TEDIOUS RECOVERY from FOOT FUSION SURGERY
Posted , 20 users are following.
Hi. I'm Helen and I am in the fifth week of recovery from Fusion Surgery on my lateral and medial cunieforms
I didn't realize when I signed up for this surgery about the difficulties I was about to incur from a non weight baring recovery
I live in a 2 story house so I have to live on my couch in my living room which has a step to get to it
Therefore I utilize 2 walkers and a wheelchair to get from the couch to to the bathroom about 50 ft Really tough in the middle of the night!!!
My husband is really helpful and a great care giver but I'm sure he isn't happy with constantly adhering to all of my requests ( demands in his mind
Recently Ive found that my foot from the surgical site to my toes totally numb Has anyone experienced this sensation. If so what have you done Thanks ahead for your feedback😀
1 like, 34 replies
linda35818 Hellofagal1
Posted
I'm well aware of your delima. I'm 3 months post surgery and because it's revision surgery from a fusion in 2016, I'm so afraid of anyweight on the new surgery I use the wheelchair most of the time. I'm sure the numbness will go away in time. My foot is numb where the hardware was installed. I still have enough pain though that the numbness is welcomed.
Hellofagal1 linda35818
Posted
Hi Linda
It appears that quite a few patients have situations after the original surgery. Now I'm afraid that it's more likely than not that there might insuing problems after the first 3 months
My doctor keeps on telling me that thing are going as planned but I'm beginning to wonder.
And I'm supposed to have the other foot next Spring
Hellofagal1 linda35818
Posted
Linda
Today I fell off my wheelchair when I was transferring to my walker to get down a step to my living room and landed full throttle on my surgical foot. I can't feel any pain because it's numb ( has been for 2 days). I called the doctor but haven't heard from him. I'm afraid of what I might've done to it. Did that ever happen to you and what was the result
Hellofagal1
Posted
Turns out I fractured a bone adjacent to the surgical site
lorraine64086 Hellofagal1
Posted
Hi, I had a mid foot fusion 2nd/3rd 6 months ago and it was 3-4 months before I felt confident enough on stairs, I started by going up for a bath first, but it was 4 months before I started to sleep upstairs again. Do speak to your hospital support about your numbness as they might want to change your plaster sooner rather than later. I purchased an IWalk2 off eBay, and its like a metal peg-leg that you strap to your knee, thigh and ankle, but it allowed me to walk with my Zimmer frame and I cannot recommend one or a knee walker as a means of getting about without dragging your injured foot, but with the IWalk2 I did manage small steps, and as I got more confidence the stairs on my own, but patience is a must and doing everything the hospital say as the more falls and the more stress you put on your foot at this stage the more chance of further complications or failure to fuse. My partner wasn't extatic about waiting on me hand and foot but as I got better at walking with my iwalk2 he encouraged me to do small things myself which was just enough to get me going and feeling I could regain my independence. I tried to wiggle my toes every day and rubbed the bits not covered by the plaster to encourage blood flow when in plaster - it's when the calves start to itch I found frustrating and a thin knitting needle worked wonders, but must be kept away from any open sores or stitches.
I found I had an acute pain in my heel when the plaster came off 3 months post op so still couldn't walk so if you get that my best advice is it's plantar fasciitis so start the excercises ASAP once your plaster is off - however not everyone gets that. I am now back at work and still get episodes of pain, so do be realistic of your outcome - I had imagined it was 3 months and I'd be pain free and foot back in business but I've been in far more pain since I started walking again than I ever was the 1st week post op, but I've also got a collapsed arch as well and so have been warned it takes time and could be up to 2 years to fully recover, but most people, I am told aren't quite so long as that - the good news is friends and colleagues say i look more comfortable on my feet than 2 months or even 7 months ago, so I cannot stress enough to be patient and do take on board everything the consultant and his staff tell you to do or not to do and I hope you get through this and find you can get back to all the good bits like walking, and getting on with life painfree - oh and I've found I've got better movement in my foot than I thought I'd have, so that's a plus too
Hellofagal1 lorraine64086
Posted
Thank you Lorraine for the info and hearing your story
I have a boot instead of a cast and I'll take it off sometimes at night just to relieve the pain. But as I said now it's just numb and that's what's troubling me
I spoke to my doctor who I adore and trust and he said numbness is not unusual because the nerves are very tiny in the foot He said it might last a while But 2 days prior there as very little numbness no thsts what concerns me
I have a wheelchair and 2 walkers to get around the downstairs of my house which I've gotten used to.
suzanne_19065 lorraine64086
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lorraine64086 suzanne_19065
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Hi Suzanne
?That's a tough one as I really cannot answer if it is all worth it or not: I would say a rule of thumb should be pain levels and personal tolerance - when my flat feet weren't causing much of a problem or pain when walking I didn't see the point having surgery - now my case is different as I had a second fracture and dislocation which was not picked up by the hospital for 17 months and left me with Mulder's click, Morton's neuroma and arthritis of the mid foot so I agreed to a 2/3 TMT fusion which was successful. It was 4 and a half months before I could walk - the Mulder's click has 90% gone - still get pains in the metatarsal area but most of the pain is in the mid foot around where the fusion is and particularly big toe mid foot is moving off and on depending on how I put my foot down.
