I'm on the Medical Merry-Go-Round

Hi to Everyone and I hope you're all well...

I just wrote this update on what is currently happening with me - I've been having some serious issues with my feet for the last week.

Here is a synopsis. Perhaps someone can help me sort this out, because I've just been prescribed a medicine I'm not so sure I want to take.

Here is the synopsis:

Update on the Medical Merry-Go- Round

I just got home from my appointment with the Rheumatologist - or should I say both of them. One is a nurse practitioner. My appointment ended up lasting two hours. There is good news and bad news.

First, the good news. The results of yesterday's cholesterol and glucose blood tests were good. The doctor kept telling me that my HDL ( the 'good' cholesterol is elevated, at 71, which she says is really good.
The LDL, what they call 'bad' cholesterol is at 125, which I'm told is also a good number. Taken together, she says, the number looks high, but taken individually, the elevated HDL shows that my cholesterol level is just fine.
If this good news is due to anything, I attribute it to being on a Paleo diet, which I told her about. She'd never heard of it. I suggested she read up about it and the health risks posed by wheat and gluten. ( Life Without Bread, and Wheat Belly)

My blood pressure and radial and femoral pulse is good. My heart rate and lung sounds are good. I lost 1 1/2 pounds since yesterday, so I guess that isn't gonna make me cry either.

Now the not-so-good news.

The pulses in both of my feet are very weak and barely detectable.
My feet were both purple and blue and extremely cold to the touch.
The doctor called another doctor in to examine me to get a second opinion.
So, according to these rheumatologists, they don't think I have Reynaud's Disease.
They think I have peripheral vascular disease caused by what they believe are arterial blockages in my legs.

I'm very puzzled at this point. My cholesterol is GOOD. My weight is GOOD. Blood pressure, pulse, lung and heart sounds all GOOD.
The upper half of my body registers a GOOD strong pulse.

I also attribute this to all the walking I do. Exercise helps your body develop collateral circulation, extra blood vessels. Walking is great for this.

Anyway, I'm told that if this crap going on with my feet gets much worse, and the pulse stops in my feet, then I will be left with necrosed ( dead) tissue and they will have to amputate both my feet.
They think I have blockages in both my legs - somehow.

They prescribed me a medicine to 'try': Procardia, which also goes by a few other names. This, according to the literature from the pharmacy, belongs to a class of medications called calcium channel blockers (CCBs) that are used to treat angina (heart pain), high blood pressure, and abnormal heart rhythms.

PRESCRIBED FOR: Nifedipine ( Procardia) is used for the treatment and prevention of angina resulting from either an increased workload on the heart (as with exercise) or spasm of the coronary arteries. It is used in the treatment of high blood pressure, to treat abnormally fast heart rhythms such as atrial fibrillation, and in the prevention of episodes of rapid heart rhythm originating from the atria of the heart.

It also is used to dilate blood vessels that go into spasm such as those causing Raynaud's phenomenon, a painful condition of the hands caused by spasm of the arteries supplying blood to the hands.

Okay, but they said I do NOT have Reynaud's and my blood pressure was good- yesterday it was 116/70 and today it was 112/68.

They want to relax the blood vessels to try and improve blood flow to my feet.
They also want me to go see a vascular doctor now. I had to get another note to clear me from work, which also does not count with my employer.
I'm waiting for the call to see when I have to go for this appointment, and they want me to undergo Doppler studies ( which is non-invasive) first, and perhaps some other studies to determine if I have arterial blockages.

I was told I must not get cold. I'm supposed to keep my body, legs and feet very warm. ( No, really? I thought I'd go streaking through the supermarket in January. Duhh.)
I'm not supposed to get 'stressed' either. LOLOL,OLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL, which is a hilarious statement to make to ANYBODY who LIVES in this world. Do they actually teach these people to say this stuff in medical school, or are they just improvising?

Sigh. So, I filled the prescription but I'm concerned as to whether I should take it. It has alot of side effects and the doctors said it doesn't always work on people, but I could 'try' it.

I'm concerned about taking a hypertension medicine when I don't have hypertension.

I also got them to aspirate the cyst on my left wrist ( they acted like they didn't wanna do it, for some reason) which was a little barbaric to me ( jabbing me with a needle after spraying 'freezy spray' on my wrist. The only thing 'freezy' about this spray was that it was freezing cold on my skin. It didn't NUMB anything, so when they stuck me, I was almost biting through my tongue.
I don't think they aspirated all of the gel from the cyst. Doesn't look like it anyway.
( Maybe I should've kept slamming the cyst with the bible, and give the bible a worthwhile purpose for a change. Jeezuz.

