Ouch! When in Doubt - Go to the Doctor!

I broke my pinky toe. It’s a long story involving me; the phone, pacing back and forth, and a door jam. Anyway, I didn’t think I’d broken it, but since I already had an appointment scheduled with my podiatrist for the next day, I had it checked out. He took one look, x-rayed, and told me I’d broken my pinky toe joint. Then put my foot in a soft cast that I had to wear for 48 hours, followed by compression wrapping and wearing an ugly soft boot.

He prescribed RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), told me to stay off it for the next 4 days, and stated that I had to wear the ugly looking soft boot for the next 8 days and then to alternate with my sneakers after that — especially when I was away. No long walks (hard not to do when you’re at a conference), no heavy cardio, and wrote me an RX for an anti-inflammatory, which I cleared with my endocrinologist before filling. I wasn’t thrilled and my toe hurt like hell.

How to care for an injury with diabetes

I was going away the following week, and then going away again the week after I came home from my first trip. My timing sucked.

I RICED for four days straight, compression wrapped, wore my ugly boot, iced every day when I was away. I’ve had multiple follow-ups to check on how the bone is healing (joint is officially healed), inflammation (I’m officially still inflamed), and getting cold laser therapy once a week.
Since I can’t do my normal cardio, I’m doing chair isometrics veggies, calcium and vitamin C intake (which are supposed to be good for the bones), counting my carbs and eating lots of spicy foods which are rumored to combat inflammation. Also, I love spicy foods.

Bottom line: We have diabetes, so if you hurt yourself, get checked out by a doctor. It might be nothing or it might be something and it’s better to be safe than sorry.