Bunion surgery - much more painful than I ever imagined

Yeah! Hallelujah! PTL! Be encouraged, All. It DOES get better. This is 10th day after surgery---3 incisions, one foot. I haven't needed any tramadol since 10 lastnight & may get by all day today without any. I can hardly believe the improvement and am so thankful. Just want the rest of you to know it will get better soon.i amstillnot bearing any weight omit or letting it hang down until the 27th when I go back to dr. To get bandage off and stitches out, thinking the more I keep it up and iced, the better off long term. I just finished I AM MALALA & think all should read it. Take care, all of you, and thanks so much for writing and "listening" as that has helped me immensely. Thanks to this site which helps so many in this day when doctors no longer make house calls. Good luck on continued healing, everyone.

Susan, your surgery was only a week ago, and you are already walking around the house??! I can't believe your doctor didn't tell you differently. I guess they all give different advice, but I trust mine, who has been in podiatry practice for many years. He said, " Keep foot UP, above heart and iced, not even going to table to eat, only to bathroom and back to nest for 2-4 weeks for long term success," which is what I want. I have heard of several having to go through this repair surgery more than once. Not for me! Good luck. You need to be waited on a while longer.

Hi, Carol. The doctor gave me the same instructions as yours, but with the idea that my rest period would be only about three days. I trust my doctor, and she is highly recommended by my primary care physician, but she is also younger than I am (she has three young children -- note the "1956" in my e-mail name) and apparently has different expectations for her patients. Also, I don't work outside the home (no children though) and my husband has an incredibly demanding job, so he really can't wait on me a lot although he is making a huge effort. But I like your advice, it makes perfect sense to me, and I will take it easier for a while longer (I even put on an ice pack just now, thanks to you!) and not feel guilty that I'm going to need to rest for a few weeks more. Also it looks like I will be getting refills for those medications! Take care, I hope you have an easy recovery, and I thank you for your very helpful advice! --Susan

Only just found this site and very useful. I have one problem with my surgery next week - I have 4 flights of stairs - how do you get up stairs>>> I have tried all ways but need to at least put my heel down. Do you think this will be ok?? Once upstairs know there for at least a week!

Wow, Jillyco, that's a lot of stairs. My only thought is that, when my husband took me home after the surgery, I was able to use the crutches to get up a small flight of stairs to get into our building. Looking back, I think that was because it was a short time (a few hours max) after my surgery, so the anesthetic hadn't worn off yet so I could put some pressure on the foot (I think it was limited to heel and right side, away from the surgery site). If that makes sense to you, you might wish to try getting home as soon as reasonably possible (you can't rush of course) after your surgery, and have someone help you upstairs while you use the crutches. If for no other reason, you'll need the help to "spot" you in case you slip. My husband supported me every step of the way, literally.

Good luck to you. I too found this message board totally by accident (random Google search) and find it's been so helpful. I'm being more patient with myself when I read about others' difficulties and recovery periods and realize I'm not alone.

--Susan

I agree that is a lot of stairs! Is there somewhere else you can stay the first week, at least? If not, maybe with help, you can make it up immediately after surgery while still numbed, but don't plan on doing them again for 5 days, at least. Good luck! Just know the first few nights are rough, but it does get better. My surgery was 2-12, & I am still not ready for stairs. Most importantly, have someone lined up to help you, at least for the first few days pretty full time and after that, still part time to fix you food & administer your drugs. I found I couldn't trust myself to remember when I took the last pill while I was on tramadol. Staying down with foot elevated is not too bad when pain is controlled, as long as you have everything you need really close by. I love to read, so that was easy. Good luck, and let us know if you get this challenge worked out. Carol

Thanks Carol, I live in England (are you USA) and Docters here seem to only give paracetamol and Ibrufen so not as strong but head stays stable. My husband will be around as our café will shut for a few days then he will only be on the ground floor - we can Skype each other!! I am expecting to spend at least a week on the top floor! Hope your foot is getting less painful. Jill

Hello, I had bunion surgery on my left foot on Feb 18. i found this forum before the surgery and found the tips very helpful so thank you. I had horrible pain once the nerve block wore off but I am glad to say I have had little to no pain after the first couple of days. I have kept my foot elevated and used ice to reduce the swelling. I return to the doctor to have the stitches removed this week and I cannot wait. I desperately want to be more mobile so I am hoping that I will get some kind of boot so I can begin to hobble around a bit more. I don't know if this will happen though as I am not sure what comes next. It seems that everyone's surgery is a little different and doctors seem to have very different opinions regarding recovery.

