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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect better from the NHS. Ingrown toenail saga

63 replies

Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 17:06

Morning all. Posted on chat, about my son's ingrown toenail and the long wait, for a podiatry appointment. Well we finally got it done 3 weeks ago, and went this morning for a check up, with the hope that he would have been given the all clear. Sadly not...As the podiatrist was checking his toe, she asked her assistant to look who had done the initial procedure, because apparently they've messed up, and left a big chunk of the ingrown nail behind, and he has to have the whole thing done again. Along with the second toe, which is also ingrown now. Fuming!! My poor boy. I can't even tell you how awful those anesthetic injections are....AngrySad

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MitziK · 08/02/2019 18:52

Cover all the way over the first joint to where his toe joins the foot. You don't need precision, you need to cover every scrap of where they could possibly inject.

And flip slops/sliders for the way there.

MitziK · 08/02/2019 18:54

(And I do understand your concern is your son - I said that because descriptions of it being worse than childbirth might upset you, to think that he's in more pain that you've had)

Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 18:54

Thank you so much

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Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 18:55

I understand. Thanks again

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ComeMonday · 08/02/2019 19:03

@StrongerThanIThought76 what a ridiculous thing to say. Both of those things are ridiculous but they are unrelated. I guess you never complain about anything ever?

Toffeewhirl · 08/02/2019 19:35

My son refused to go through with the op under local because he'd seen online how painful it was. He was allowed to have it under general anaesthetic, but had to wait for a year. He has ASC and severe anxiety issues, so I'm not sure if this affected the decision. However, it's certainly worth pushing for a referral for an op under general.

Aspenn17 · 08/02/2019 20:28

I had this done just before Christmas, there was a 6 week wait to even be seen on the NHS where I am and I was in such agony I paid £250 to go privately. Not an easy decision as I’m on maternity leave and money is tight but it was unbearable. It’s the best £250 I ever spent, the injections are excruciating but only for a minute and the relief afterwards was instant. Hope it goes ok for him, the numbing cream sounds like a great idea.

Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 20:33

Thanks all. Waiting another year, is not an option. He's been suffering with it for so long. Obviously in the grand scheme of things, its its not a big deal, but he was so elated after the first procedure, because he thought the worse was over, so this set back is massively frustrating

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Kazzyhoward · 08/02/2019 20:40

My DS went through hell before he got his toenail removed. Must have been 7 or 8 appointments with nurses and doctors at the GP surgery over around a year, all the while, the toe getting worse and clearly infected. Got all kinds of "advice", such as buying school ingrown toe nail liquid, bathing in salt water, etc. I finally had enough and insisted they refer him to podiatry (I'd asked a few times before but they always refused and said it's best to be left to cure). GP signed and said "fine, but there'll be a 3 month wait". Got the appointment letter the following week which was for a month after, but I phoned and asked if they had any earlier/cancellation appointments, and they said, yep, how about tomorrow. So went in for the review appointment next day, and the podiatrist booked him in for the day after that as it was so badly infected. Just wish the bloody GP had referred him months earlier - it would have avoided a lot of pain and missed sports/PE which he'd been unable to do for months. The removal went well and he was back fully fit within a couple of weeks.

Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 20:43

I feel you're pain. Ds had 6 courses of antibiotics salt baths, every night. It like the bloody Crimean in our house.....

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gingergiraffe · 08/02/2019 20:58

I had one toe done about three years ago on nhs. Had a few months wait because you cannot have surgery within 6 months of having other surgery and I had my gall bladder removed.

I was petrified about the procedure but honestly, the initial numbing injections stung a little and that was it. I didn’t need any further pain killers and felt no pain afterwards. I understand there is a small chance of needing it done again. It healed well and looks normal. Can’t believe I put up with years of discomfort before getting something done.

Nowadays I don’t think nhs do this procedure or only in special situations so you need to go private and pay around £250.

Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 21:02

Have you read any of the thread?

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Louiselouie0890 · 08/02/2019 21:12

I had one when I was a child. It was horrific. Out of everyone qualified they gave me a terrified child someone that was learning the procedure. She didn't do the injections correct so I had to have more than needed and my toe still moves all on its own as she messed up the procedure. I feel for him.

Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 21:23

So many grim stories...I'm dreading it, especially as he knows what's coming

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ChrisPrattsFace · 08/02/2019 21:29

I’ve had both mine done, through my GP.
Didn’t find it at all painful, although the anxiety and fear before the first toe outweighed anything that actually happened!
I was in, seen and fixed in a fortnight! Maybe my GP isn’t as bad as I thought it was!

redyawn · 08/02/2019 21:32

The NHS is collapsing.

I was in A&E yesterday. It was chaos. Doctors moaning about the workload, 5 hour wait to see doctor, multiple vomiting patients left in packed waiting room with everyone else, old people falling out of wheelchairs....

My GP is chaos. Their phone system has been broken for weeks, they lose test results and forget to call you when you have a telephone appointment.

Hospital outpatient clinics are chaos. Doctor tells you to come back in 6 weeks, the admin tells you the earliest appointment is in 3 months. Ten days before the appointment, you get a letter to say your appointment has been delayed by a fortnight. Then you get another letter to say your appointment has been delayed to the day of your uncle's funeral, so you ask for a different date but that is another 2 months away.....

Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 21:35

Just to reiterate, he's had the procedure before, but they messed it up and left a lot of nail behind. He found the injections horrific, and is terrified. I know we just have to put on our big girl pants and get on with it, but it's bloody frustrating

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DaveCoachesgavemetheclap · 08/02/2019 21:37

I was in A&E yesterday. It was chaos. Doctors moaning about the workload, 5 hour wait to see doctor, multiple vomiting patients left in packed waiting room with everyone else, old people falling out of wheelchairs...

Sounds about right. I took my mum into our local A&E last Sunday evening at 8pm following a bad fall. We were in A&E for 18 hours before she was admitted. The doctors & nurses were run ragged and mum is now on a temporary ward which is due to close in 8 weeks.

Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 21:39

It's all very depressing. The NHS was always the shining example of success for Britain, and now, it's been run into the ground.
Interestingly, the general consensus from friends, when I told them of the mistake, that had been made, was , 'are you taking legal advice '? As if that was the answer... I know let's dig the NHS further into the ground 😔

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DownWentTheFlag · 08/02/2019 21:42

You can buy EMLA cream over the counter for about £2 a tube. The tubes are very small so use a whole tube per toe, and then cover with a large dressing. Leave for at least an hour.

Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 21:43

Thanks. Ive just ordered some.

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SpanielEars070 · 08/02/2019 21:45

I'd ask for the numbing cream to administer before the injection. My grandchildren have got coeliac disease and have blood tests done often, DD collects a tube of cream from our GP beforehand along with a clear dressing and puts it on an hour before they go in. Works like a charm.

My youngest DD had one OP - it took around 11 months to get sorted on the NHS and she had similar in that it wasn't all removed the first time. I wished we'd paid the £180 quoted by a private chiropodist in hindsight............

Hope it all gets sorted.

Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 21:50

We'll have to apply the cream, before we go to the clinic as it takes a couple of hours to be really effective

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SparklyLeprechaun · 08/02/2019 21:54

Interesting that so many people found the injections painful. I was in a lot of pain beforehand, my toenail was a mess, but the injection hardly registered at all, no worse than a normal jab. Maybe it won't be that bad for your ds the second time.

Original poster
Whatthefunk · 08/02/2019 21:56

Hopefully. I'm trying to go down the path of knowledge is power, with Ds. That and tbe promise of a gargantuan McDonald's, when iits over

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