1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Hallux Valgus (Bunions)

6 weeks post op and swelling is still bad is this normal

Posted , 7 users are following.

gilly96144
gilly96144

hi there, is there anyone out there experienceing this... i am six weeks post op, after double bunion removal and hammer toe correction, had stitches out after two weeks and pin out today, but my feet are still very swollen... in the morning they are fine but as soon as i put weight on them one is ok but the one with the hammer toe, blows up like a ballon feels tight and gives me hot stinging pains... then i get like a nerve sting pain in my big toe that comes and goes... this seems to be worse when the swelling is bad... i see my surgeon today who seemed abit surprised they were still so swollen at six weeks... but did not seem concerned... but i am and just want to know if anyone else has experienced long term swelling with pain, thanks x

0 likes, 16 replies

16 Replies

Next
  • laureen76280
    laureen76280 gilly96144

    Posted

    Hi Gilly

    so sorry to hear that you are suffering with swelling.

    Two weeks after my op I have had my stitches removed and alls well.

    i still have dressings and horrible shoes for the next four weeks.

    the nurses were amazed that I had no swelling, and asked had I had my feet up regularly. Yes I have but in between I am managing to do most household jobs including all the cooking

    admittedly I only had double bunion op, and I have screws  in the bones, but I am mobile without crutches, but use them if I go out for short spells

    i find after half a hour a need to sit and put my feet up higher than my groin.

    this I,m told prevents swelling. Are you doing this?

    I am really pleased so far with the results.

     

    • gilly96144
      gilly96144 laureen76280

      Posted

      hi lauren, thanks for replying, i am resting as much as i can but maybe i need to keep them up abit more lol.... i think what makes it more difficult at times i am not an indoor person... love getting in my car and getting out, but i will have to be patient, you sound like you are doing well hun and long may it continue, i am 55 and i know its not old old but not having any surgery for over 25 years.. and that was only to have my children (sections) i feel the older you are the longer the healing process inside and out, but hey the suns shining so i am going to get myself sorted today.... sod the swelling !!!! ohoooo !!! and relax with my laptop and book, i wish you continued good progress laureen and heres to happier feet x
  • nicola22779
    nicola22779 gilly96144

    Posted

    Hi Gilly. Although my foot is doing very well now (nearly five months), at the six week point (single scarf and akin osteotomies), I could only wear trainers without the insole and sandals with adjustable straps. Now I can wear all the shoes I could wear before but it takes time! I haven't seen your swelling but I believe what I experienced was normal. The swelling lessens gradually over weeks and months. I have heard it can take a year for the full healing process to be done!
    • gilly96144
      gilly96144 nicola22779

      Posted

      hi nicola, thank you so much for taking the time to reply x i was at the hospital yesterday having my pins out, and the doctor did say that too i would be looking at least a year ..... i guess being impatient does not help with me.... god i will never take walking for granted again !!! wishing you well x
    • nicola22779
      nicola22779 gilly96144

      Posted

      No problem! I know what you mean about not taking walking for granted. I recommend swimming and cycling as exercise in the meantime!
  • rae54970
    rae54970 gilly96144

    Posted

    Hi gilly as you know I had my stitches out only yesterday. I was lucky enough to have to surgeon in the room with me. My hubby asked him about swelling and shoes. He said you must ice as much as you can, also raising the legs and try not to over do things. The first two weeks I was pottering around the house up and down the stairs etc but when we spoke to dr yesterday he wants lots of rest and elevation and icing and I can go as far as the front door! Obviously I'll be sitting in garden in the glorious weather but I'm not prepared to hinder my healing process when I've come this far! As boring as the days are. Even though we feel great out feet are still healing. We can run the risk of putting shoes on and walking about and the tissues are still soft and may push toes over. I'm just not prepared to risk it as I've come this far. This was all my surgeons words by the way I thought spoilt sport lol x but I know he's right x good luck
    • gilly96144
      gilly96144 rae54970

      Posted

      hi rae.... thank you for reply x your surgeon sounds abit more imformative than mine.... after the pins came out yesterday it was time for the surgeon to have a look, he was pleased but somewhat surprised with the swelling... even though my both feet are like cereal boxes... he said yes you can now drive, put shoes on if you can, and start living again.... ohoooo it all sounded so easy... i would do all that quite easily if my feet were not like balloons and a bit more pain free lol. i guess it will all right itself just takes time...you sound like your doing so well...  but as you say dont over do it as you have come this far on a long journey, and without our feet.... well we know what that brings lol, good luck to you too x
  • smab97
    smab97 gilly96144

    Posted

    Hi Gilly I was absolutely the same swelling is a very normal issue I am 52 so similar age and I am like you very active and never still, but resting eith foot up now will really pay off later. Hope you get some comfort from resting and ice treatment. x
  • caroline38772
    caroline38772 gilly96144

    Posted

    Gilly

    my feet at 6 weeks resembled large fat sauages, with fat chipolatas for toes.over the coming weeks you will see a gradual difference, also one foot behaving better than the other, the swelling will go down, but, as you need your feet to move around, it won't dissapper that fast.

    At 7 months I can only wear trainers, walking books, walking sandals and other cr@ppy shoes that don't look that good with summery dresses, due to the  swelling i still have, but looking back at the pictorial record i have of my feet - they are getting much better.

    This journey is a very slow one, and tests your patience no end.