I will need to have my right foot done at some point in the future and right now the thought isn't appealing. I don't think I am a very good patient as I just want to get back to normal!

If I have the surgery again I will borrow/rent a wheelchair for the first couple of weeks. I think if I had done that it would have made things much easier just moving around. I use the crutches but it is slow and sometimes I feel a bit unsteady and have had a couple of slips which is scary. I haven't braved the stairs yet and have set up camp downstairs in my house with everything I need around me. I did lots of cooking before the surgery and froze lots of meals and soups so my husband could just reheat things. I am a Brit but live in the USA. I wish there was an M&S nearby so I could get some of their cook/chill meals. I also seem to be having a craving for cakes and pastries which is unusual for me. There aren't any in the house which is probably a good thing.

If it would stop snowing and warm up outside that would also be good. Good luck everyone. Beth

Beth, I'm wanting sweets too, which isn't me. Probably just because there isn't any here. I so want some pumpkin pie. We are in the middle of an ice storm here in TN. Hope you get good news at your next appt. I've postponed my appt today due to the weather.

Fortunately the snow passed us by but it is beastly cold! I wonder if there is some reason for the sugar/sweet craving related to being post surgery? I usually prefer savoury snacks to sweet.

I think my cravings is because I'm at the mercy of what people bring me except when I ask my kids to go to the store for me. I did a good grocery run before my surgery, but I didn't expect to be out of commission so long. I wish I had found this site before hand. I thought I'd be home for about a week.

I think you are right debbieR. I am also having foods and food combos I wouldn't normally eat. My husband just doesn't get vegetables! I am trying to be patient about it because I know how much hard work it is to take care of someone else. I think I am going to forgive myself the occasional cookie for now. I suppose until the surgery actually happens we can just not predict what it will be like and how long the recovery will take.

I am so happy to have found this forum. I am on day 12 and this has turned out to be a much tougher

process than I had anticipated. But reading these posts, I realize I am doing as well as can be expected. My pain really subsided on day 7 and I had a nice, tylenol only, couple of days so I think I started to do a bit too

much.

Now I find myself in worse pain than days 3 or 4. So my piece of advise is to really take these first few weeks

seriously

by keeping your foot elevated, iced and accept help! There is no reward at the end of the day for doing too

much too soon. I appreciate everyones comments and am so happy to know I am not alone.

Hello all,

Today I am 3 weeks post surgery, and my scar looks like it is healing very well. I had my 2 week appointment last Monday, the doctor took my stitches out and placed small pieces of tape across my scar. I was able to shower and wash my foot after that (thank God not the uncomfortable bag anymore). It was also recommended to use vitamin E tablet and slightly rub on over the scar after the shower. I am still not able to walk and the bottom of my foot is still slightly bruised and my foot it still slightly swollen. I try to wiggle my toes as often as I can but my large toe is stubborn and I need to move it up and down to work out that tendon.

I was given oxycodone for pain, but I don't take them anymore and haven't for a while, however occasionally there is a sharp pain I feel along the scar once in a while but then it subsides quickly. Can't wait to start walking again! Good luck everyone with your recoveries!

Elizabeth

Hi folks I am day 5 and I've enjoyed reading this forum and other posts similar on the site. Most of it has been very encouraging. I still can't walk much it hurts a lot afterwards too. I'm spending all my time feet up apart from obvious times! And if my husband isn't home I have to manage things myself. The pain has subsided since the first two days, and I can go up and down the stairs with a crutch. Someone is coming to take me for an hour or so tomorrow just to leave the house but I won't be walking round. I can't tell how much swelling I have as I'm so heavily bandaged. I'm trying the ice pack tonight as suggested by a few people.

I've also used Arnica 30 and when my stitches are out I'm going to use bio oil to help the scars heal.

For those pre op we hired a wheelchair from the Red Cross which has proved a real boon for me downstairs, being in a new house we have wider doorways and saves a lot of walking. Will also make it easier to go out eventually. Anyone who is recently post op and wants to post their advice/experiences, please do it's so helpful.

It's a shame all the forums on here can't be synchronised. Good luck to everyone out there. Do tell me how it was when you actually saw your feet the the first time and how successful the straightening/narrowing has been? thanks. VJ