Driving 5.5 weeks post op ???

hi barbara... thank you for replying, its so appreciated, i have taken on board all advice given, and i am not going to even attempt to drive until pin is out and i feel totally confident, i have got this far coping with the pain and discomfort i dont want to ruin that, i wish you well barbara and thanks again x

I agree, Gilly, don't drive until your left foot is recovered sufficiently. I know it is only the clutch foot but it is all part of controlling the car (as you will know). You need to be confident you can react quickly to other road users' daft mistakes as well as just drive from A to B. Also, take care of your foot or its recovery will take longer! A couple more weeks of not driving will not have an impact in the long term.

hi alice, thank you once again for your reply.... i have taken on board all the advice given, its so helpful and i so appreciate it, yes its best to have pin out before i even attempt i dont want to get this far and make things worse... i wish you well and thanks for all advice x

hi caroline, thank you so much for reply.... yes i think its best i wait, i am having pin out on tuesday but would like to be in less pain before i drive, i drive an auto so not clutch change thank god, but i will also ask lots of questions at hosp on tuesday, many thanks and i also wish you well x

hi lisa, thanks for replying.... omg i so know what you  mean about being in the house, i had a double done and hammer toe pinned... but if i am honest i did not think it would of been like this... the surgeon made it sound very ohooo nothing to it, a few days on pain killers with rest.. but its been so much more than that.. the burning the stinging the swelling pain..the medication, and now the wounds are starting to heal its the state it now leaves the feet in general... mine is now 5.5 weeks and i think i will wait until the pin is out before i think of driving i have an automatic and luckly enough my right foot is the best out of the two, its the left with the pin... i am having pin out on tuesday so i have lots of questions for the hospital... i am going to ask if i can be referred to the pedicure people... as my feet are full of hard skin which is also making me feel down, i have always looked after my feet but at the moment the numbness is so tender i could not stand any foot file on them, with regards to shoes i have wasted so much money on buyer wider fitting shoes only flat ones not fashionable ones either just ones that look comfy... but to no avail, cant get them on and the ones i can hurt... even wide crocs that i hate lol hurt so i give up on that at the moment, when my time comes these big black boots are going out the window, i am due to go on holiday on 11th august so i really  hope i can get a shoe on, if not i will have to find something wide and comfy, cereal boxes come to mind.... have you looked on ebay for your scetchers, i wish you a speedy recovery soon and lets hope we can both get out and enjoy the good weather thats heading our way x

Aw i know exactly what you mean, no one prepares you for the recovery and i never heard any bad stories untill i had it done. Ie ven bumped into the surgeon before but surgery theb when i went for my 2 week check i bumped into him again and he said the same thing....he said he always says to other surgeons amd people that they should really explain more about how it is actually going to be and that it realy is a horrible recovery. Im not going to lie the first w weeks were horrific for me but once i was abke to move about it got easier.and im not in that much pain now...its the swelling that gets me. I was considering selling my car for a automatic lol but im just going to hold off till next week after i see my surgeon then go try a emergency stop lol. I also wish you a speedy recovery, hats off to anyone thats had double bunion or hammer toe surgery for sure. X

Try Teva active sandal, they were my first shoe, lovely and comfortable and open for your toes.  I wear wide Skechers for walking out distances, bought them at 9 wks and Hotters sandals for the shops.  Good luck with the pin, and write a list of what you want to ask the doctor.  Oh and if you have had X-rays done you can take a photo of them from the doctors computer screen, if you ask him nicely.  I did!

hi lisa... i am so glad i have spoken to someone who has said how bad this surgery is, i honestly thought it was me being a drama queen... but omg i have never experienced pain like it, the pain killers did not seem to help really only made me sleepy, and when i was sleeping i would jump in my sleep and my feet would hit together.. i would put them out the bed hanging over the edge of the bed, on a foot stall off the foot stall, on bags of ice, the list goes on and on... mine got so bad i could not even look at a knife because it made my stomach go over at the thought of what was beneath the bandages.. and i can honestly say had i had known about this site and reading peoples experiences i would not had had it done and just put up with the pain in later years when walking... i have also been so tearful, cant be bothered with anything, and everything seems such a hard task at the moment.. everyday i get up its the same old thing, ok at first but as soon as i walk, hot swelling painful big toes and bottom of foot feels like iv got a ball underneath so i cant put my foot flat to the floor.... also people seem to think ok its 5.5 weeks now you should be up and running, but if only it was like that, i dont even want people around me at mo, i guess the hot weather does not  help, i live in london and on wednesday its going to be 35 so hot all over including these feet....i feel so fed up today i have given up on the driving idea, apart from feeling pain in the feet i always feel unwell in myself, its like resting makes you feel so tired when you then try to do things... ohooo not a good day for me at mo... i am going to the hosp tomorrow for pin taken out and i am going to telll the doctor this surgery is much more than he explained... right gunning for him lol... guess i just want to feel well again too soon, but i will say ohoooo never again x both feet and hammer toe... done never again lol x

Hold on there Gilly, I really sympathise with you, can remember feeling the same as you but it does get better.  I'm sending you photos of my foot at 4 weeks and now at 12 weeks.  It is so much better, and although I can't do all the activities I used to, seeing your photos and reading your current experiences I realise the improvement.  I agree about the pain and discomfort though, these doctors need to experience it themselves!  Hope this helps.

 

My Teva sandals at about 7 weeks, and X-rays before and after at 9 weeks.  Hope this helps you see the progress, you should expect.  It must be harder for you having them done together, but at least they're done now and probably you wouldn't of had the other done after this experience.  No way will I go through this again, so I've got odd feet

Aw gilly keep your chin up....im also having a bad day today i am so fed up. And i was the same at the start the meds only made me tired they didnt help the pain at all. Yours looks really sore you got to just relax you will know in your self when your able to do things i suppose. Well i say that....i feel ready to get back to normal but my foot doesn't agree lol im going to try take my forst shower tonight...ive usualy just been taking baths but im sick of it lol they really need to tell patients just how hard the recovery is.i honestly thought it was just 6 weeks thats why i went ahead, it was only when i came on here that i seen it can take up to a year. Well im in scotland and the weather is miserable lol. Keep your chin up hun. Xx

thanks lisa xx yer you too, keep strong, we must be through the worst so it can only get better !!! hope so lol... keep me posted to how you are getting on and remember we are all here to help each other x

ohooo barbara, yours too looked sore... but after pictures certainly give hope that things do work out in the end.... guess just had a real couple of bad days when the road ahead still seems very long... better days ahead x

How do i add pics here? X

Yes I can remember those bad days, no one can really tell you what this ops about, and it's an experience we could do without.  Those long days of aches, tight feet, sharp pains, itchy scar.  Oh the thought of it!  I am pleased I'm not suffering with the swollen feet, pains in the ankles and other parts of the body where I guess it's adjusting to the new feet.  BUT I still feel like my toe is detached from my foot.  This hot weather I'm walking around bare-footed so I can't hide seeing what's going on down there.  I'm still not happy with my hammer toe scar.  Is yours sort of dimpled, and it aches a lot too.  I'm going back in August, but don't know what he can do about it.

How did the pin go, easy wasn't it? You will start to feel better with that out, it's sooooo long.

Lisa, when you reply there are four icons top right of window.  The last one looks like hills with a sun above is the picture insert. Click it and find your picture in your photos to insert.