I just passed my two week post-op milestone. I'm officially two weeks past one of my two (!) planned bunionectomies, and I have a question for those of you who may have had your feet fixed.

My orthopedic surgeon says my foot looks beautiful (his word, not mine--actually the swelling is subsiding and it's just starting to resemble a human foot again.) He feels I'm ready to start bearing fifty percent weight on that foot. At his direction, I've stopped using my Roll-a-Bout, which I absolutely love, and have resorted to my dreaded crutches in order to bear partial weight. I'm doing ok on the crutches, but two weeks post-op feels really early to be walking. (And he actually told me to start partial weight-bearing several days ago--at 9 days post-op.)

He's a highly regarded surgeon in my area, but it still feels really early. What do you all think? Anybody else out there walking at your doctor's direction after less than two weeks? Any and all opinions welcome.

START WALKING! I had an austin bunionectomy 8 weeks ago. After 2 weeks I felt like I might be able to walk, my doctor said my foot looked beautiful, and he said I could start bearing weight, but only if I wanted to. I wish he hadn't said that! I took it to mean it would be better if I waited, so I waited until my three-week checkup. By then my foot had stiffened quite a lot and I'm working hard to get flexibility back. Now that did more research I find out the sooner you start walking the better chances you have to get your movement back. Scar tissue is toughening up while you baby your foot. He's going to break that up while I'm knocked out for the surgery on my other foot and chances are I'll get the movement back. But for the second foot I'm going to put some weight on it as soon as he says it won't interfere with the bone fusing back together! It isn't comfortable to walk at first-- your foot feels weak and throbs really quickly. Tough it out though, it gets better fast! Good luck.

THANK YOU for sharing your experience. I've been feeling alone out here--like I'm the only patient who has ever been through this who was reluctant to follow her doctor's instructions. From your experience, it sounds like I could have made a BIG mistake by doing this my own way. While I've seen him twice post-op, I'm not scheduled to return for a check-up for a month, and by then irreparable damage could have been done. So, thank you!

While I've done plenty of research on easing my recovery process with medical supplies and equipment, I don't know as much as I should about the surgical process itself. I protected myself from some of the grizzly details pre-surgery because I was afraid it would make me more anxious.

Do you have any suggestions about where to start my research? The more I know, the better able I'll be to manage my end of the recovery process. Thanks again for your help and good luck on your recovery.

The reply (start walking) was really helpful to me too! I am having both feet done next week and today a co-worker approached me and made me feel really bad. She claimed that I would need a wheelchair and it would be crazy to do both feet at once, and I would really be incapable of doing anything for a month, etc. Of course, I took what she said with a grain of salt... but at the same time began thinking about borrowing a wheelchair. The doctor said I probably don't even need crutches! Now I realize why he encourages his patients to tough it out!

I am 7 weeks post op bunion surgery on my right foot. I had the bone cut and repositioned with 1 screw. I started putting light weight on my foot starting week 3. I put most of the weight on the back or side of my foot. The last few days I have realized that my big toe is very stiff and doesnt bend very much. I am concerned now that I should have been exercising it, but my doctor did not mention it. I dont go in for 12 more days, so I am going to call. I want to get into therapy if this is not normal. I do still have swelling, but it should not effect my flexibility this much. Anyone else experience this?

Hi DoggieMom,

I initially asked my orthopedic surgeon if I could have both feet fixed at the same time, and he strongly discouraged me. His analysis: it's just too much, for both him and for me. Maybe your bunions are different, but my right bunion was severe and my left one is moderate-to-severe, and it would have been too ambitious for one surgery. Also, my doctor felt I needed at least some mobility during the recovery process.

Having come through two weeks post-op on just one foot, I can't imagine having had both done. I know this is NOT what you want to hear, but if it involves cutting the bone, this is really tough surgery, and you need to be really, really sure you can handle both at once. Surgical appointments are not carved in stone, and unless you've worked out all the logistics for how you'll manage, I wouldn't recommend it. By logistics I mean how you'll navigate to the bathroom, prepare meals, bathe yourself, all of it.

Before my surgical date, I went in for a pre-op appointment and asked my surgeon when I'd be able to do all the above--and more--by myself. We also worked out a plan for managing pain. I told him if I know what to expect, I can work around almost anything. I then devised a plan, complete with medical equipment and suppllies for how to manage everything, and I felt much more secure knowing things would run smoothly. I'm so sorry to tell you this so close to your surgery, but I really feel it's better to think this all through now than to wait and have to cope with all the unknowns later. I just think you need more information. Just my opinion.

