Introducing "Super Foot", toe biopsy is complete

For about ten days now I've known about the small brown 'not normal' spot on my left ring toe. Today, Monday, is 'biopsy day'. Woot!

I had to prep for this. I tried to get a pedicure on Saturday and had no luck.  Alas, I did my own toes last night.

This morning I got in a 5k on the treadmill. Mostly walking, and listening to Good Morning America. I don't wish blizzards on anyone, but hope that the weathermen are right with the east coast hype. Two feet of snow, at once, never sounds fun to me. 

*Disclosure:  The following pictures show Betadine only, they do not show any bodily fluids where they shouldn't be located.* 

I tried to find a pair of those ugly 'big toe' socks and struck out, which was okay. It's not like I'd wear *those* things in public unless absolutely necessary!  [Those socks with the big toe slot and then the rest of it is like a mitten for the other toes.] 

I got to the doc's office and was ushered into the "procedure room" and told to strip. . .my foot and pull up the pant leg. Then I got to pretend to slide off the chair/bench/table as the nurse put the back up into a sitting position :-)  

Step 1. Bare the skin 

Step 2. Remember what it looks like:  the planet Saturn 

This is not what it looks like:  It's Betadine, a/k/a  "cleaner".  

It's clean, now it gets numbed. 

The Prep table.  

Next up, a cape for the foot. I am SuperFoot. Able to jump high and do round kicks in order to save humanity from the evils of athlete's foot.  

Super Foot

Checking numbness: 

The tweezers were used next, to pinch my skin and make sure I couldn't feel anything.  It was weird having the foot feel like the gums/jaw when the dentist is doing big work. 

The Super Foot's cape is still only tinged by Betadine!   

The green instrument is what will take a "core sample" of my Saturn friend. It basically cuts into the skin and then the doc can push on the instrument to release the sample into the solution to preserve it for transporting to the lab. 

After taking the core sample, the doc put gauze in between the toes to help stop the bleeding.When it had calmed, she put Silver Nitrate on to seal/heal the wound. Doc didn't want to put a suture in, thinking that would be worse when I moved my foot in activities. 

I held the toe space open for this since the pinky toe would otherwise wipe off the Silver Nitrate and obviously it wouldn't work well if that occurred. 

All done!   Super Foot has now gone into hiding (hopefully for good). 

While I did take in a pair of open toe sandals to wear, if needed, I was able to put on my sock and get my foot into the boots just fine.  The toes have always been a little loose in this pair of boots, which is why I chose them for today's journey. 

I had only a couple stops to make after the doc's office, two stores and the gas station. Now I'm home, it's about two hours later and my foot is starting to throb.  Glad I vacuumed before the appointment today!

The instructions are to take it easy, don't submerge in a bath or a swimming pool (not sure why anyone would go to the second with an open wound), and I specifically asked about yoga tomorrow morning and was told it'd be okay. 

First run of the year. . . and yes it's the 23rd. . . and look at your body!

I had my first run of 2015.  Sad to say that it's taken 23 days into the month/year to get it done.

January 1st I was horribly cold. Went to the gym with hubby on the 2nd (I wipe down machines before and after my use with antibiotic wipes that the gym has on hand for same purpose). I was feeling a little slugglish, but kind of threw it off.  I did weights and a bit of the rowing machine. Saturday the 3rd I woke up with a horrid chest congestion and cough, which moved to the sinuses and basically kept me down for two weeks. I missed the first week of yoga due to the crud.

Then the 'ta da' feeling and I was feeling awesome last week. Woke up the 11th and I could breath and not cough every couple of minutes.  I got out of the house, ran some errands and then Friday I hacked again and thought. oh no.  I made an appointment with my doc for this past Monday, the 19th, and glad I did. I had to see her for that and something else we discovered Friday night.   Doc fixed me up with an RX for a sinus infection!  . . . and I go back on Monday for something unrelated to that.  Tuesday, the second day of the RX I was feeling SOOOO much better. It was like awakening for the first time in weeks. It was like knowing recovery after a gluten attack. It was like sunshine, and daisies, and butterflies. (cue the trumpets and harps).

Like a big sunny, happy, sunflower. 

I didn't abstain from exercise *completely*.  Well, most of the time I did when I was sick, but I had shoveled snow several days (even though The Mike told me not to).  I did walk a few times on the treadmill.

