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About six weeks ago, I laid my motorcycle down on my left leg after losing grip in a gravel filled turn. No broken bones, but plenty of swelling that kept me in bed for about a week. Up until last week, the swelling was slowly going down and the wounds were beginning to heal up properly.
However within the last few days, the swelling re-emerged. And now walking is back down to a crawl and surgery is being recommended for the existing hematoma in the leg if id doesn't swell back down again.
With myself giving some BS to the doctors for why the wounds aren't healing up quick enough(ie,. I fell off of something, crashed my bicycle,. etc), the main doctor was beginning to suspect diabetes for such a slow rate of heal. However, I'm doing what I can to get my weight down and activity up and don't suffer any of the real symptoms that a diabetic does.
I think I'm just too chicken to admit that I've been continuously picking at the scabs every chance I get. Except this time I more than likely caused an infection through one of those wounds I reopened and in the process, got infected by some sort of bacteria at work(dairy farms aren't exactly the cleanest places).
I go back in for another appointment on Monday to check on the swelling. I'm looking at coming clean about it and giving the staff a concrete reason for the slow heal. At the same time though, I'm worried that my admission to being a scab-picker might lead to some other thing. Another round of psychiatric reviews or something to that regard.
I have no real reason for why I pick these scabs like nothing. Maybe they're a body deformity I see and I hate the feel of them being there. Whatever the reason, there's a real possibility that it made the condition of my leg just go from "fine" to "that looks like jungle rot".
Well, lots of help from this thread
Seems like the general consensus is to stop picking and toughen up, as opposed to any info on why people do it. Some would say seek out help/counseling from a pro-source. But, that avenue is all booked out and poorly run out in these parts.
All in all, the leg's healing up fine and the staph infection is pretty much gone.
There is a forum Skin Picking - Forum | SkinPick.com. There is help out there, I'm a picker. It's compulsive in that I can't stand to feel anything on my skin. I don't pick at nothing though as some do until there is something to pick.
Location: IN>Germany>ND>OH>TX>CA>Currently NoVa and a Vacation Lake House in PA
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Sorry you felt you didn't get much help previously. I don't see the comments, so I have to assume they were deleted by a mod. For future reference, and if you chose to continue riding please head to this motto, All The Gear All The Time (ATGATT):
Seems like you are going a little further than the regular picker.
However, not telling your doctor doesn't make any sense. You want him to help you but then you don't disclose that you caused the infections? You rather get diagnosed with diabetes than confessing? They will give you diabetes meds and more doctor visits and you'll still stick with your "I don't know what is going on" story?
Sorry you felt you didn't get much help previously. I don't see the comments, so I have to assume they were deleted by a mod. For future reference, and if you chose to continue riding please head to this motto, All The Gear All The Time (ATGATT):
I'm primarily looking at three wheelers and/or abandoning motorcycles altogether. Unfortunately, the body armor essentially becomes riot gear for when an argument gets of of control with those meat-head/no armor riders. And also the fact that the low IQ gravel truck drivers who don't know how to keep their load from going all over the place are too numerous to shake a boom stick at.
For now, I typically just keep their trucks blocked in at the fuel island when doing my thing.
If anything, this incident has made me more careful in regards to skin conditions, But at the same time, the animosity and hatred towards certain people has gone up.
As a compulsive picker for 30 years , one thing I've learned when dealing with dermal anomalies , is to keep a bottle of alcohol handy. Even when no real anomalies are present , I look for ingrown hairs , and use a surgical kit to remove them. There are areas where I wish I could reach , such as the anterior thighs , but I will deal with them at a later date. It can happen anywhere , I just hate to see dead skin or anything alluding to the possibility of interrupted integument. I have picked at skin to the point fibrous tissue will emerge , which causes a feedback loop. I understand where you are coming from as far as picking , my advice to you would be to keep isopropyl handy.
A friend was prescribed some type of medication that decreased her excessive compulsion to pick at her skin by over 95%. She said that she wished that she had that medication years ago. Perhaps, it will turn out well to be honest with your doctor.
A friend was prescribed some type of medication that decreased her excessive compulsion to pick at her skin by over 95%. She said that she wished that she had that medication years ago. Perhaps, it will turn out well to be honest with your doctor.
Thing with me is that I don't see a doctor regularly. This motorcycle accident was one of those extreme cases that had me seeing one regularly for the past, few months. Honesty never was one of my strong traits. And when it usually is, I'm quite slow, like special ed slow when it comes to opening up about things.
But either way, if I didn't speak up when I did, amputation, followed by depression, followed by offing my self would've been the likely course.
Everything as I've said is healing up now, and I had very few avenues of support to help me along. I feel I did okay. Not grade-A Macho-Man/Rambo style, but good enough to where I didn't totally become a wheelchair bum. And on top of that, I decided to get rid of the motorcycle for some super cheap price. I'll probably end up moving on to more effeminate activities.
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