Bunion op in December

hi sarah

they gave me a chair because I had both feet done and shuffling along was taking me forever!.. I learnt very quickly that crawling around was much easier than figuring out how to walk with the shoes!

nearly there!

Hi again, Sue, hi Sarah, and other forum friends.

I am roughly at the same place as Sue, Three weeks post op, starting to get around really well on my cool 'moon shoe' given to me last week when the bandages came off. The nurse trimmed a few loose stitches and the rest will dissolve. She gave me a few breatheable plasters to tide me over during Christmas, mostly to keep socks from snagging on the wound. it's pretty well healed but jagged and ugly! I know it will settle down. I have been able to shower normally and pat the area dry, and didn't put a plaster on at all today. I just wore my soft bed socks (Just as you both mentioned! ) inside out to keep fluff from catching on the scar.

Sarah, when I was discharged from hospital, because my notes said 'weight bearing' the nurses seemed to think I could walk out of the unit and into the car park unaided, but I was scared to put weight on the foot and asked for crutches. A pair was brought down from physio and off I went. They were very nice about it. I just think the nurses deal with lots of different procedures on the day ward and were not sure what I needed. So don't be afraid to just ASK!

No porter or wheelchair was offered so I hobbled on the crutches down a few long corridors and to the front entrance where my partner had pulled the car up ready

I really needed the crutches at home just to get to the loo at night - it saved me from having to put the little Velcro walking shoe on all the time.

The other good use for the crutches came after the check up at two weeks, when I tried to hand the crutches back. The nurses in the ortho clinic said I should continue to use them as I became accustomed to the new 'moon shoe' which has a thick, strange shaped heel, and YES< it does make me walk like a pirate!

feeling great and not taking any painkillers, just have a bit of swelling and odd twinges now. i am almost definitely going back to work next week at the end of four weeks;. but i won't be driving until six weeks, so they will need to send out a workmate to fetch me, and the rest of my colleagues had better not laugh at my odd shoes. :-)

happy new year, everyone

. it="" does="" make="" me="" walk="" like="" a="" pirate!="" feeling="" great="" and="" not="" taking="" any="" painkillers,="" just="" have="" a="" bit="" of="" swelling="" and="" odd="" twinges="" now.="" i="" am="" almost="" definitely="" going="" back="" to="" work="" next="" week="" at="" the="" end="" of="" four="" weeks;.="" but="" i="" won't="" be="" driving="" until="" six="" weeks,="" so="" they="" will="" need="" to="" send="" out="" a="" workmate="" to="" fetch="" me,="" and="" the="" rest="" of="" my="" colleagues="" had="" better="" not="" laugh="" at="" my="" odd="" shoes.="" :-)="" happy="" new="" year,="" everyone="" .="">

feeling great and not taking any painkillers, just have a bit of swelling and odd twinges now. i am almost definitely going back to work next week at the end of four weeks;. but i won't be driving until six weeks, so they will need to send out a workmate to fetch me, and the rest of my colleagues had better not laugh at my odd shoes. :-)

happy new year, everyone

. >

Hi Sarah...I had my surgery 9 Dec. My toe was broken in two places and realigned with a dissolvable screw.I was non weight bearing for the first week and now and place in some type of non weight bearing boot. Week 2 my sutures were removed and now I am in a walking bout for the next 6 weeks using the crutches if I'm going to walk long distances. I also have to sleep in a boot at night to protect the toe. I'm off the pain meds and take motrin if needed. I still have pain in my big toe nothing major and it gets really cold...not sure why. Overall not to bad. I have already been giving physical therapy exercises for my toe and I hope to be totally pain free by my next post op visit which is 21 jan

Three weeks post op, and a GIANT step backwards. I went out shopping on crutches today, walked an hour or so thru the market. Had a rest and then cooked dinner. Although i felt no pain or tiredness in my leg or foot until now - my foot is very swollen and Aching.

This may not be such a bad thing - just a wake-up call. I am supposed to go back to work middle of next week, and I need to know before I tell my GP and my employers whether I CAN tolerate a full day without complications like this.

