Bunion and hammertoe surgery in January
Posted , 13 users are following.
Hi Everyone. I'm brand new to the forum. I am having surgery in January and reading stuff here is terrifying me! I really need the surgery as my toes cross over making it almost impossible to find shoes or walk very far. Does anyone have any advice or encouragement for me? suggestions on how to get through it or how I manage when my husband has no idea how to be a nurse, clean house, take care of the animals and feed us all.? Thanks!
0 likes, 35 replies
karen69847 arlene83746
Posted
Hi, I am 1 week in after my surgery on left foot. It hadn't been as bad as I thought but you have to be super organised to make your life as easy as possible.
Things I wish I had known in advance-
-build up you upper body strength, arms and shoulders, there is a lot of heaving you body from sofa, loo, bed and up onto your crutches, likewise with leg not being operated on.
-get a backpack and put in things you need with you whilst moving around, painkillers, phone, iPad, books, your lunch, a drink bottle, pen and paper etc....
-get a mug flask, one you carry in your back pack so you can make a cup of tea and carry back to the sofa, I'm in my own all day so this was invaluable
-buy a cheap plastic chair to sit on when bathing, I got a £7 one from ikea and couldn't cope without it
- buy a medical plastic bag from a company called Limbo to pull over your foot when bathing. I bought mine from amazon, it's the single best thing I've bought.
- buy some bed socks a size larger than you normally wear, my feet get cold, esp as I couldn't put weight on my foot with duvets, blankets etc at first.
-I kept a sheet with times I'd taken my painkillers so as to not overdo it.
-make up some bags of ice in advance, I've also used the ice blocks that you use in cool bags
-wrap some spongy material around you crutches handles, your hands hurt after a couple of days and I started to get blisters. I used an old yoga mat and gaffer tape.
- have some snacks handy
- have lots of cushions and pillows, you will need them
I could go on forever.....
arlene83746 karen69847
Posted
HI Karen,
Thanks for the reply! I'm beginning to collect things for my 'convalenence' and your help jogging my memory is greatly appreciated. I have crutches, a chair for the bath tub, backpack is good idea, i have a plastic bag that covers my whole leg but a foot one would be more convenient. Bed socks? will my husbands athletic do? a medicine sheet is a good idea especially when things are so foggy under medication. I worry about the pain because both Oxycodone and Hydrocodone work for about 24 hours then make me extremely anxious and unable to sleep. Yeah, I know weird, huh? I can eiither be in pain or sleep and I probably wonn't be able to sleep thru the pain either. (long sigh) I know we will have to stock up on ice packs and such. I need to make a check list! Again, thanks, so much for your help. I'll be more than happy to send you Reiki healing if you would like.
karen69847 arlene83746
Posted
Hi Arlene, my hospital prescribed co-codamol and ibuprofen, plus an aspirin a day to help thin your blood and ward off DVT.
they worked fine, the first 2 days were the most painful (but nothing I couldn't cope with) and then as long as I took them regularly I was fine.
I'm on day 10 since the op and for the first time Today i felt I didn't need any painkillers, so delighted as feel I've turned a corner.
Karen
arlene83746 karen69847
Posted
I've never heard of co-codamol so I looked it up. It's basically parametasol = acetomenifen in American English and codine. Codine has the same effect on me, it keeps me awake and anxious. Ibuprofen can be combined since it's different from acetomenifen. That makes sense. It sounds as if you are recovering well and that's encouraging. keep up the good work, my friend!
cassandbailey08 arlene83746
Posted
The nurse told me about tylonel arthritis it's over the counter if I remember correctly it's 650 milligrams Walmart sells a generic version worked great for me!
goanna57 arlene83746
Posted
Hi Arlene
I'm also having four hammer toes straightened on December 6 plus a bunionette operation and was told that I will have pins put into the toes keeping them straight which will be removed, probably a fortnight after the operation. Also you will need to wear a surgical boot 24/7 protecting your foot as you won't be able to put any pressure on it for six weeks. Once before I had a bunionectomy and tried putting pressure on my foot without the boot which was extremely painful causing me to nearly fall over, so please take care of yourself and keep the boot on protecting your foot until it starts healing being six weeks later.
