The three middle toes on my right foot had been curling down for years. It used to only happen occasionally, then more often. I found a temporary fix by taking half of a .5mg alprazolam pill used for anxiety daily. However, that fix wasn't working anymore.
My toes were curled down all the time, even when I slept. They had gotten to the point where I couldn't straighten them out anymore. I had developed callouses on the tips of those three toes. The nails were thick and being pushed upwards from the constant pressure. Some days, walking was extremely painful.
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| My toes back in 2020 |
Then I happened to watch a video replay of a Zoom program from the great folks at PMDAlliance.org about botulinum toxin injections uses in Movement Disorders. Here's a link to the video on YouTube:
Botulinum Toxin Injections for Movement Disorders
Dystonia! That was what was causing my toes to curl down, and there was a potential fix. Great! Now all I had to do was get an appointment with a Movement Disorder Specialist who I would trust doing this type of injection. There was only one name on my list; Scott Sherman MD.
I had NOT been his patient for years (because of insurance issues) but I reached out to him via email and he said make an appointment thru central scheduling. I got an appointment at the end of July 2022. I was hoping to get an injection on that first visit, but unfortunately for me, he had to get insurance authorization first.
I had a tentative appointment for the first injection two days after I got back from the trip to Florida. The first injection worked well, and I have gone back for subsequent injections in December 2022, March, June and August 2023. The callouses on the tips of my toes are slowly disappearing but the thick nails still look awful. And even with the "Botox" injections, those three toes are still not straight like they are on my left foot.
When I told him what I was going to call this story, he burst out laughing!
Telling him that, while he was doing the injection was probably not the smartest thing I have ever done. But making your Movement Disorder Specialist laugh out loud, and catching it on video, was worth it!
