That'll be $45, cash only. Now go away.
Finally saw a doctor about my chronic inflammation of the tootsies problem: burning sensations, redness, swelling, extreme sensitivity to any kind of touch, and, eventually, blisters and sores, spreading to both feet but confined to the area of the toes. In recent years the condition had gotten bad enough to make me semi-non-ambulatory for extended periods during the Fall and Winter months when the condition flared up worst.
I found the MD I ended up seeing almost by accident, since the internet listing I had initially settled on was a misprint of some kind, misidentifying a cardiologist as a GP. One referral later I was, however, in contact with the doctor’s office, and making an appointment.
To my surprise, the condition was diagnosed as the result of circulatory issues, possibly Peripheral Artery Disease or something similar. I’d be more specific, except the doctor was uncommunicative. I’m left to wonder, for instance, if some of the collateral damage, the blisters and so on, originated in over-application of pointless athlete’s foot and other non-remedial remedies, or whether it was more directly related to the real problem. In short, though his examination seemed thorough, the doctor struck me as a distracted individual with (social) circulatory problems of his own – minimal explanation or advice, no comparison of options, no real discussion at all other than the idea that a re-check in January would determine whether we had to escalate beyond the anti-clotting drug and antibiotic he prescribed. Maybe he was having a bad day… Maybe he just didn’t like me.
Within a few hours of my first dose, I knew things were not going well. I’ve had a headache somewhere between annoying and blindingly incapacitating since Friday, only just now clearing up, now that I’ve stopped taking the pills. After the pain-wracked delirium of trying to sleep last night, I had no choice about that: The idea of putting the pills in my mouth again is kind of terrifying, and I don’t think I could bring myself to take them. Toes do seem a little better, though, possibly a result of the antibiotic, but the odds are that it’s the source of the headaches.
I’ll have to decide whether to find another doctor, and then how to handle this thing. My research, reverse-engineered from the prescriptions and drug info, has led me to believe that physical exercise is an excellent therapy for peripheral circulation problems. Since money is short, maybe it would be better to spend it on a guided fitness program rather than on expensive, migraine-inducing drugs and cheap, uncommunicative, un-invested doctors.
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good thing you didn’t rush into seeking medical advice!!!
read labels and post names of the medications prescribed.