If I overdo the gardening/walking I can find it too painful to stand or weight bear for anything from a few hours to a couple of days - I get stabbing pains where the screws are but so far the surgeon doesn't think its the screws and says it's most likely to be referred pain from another joint moving - I don't know if its the screws or a nerve trapped temporarily between two arthritic joints but it often I limp or walk in a peculiar way where I am not flexing the ankle or foot in order to limit the pain - but then sometimes with arthritic pain the action of flexing the foot and ankle can free up the stiffness and ease some of the pain.
Kneeling to garden makes 2nd toe feels out of joint and often lying in bed at night is the same - flexing the leg at the hip at night when lying can result in a spasm of pain in the mid foot as the pain races down the leg into the foot - I still rely on injections to stop the pain but I am well aware that these "wonderful" injections will mask the pain for a few months but will also speed up the process of the arthritis so I am trying to balance the positive of being relatively pain free or enough to able me to get on with things like everyday tasks such as walking, working, driving on a day to day basis and going as long as I can bear in between injections so as not to have too many as this has now got to last me for the rest of my life. I have had to give up hobbies like cross country walking and even visiting RHS gardens and historic building/gardens has to be planned so I have a couple of days to recover sit with my feet up before I race back to work - basically it is knowing what the problem is, how your medical condition will progress and working out a strategy to manage it on a day to day basis.
?Basically I can't advise anyone else who has a similar case to me as we are all different so what works for one may not for another - with surgery there is always the risk of nerve damage but the overall benefits can out-weigh the risks - but you need to be sure you have a competent surgeon and you have discussed all the pros and cons, not just the pros - it might help to establish a plan of action for if the operation isn't as successful as you hope - in my case I already knew my arthritis had spread across the foot and was getting worse so I was well aware that I would always need the injections - I made the gamble of being free of the Mulder's click and Morton's Neuroma by having the operation so potentially could have been in exactly the same situation but additional pain from the Mulder's Click and Morton's Neuroma on-going continually.
?I hope everything goes well for you whatever you decide and best wishes
?Lorraine65086
tamaran3253Ta0 Hellofagal1
Posted
i had midfoot fusion surgery 7 weeks ago and I am in a lot of pain my big toe is completely numb and about a third of the way under it I also have an indent next to my incision it looks like someone just jabbed something in my foot this not weight bearing sucks anyone else feel the same
tamaran3253Ta0 suzanne_19065
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i wouldn't do it again if I had to not trying to scare you but this has been awful
latonia97971 tamaran3253Ta0
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I am also 7 weeks post op midfoot fusion. My 2nd toe is numb and my big toe is numb from the tip down the top of my foot to the incision. When I touch my foot where the incision began I get a sharp pain that shoots down to my second toe. I literally cannot touch my own foot without feeling some type of pain and discomfort. Also the hardware from a previous surgery for a fallen arch is broken doctor said its ok for now, could this be causing the numbness?
Bratbabylestran Hellofagal1
Posted
Hi there,
I haven't had a fusion but I had my peroneus brevis tendon done in April '16 and tendon transfer, Achilles lengthening and all American osteotomy last December on my right foot. For a long time, I could feel the inner workings of my foot (unfortunately!) but the surface was totally numb. Now, almost six months post op, I think the nerves that were cut are regenerating. I can feel more accurately and occasionally I get a sudden shock-like sensation. So it can take quite a bit of time, but the numbness can resolve. Good luck to you!
Hellofagal1 Bratbabylestran
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Hi Bratbabylestran
It's 1am in the morning and I woke up with a horrible numbing sensation in my foot . Its has worsened from a few days ago and it's frightening me. It's also very swollen. I called the doctor yesterday and he said that this is not uncommon and that if it pursues he will take an X-ray He said to keep it up which I am doing . I think in the morning I'll call him again. Doubt if Imgoing to get any sleep tonight!!!
Hellofagal1
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Dear Brat baby
I spoke. To my doctor today after 3 days of swelling and numbness after my fall and he sent me for an X-ray. I'm in the waiting room as we speak. Hope it goes well because Im getting very nervous
Hellofagal1
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Turns out I fractured a bone near the surgical site
Bratbabylestran Hellofagal1
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Hellofagal1 Bratbabylestran
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Yes it did Its a fracture on an adjacent bone which should heel in a normal fashion
Unfortunately I'm dealing with heavy swelling and numbness which is very uncomfortable I'm hoping that all of this heels in time for me to return to work on July 26