From The Past: June 15, 2005

I believe I have an ingrown toenail. It started bothering me last summer and I have put up with the pain ever since then. About five months ago, my doctor prescribed KFLEX. This didn’t help at all as far as I could tell.

I showed the offending toe to her at my appointment this morning and she said she wants me to see a foot doctor. I explained to her that I do not want to see a foot doctor for any reason and asked if she would give me a prescription for something different. After telling me it looks like a bacterial infection, she prescribed a drug called Doxycycline. She also made sure that I get an additional refill on the original prescription. I am praying with all of my heart that twenty days of this drug takes this infection away.

Maybe I’m wrong and it’s only an infection and not ingrown. That is my prayer. Kevin had an ingrown toenail several years ago. After living a painful existence, he went to the doctor to have the toenail removed. Guess what! It grew back and became ingrown again!

He finally went to a foot doctor and told him to remove the nail and kill it so that it would never grow back again. That was two or three years ago. The nail has never grown back and he has no more pain.

I just don’t think I can take it. My doctor told me she would prescribe me some Valium to take before that appointment (if there needs to be an appointment), but I am scared to death.

I looked up some pictures of ingrown toenails and they look really disgusting. My toe is just slightly pink and swollen-looking on one side. It’s not ugly – not to me at least, but I know something is going on because there is some oozing. I’m trying to stay positive though (I am sticking my head in the sand!) by convincing myself that this is just an infection that can be cured with a simple pill. I will keep you updated.