I suffered for years with bad foot pain in both feet. It was mainly at the joint of the big toe. When I told my doctor at the Community Health Center I go to she just glanced at them and said I had high arches. Told me to go and buy some arch supports which I did. I spent hundreds of dollars on them plus shoes that were supposed to be for people with high arches.
Well, when I finally tired of the pain I requested a change of providers. This new one was a Physician's Assistant. She actually did examine my feet to see if I had bunions then told me I had high arches and told me to go to local place called Good Feet and get a pair of their "cheap" plastic arch supports. I did-another $70 down the drain. She told me to wait 6 months and see how they worked and if they didn't do any good she would refer me to the podiatrist that volunteered her time at the clinic.
Well, it wasn't 6 months before I complained to her that the joints in my big toes were clicking and locking up. Oh, she said, that isn't normal and finally put in a referral to the podiatrist. When I saw the podiatrist she took one look at my feet and said you have bone spurs on your big toes and said I needed surgery to remove them. When I told her what the other providers had diagnosed me with she said, "that's why I'm the Podiatrist".
I had the first surgery in July of 2010 and the second in September of 2010. Both were a success. I have some pain on occasion but it's nothing compared to what it was before the surgery and my toes don't lock up on me these days. And that was painful................but not as painful as my herniated discs or bleeding ulcer which are for another day.
Oh, as for the first provider she was an DO. I was prescribed Rhinocort Aqua for allergies. I started to get nosebleeds. I read that nasal steroids can cause a hole in the septum of your nose if not used correctly. No one told me not to spray it directly into the nose-they should be sprayed away from the middle part which is the septum. Well, when I mentioned that I was having nose bleeds and that the allergy nasal spray can cause them, she said that only people who snort cocaine get holes in their nose.
I don't have health insurance and I'm on my state's indigent care program. I don't have the luxury of being able to choose who my healthcare provider is since I go to the Community Health Center. I am glad that there are doctors like the podiatrist who volunteers her time at the clinic twice a month and for the doctors who take Colorado's Indigent Care Program when they do perform surgeries at the local hospitals. Unfortunately they don't accept CICP at their regular offices but the podiatrist has a reduced rate which was great.
Now for the 7 week period. In 2009(that's when all my medical problems started) I decided to go off the pill. Didn't get a period for 3 months. When it did come it came with a vengence.. Huge blood clots and it was flooding. I actually had to wear the Depend Undergarments that we had for my Mom who had Alzheimer's(that's another story) Well, I go to the CHC after 5 weeks of it and the new provider, the PA gives me a prescription for provera I believe. Oh and she also told me that if it was any consolation my period would eventually stop(I was 48). Two weeks pass and I returned. My regular provider is on vacation so I see another-a man this time. He puts in a STAT referral to the Women's Health Clinic and I receive a phone call from them the next day for an appointment the day after. Now, I've only had female gynos so I was not used to the man doctor. But he was more compassionate than my regular provider. When he examined me he said wow-you weren't kidding about how bad you were bleeding. He then did an endometrial biopsy to make sure it wasn't all too serious and gave me some suggestions on what to do. He said considering my age he could do a hysterectomy, try some IUD called Mirena or a new procedure-the Novasure Endometrial Ablation. He said my best bet would be the Novasure and I agreed.
Two days later I get the phone call that surgery is scheduled and I had to go and pay them my co pay which I rushed over and did. A week later I had the procedure done under general anesthesia and woke up feeling great. I had read all the horror stories online about endometrial ablations and was a little worried but I had no problems at all. That was May of 2010 and I've not had a period since. I read women saying they had "cramps" around the time of their periods but I never had any. What"s an endometrial ablation? They go in and remove your endometrial lining. There are several ways-the Novasure is one of the newer ways. NovaSure Endometrial Ablation is the next generation in endometrial ablation for the treatment of menorrhagia. The technology behind the NovaSure procedure involves precise impedance-controlled radiofrequency energy to remove the endometrial lining of the uterus. On average, the duration of energy delivery for the actual ablation is about 90 seconds.
Unlike other endometrial ablation alternatives, the NovaSure procedure doesn’t require any pretreatment. It may be performed in an outpatient setting or physician’s office, with an average procedure time of about 4.5 minutes. The NovaSure procedure can also be performed at any time during the menstrual cycle, increasing flexibility for the physician and allowing for easier patient scheduling. In younger women it can grow back in 5 years or so but since I am at the age of menopause and already experiencing some of the effects I doubt I will ever have another period.
When I had the post op visit with the doctor I thanked him for what he did(I didn't want to suffer through another endless period) He has an excellent bedside manner like my neurosurgeon-he took my hand and comforted me when I told him how grateful I was that he took the time to help me. When I told him what my primary care provider said, that if it was any consolation my period would soon end for good, he said "but why suffer if you don't have to?"
Well, that's about it for now. I just had a 2 level acdf 4 1/2 weeks ago and I can't sit for too long before my neck starts to hurt. That's another story.
One last thing. I've had 4 surgeries over the past 2 years-three in 2010 and the biggie for my spine was on January 11. I've found that there is a some sort of depression after any kind of surgery-right now I'm fighting the latest. Saturday(a month to the day of my surgery) I took a "mental health day" and just spent it in my recliner(can't sleep in a bed). When I woke up on Sunday I felt pretty good and not depressed. I think we all need "mental health days" sometimes-never hurts to just lounge around and not worry about anything for the day.