My Toe (This Is So TMI)

I have a fucked up toe.  I'm not really sure why it is, but it is.  I've had a problem with ingrown toenails for about 10 years or so.  I'm not sure what triggered it but let me tell you it hurts like a bitch.

Ok, so, I get ingrown toenails, mostly on my left big toe.  Although, I've had them on my right foot also.  Bilateral ingrown toenails.  Fabulous.  Luckily, the left one is the only toe that seems to be a repeat offender. 

I'm so accustomed to them that I know precisely when the nail starts to penetrate the skin.  At first, it's barely more than a slight pinch, but I know what's coming.  Pain.  I've been to the Drs several times.  But only after I can't stand the pain any longer and only after I have been unsuccessful at performing surgery on it myself.  Why do I wait so long, you ask?  Because of the terrible lidocaine injections.  They hurt sooooo bad, and normally, they give 3-4 in and around my toe.  Painful.

SURGERY:  This is gross, I know...so I take a bath and let my toe soak for a bit.  It makes it easy to dig nail shards out if the surrounding area is soft.  And basically I get cuticle scissors and dig it out.  Let me reiterate that this is not an easy task.  Simply because it's really deep and usually it's inflamed and already hurts really badly.  I just really, really hate those lidocaine injections.  I have a routine and I pretty much know how to remove them myself now pretty easily.  But if I ever become incapacitated to the point where I can't lift my leg up and bend over while simultaneously digging, I'm screwed.

So, I've had my entire toenail removed a few times.  Disgusting, I didn't have a toenail for 6 months.  God dammit.  So, I just painted the skin to match my other nails.  Later, when I went to the podiatrist, he said that it's unnecessary to remove the whole toenail and should just remove the side where it's digging in my skin.  What a concept.  Dumb ass doctors.  Now, randomly, my right toenail will break off as a result of ripping off the nail. So, randomly I'll have half my nail peel off.  Shit. So gross.  Thankfully, it's growing back now.

Is there a solution to this?  Yes.  The podiatrist told me there's a procedure they can do which basically removes part of the nail root (where the nail originates and grows), but this includes plenty of lidocaine and stitches.  But, I'm a baby and I'm too scared to do it.

God, this is sooo TMI and disgusting.

P.S.  PP may remember when we met up at Disneyland--we were in line for 56 years for Nightmare Before Christmas.  My toe was hurting so bad.  It hurt terribly, like throbbing, horrible, infected nastiness. 

If I've learned anything, it's that I have a high pain tolerance.