Congratulations! What footwear did you drive in? I am afraid to drive since my foot still swells quite considerably. And the site of my bunion incision is still not completely healed.
Simona, I used the open toe post surgical shoe to drive although it has absolutely no support. Strangely (but happy) today is day 2 of a more flexible and much less swollen foot. I was afraid that yesterday was just an anomaly. Hoping this is the beginning of less pain and more freedom. I'm going to drive again today and actually meet some friends. I'll wear the open toe shoe to drive then then change in to the heavy Frankenstein looking black boot to walk in. I'm also headed to Nordstroms to buy something a little more presentable but comfortable. Probably will need some sort of tennis shoe in a larger size although I hear Ugg boots work. Way too warm for Southern California but I'll wear anything that is lighter than the Frankenstein boot! Wishing you (and everyone) a speedy recovery!!!
CeeGeeBee, I just noticed that you had your surgery just 5 weeks ago. And both feet done concurrently? Please be careful, since it takes a minimum of 6 weeks for bones to heal and possibly more when we move around or are older bones. Although we certainly don't consider ourselves old :). My friend is a former ballet dancer and has had a lot of foot surgeries. When she had her right foot done ten years ago she had a 7 year old at home and since she was a single working parent too was more active than Dr wanted and it took her many extra months to heal. The Dr assures me that swelling is NOT our enemy but we need to heed it an ice, elevate an compression too. I was given a compression sock with open toe at my Drs appt last week and it actually feels really good. I just use an ace bandage with light compression to sleep in. I cannot even imagine having both feet done at the same time but lucky you! You'll be done when they are healed. I will do my left foot next year. Fortunately it'll be an easier surgery since big toe bunion only. Hang in there, this is much more trying than I anticipated. And quite frankly the last 2 weeks have been the most trying since I expected to be further along at 6 weeks. But now at 8 weeks I feel as though there is light. I'm still very limited, but I'm hoping by 12-15 weeks things will be much better. Less swelling and mobility to drive helps my mental state immensely! I'm definitely not cycling or walking around much, but every day seems to get better....although still painfully slow! Take care! Don't do too much...it'll pay off in a quicker recovery. We all heal differently but we will get there!
THANK YOU! SAME TO YOU
tlw, you're doing great! I can hear the optimism in your post ... 8 weeks and you're feeling more positive. Good for you.... driving; that has to help mentally as it gives back some independence. I can't wait to be 8 weeks, or better still 4 months. Thanks for your advice about taking care and going easy on my feet and I'll definitely heed it. I don't want to risk damaging the bones and having to go back to square 1.
hi i had bunion surgery a few years ago , unfortunetly y the swelling last a good few months and the more your on your feet the more it swells , i have just t had my other foot re done with shortening of toe as well . swelling is just as bad , just takes time .
Hi Simona, This is your bunion sister :) from California checking in to see how you're doing. We made it to 3 months!!! PT has been helping me with toe flexibility especially with my hammertoe. Still swelling up but starting to squeeze into some shoes although still not terribly comfortable. But for the most part doing well. Curious to hear how your recovery is going?
Hi!
Glad to hear you are better. As for me, although my surgeon did not approve of physical therapy, my insurance agreed to pay for 8 sessions. I still have 3 sessions left. Although my big toe is still rather stiff, I am most concerned with the second toe (former hammer toe) which is still not moving. It seems to have like a ridge in the middle, at the joint and this prevents it from bending. Also, I am a bit concerned about the next toe, 3rd, which is now a little bent towards the second since the surgeon pinned this second, lower than the others, to prevent it,he said from becoming a hammer again. So, this situation prevents me from walking easily. I have been in a frenzy of buying shoes, boots to accommodate my new foot situation. Most of these have to be returned because my foot does not like them. I have recently bought a pair of wide Vionic boots which my foot really likes. I hope both of us improve by leaps and bounds.
Simona, It's definitely a journey and long recovery. I'm finding that my corrected hammertoe is my biggest issue. My Dr said it was fused at the joint closest to the tip and there is some sort of filler in it which i did not realize until my PT told me. I wonder if that is the same with you too as it prevents flexibility. :( Sadly the hammer toe correction is the biggest issue for me..besides swelling directly in the top middle of foot near the base of my former hammertoe. Hopefully we are past the worst of it. We will get there! :)
Take care!
