Experiences of bunion operation please

florall

I am week 5 post bunion op and my foot is still very swollen.
Upto about day 4 I was in a great deal of pain while resting, paracetamol and strong ibuprofen took the edge off. I took my cast off just before I saw surgeon at week 3 and he didnt even look at it. Just said see you in 6 weeks. Took ortho boot off at week 4 and got on my gardening clogs (the only thing my fat trotter would fit in)so I could drive, got on my converse and suffered for the next few days as I had done too much. Ice packs, arnica cream and elevation when ever possible is the way forward. Now I am driving and still limping - which is alot to do with me being scared to put my foot down flat rather than the pain. I just try to ice and elevate when possible. Does anyone know of any physio excersices that would be beneficiaL? I think that it is the amount of swelling that I have that is stopping me moving more or it could just be me being a WIMP!

skintchick

Just an update. I had my surgery in Dec 3 and have to keep my casts on till Jan 22!

No pain though which has been a nice surprise.

I've been blogging about it at https://www.beyondbunions.blogspot.com if you want to read about my progress.

skintchick

Hello again lovely people. I've noticed a few of you have been looking at my blog (oh the wonders of technology) so I thought I'd just let you know I do update it regularly, and next Tuesday I get my casts off! SO if you are considering this surgery, you can check it out to see the results and find out about the next stage of recovery.

I have to say, it's been a much harder process than I really thought it would be. I had expected to be more mobile by now but if anything it is more painful now than at the start (which isn;t much cos I had no pain to begin with) and I am so fed up of not being able to bath or shower! Six weeks!

Anyway, I thought maybe people might be finding it useful so that's a little update on hee and there's loads on the blog if you want to know more and see pictures.

honey06

hi Skintchick,

fingers crossed for you that everything goes ok when the casts come off
just caught up on your blog, great read and lovely to put a pretty face to your name lol!!

moneylover

good luck, not long now!
how times change. I had a bunion op 30 years ago and had metatarsal shortening too (the long second toe you talked about)
Back then you were on your feet on day two. I had plimsolls with the toes cut out and I had to walk, walk, walk. It was fairly painless and I dont remember much swelling. But, mainly the op was done beccuase of uneven pressure (painful) on bottom of feet and it didnt make a lot of difference to that , I am going to have another go soon as its a different orthopaedic world today! But although bunions need doing again thirty years not bad for them - and all that walking!

Very interested in your surgeons follow up about the flat foot insert as I too read that article - but, as I read the paper copy never saw the follow up. But I would never let a podiatrist opereate on me anyway.
I look at other peoples feet like most people look at faces!

Can you post replies on the blog or not? Not very knowledgeable about them, but well done and keep it up till you get in those delicious high heeels!!

skintchick

You should be able to post comments. Other people have done although not many and mostly spam! lol

Wow it has changed! I have been told to be non-weight bearing for six weeks. It's a bit of a nightmare but I seem to have managed thanks to wonderful family and friends.

I wish I had been allowed toe shortening. I should have asked I guess but my long toe isn;t a medical issue so it would have been cosmetic. I think my big toe has shortened a bit during the suregry so it's going to be even more noticable now.

Yes, I was interested in what Mr Nugent said about the insert thing. I don;t really believe much in the Mail to be honest, but I used to write for them sometimes and I've done a few of those Me and My Op articles, and they are done immediately after the surgery usually so there's no proper follow up. It's a bit of a failing of how it's done, really.

Would you like to do a guest post on your surgery? You can write it and then PM me - either PM it over or I'll give you an email to send it to, and I can post it on there.

Would be cool to have someone else's story on there too

moneylover

yes, sure could do it but am going to be away so not till end of Jan, then I can do it if yu would stilll like me to!
Re toe shortening - what I had was shortening (re angling) of the metarsal which effectively made my toe shorter. It was to try and balance out the weight on the ball of the foot - many people with longer second toes dont take weight under the ball of the big toe - although this metatarsal is meant to take the most - its easy to see the pattern of walking just by looking at this aarea on the bottom of your feet (not that you can right now). It didnt work for me though - what happened is that weight transferred to under 4th metatarsal and now with the bunions back its a double whammy. I have only worn trainers and insoles since my 30s but when I go out in the evenings I shovel my feet into anything and grin and bear the pain as I like to dress up.
I used to think that by mid sixties I wouldnt care about the looks but I do - more if anything as women in their sixties now are totally diff to what they were like when I was at thirty!!

skintchick

moneylover wrote: »

yes, sure could do it but am going to be away so not till end of Jan, then I can do it if yu would stilll like me to!
Re toe shortening - what I had was shortening (re angling) of the metarsal which effectively made my toe shorter. It was to try and balance out the weight on the ball of the foot - many people with longer second toes dont take weight under the ball of the big toe - although this metatarsal is meant to take the most - its easy to see the pattern of walking just by looking at this aarea on the bottom of your feet (not that you can right now). It didnt work for me though - what happened is that weight transferred to under 4th metatarsal and now with the bunions back its a double whammy. I have only worn trainers and insoles since my 30s but when I go out in the evenings I shovel my feet into anything and grin and bear the pain as I like to dress up.
I used to think that by mid sixties I wouldnt care about the looks but I do - more if anything as women in their sixties now are totally diff to what they were like when I was at thirty!!

Oh yeah I reckon I'll still love shoes when I'm older! My grandma loved clothes and shoes till the day she died.

I probably do need to invest in some more comfy shoes though. I have flats but they have no support, so I need something better for my feet.

And I'd love you to write for my blog whenever you are able to get it done - a guest post would be fab. I have nearly 3000 views now and I update every three or four days, and each post gets plenty of views, so I think my readers would be really interested in another person's story. That goes for anyone on here, if you've had bunion surgery then share your story!

If anyone wants to contribute then PM here and I'll give you an email address to contact me on.

skintchick

OVer 4000 views now! Amazing!

I put some videos on yesterday of me walking and doing my exercises, if you're interested. I still get a lot of hits from this thread so I know you're reading!

honey06

hi Skintchick,

just wondering how you are progressing now?

I'm asking as I've just been offered a cancellation date for mine :T--next week!! :eek::eek::eek:
belated panic setting in at the reality of actually having an operation