They ALSO stuck me in the arm with a cortisone shot, since they THINK I have tennis elbow, NOT bone spurs, as I was told yesterday by the other Whitecoat, my primary doctor. Some inflammation was seen on the x-rays from yesterday.
All I can say about this is OWWWWWW.

Not really sure I want to take this medicine until I learn more about it.
So I went from being told I have 'cellulitis' to no, it's not cellulitis, to being told it's Reynaud's Disease to being told no, it's not Reynaud's Disease, it's peripheral vascular disease and arterial blockages ---all in the space of three days.

Interesting thing is, in the past, my mother was also told she has 'blockages' and underwent the same Doppler studies and other invasive procedures to check for blockages in her aorta all the way down to her feet.

The report came back as ' no blockages'. She just has narrow blood vessels in her legs. I wonder if this could also be the deal with me.

Either way, I'm looking at spinning on this merry-go-round for who knows how long and I really don't trust their chemical cocktails or what they're telling me.
They really need to lose the 'freezy spray', too.

I'm researching all of this for myself. You know what a miracle is? Getting two doctors to agree on the same thing at the same time.
That's what a miracle is.

Cha-ching cha-ching cha-ching.
Next co-pay, please.

Hi Lisa, I'm thinking acupuncture - I know finding a good one is hard. Also some self massage the area (while reading maybe). A good idea would be to talk to other doctors or specialists and see what they think. Take good care of that body, you need it ;)

Oh boy, what an "adventure"! I would personally completely forgo the drug, and if you are on the paleo diet, I would look into moving ahead in the Ketogenic thread to deal with this problem and with inflammation in general:

Ketogenic Diet
http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,28799.0.html

I think your doppler tests will be similar to your mom's and you can get more blood circulation in your legs by rubbing some DMSO cream, like this one:

_http://www.evitamins.com/dmso-cream-rose-scented-natures-gift-4351

It is good stuff, increases blood circulation and deals with pain and inflammation in general. You can find more info about it here:

http://www.sott.net/article/228453-DMSO-The-Real-Miracle-Solution

Or if you prefer video, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0i7jARfKeI

Far infrared sauna also typically deals with these problems. But overall, I think that looking into the ketogenic thread will help you out, there might be some inflammatory foods that are "paleo approved" that can still be very inflammatory for some of us.

Thank you! I'm gonna get right to it. Many thanks!! I am feeling okay, it's just my feet seem to be...dying.

I would also look into reflexology. Find a good one and let us know what it costs and we'll subsidize it. Also, medical taping of the feet is very helpful. There are lymph drainage tape patterns that could also help with circulation. I'll see if I can scan the images and send them to you along with the tape which you can probably apply yourself.

Mmmmm....what you are describing sounds similar to what my father in law went through years ago. I don't know exactly the name of his condition, but from what my husband told me he had what I think was a narrowing (or was it a blockage?) of some arteries which caused lack of blood supply through his legs. His feet at the extremities were, of course, the first to suffer. He had always loved walking and regularly went on walks, until the condition became so disabling that he could barely stand. He as going through a depression at the time and was also advised to avoid any form of stress, and to stop smoking (well, considering what they put on regular cigars it may have done him good). He eventually underwent surgery where some sort of "enlargers" were put inside his arteries in the groins. His father had undergone exactly the same.

Ever since then, he had not had a single problem. I'll ask my husband more details once he gets home, I don't know how similar his father's condition was to yours, but it may be helpful. Wikipedia's description of peripheral vascular disease seems to fit so far (_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_vascular_disease).

Did the problem with your feet just come up this week, or were you aware of any prior signs? You also mentioned a wrist cyst and a problem with your elbow. Are they all old problems, so to say, or something recent?
It sounds like a lot problems manifested all at once, and somehow joint related.

Here's Louise Hay's take, fwiw:

Louise Hay said:

Arteries: Carry the joy of life

Feet: Represents our understanding of ourselves, of life, of others

Elbow: represents changing direction and accepting new experiences

Wrist: represents movement and ease

Joints: represent changes in direction in life and the ease of these movements

Cyst: Running the old painful movie. Nursing hurts. A false growth.

