The toe rules my life

I am feeling perfectly well in all respects, except that my toe, with the infection, hurts and prevents me from doing a lot of things that are quite normal and natural to me. I had to deal with a few issues yesterday, and the small amount of walking involved caused a corresponding increase in the pain from my foot. I am expected to rest my foot a lot which means sitting around the house or outside, watching TV or listening to the birds. I cannot shower, or go swimming. I would like to finish my canoe, but that would involve standing, which has proven to be as injurious to my foot as walking (I did some volunteer work on Sunday that involved standing around for three hours. I got a blister on the toe.) If I did finish the canoe, I could not use it, as anyone who owns a canoe knows there is no way to keep your feet dry in one.

I discussed simply removing the toe (it's a third toe, and not particularly useful) but the doctor prefers to rescue the toe if possible, and figures the healing process would be about the same. My pharmacist told me yesterday she could see the pain in my face, which I didn't expect. Painkillers are only good for so long.

There's no end in sight, at least not near. It's OK though, I just wanted to scream, and this was the closest I could come to screaming on this forum.

Still infected? Oh, my. I am surprised that you are not on a super antibiotic. Like an infusion of antibiotics daily along with some awful tasting oral antibiotics. It can't heal until the infection is gone. The pain is secondary to the healing, unfortunately. Sounds like it is time to bite the bullet, put the thing up in the air,and stay off of it entirely for the duration. Might be the most expedient process. My heart goes out to you, Roger, and your doctor is right; healing from an amputation is no picnic either, especially when they have to take all the surrounding tissue because of the infection. Took mine 5 months to heal and that was with 45 days of hyperbaric oxygen five days a week to promote tissue growth. Sorry this thing isn't as simple as it would seem. Prayers for you, friend.

I don't think anyone here will mind your needing to vent your pain and frustration, Roger. We can't offer much else from a distance, except to keep hoping for your continued progress and a full recovery. This too shall pass.

Don't worry about the screams. We can handle that.

Like Carol said, listen to your doc and do whatever is needed to make the infection go away. Wishing you a full recovery.

Roger, everybody is entitled to scream or whine period each month. I had a Sergeant Major, before I retired from the Marines tell me everyone is entitled to 5 minutes a month to whine or scream or complain about the aches and pains in the body. Looks to me like you only used up about 30 seconds, so go ahead and scream some more. We got you covered on that. I am like Carol. Surprised you aren't on some kind of super duper kill all germs antibiotic. Pain pills are fine to a point, but they don't fix the problems. That's why I hate taking them but I do keep some and muscle relaxers around because I'm still not completely over my back, left hip and knee strain. I'd go with what the doc says. Best wishes on this and certainly hope it gets better.

Sorry you're having to go through it, but we're here to listen. Follow orders and get well soon.

Yikes! Dealing with the frustration of this slow process must be just as hard as the pain. You have my sympathy and continued wishes for speedy healing.

Roger as a alternative to tv but to keep you working wood and keeping your mind off the foot, get yourself a whittling knife and try carving some objects. I find it relaxing to sit and let the chips fly. Don't even have to worry about perfection, you will amaze yourself at what you can do and the beauty is you can do it all sitting.
If i was faced with tv i dont want to think of what i might do.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=69446&cat=1,130,43332,43334

This flexcut is a great whittling knife but there are many other cheaper options too. Btw fathers day is just over the horizon so a hint or two might yield some benefits.

I agree, Carving is certainly worth trying.

I feel your pain, literally.

I will be seeing doc about my foot as well, but its not as bad as yours.

Scream all you want. We are hear to listen and commiserate with you. Prayers for pain relief and speedy recovery.
Sounds like whittling should help your cabin fever. Worth a try a no telling what you'll turn out. Good luck.
David

Whatever you do, don't start wasting time playing computer games! That stuff can be a real time soak.

there was a time I did some gaming, but dang, it eats time.

Did you ever want to learn an instrument? Maybe pick up a ukulele?

Thank you all for your expressions of concern and advice. The doctor doubled the dose of antibiotics a couple of days ago, and that, along with rest has caused the pain to abate a LOT. Still, he scheduled me in for this morning, as he didn't want me to wait two days between dressing changes. The toe looks better than any infected toe I've had over the last decade, but it sure is taking its time to heal. BTW, I haven't played video games for years, as I always felt I was just wasting time I had better uses for, like watching baseball games. With the pain reduced, I am feeling more confident about a good result. My running and skiing days are over, though, any way you look at it.

Laughter is the best medicine...with that said, I like the carving Idea, you could start with carving pigs...then after you have a few under your belt, you can sing along with the next ones...something along the lines of "This whittle piggy went to market...' seriously though, heal fast and true Roger!