Thjis is a serious question. Does someone know the answer?

Question

My grandmother has diabetes. Her foot became infected. She had to have her little toe removed. Now it is 6 weeks later and the wound has not completely healed. It still drains(although not nearly as much as in the first three weeks after the surgery).(And of course, the doctor still wraps it in gauze once every week) She was on antibiotics for the first two weeks after the surgery, and now she still has to take pain medication. Does anyone know how long it would take for the wound to heal and for her pain to go away? (She is 68 years old)

Answer 1

There is really no way of knowing for sure. Foot wounds in diabetics are notoriously hard to heal and the associated neuropathy (pain) is also difficult to control. Your grandmother can help her situation by keeping her blood sugar as close to normal as possible. The higher and longer blood sugar is out of control, the harder it is to heal.

If your family has the money and/or insurance, you might want to talk to the doctor about hyperbaric oxygen treatments. They can really speed up the healing process.

Answer 2

I am not a doctor, but do have Type 2 diabetes. The answer lies in the very first sentence of your question: "my grandmother has diabetes". Wounds do not heal easily or very fast for those with diabetes. Your grandmother's wound is going to take a much longer time to heal than someone without diabetes. Also, her age plays a part in the healing process as well. It sounds as if her doctor is going about treating her in the correct way. No one should be on antibiotics for a long period of time, which is why she was on it for about 10 days.

On the other hand my brother, who is NOT diabetic has an open wound on both feet that gives him the blues as far as pain is concerned. Sometimes it gets so bad, he cannot drive. He's been tested any number of times for diabetes and he's not. The problem is poor circulation in his foot. He's been told that amputation is the only "cure". In the meantime, he's using a medical cream that costs $500 (yes, five hundred) a tube. For the pain, he has to take Tylenol 4, which he has to get by prescription only.

Answer 3

Diabetic wounds take much longer to heal due to poor circulation. If blood sugars are high this can prolong the healing process because the blood is not able to circulate as well. There are new medical process called hyperbaric healing which is used for patients who have trouble with wound healing such as diabetics. It works by the pt sitting in a compressed air environment that is 2-3 times atmospheric pressure. The idea behind this is to expose the wound to massive amounts of oxygen which speeds up the healing process. The pt may have to undergo several treatments depending on the severity. I am not sure on the price but this is definitly a VERY good therapy.

Answer 4

I haven't gone though this one yet. I know the healing will be slow and the pain I can't imagine. Your Grand Mother is a strong Lady, She is being strong for you. I know they wrap the the wound and put some kind of Anti-Biotic Ointment on it. This in it's self is painful. I had a bad toe and I would soak it in Ebson salt then put Oxygen Peroxide on it then let Air Dry to the touch and try to keep the air coming to it as much as possible and still try and protect it against air borne bacteria. I would then add the antibiotic lotion used for burns on it lightly and it did heal. See if there is any toes rubbing against each other, this seems to start it all with toe infections or a toe nail growing side ways into another toe. Tell you Grand Mother she is doing good. Keep her hopes up and be watchful. Life seems to wander off on it's own when so much pain is in flicked. Stick with program your Doctors prescribed for your grand mother, and also tell the Doctors if something isn't working. I'm sure they can find something that will, or ease the pain.

Answer 5

Everybody deals with things differently, and losing a parent is much different than losing a child so it's probably hard for you to fully understand. This isn't something that she'll be able to just get over in a month's time. My fiance's sister died twenty years ago and my MIL isn't quite over it to this day. She can't even mention her name without tearing up. And it was TWENTY YEARS ago. Give her some time, and if after a few months she doesn't seem to be making any improvement, kindly suggest she talk to a therapist or seek some type of help. You can't force her to move on or stop grieving, and if she chooses to fall into a depression and go on about her life in a constant state of grief then that's her choice.

Answer 6

Dr Evil is correct, you must watch the wound very carefully otherwise you grandmother could end up with a leg amputation. I have seen it happen many times in my nursing career.
The doctor should be considering another course of antibiotics if its still draining. I hope the dressing is being changed more often that once a week, it needs doing at least once a day possibly twice ifs it still wet. Get your grandmother seen by a diabetic nurse and get her an appointment for a dietitian. She needs to have tight control of her blood sugars to give the wound the best chance to heal;

Answer 7

Good health comes from a BALANCE in our DIET, REST AND EXERCISE.
There are many things that can be done to overcome type II diabetes, and improve the life of a Type I diabetic.
Natural remedies are quite effective, and include:
Cinnamon
Bitter Melon
Gymnema Sylvestre
Nopal cactus
American Ginseng
Fenugreek
Chromium picolinate

If you are serious about not being falling victim to diabetes needlessly, get a copy of "One Son's Quest for the Cause and Cure of Diabetes", ISBN 7890766313. It's a life saver, and the best money you'll ever spend on the subject.
It helped me, and my brother, who was dying. We lead mostly normal lives now. Best of luck.

Answer 8

My grandfather had ulcers on his legs for many months. I learned how to do reflexology (or Shiatsu) on his ankles and feet. I did this a few times a week for a couple of months to get the circulation up and "bring good energy" to the afflicted area. After all the time he spent on medicines and doctor visits about these ulcers, only a few weeks of reflexology treatments, in his home, and the ulcers actually healed and disappeared.

You can find reflexology books at a book store or library. Not everything works for everyone, but I feel its worth a try and certainly can't hurt.

Answer 9

For a diabetic that is the last thing a doctor should recomend is an amputation because it take forever to heal that is if it does talk to another doctor get a secound appinion from a different doctor a specialist

Answer 10

Everyone has different pain tolerance and wound healing times.
At one point, I had a nurse come to my home daily to change a dressing on a wound.,It took ages to heal and I ended up having surgery to repair the wound since my body could not do it.
Don't rush Granny.