Very little info on bunion recovery

Please do try and speak to someone at the hospital.  They should have given you advice on discharge.  But in the meantime, for what it's worth ...

Exercise - all you can do at this stage is move your foot up and down and side to side, like you would do in an aeroplane.  Wiggle your toes if you can, but you might find this almost impossible.  You can bend down and hold the toe with one hand and gently wiggle/flex it with the other.  There are other exercises you can do at a later stage.  The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital has a very useful brochure you can download and this has exercises in.

It is normal for your toe to stick up a bit at this stage. 

I was told to be heel weight-bearing only for the first six weeks.  That meant using the shoe at all times, except when in bed.  (Others have been advised to wear the shoe even in bed!). It's important you don't put any pressure at all on your toe while it's healing.  Find a comfy shoe to wear on your good foot that has a good depth to the sole, so that its height matches as much as possible your surgical boot.  That will immediately help your backache.  A slipper is about the worst thing you can wear!  

I was was told to have my foot up above heart level for 50 minutes out of every hour for the first 2 weeks and then increase the time gradually.  The more you rest now the quicker your foot will stop swelling so much.  Also use ice packs to reduce swelling (a bag of peas or a wine cooler works well!)

Best wishes for your recovery!

Judy

Your concerns just how limited some bunion patients are sent home devoid of any kind of advice, help, instruction.

Carol is perfectly right in everything she says.

Elevate the foot and only mobilise yourself for at maximum of 10 minutes in any hour. Failure to do this will almost certainly result in extreme throbbing and swelling and your foot may feel as though it's going to explode. That's why you must elevate.

You must wear the heel wedge shoe.  I did not wear mine in bed.

Do wriggle your toes to keep them from ceasing up.

Use crutches to help you move around ( if you have them. If not ask the hospital to provide some for you.)

Buy a Limbo ( this is a plastic stocking - they come in various lengths depending how much of your leg you have bandaged  - to put on over your bandages and enable you to have a shower without getting the bandages wet)

Invest in a Bed Cradle to insert between the mattress and bed base as it will lift the weight of the duvet/bed clothes off your foot/feet whilst in bed) I found mine invaluable as I did with the Limbo.

You must be prepared for many, many weeks/months of being very much out of action and limited mobility as this type of surgery carries with it a lengthy recovery period of up to 12 months,

Do not try to force yourself to be more mobile that your foot tells you.

When your bandages are removed you must not try to force your foot into shoes if it won't go. It will very likely be very stiff and this is because the bones in your foot have undergone a lot of pulling and tugging and there will be bruising. Do not worry because in time this will become easier and you will eventually be able to get a shoe on easier. But YOU MUST NOT FORCE IT INTO SHOES TOO SOON. If you do you will very likely cause problems with the healing of the foot.

I am not being over dramatic here, but I have been through this surgery twice on my feet and because I adhered to the advice I was given I am pleased to report an excellent outcome.

Each one of us is different. Hospitals and clinics vary as does the ,care, support, advice and instruction given to patients.

I had a very good consultant and hospital in West Yorkshire and my surgery was on the NHS.

Good Luck.

Gillian