hello Peter..

I am very sorry to hear you have got this miserable disease.

I am sure you have been doing a lot of reading here on the list. The main
thing which you cannot deny, is that in some way or manner it is directly
related to, or influenced by something in cigarettes. there are not enough
of us disease recipients to warrant the government doing a full blown study
to find out exactly what it is that causes it. BUT, the point being, that I
think everyone here on this list agrees, those that quit will tell you that
it is a slow process but your pain and even some serious tissue damage can
disappear and or heal to an acceptable degree almost completely..

I think as in all things the disease treats everyone a bit differently.
Some one just wrote today how they are completely pain free now, after
quitting smoking for about a year. It may be that he was diagnosed earlier
then some of us that have quit smoking but still suffer from pain.

BUT:::: the difference between my pain level when I was smoking and when I
am not is over all HUGE HUGE HUGE.. I know if I would have not quit smoking,
I would not have been able to bare the pain enough so that I would leave my
foot on my leg. I would have had to cut it off. About 6 weeks after quitting
smoking, THE DAY BEFORE I was going in to the hospital to start the surgical
process. First to remove the toe and see if that would begin to heal, if
not, then a Transmetatarsal amputation,, (behind all of the toes about the
middle of the pad) if that didn't start healing within 7 to 10 days, then a
mid-calf amputatioin was the next step. From there on , it is seriously all
down hill. There are some that sadly have amputations done and continue to
smoke. They spend their lives addicted to huge amounts of opiates, marking
time until they have to lose the next appendage.. Because besides the flesh
just rotting off of your body, the pain is so unbearable that amputation is
the only way to get rid of the pain, unless you take so much oxycontin or
morphine that it makes you unconscious.

Believe me and all of us here; Quit smoking and you will DEFINITELY get
better. It really is said most appropriately when one says. You know the
absolute best treatment is the cheapest one.. Quit Smoking.. On top of
saving 4 bucks a pack, twice a day, it works better then anything, and I do
mean anything or any procedure(up to the point of no return of course:"which
by the way amputations are done too soon in some cases! If someone seriously
does quit smoking, do not cut something off unless you have waited as long
as humanly possible and medically possible before having an amputation
done;) If I would have rushed it, who knows how much of my leg would have
been gone, and I would have never known that the swelling would have
reversed and that I ended up not even needing my big toe amputated which had
gang Greene on the entire front tip and top of it. It took about 5 weeks
after quitting for the severe swelling to miraculously disappear.. So
anyone, everyone, give it some time. I know how hard it is believe me. I
didn't sleep for about 9 weeks wreathing in pain day in and day out. The
only thing I got that even resembled sleep was to pass out because of sleep
depravation. What we know as sleep was for the most part impossible. Even
with bunches of oxycontin and Ambien, the most sleep I could get was about 2
1/2 hours. And even then I would wake up and yell every once in a while..And
with drug induced unconsciousness, is that sleep? well...

So my friend. Quit quit quit quit and stay quit. This is the one thing that
you can be proud to say, I am a quitter..

As far as herbal stuff. Anything that is proven good for circulation is to
be considered. Healthy diet, exercise. You may want to pick up the guitar
and start learning to play after the major pain has gone. It is the best
therapy you could do for your fingers and circulation in them.. And fun too.

Hope I have helped in some way...It is a life changing disease to many of
us. Some are very fortunate to have the normal life completely back.
Unfortunately for me, the days of hiking to the top of Mt. Shasta, or Mt.
Lassen, are over.

I still have very poor circulation in my feet. And daily I deal with pain.
Some days are better than others. But whenever I stand on them for more than
a few minutes or walk briskly, the claudication pain is there and can get
down right PAINFUL. numb and tingly and achy and thankfully not that much
any more but nerve spasms.. As I sit and type, my feet hurt. Just a part of
life. But if I would have kept smoking, I know my left leg would be gone up
to my calf. and my right foot would probably be missing a few toes by now
and possibly have to make an appointment to have my foot cut off. And I
remember before figuring out what was wrong with my feet, that my fingers
started having these familiear sensations of pain, and they had started
getting cold very easily. It is in my fingers too but fortunately for these
professional guitar playing fingers, the disease attacked my feet first. All
my limbs are still here. All this I avoided because I quit smoking.. I don't
think I will ever lose a toe or a foot or a finger or a hand as long as I
remain a quitter.. I am 48 right now, and believe the next 40 years will be
smoke free and I will die with all of my body parts still in the casket with
me.



Barry



May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be the Reason for all good things..






----- Original Message -----
From: "pj2_16_51" <pj2_16_51@...>
To: <beurgersdisease@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 8:57 AM
Subject: **SPAM: [Beurgers Disease] this crap


>
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> hi all,
> i just got diagnosed with this crap. mostly in the hands not much in
> the feet. the three main fingers of each hand. my question is now
> that i stopped smoking will it get any better? or will it always stay
> screwed up,(numb, very tender, sore.) anyone know of any herbs or
> alternative meds that help?
> thanks, peter
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> Yahoo! Groups Links
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