Thursday, January 15, 2009

unique me

I'm back to blogging about my hurting foot which is still hurting after seeing three specialists. It is currently wrapped up in tape with some foam pads encouraging me to feel like I have wrinkles in a pair of thick socks to put weight on the foot differently. I can live with this for the week if I must. Unfortunately, the doc also asked me to skip yoga for a while. Then, additionally, I'm supposed to keep the tape dry all week. I googled "keeping a cast dry" and went with the plastic bag and tape around the top method this morning. I'm feeling crabby about this.

I only wish they knew what was causing the pain. One of the pinched nerves went away with the cortisone shots but it wasn't the one I'd noticed and which was causing pain. The other spot "shouldn't" be causing pain the places I have pain. So they're experimenting on me.

I am feeling an uncomfortable feeling I've now had several times. I am unique. We all think we're unique, but deep down we know we're much like everyone else. And when something goes wrong, we assume the problem will be able to be diagnosed because it will have happened to someone else at some time. After all, there are a lot of patients out there. Someone else must be like me.

The first time I felt this was when I burst out with hives. The cause of their appearance was never determined and the cause of their disappearance six months later was also never clear. Then I started puzzling doctors by trying to find out what had been going wrong with my skin. I'd had horribly painful, sensitive skin during each pregnancy. Since I'd been (typically) hormonally unbalanced I attributed the problem to hormones. Until it came back after my appendectomy. Skin trauma! Until after it came back randomly and never completely went away. I have a cupboard full of drugs which probably made no difference in the situation. I have upwards of ten doctors who have no clue what is going wrong. I am not happy to be Unique Me.

The hives haven't been back, fortunately. The skin pain is under control, basically. But what about my foot! I don't even pay the plumber until the toilet is fixed. Must I keep paying doctors when the results so far have been nil?

1 comment:

  1. Hi Jill, I am so sorry you are having difficulties. May I give you some advice? Doctors are only *guessing* at what is wrong with you, every single time. Don't feel like they can, should, or will know what is going on when you go to see them. While there are exceptions, many doctors are just ready to write a perscription, you may have noticed this with a cabinet full of medicines. Now don't get me wrong, I am for the right medicine for the right things, but as a fellow hive sufferer several years ago, they never could figure it out, one idiot thought it was poison ivy! I have since decided that it is a reaction to extreme stress, as so many things are. Trying to stay calm and not dwell on things you cannot change and stay busy, basket weaving is great!, work wonders for many things. Probably not your foot, but for my foot problems, nothing beats the high top Ugg boots with that sheepskin, ahhhh! :-)
    Frances

    ReplyDelete