I'm also nervous having this operation, much more than the bunionectomy but need to be brave knowing all will be fine. Please don't forget to keep using your crutches that will support you fairly well. Good luck!
arlene83746 goanna57
Posted
Thanks for your reply. Four toes wow! No matter what, there's always someone who has it worse! The key to recovery seems to be staying off the foot! One of my worries now is getting to the bathroom and back and how in the heck to I wipe? Sorry TMI I'm not a small woman and don't know how well I will do on one foot! LOL In any case, I'll be thinking of you on Dec 5th. My kitten goes in for surgery that day too to be spayed. I'll gladly send you Reiki healing if you'd like. Thanks again, for reaching out!
goanna57 arlene83746
Posted
Arlene, you need to use crutches getting to the bathroom. If you were living in Sydney Au, I would have given you my spare pair as the hospital will supply me with another pair after surgery. Hospitals used to want them back but because of hygeine reasons, they prefer giving out new ones all the time, free of charge but maybe that's only to pensioners and others have to buy them but I'm not sure. Please let me know how you're managing. Also you would manage a lot better if you wore a surgical boot protecting your foot as what I will be doing. Have you got a family member or friend who can help you around the house with the chores? Reiki would be great but please don't forget to do it on yourself as well. Good luck with your little fur baby. I love cats and have had many suring my lifetime but sadly they died from kidney failure, diabetes, mammary gland cancer and the Oriental from Pyro Thorax problems after my lousy neighbour through boiling water/coffee/tea, whatever it was over him when he was in her yard. I saw him jumping over the fence back into my yard so I know they're the ones who burnt him. My cats have been moggies, Siamese, Oriental and Cornish Rex. Now they're Furbaby Angels!
arlene83746 goanna57
Posted
It would be a long commute from VA to AU. LOL I'm not too worried about crutches though because I've had knee replacement surgery, a broken foot, and my son also has bad knees and has had several surgeries including partial replacement. Sadly he's only 37! I also have a high toilet seat, bath chair, walker (which won't do me much good for the foot surgery as I can't put weight on it. Thanks for the reply!
pat29966 arlene83746
Posted
Hi....I wish I would have read these posts and done more research before my surgery Oct. 1 2015. From the sounds of it you need the surgery, but ask a lot of questions. I wish I would have asked more questions instead of putting all my faith in the surgeon. He fused my hammertoe I had a pin in it for 6 weeks, it didn't heal properly, now I can't even put a boot on because my toe won't bend. It's as straight as a board and every step is painful. I've just traded one kind of pain for another.
I have even thought of amputating the toe as it's totally useless.
I would stay away from any kind of toe fusion. Check it out before you go under the knife. From the sound of all the posts on here, not too many people are happy with the results of their surgerys. they are only 65% successful.
Good luck
arlene83746 pat29966
Posted
I feel so bad for you that your surgery was so painful. Experiences like yours do make me question having the surgery. However, groups like this one encourage me. I usually heal extremely fast and am hoping the same will be true for this surgery. People haven't said to much about the toe fusion part of the surgery. Perhaps I need to find out exactly what my surgery entails, but I still have a while to decide. Again, I hope things get better for you soon!
pat29966 arlene83746
Posted
I can't say that all of the surgery was a failure, they did the bunion too and I have had no problem with that. But I would encourage you to find out exactly what they plan on doing i.e. fusion, pin, etc
Once it's fused there's no reversing it apparently.
brenda47714 pat29966
Posted
I too am questioning the toe fusion which I will have on 1/5. I'm going next week for my pre-op appointment and I intend to ask LOTS of questions. I will post what I learn.
arlene83746 brenda47714
Posted
Sounds like a good plan! I'll be very interested in learning what you find out.
pat29966 brenda47714
Posted
Can you ask if the fusion is reversable if it doesn't heal properly. I have internal scar tissue that I put a massager on everyday to try and break it down. My surgeon said I can't change it now. According to the physiotherapist it didn't heal properly. She said they don't know as much about feet as they should. So there are a lot of complications after surgeries. I don't mean to scare you. But I was surprised she said that.
brenda47714 pat29966
Posted
I can ask but I don't think it's reversible. My surgeon said my situation depends entirely upon how much arthritis he finds when he goes in. If it's not too bad, he won't have to do a fusion, but he said then I might have to have it later.