Issue with my big toe nail

So, here’s the deal. A few years back, I noticed the nail on my big toe just... stopped growing. It was like it hit a dead end. After a while, it started turning this yellowish color, then eventually went black, and began lifting away from the nail bed. It felt like the whole thing was detached, yet somehow, I couldn't just pull it off if I wanted to.
I decided to head over to my primary care physician. I laid out the whole situation for her, but she didn't even bother asking to actually see the nail! She just brushed it off, telling me it would fall off on its own and a new one would grow in eventually...
Well, months rolled by, and that nail wasn't going anywhere. It stayed detached at the bottom, so I started trying to trim it myself. Once I got about a third of the way through, I realized the nail had thickened so much that the clippers couldn't even cut it anymore. To make matters worse, instead of a real nail growing in from the base, there's just this pinkish, thickened mass taking up space.

I finally made an appointment with a dermatologist, but honestly, he was incredibly vague. He didn't give me a straight answer; he just handed me a prescription for Trident cream and told me to apply it twice a day for about 15 to 20 days before coming back for a follow-up. He didn't even clearly explain what the goal was—he just mumbled something about the nail supposedly "dissolving"... though he did mention that this is pretty common among women because of uncomfortable shoes.

I'm at a total loss here. I'm feeling incredibly impatient and, frankly, pretty anxious. Summer is right around the corner, and I'm looking at a season where I'll have to hide my feet...

I'm genuinely terrified that a normal nail might never grow back again. 😢 😢
Has anyone else dealt with something similar, or does anyone actually know what's going on here? I would truly appreciate any insight you could share.🙏

Trident is basically a triple-threat cream—it packs a corticosteroid, an antibiotic, and an antifungal all in one...
Basically, it hits fungi, bacteria, and inflammation from three different angles...
Since I'm not exactly sure what you're dealing with, Trident might do the trick, or it might not help at all...
If you're mostly worried about how it looks, you could try using a product from School District 3...
Give your nail a good trim first, then apply some whitening treatment...
There are also those antifungal pens you can pick up at a local drugstore, which might be worth a shot...
Unfortunately, nothing works overnight...
And yeah, they aren't exactly cheap either...☕

I’m not sure where you’re coming from on this, but honestly... a solid podiatrist who specializes in medical foot care often knows way more about what's actually going on than a general doctor does. Just speaking from my own experience.

It honestly feels like some podiatrists know way more about dermatology—including everything involving nails—than actual dermatologists do. You might want to look into getting a second opinion...

I’ve been applying this Trident mast twice a day for about a week now. To be honest, I have this nagging feeling that the pinkish area is actually getting a bit larger, but hey, I suppose any change is a change, right? I still need to stick with it for another week or two before I head back to the dermatologist for a follow-up appointment...
If only there were a way to just detach the whole section entirely. Then I could finally know for sure if a normal nail will actually grow back once it's all over with...🙂