Good luck to you.

Definitely, if your doctor says it's ok to walk on your foot, then listen to that advice. I didn't have bunion surgery, but an injury to my toes and ball of my foot, and I babied that foot and walked on the side of that foot or used crutches for a week before I saw my podiatrist because I was in pain and feared causing more damage to that foot by walking on it. Because I didn't move that foot, it stiffened up on me and felt all cramped and tight. My podiatrist instructed me to immediately walk normal (since I had no broken bones) and to go for physical therapy, which has helped me regain movement in my foot and toes. My podiatrist said that it's bad to walk on the side of the foot because that can cause problems.

Hi sealover,

What's amazing to me about your experience is that just ONE WEEK of not using your foot normally could cause damage. I'm glad now that I didn't continue babying my foot for as long as it made sense to me, but asked for advice instead.

I'm walking with my crutches now--regularly but reluctantly, since I hate them. While I'm walking flat-footed in my rigid post-op shoe, since it's still a little painful, I'm putting my weight on the heel of my foot without actually "walking on my heel."

I've also heard, as your podiatrist said, that walking on the side of your foot can cause complications, so I'm avoiding that--though there is a real instinctual temptation to avoid weight-bearing on my injured foot. Guess I'm just cautious by nature. The hardest thing about all this is realizing that all the care and cautiousness that's helped my foot heal incredibly fast so far can actually hurt me if I carry it too far. Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience and good luck on your continued recovery.

Hi twobadfeet,

Thanks for wishing me a speedy recovery...and the same goes for you, too.

I'm still having problems with my left foot and a few of my toes from the initial injury of banging my toes hard on a metal object. I'm surprised recovery is taking so long, but I may be suffering from a couple neuromas now due to the injury. My stiffness in my foot as a whole has gone away, thanks to physical therapy and to walking as normally as possible. But the initial swelling in the ball of my foot as well as my treating my foot as if it were made of glass caused the foot and toes to lose range of movement and feel stiff.

It's funny how some people can use and abuse their feet and experience few if any problems. They can walk around barefoot outside and it's no problem; they can jump around and no problem. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people.

Hi sealover,

I'm glad to hear that physical therapy and walking normally have eliminated the stiffness in your foot; I do hope you can regain your range of movement eventually. I guess recovery from foot injuries of all varieties is a long, slow process.

I'm three and a half weeks post bunionectomy and am surprised it's taking so long for me to be able to walk without pain. I thought that while the healing would go on, the pain would disappear by about week two. Just impatient, I guess.

I know what you mean about some people being able to abuse their feet and experience no problems. My husband is like that. I envy them, but I'm not one of them either. I can only hope that the good care and treatment we're lavishing on our feet now will pay off in full mobility into our later years.

good luck in your continued recovery,
twobadfeet

Hi twobadfeet,

I also thought that my recovery would be much faster and, most importantly, I thought that I would have had a full recovery by now. Lately, nothing has improved significantly with regards to the tingling sensation in some of my toes and ball of foot, and also pain has not improved...but at least the pain is not through the roof...it is just an annoying pain. I have to be careful when I walk that I don't bump the bad foot into anything accidentally, as I'm sure you are being careful about your foot.

Well, I hope your foot is improving everyday. :)

Hi sealover,

You mentioned that you'd seen a podiatrist for your injured foot, and that it doesn't seem to be getting better. Did your podiatrist tell you how long it might be before you improve significantly? I'm wondering (not that it's any of my business) whether you've considered seeing an orthopedic surgeon if you don't get any results with your current doctor.

My foot is recovering s-l-o-w-l-y, but I think it's recovering. I'm due to see my orthopedist (if that's a word) in a couple of weeks and I plan to ask him some hard questions about my recovery from here on. I have to keep reminding myself that I need to take responsibility for my medical care if I'm going to make a full recovery. With all the patients doctors have these days--the good ones, anyway--it's easy for our needs to get overlooked unless we're pretty assertive. So I'm off to make up my list of questions.

