petrified of up and coming bunion surgery and recovery

Hi Jenny,

First thing first: you are NOT going nuts, and it is perfectly normal to be scared before the first surgery in your life. I had my double bunion surgery 8 weeks ago, and my thread with all the details is just beside yours - take a look, I think you'll find it reassuring.

Now to your concerns. I think you need preparation for yourself and for your dog. Will your partner be able to spend large part of his/her time with you for the first 2-3 weeks after the operation. This would really help. A few days before the operation, start transfering the dog-related duties to your partner. When you see that you both will be taken care of, you'll feel more confident :-).

About the general vs. local anesthetic: for these operations you are usually given a choice. I went for general and have no regrets. I woke up three hours after walking into the surgical theatre (and I actually walked there :-) ) in a recovery ward with bandages and wedge shoes on, and no pain whatsoever. Even the post-anesthetic hangover was almost non-existent. There is no chance that you wake up during surgery - modern anestehsia is a mature technology and is very reliable.

How soon you can walk after the operation would depend on the exact surgical procedure. Your surgeon can tell you what to expect. I walked in the wedge shoes since the day 2 (including walking up and down the stairs), used crutches for some 5 days, and wore wedge shoes (i.e. partial weight bearing) for 6 weeks. Now I'm back to work and back to commuting (two buses and some 1.5-2 km of relatively slow walking).

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Cheers,

Yuri

Thank you for the majority of helpful responses. I just feel as if i m not mentally strong at the minute. All ur posts are very reassuring and should make me feel better but i m still so amxious. My partner cant understand why. I wish i could get a handle on my emotions. Still 3 weeks to go and i ll drive myself crazy ay this rate.

Hi Jenny

I can relate to your fear and heightened anxiety level. I haven't scheduled my surgery yet. At least you're close to doing that! My bunion is severe but does not hurt. However it is severe enough that it is altering my gait so that I am actually walking on the side of my foot which causes pain in my foot and ankle area. I am in the southern US (Texas) and would like to find a surgeon who does the keyhole surgery to ask about it. I'm 66 yrs old and the doctors are a little worried about my age and being non weight bearing for 6-8 weeks. Their nervousness makes me nervous. Is anybody reading this who is not a million miles away from me and can give me a referral or some info about the keyhole surgery versus the incision in the top of my foot they are planning on doing??

Thanks for any info anyone can give me.

J

Hello Jenny

I had the same anxiety problems that appeared as a possible urine infection, visiting the toilet about 16 times a day. As I talked to the doctor about it I knew it was panic about my forthcoming foot surgery operation. It helped talking it through. By the time the op came I was much more relaxed. I had done all my worrying! I am now day 6 post op and have had no pain. I barely took the painkillers. I am frustrated and incapacitated. I was told to elevate foot at all times.  That's where I'm at and I wonder about the next stages. Keep cool. We were lucky to get it done on the NHS 

Well i m still going ahead with surgery. I saw the surgeon this week and he s doing a scarf osteotomy. He also said my second toe joint had been affected cos of the bunion so he can do that at the same time. I will be having a GAand an ankle block. Then cocodamol. He said he d have me fully weight bearing straight away in a special shoe which i was surprised about having read all these forums about constant elevation. He disagreed with the elevation stuff and said its not how things work these days due to risk of dvts etc

He s done lots of surgeries and is well respecte here in ni so i m trying to have full faith in him. The surgery is 5 march. I ve had so much going on personally but i need to go through with this as if i cancel it i ll have to wait another year. Hopefully it will all be ok.

Hi Jenny, Hope you're hanging in there ok for your op. You've had some good advice and remember there are countless more of us who've had the same op as you are having who've had really sucessful outcomes but haven't used this site. I had the same op as you're having, scarf/akin, one foot at a time last year and shock horror...NHS and the "old fashioned way" !!  All fantastic!! 

I was very stressed like you about my dog, who's with me 24/7 as I work from home but I'm sure you'll find like I did, your dog's  going to be with you every minute when he's not out walking, mine layed close by my leg (depending on which foot was the operated one!) all the time. Dogs are the best medicine!! Then when you're starting to walk again, your dog will be your biggest ever asset, motivating and helping you to walk again, it really helped me, not sure I would have progressed the same without him,I'm sure you'll find it the same.  Get your trainers and lead ready for the good times ahead!!! Wish you well, take care and update or message to let us know how you get on.