Needless to say, I was wanting to get back to running, but decided I should still be taking it a little easy and easing into the program again.  Yoga two days last week in class, two days this week in class and I thought "I think I'm ready".  I was actually planning to run yesterday after yoga, but then we did the pigeon pose and I've been told not to run after doing those hip opening/flexing positions.

Today I got dudded up in my purple pancreatic cancer fighting clothes. Purple Athleta pants, purple (ahen) Lululemon tank and got on the treadmill during The Price Is Right.  I walked during the show and ran during the commercials.  Sounds simple. Sounds easy. WHOA.  Hard stuff and I wasn't even running fast.  Definitely going to take time to come back from the days off of the feet and hopefully it won't take too long.

All red in the face after just a few running moments.

But wait, there's another snafu.  Remember where I said I talked to the doctor about another issue?  Friday night hanging on the couch, under the electric blanket-- which I got out on 1/1 when I was freezing and now think, "why don't I have this out every winter?!"--- when my left pinkie toe started itching my ring finger toe.  It felt like a hang nail type of thing. Couldn't shake the feeling and finally hoisted the foot up, and inspected and found the "chocolate" mark below.

ARGH.  What is THAT??!!!

No, not a smudge of sock lint. No, not anything that's coming off, and EEEK, it looks like Saturn, sort of round at the top and bottom and spreading around the middle like rings.  Saturday I had lunch with a friend and she said, 'it's probably fungus. There are lots of toe fungi".  Um, good? But I had no clue where I'd have picked up something like that.

Showed it to the doctor (you know, they just *adore* when patients go in for one thing and ask them about a gazillion other things while we're there and their appointment goes from five minutes to thirty minutes!), and she said, "it's not fungus, come back next week and I'll remove it for you and send it out (to see what it is).

Here's the thing I just learned at the beginning of 2014 thanks to a Facebook page for my #1 illness, Colitis, that thanks to the medication I'm on, the infusion I get every eight weeks, that I am more likely to get weird skin things.  Hmmm, in the eight years I'd been on Remicade, my GI never mentioned that to me. Sure, my PCP always says to stay out of the sun, stay out of tanning beds, not to sunburn, but hey, she's a PCP, she's *suppose* to say those things. I was shocked when I saw this tidbit of information on the CCFA FB page.  I asked my GI's office about it and was given the 'eh, it's just something to be aware of'.  I guess it's just something that is abstract in people's minds? not really important to tell a person?  Kind of like the whole part they didn't tell me that I'd be on Remicade for life.   I was on another immunosuppressant before that time and none of the three GIs I'd seen for that had ever mentioned anything about skin issues.  I mean, I *know* I'm at increased risk for colon cancer, hence the colonoscopies every two years, but another thing I didn't even know about!  

From the CCFA page of 2014

"Today is  #WorldCancerDay.  [explanation of UC and Crohns]. . . Also, the rate of non-melanoma skin cancer and melanoma are increased compared to the general population among patients with IBD taking immunosuppressive medications such as azathiprine [Imuran]. 6-mercaptopurine [Purinethol], methotrexate, and anti-TNF agents [Remicade, Enbrel, Humira,Cimzia, and Simponi] . . . ."  

What?  I've been on Imuran from 1994 to 2006 and Remicade since 2006.

I will be putting this out of my mind until I know what is what and if there's anything to worry about, but it's going to be hard.

Anyway, I ran today. Maybe I'll run tomorrow. I'll run Sunday and Monday and then who knows? And I'll be excited by any progress I make on running. . . running more than  a two minute commercial break will be exciting!  One short day I'll be running  more and walking less and then I'll be all running again.

I'm not sure how the biopsy will go or how my toe/foot will feel and I doubt I'll be able to wear my Injinji toe socks for a while.

. . . must remember to wear a slip on sandal on Monday. ..in Iowa. .. in January.  Maybe I'll go buy those weird socks that have the four toes together and then a separate toe slot for the big toe. . .then I can wear those with my toe catching Born sandals?  lol.  That'll look swell.


Since pancreatic cancer is close to my heart, and the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the USA, I'll leave you with this. If you know anyone who is fighting pancreatic cancer, have them contact PALS at the below information. Patient And Liaison Services can help those who are fighting cancer by being there for them and talking about treatment options.

January is National Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trials Awareness Month!

Contact pals@pancan.org or at 877-272-6226 for information and free trial searches. You may also visit: http://bit.ly/1xhpOEO

‪#‎NPCCTAM‬ ‪#‎PancreaticCancerAwareness‬ ‪#‎ClinicalTrials‬