Bunion surgery - much more painful than I ever imagined

Hey folks you've all gone quiet on this forum. Is everyone doing ok? I seemed to get into another one but they're later surgery than most of you bunion bloggers on here. I'm 8 weeks 4 days on now.. Managed quite a lot of walking on our mini break tho the trainers do rub my scar sites after a while, I wore the new sandals today and that was better less friction!  I had a swim last night and ouch I forgot and pushed off from the side with one of my feet. It seems the bending/flexing is what still causes pain, apart from friction on the scars.

I'm seeing my old podiatrist tomorrow since she knows my feet well so I value her opinion.  Physio Wednesday.  Those of you who have had nhs physio, how many sessions did you get given? Was it helpful? 

I hope you are all busy getting on with life which is why no one has blogged in a while, that's good news if it's so :-) 👣👣VJ

Hi All

I'm still here but trying to get back to normal (whatever that is!). I'm back to work and drove myself here today for the first time without too much trouble (about 18 miles including some heavy traffic). At 8 weeks and 6 days I'm still finding that my feet get tired and ache if I do too much and that my left foot (which had most work) is swelling up much more than the right. The pains over the tops of my feet have almost gone now which is progress. I can get into some of my shoes but I'm mostly wearing a pair of Clarks black trainers which support my feet well although they get very hot in them. Or I don't wear shoes at all which gets me funny looks at work! I am eying up lots of nice sandals but I'm still scared of people standing on my toes so the sandals are staying unbought at present!!

It's nice to hear from others who are a bit ahead of us- what can we expect next??

Hello i am new to the forum im so pleased to find this thread has i have had little information or anyone to ask anyway i had a scarf +mtp joint osteotomy on my right foot on the the first week in may. I am now day 8 post op i have been really lucky i have hardly had to take any pain relief i had the usual swelling to the foot on the first couple of days can i ask i came straight home and upstairs i have been in bed since then as i was told to elevate my foot first few days it has been easier to stay up here as my husband had to go back to work so been pretty much on my own .Should i be wearing my sandal everytime i get up ?the hospital showed me how to walk on it gave me crutches and off i went i dont feel as if i have had enough info on what to do .Also did anyone have trouble with the bandage coming off ?im in danger of losing mine and im not having my first appointment til another week ive just tried cellotaping it lol not really working i know i have asked a lot questions im just so pleased to find people who have been in the same boat look forward to hearing from you .

Are you icing your foot? I find that helps with the swelling, which is all I'm experiencing. I had bunionectomy, hammertoe straightened and bunionette removed. I highly recommend staying flat and elevating foot above heart. Did you call the doctor regarding the blood surge. That just doesn't right. Good luck!!!

Hi hope im posting in the right place here thankyou all for the lovely welcome i am glad i did the right thing and stayed in bed this long then i got up today put my sandal on  and managed to get downstairs and go outside for a few minutes i didnt over it   went back upstairs to elevate it again really surprised it didnt swell up too much it was all going so well but disaster struck i decided to hop just round the corner to the toilet with my crutches lost my balance and landed not once but twice on my foot trying to stop myself falling right over it hurt a little i got right back in bed and elevated it quite high up the pain soon subsided been fine since ive been icing i just hope i havent done any damage i could kick myself right now for being so silly !.My first appointment with the consultant isnt til next weds so bit of a wait to find out as to the bandage my husband took it off and then redid it being careful to leave all the original gauze and blue roll where it was its now done up with sellotape needs must lol i will look into phoning my gp tomorrow to see if i could maybe get a nurse out to redo it as i cant leave the house yet.Bet youre thinking we have a right one here and you have im such a klutz i know im not the only one whos tripped some have fell right over be in touch soon .

Wow, this discussion has been a godsend! THANK YOU, everyone, for contributing here. I'm wishing y'all a warm hello from Texas.

Today was my 7th day, including the day of surgery (last Wednesday, today is Tuesday). As nearly everyone said, the first three days were SO painful. Then I tapered pain meds over the weekend - which kept the level the same, really, as the pain seemed to go down bit by bit. As of yesterday, I took only 3/4 of 1 pain pill - hydrocodone + acetaminophen - yes, vicodin - (as compared to the first couple of days when I was taking the max -- 6 pills a day. Every 4 hours because at hour 3 of every cycle, I felt like I couldn't take it). I felt like maybe I was turning the magical corner I kept hearing the doc talk about.