    So stay in the Garden, with your feet up - and don't forget the G+T

    Caroline

    x

    • gilly96144
      gilly96144 caroline38772

      Posted

      hi caroline x ohoooo thank you so much for replying...reading your message is so what i am going through and has made me cry.... for the first time someone has really discribed my feet...even when you said one goot behaving better than the other.. omg !! that is whats happening here... i have not had a good day today with the hot weather and hot feet... its been quite trying... and i was honestly beginning to think had something gone wrong because reading most peoples experiences their pain and swelling seemed so short lived, i read today that one lady only after two weeks was walking up and down stairs, i could just about lip to the toilet at that stage, your words have so lifted my mood caroline it has taken a real horrible feeling out of my stomach, i know i may sound abit dramatic but not not being that mobile has really made me feel down... my feet are everything you had, i think the only thing i could get on at moment would be cereal boxes !!! i am taking a screen shot of your message and i am sure i will read again and again... i did have a pin out yesterday for hammer toe and the doctor did say good recovery can take up to a year... i dont mind that i just want this swelling to go down, caroline can i ask you did you have like a numb feeling on the top of your big toe, i did have it on the two but my good foot seems to of sorted itself out but the foot where i had the pin in the second toe remains the worse swollen, sore and a numbness that is very sensitive, did you have anything like this.... thank you so much, you have really helped me this evening... i do wish you well too x
    • caroline38772
      caroline38772 gilly96144

      Posted

      Gilly

      ive gone through the oh sh1t phase, why the hell did I do that in the first 3 months. It was a bit of a shock when the nurse who took the stitches out at 13 days asked why did I have both done at once, as did the physio whe I saw her at 9 weeks. From all accounts, you don't have a lapidus on both feet at the same time. Thankfully no pins, so I was saved that nasty.

      my right foot was numb along the top of the foot and over the released hammer toes for ages, the feeling returns so slowly that you can't just remember when it stopped being numb.

      i still hurt, but I've gone from walking up as an 90 yr old to a semi normal 60 year old (although I am 4 and three quarters mentally). 

      The pain is getting better, but it hasn't gone and nor do I have perfectly straight feet.

      i returned to work after 7/8 weeks, which took my mind off things, at 12 weeks I signed up to a beginners pole dancing class, just because I'm a determined old biddy that thought s0d it, I don't care if it hurts I'm doing something for me. Supprisingly it's helped, a lot, learning to point your feet,b trying turns etc also keeping up with the young ones and not moaning about 'I can't do that' as the instructor says, not yet, but you will.

      i started off wearing old Velcro walking sandals, along with flight compression socks for the first 3 weeks (week 6 onwards) then uggs - moved into sketchers about the 12 weeks and am still wearing them.

      you'll start to feel better (mentally) when you can start to walk properly again. I did  5 miles from home, around bristol centre,the docks and back through clifton 4 months on, I was slow, steady and ate a lot of ice cream on the way around. And I was knackered, feet throbbed, but the leg muscles just screamed!

      i've also found that my feet don't swell as much if I walk home at nights, which is just under 4 miles, but the physio says I'm an abnormality - my husband agrees with her.

      so what happens now? 

      Its a done deal, so enjoy your time off, ignore the feet and do something for yourself. Looking back on the 7/8 weeks I had at home, it disappeared in a flash whilst going through it, every week was a year long.

      take pictures, so you can see how far you are improving over the days/weeks, it does help.

      keep in there, we're all here to help 

      and I think the 6-9 week period is probably the hardest to go through.

      caroline

      xxx

  • alicepostop
    alicepostop gilly96144

    Posted

    Hi Gilly,

    The hot weather has definitely increased my swelling! i was in my Skechers shoes Sunday and Monday for the first time, but yesterday and today, NO WAY!

    Just keep telling yourself, 'this too shall pass.'   :-)

    • smab97
      smab97 alicepostop

      Posted

      My foot is ultra tight and swollen and really uncomfortable today, good to know it's not just me, was having all sorts of bad ideas that the fracture wasn't healing but feel we are all in the same boat with heat. Thanks
  • Ajandtia
    Ajandtia gilly96144

    Posted

    Hi gilly, first of all, great to hear that your pin removal was relatively painfee.

    I had the same op as you on 20 May. I can relate to most of the miseries you have mentioned. I consider myself a relatively strong person, but lately have also got extremely depressed.

    I am in Canberra, Australia and it's winter here with overnight sub zero temperatures. Despite the cold, my feet still swell and I consider it a "great night" if I manage to "pretty much" sleep through without being kept awake with swollen, painful feet.

    Like you, the feet pain is just one aspect of the recovery that I had to deal with, I have body aches from sitting, lying down in awkard positions for the past 6 weeks (whilst trying to get my feet comfortable).

    So, you weren't being dramatic. Keep plodding along.

    • gilly96144
      gilly96144 Ajandtia

      Posted

      hi ajandtia....thank you for reply x i dont know what i would do without this site and the lovely people that take time out to help... everything you have said is my life at present with the sleepless nights... yes me too if i can manage to get a good full sleep hours it does help, but last night i was alseep but it was like i bent my toe forward in my sleep and the pain woke me up i have been awake since three in the morning, at the moment we are having a heat wave here in england... i am not a sun person even in good health so it does not make me feel any better at all... with swollen feet... i am so glad you mentioned the body pain god that is what i have been experiencing too... i seem to ache all over, back, stomach, headache... even my fingers have like a stabbing pain runnning through them and when i wake up in the morning they are slightly swollen... so all in all i am a swollen ball at the moment !!! and also its trying to find that comfortable position to sit in, i dont know how many times i arrange my pillows during the night.... my partner has been sleeping in our spare bedroom bless him... because my sleep pattern is so mixed up and he has to work early next morning so we are like passing ships in the night at the moment... but he is a good guy and totally understands, i had my feet in a bowl of cool water yesterday due to the heat here, its going to be another hot day and i can feel my feet getting tighter, but i have taken onboard all what you have said... and i will keep plodding lol !!! heres to happy feet for us both ajandtia, and many thanks for your much appreciated words of help x
Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.