Surgery to correct large bunion, overlapping hammertoe and collapsed plantar plate

Hello, just wanted to share my bunion surgery experience because at 3 months post surgery I questioned why I had the surgery.  At my current 6 months post surgery, I am extremely happy I had the surgery.

First of all I want to mention that I had a whole lot of work done to my foot.  My foot looked really deformed due to the overlapping toe and the large bunion.  

Immediately after surgery my foot felt like it was on fire.  I was given one Norco and was fine afterward. Two days later my foot  had a lot of pain.  Took one Norco and that took away the pain immediately. That was the extent of my pain from this surgery. Very manageable. I have never taken pain killers before but it definitely was necessary short term.

The first two weeks were spent with my foot elevated.  Very boring because I am active but followed my doctors orders. My foot swelled badly when it wasn't elevated. This is normal. For the next two months I walked with a boot.  The biggest obstacle at this point was fitting into shoes. My foot was so swollen and couldn't fit into any of my shoes. At my 2 month check up my Dr suggested physical therapy.  This is what made the difference.  My physical therapist suggested I get loose fitting shoe and worked with getting the mobility back in my foot.

At this point I went to a good shoe store and bought loose fitting shoes to wear in the interim.  Physical therapy was an important part of the recovery of my foot. 

6 months post surgery I have absolutely no pain in my foot. I am doing more than I ever could do before the surgery.  I am walking about 100,000 steps a week and winning my Fitbit challenges and my foot looks like a normal foot.

My suggestion is to follow your doctors orders and don't overdo at first.  It's a bit of a long recovery but so worth it. I hope this post helps anyone contemplating this surgery.   Good luck. 

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