This morning I went in for my 1st post op visit. Next to me in the waiting room was a woman who I recognized from the surgery center. She was being wheeled out to the car as I was being taken into surgery. She was in the waiting room, walking freely and at a normal pace in her air cast boot. My jaw dropped. "No crutches??" I asked. "No," she replied, "although I did go back to using them last night since I probably overdid it by being out all day." Though she was friendly, polite, cheerful, and about 20 years my senior, I immediately hated her. :-)

She then told me this foot was healing more slowly than her other foot, which was done 5 weeks prior to this one. (Hate - okay, jealousy - growing...) She left to see the doctor. I told my husband when he gave me a sad look that perhaps her surgery was less drastic. 

My turn came up, and I hobbled in on my crutches. He removed the surgical dressing, took out the stitches (OUCH! wasn't expecting that to hurt! I've had stitches removed before and never felt a thing), and then started to rub off pieces of gauze that were stuck to my forefoot and ankle areas. Cue the shooting pains across the front of my big toe and along the underside of my small toes. As I cringed in pain, he remarked that perhaps the dressings were a bit tight for me and aggravated a nerve. Great. 

He told me I am a bit behind his normal recovery schedule but not to worry. He taped strips over the incision, and I strapped the boot back on. Then he noticed as we walked to the x-ray room that I put no part of my boot on the ground. I told him I couldn't because of the pain. At this point (about 2 minutes with my leg vertical), my foot felt like it would EXPLODE, much worse than I had felt before to this point. The swelling of blood to the foot was so intense. We went to the machine, and as I stood on it, I started to feel very woozy. I have never fainted in my life, but I think I was pretty close. We rushed through the x-rays, buzz, buzz, he said they look exactly right, and he rushed to get me a rolling chair when I told him I was really getting dizzy. Even straightening the foot by pulling up the forefoot was SO painful across the top of my foot, I can still feel the prickles of pain just thinking about it now. (Oh, by the way, the previous patient's before and after x-rays were on the screen when we entered the room, and her bunions looked more severe than mine. Jealousy really gelling...)

He rolled me gently over to the exam room and said we need to have a talk. He demonstrated the toe up and down stretches and told me I need to be pretty aggressive in this next week with my recovery. He said, "In 2-3 days time, you need to be able to put your full weight down on the boot." My mouth was slack-jawed. "By next week, you need to be able to walk without crutches." Mouth still slack-jawed. He told me that every time I use my crutches, I need to consciously place my heel down on every step to desensitize it. I can see that. He recommended cold water baths, ice, elevation, rubbing the whole foot...and as he demonstrated the rubbing, I almost started crying right there. I no longer think I have a decent pain threshold.

Hearing all of your stories made me feel like I was not an anomaly, a freakishly slow bunion surgery patient. When I came home, my foot exploding and turning strange shades of purple every time the leg went vertical for more than 10 seconds, I went straight to the couch, elevated it, iced it, rested, then started to cry. And then I found you. This past week, I found myself thinking constantly how I didn't know how I could have survived this past week without my husband, who has patiently and tirelessly attended my every need. And now I don't know how I could have survived today's disappointment without finding your forum.

I have attempted the toe movement stretches 3 times today. I tried rubbing the foot, doing the ankle rotations and foot and toe flex / stretch movements...and now I feel pretty defeated again thinking about how hard and painful it all was. I am back on pain pills but only taking 1/4 pill every few hours - which is about 1/4 to 1/2 the max dose.

I guess I am writing for a few reasons:

1. This forum helped me know I am not alone, and I want anyone else going through what I am going through to know s/he is not alone.

2. I am hoping to hear - though you have pretty much already affirmed it with the previous posts - that I am not alone.

3. I also hope to hear someone who had a very similar experience did end up turning a miraculous corner so I don't feel so hopeless.

Oh, one more thing. The doctor and the receptionist were talking (and I overheard) that the other woman, after her first surgery, called to ask 3 days afterward if she could play tennis. Jealousy? No, hate is possibly what I was feeling after all.