Anyway, I hope your pain and tingling ease and you're feeling better soon.

twobadfeet

Hi twobadfeet,

My podiatrist didn't tell me how long it will be before my foot recovers. I'll have some questions ready to ask him when I see him again. He suspected that the injury may have caused a neuroma or two in that foot. I had an MRI done, and I will pick up the results and bring them to my appointment tomorrow with my podiatrist. Yet, I read that MRI's don't always show the presence of a neuroma. I do know for sure that I irritated more than one nerve (that runs into the toes) in that foot and the injury probably irritated a couple of toe joints. The difficult fact is that nerve injuries may take a long time to heal. I've seen an orthopedic surgeon about foot problems in the past, and maybe I'd go to one for a second opinion. But I was thinking of going to a podiatrist at a University hospital for a second opinion.

I agree with you that we have to be assertive with our doctors and be ready with our list of questions. Hopefully, your doctor will tell you that your recovery process is normal, and that will ease your mind. I can only tell you that I had broken my baby toe years ago and it took about 6 or so weeks for it to be fully healed.

It's so hard to be patient with the healing process, isn't it...

Take care, and keep the board updated on your progress.

Hi sealover,

You bet. Recovery from a foot injury is not for Type-A personalities! I just had my four week anniversary (four weeks from surgery, that is) and I'm ready to be well already.

About your possible neuromas: prior to my surgery I had a neuroma, which was secondary to the bunion on that foot. I opted for conservative treatment, delaying a decision about whether to have the nerve severed during my surgery to get rid of the pain. I got tiny pads which were fitted into my shoe at the ball of my foot; did no good at all and irritated the living daylights out of me. But I also bought some sandals that were adjustable with velcro, kept them fairly loose--just enough to keep them on my feet, and voila! The pain disappeared. I'm not kidding; the neuroma seems to have vanished once I stopped irritating it with my shoes and I didn't have to have the nerve severed during my bunionectomy.

I guess the moral of the story is to take some time and try conservative treatment before opting for surgery--at least for a neuroma. I hope you get some answers from your podiatrist today. Good luck with your appointment.

Take care,
twobadfeet

Hi twobadfeet,

I'm like you in that I would opt for all possible non-surgical options first regarding a neuroma. I even read that removal of a neuroma is not without risks and that a person may still experience pain after the removal.

Today my podiatrist went over the MRI results with me and took his first look at the MRI images. I didn't understand all of the medical lingo, and I don't have a copy of the report here. But he said that a neuroma didn't show up on the MRI, however, he said something about a fluid-filled area (I think he mentioned a ganglion) within the ball of my foot in the intermetatarsal space between the 1st & 2nd toes, and he said something looked abnormal with a blood vessel in my 2nd toe. I'm going to have to have him explain this to me again at our next appointment. He gave me a cortisone injection in the intermetatarsal space between my 1st and 2nd toes today. I'm still feeling the effects of the injection, meaning that my first 2 toes are uncomfortably numb and I feel PAIN from the injection. Now, as for my right foot, which has been having a burning sensation in the ball of the foot since a couple of weeks ago, he said I may have a neuroma caused by putting my weight into that foot to compensate for the bad foot, but he thinks that the nerve inflammation will improve when the bad left foot gets better...I hope he's right because I never had any problems like this with my right foot in the past.

Oh, I'm tired of my foot problems...if you know what I mean!

You were so fortunate that your neuroma went away on its own. Good thing you didn't have it removed! A lot of times it pays to be patient with these types of things to see if they resolve on their own before rushing in to have surgery.

At 1-week post-op checkup yesterday, my doc said to start putting a little weight on my foot (Austin bunionectomy), but keep the boot on. It doesn't feel great, but probably keeps it flexible. I do use my crutches too. It's a lo-o-o-o-ong way down to the ladies' room at work, but a good walk for me.

Hi carolcrone,

I wish my doctor would have given me a boot to wear post-op. I had a soft bandage, and later he had me tape my big toe and second toes together and wrap it all in an Ace bandage. I think if I'd had a boot I might have felt a little more confident walking early on.

As it is, I'm now 6 weeks post-op and my bones have knitted beautifully but my big toe is very stiff, probably because of the lack of movement and the development of scar tissue. If I knew then what I know now I would have called the doctor to request clarification on how early is too early to walk, just to be sure I'd understood correctly. It might have saved me some pretty painful toe exercises to loosen things up in there.

I'm glad you're doing so well at just one week post-op. When you're making that lo-o-o-o-ong trek to the ladies' room, think of me and tell yourself you're saving yourself from some pain later on.

Take care,
twobadfeet