RE: any of you ever get surgery?
oh yeah - had the in grown toe nail surgery twice - got the fungus to go with it, so extenuating circumstances that just made it not heal right. so now about every 4 months I get this 1/2 inch long spur that grows into the side of my toe. Once I can start feeling it on the bottom of my toe, I cut it away from the rest of the nail, grab a pair of pliers from the RC kit and pull it out. And yes, pain is a purely perception thing - that's why the drugs work so well. Anxiety / fear are always a bigger problem than the actual pain of the event. If it don't kill ya (and it's not back surgery - doesn't seem to ever work perfectly), you'll probably end up stronger for it.