I am glad you enlighted me in the hammertoe issue. My physical therapists (There are two which work with me, in turns) have no clue and are mostly ineffectual. It is quite possible, I would say even probable that I have the same thing going on with this second toe. My surgeon was gung ho about fusion in general but the discussion was about the big toe. Hearing all kinds of stories from people who had bunion surgery, I refused fusion but it is possible that the surgeon fused the second toe (my hammertoe) . And that creates problems. I feel super depressed these days. I had not mentioned that in 2012 I had breast cancer surgery (my mother died of it at age 68). A few months ago, following some tests, docs from Dana Farber discovered some suspicious areas elsewhere in my body and so they prescribed some medicine which I have been taking since October. This has some side effects which are unpleasant but tolerable. And the tests have improved. But now, they want to add a new med and this has extremely serious side effects that might be worse than my current symptoms. So, I am deeply troubled by all this. Plus, I have practically no support system. As you see, my foot problems are not the only problems. In fact, my foot surgeon tried to argue me out of the bunion and hammertoe surgery saying that since I have bigger problems, I should forget about the foot. But, I wanted to be able to walk easily and comfortably. And I cannot say that I do that yet. As for the cancer, the docs are not even totally sure but they want to treat super aggressively not caring that the treatment itself is super debilitating and even life threatening. It seems that I am just a number, a case, not a real person.
Glad and happy to hear that you are doing well so I am now back in my shoes but what has helped me immensely is something called Dr stock so basically it’s a compression sock where your toes are hanging out although it can be quite uncomfortable sometimes it really does help with the swelling although you are not supposed to wear it to bed but you can wear it during the day and it also helps to get your foot in your sneakers found it extremely helpful.glad and happy to hear that you are doing well so I am now back in my shoes but what has helped me immensely is something called Dr sock so basically it’s a compression sock where your toes are hanging out although it can be quite uncomfortable sometimes it really does help with the swelling although you are not supposed to wear it to bed but you can wear it during the day and it also helps to get your foot in your sneakers found it extremely helpful. Went to the hospital yesterday had an x-ray everything looks fine but I have said to me that where they actually cut the bone in half in two places it’s going to take probably six months for that to heal properly and the reason why my foot hurts me at night apparently is the nerve endings are growing back to knitting together this is quite painful so once you have the feeling back in your foot that’s when the nerve endings have grown back but this is my 2nd foot now and to be honest no 2 feet of the same and that is absolutely true because my other foot was nothing like this
Thank you for the compression sock suggestion. I actually ordered some on amazon last week at my Dr's suggestion. I'll be eager to see if that helps fit into a shoe more comfortably. :) Also thank you for the info re this being your second foot surgery. Mine will hopefully be next year however I'm not looking forward to a repeat. Wishing you a successful and speedy healing!
Simona,
I'm so sorry to hear of your health issue. I had breast cancer in 2018 so I can certainly understand your concerns. In fact after reading your note I was reminded that I had not heard from my Dr re my most recent mammogram screening which concerns me.
I really hope you and your Dr husband are certain that the cancer prognosis and treatment is reasonable for you. I feel it's necessary to do a great deal of due diligence regarding these matters. Wishing your the very best with your foot and cancer issue. Sending you healing thoughts and prayers. Please stay in touch. I feel as though I've gotten to know you since we've been healing our similar foot surgeries together. Take care, tjwillert@gmail.com.
Thank you. You take care too!
I have been following many of the discussions on here. It is so helpful to know what others are going through. I had lapidus bunionectomy and mallet toe correction on my second toe. I am 6 weeks out from surgery which was on December 19th, 2019. Sounds like my post op care is a bit different. I have been in a non weight bearing cast for the first 6 weeks and now am in a walking boot for 6 weeks. The first few days walking with the boot was easy but something changed two days ago and I have experienced significant pain in the arch. To the point where I cannot bear any weight on it. Today it is a tad better and I am able to put a little bit of weight on it. Not sure what caused the change. It sounds like having swelling, significant numbness or lack of sensation in the toes, and lots of peeling skin is normal? I have been discouraged and refer to my foot as Franken-foot. It is looking a bit better but boy has it gone through some ugly stages. I am thankful to be able to read what others have experienced. I am in Northern California, 59 years old and put off this surgery for over 40 years. I was blessed with a woman approaching me in a store checkout line when I was on my scooter. She asked if I had bunion repair. Long story short, she had the same doctor, the same procedure, showed me post surgery photos of her foot (which looked as bad as mine!) and then proceeded to take her shoe off and show me her foot 1 year post surgery. She encouraged me greatly. She said in one year I will be so thankful for this surgery. I appreciate all of you sharing your stories and answering questions. It sure helps me and others!
