’d be for getting rid of it just to avoid the problems.
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).
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?
Your post caught my attention because when I was diagnosed last year, the ER docs said “no more high heels, open toe shoes, going barefoot or pedicures”. I was very upset about this because I do all of these things. 
Later, my Endo told me I still can as long as I stay in “good control”. I know your concern is more medical than cosmetic of course. I think like others mentioned, if your D is not in “good control” you will heal more slowly in the lower extremities, so while this isn’t exclusively a D problem, it is more of a concern for us.
ALWAYS get a second (and maybe third) opinion when a doctor suggests REMOVING a part of you! 
Maybe you could try some anti-fungals? The mainstream meds are extremely harsh on the liver, but tea tree oil (which is natural) takes a lot longer to work from what I’ve read. Also, possibly consult a Naturopath doctor for some other anti-fungal ideas. I’ve also read that HyperBaric Oxygen Therapy has been successful in treating wounds in diabetics, among other things.
Oh I just thought of something else - when you clip your nails, do not clip an infected one and then go and clip a healthy one - the doc said that’s a very easy way for it to spread to all the toes. Dip the clippers in alcohol between each toe. It’s extra effort, but might be worth it.
And yes, I agree with Jenn that the oral antifungals are very hard on the liver.
Thanks for sparing us photos!
I had yellow toenails, not too disgusting, but a fungal thing. Teatree oil helped a lot. As Jenn said, it does take a while to work. I also soaked my feet in water with apple cider vinegar. Don’t know if that helped.
My endo said that I probably had dangerously high BG for about 5 years until I collapsed DKA, so “just diagnosed” can be a misleading label.
Yes, you have to take really good care of your feet. I’m sure you know that a s a diabetic it usually takes you longer to recover from infections and you want to take precautions to avoid them. You should try to avoid going barefoot. I wear water shoes when I swim. I’ve also had several ingrown toenails and I know it hurts like high heaven when your toe is in the process of being numbed up before the problem is taken care of.
Know the posts here about what people would do if they cured? After burning my meter & all supplies, I’d run around barefoot. Miss that sooo much.
good to know i never heard that before about the cotton.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I used to do a lot of Martial Arts and barefoot was my mode of transportation.
Thanks everyone very good comments that have made me think. I definitely need to be assertive with my doctor and not settle for what the doctor wants to do for a quick fix. If he’s got a problem with it, I will call the insurance company and if I have to change pcps. He already seems to not want to give any more referrals for a podiatrist and for surgery for my carpel tunnel (which has been tested in June '09 and is severe in the right hand-the nuerologist is recommending surgery). I will try the tea tree oil, make sure I use alcohol between clipping my toenails, ask about a culture and ankle brachail test and try to get an appropriate antibotic and/or Lamisil. I know the toenails serve some purpose and I like how they look, of course I don’t want to lose more than a toenail just for asthetic purposes.