Is anyone else getting around a lot 3-4 weeks post op? Do you have similar symptoms? I know some of you have had more serious procedures - mine was a straightforward Scarf Osteotomy and a titanium pin to hold the big toe straight, I was allowed to bear weight from the very beginning, and only had a couple evenings when the original bandage felt tight from slight swelling. I guess we all heal differently but I figured I would breeze back to normality!

I'm going into week four and I went out today with crutches for an hour or so walking through various stores. it was tiring but I didn't get any swelling only an achy feeling in my foot and my big toe became cold and took a few hours to warm up. I'm sure it would have been worse without the crutches

Hi all im just waiting till I have my foot down not long now till 3rd feb just want it over and done with I know its going to be painfull but think im ready is there anything else I need to know about bunion op?

Thanks

Sarah

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

Make sure you take meds as ordered and stay ahead of the pain

Happy New Year everyone.

Only 2 more weeks before I see my foot again when the fibreglass cast gets replaced with another one for 4 more weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing my foot! I too have been getting around outside of my house a lot more even though it's only been 18 days since my op, but after the last outing last weekend, my elbows, palms and good knee are getting a hammering and are quite painful at times. I guess I'm not as young as I used to be. I've decided to get myself a knee scooter to give the rest of my body a break. I phoned them yesterday, unfortunately they are not open until tomorrow. The scooter has 3 wheels in the front which means you could do a 360 degree turn in a small space (ideal in houses and flats) and has a knee rest therefore easier weight distribution. I will update you on how I get on.

Anyway, haste la vista for now (I've been learning Spanish from my sofa)!

Veronica

Happy new Year everyone! I've discovered a really good painkiller post bunion op - champagne with a little bit of brandy in the bottom of the glass! Had a great New Year's Eve...

Veronica, I'd be interested to know how you get on with your knee walker. I sent mine back , our house is just too small for it. And I found it very hard on my bad leg, plus I kept snagging my good ankle with the wheel. I was disappointed, had thought it would be the answer... I hope you do better than me.

Hope everyone continues making good progress. My stitches are starting to fall away, and it's a very neat scar, about 5 inches long. But SO tender! And so purple! It feels like a knife being drawn along it if I touch it. I was wondering if scar serum is any good, Boots do their own one. I don't fancy Palmers, it has shark oil in it. Yuk!

Does anyone know anything about how to minimise scars.

Hi Alice, you asked about getting around, I've started to cook and do a bit of housework again, and it isn't swelling. It doesn't like me sitting for long without it being up, though, it tingles and throbs if I am working at the computer or eating at the table.

I was told the main danger is dislodging the pins, but that shouldn't happen if you are wearing your boot and not putting pressure on the front of the foot.

I hope it gets better for you soon.

Hello everyone, Happy New Year. Managed to get myself locked out of the website so was unable to post the details during my first post-op days! Anyway - my NHS op in Glasgow went very well and surgeon said he was very pleased. A nice touch was that someone put my glasses back on so that I felt like me when I woke up. An unexpected post-op experience was the lack of saliva due to the drugs used during anaesthesia, toast tasted great but felt like eating felt! Pain management has been very good, nerve block during op and Co-codomol and Diclofenac in recovery because I could feel the op site. Its now day 6 and the Co-codomol is finished and I am alternating paracetamol with the Diclofenac. I have done very little except eat, drink and be merry watching lots of tv with my leg on a cushion. No crutches, just the velcro shoe and I've been able to get up and down the stairs each day and shuffle to the kitchen and (downstairs) toilet. Lucky to have hubby at home looking after me (children are grown and away). Now waiting to see what is under this bandage when stitches come out on the 9th. I was basically terrified but resigned beforehand but so far so good!

I had my bunion surgery on December 27 and so far pain is manageable, but the crutches are killing me!

Hi Polly, glad to hear how well you've done. You will feel better with your stitches out, they get a bit tight. I'm wondering if there is anything you can put on them to help lessen the scarring, it is a pretty long wound.

Hi Therese, have you tried thinking of them as simply for balance, rather than leaning on them? That's what I did after some advice from a friend, and it made them more bearable. Hope it improves soon.

I think the problem with the crutches is that they were fitted with a shoe and an orthotic insert so they're too big around the house barefoot. I'm putting my weight on my hands so my palms really hurt. What hurts even more though is my right breast area. I think I strained something trying to pull myself up some snowy steps in a killer wind chill this a.m.