Hello Wiggipi from NorCal, Welcome to Simona's discussion thread. Its been most helpful to hear of others recovery for me as well. We all will heal differently but I think 3 months post op (PO) is a date to look forward to. I'm guessing that your arch discomfort is from a newly aligned foot. My foot PO is so different than pre surgery and my PT said it takes awhile for the muscles to adjust to a new foot. Wishing you a speedy recovery. This is definitely a long process to which it cannot be sped up unfortunately. I have days that my foot is painless and little swelling then others that are painful. Listen to your Dr. give your foot plenty of rest, elevation, ice and hopefully all of us will have a great 1 year PO experience.
Hi guys.. I am so glad I found this discussion.. Tomorrow will be 4 weeks I had hammer toe surgery on my right foot. I had three toes worked on.. Stitches and pins are out and the dr said I am healing well. I still have some swelling but am able to walk. Unfortunately I can not wear a shoe yet . I am scheduled for my other foot next week for one hammer toe. One concern I have is my second toe from the big toe which was my hammer toe now is raised higher than my other toes . It does not lay flat on the floor. I addressed my concern with my doctor and he said it is very common after hammertoe surgery and he advised me to exercise and stretch my toes to avoid scar tissue and bring down the toe. I have been obsessing about this now. Has anyone else experienced this?
Ahhh, hammertoes! They seem to be quite tricky. You say that the pins are out after just 4 weeks. Well, I had just one hammertoe, the second toe on my right foot. The pin was out after 6 weeks. Initially, after 2 weeks, the nurse practitioner got scared when she saw that my toe was Lower than the others. She wanted to pull the pin out then. But the doctor said that he intentionally pinned it lower to prevent it from curling and becoming a hammer again. He said that by walking, the toe will get into alignment. Unfortunately, this is not so. I've had my surgery on Oct 31 and the toe is still low and even worse, it is quite stiff, unbending, despite physical therapy and exercising it. So, because of this walking is still not easy since the toe is like a dead stick that does not hit the ground properly. Moreover, because of it lower position, the toe next to it which used to be fine is now lifting up and curling a bit towards the second toe. This has been very discouraging.My surgeon is the best in my state and among the ten best in the nation. But toes are hard to fix, I now realize. And it is possible, even probable that I will have to learn to accept that perfection does not exist and walking easily and properly is harder than one thinks. This having been said, maybe your situation is still fixable. Good luck!
Thank you tlw! It is good to read the experience of others. I am looking forward to things being better down the road a bit. Hopefully that 3 month period will be an encouraging time. Right now everything is swollen, barely moves and is mostly numb. I thought I was prepared for this recovery time but apparently I wasn't! LOL. I am so tired of not doing my usual routine. Although I am able to drive again and get to part of my job. It will be awhile before I am out walking the dogs in our orchard! Thank you for your response!
I am so pleased to find this forum. I am four weeks out tomorrow from bunion and hammertoe surgery, and the pain level has increased over the last week or 10 days instead of improving. I am having stabbing, burning, drawing pain which I gather, from reading other posts, must be nerve related. Simply knowing that this is not necessarily abnormal is comforting. I called in last week to the doctor's office and talked to the nurse who seemed to think all was well, but as the week has gone on, I've become increasingly discouraged over the level of pain. My perception is that the pain is more related to the correction of the hammertoe than the bunion. If this is all in due course, then so be it, and I will take my meds and get through it. I had pretty much quit taking anything for pain except Tylenol, but I am back on some because the stabbing is intense.
Thanks for just listening, and I will continuing reading and hope to hear other experiences. The day this pin comes out maybe be a hard day, but I will be so happy to get it out. Can I hope the pain will lessen then, or is that just wishful thinking. I am non-weight bearing and will be for two more weeks. Sounds like finding shoes will be the next big issue. I think I vastly underestimated what it is going to take the walk again.