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Lise Borbeou excerpts in"Your body's telling you: Love yourself" are longer and more comprehensive, so I'll take a little longer to post those.

I'm sending you a hug!

Also a cheap and fast way to get you started would be buy a pair of circulation flip flops. Here's a link to you can get an idea :
_http://www.healthcareglobal.com/healthcare_technology/review-kenkoh-reflexology-flip-flops

**actually called - reflexology sandals

My mom has cold, blue feet too for years and when I read this thread about adrenal fatigue it was a place for me to start. I have a problem with fatigue but with different signs and am working on the detox too:

http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,488.0.html

Varicose veins in the lower extremities are frequently caused by hypoadrenia for the same reasons that cause hemorrhoids. This can be seen in many pregnant women who only have a flare up of varicosities during pregnancy. It may be difficult to eliminate the varicosities, but it is possible to arrest their progression and to keep them in check throughout the pregnancy.

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This just comments on the pregnancy part but may have something to do with your problem too. At the least is is a starting place and hope you get this sorted out soon. Take care.

andi said:

Hi Lisa, I'm thinking acupuncture - I know finding a good one is hard. Also some self massage the area (while reading maybe). A good idea would be to talk to other doctors or specialists and see what they think. Take good care of that body, you need it ;)

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Absolutely, a good one, i.e. someone who know to take the chines pulse at your wrist. Look like your doctors don't have a clue. Try others, perhaps specialists as Andy said. What come to my mind is Dopler exam.

Eventually there's the Radiac appliance from Cayce to equalize circulation. I've used myself with success.

I was looking for acupuncture practitioners in State College PA and there is not much info (it appears acupuncture it is not even backed by health care insurances). There is this site : _http://www.statecollegeacupuncture.com/ . There is an email and phone number and some strait forward explanations. His name is Daniel Greenberg but there aren't any other links to him so I don't know. You could write to him and "investigate".

added* Personally I would rather look for any mouth to mouth info and see where it leads.

I'm not sure if my health insurance covers the acupuncture, but I can find out. The cyst issue has been going on for years, but it had grown bigger and was starting to impinge on the vessels/nerves around it. They couldn't even get my radial pulse on my left wrist because of it. So i had them aspirate it. i'd let this go on for too long, mostly because I've had to work alot and didn't think it was a huge deal until I started recently experiencing some periodic numbness and tingling in that hand. Once, I dropped the telephone because I couldn't feel it in my hand. So, hopefully, the cyst won't return. I also put off the elbow issue because of work and because of Aflac. I had a 30 day waiting period after signing up for Aflac short term disability. I wanted to have that in case I had to take a medical leave for the elbow issue.
Little did I know, the elbow issue is the least of my concerns now. The feet have not been giving me trouble. I've always had a little trouble retaining heat. It's just been within the last week that all these burning, itching, persistent pain, discoloration, temperature change issues have been happening with my toes. Yesterday, 3 toes were almost black in the doctor's office. My feet were changing color right before his eyes, so i didn't have to explain too much. He could see. Same thing today with the rheumatologists. I don't have varicose veins, so I don't think that's the problem.

I'm going to try the cream and am reading up on the ketogenic thread. Hopefully the doctor filled out the FMLA forms and faxed them in to my facility this afternoon.
Thank you all so much for all the thoughtful comments and suggestions. I'm not sure what is involved with reflexology, but will read about that as well.
Getting tired of health care 'professionals' telling me they're going to cut my feet off, I know that. As for this medicine, it's sitting here but I'm leery of taking it.
It has many side effects and all of them I deem unpleasant.

Hi Lisa,

I know you said you're eating Paleo. Have you been able to have bone broth regularly?

No, I haven't had the bone broth yet. Sigh. I have to do that.

Lisa Guliani said:

No, I haven't had the bone broth yet. Sigh. I have to do that.

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Do so as soon as you get an opportunity. I can't and won't guarantee that this will change your situation, but it really is amazing stuff! Get some marrow and joint bones so that you get a decent gel and boil them for as long as you can (no less than 4 hours) if you don't have a pressure cooker. Pastured pork is good to start out with but any pastured/grassfed-grass finished meat will do. Add sea salt and drink.

Hoping you feel better soon!

Lisa, I've moved this to the diet and health section. I am very anti-pharmaceutical, so it would be great to go at this from another angle. I think the suggestions you've gotten thus far are good. A natural vasodilator might help - like niacin or even peppermint. Have you tried DMSO gel on your feet?