I just don't know what to think, if there has been any improvement at all

1. I still have significant swelling especially at bunion site
Is anyone wearing regular shoes yet, and if someone is postop several months, when can you start wearing them? (I am wearing a single pair right now that I bought in 2 sizes)

2. are people putting weight on their big toes/base of their big toe as they walk?
It is still really tender and I noticed I am tending to walk on the outside of my foot still and tend to lift my big toe up to avoid putting weight on it (i wonder if that's the reason people's big toes are not lying flat on the other posts)

3. are people wearing shoes all the time or walking around barefoot?
Is walking w/o shoes a bad idea?
are people wearing splints all the time or only at night?

4. I have noticed significant changes in appearance after weight bearing (if I stay off my foot the foot looks fine, if I walk on it for a while it looks like the bunion is reforming). Is this happening to anyone else?
By this point the bones have healed, so I am very concerned that the bunion will recur once I start walking like a normal person again b/c of soft tissue issues

5. are people takins antiinflammatory medications regularly? I took an ecotrin for the 1st time ever the other day b/c the swelling was really bad and it seemed to help

I just want my life back at this point!

What do you mean by when you step down, it looks like the bunion is reforming. When you touch the former bunion site does it smoosh in like swelling or is is hard?

Hi Sweetfiscus :wave: ,

I'm right where you're at--six 1/2 weeks post-op right foot bunionectomy(12/31/03). What you've described is exactly where I'm at. I know we all tend to think that six weeks is the "magic number", but after watching my 14 year old daughter recover from this same surgery, I guess I went into this with a very realistic attitude. The same doc did both our surgeries & he is very cautious in returning back to activities, etc. & even more so with her. She was on crutches for six weeks, and wasn't released to return to sports for five months!!

As for me, I was on crutches for about three weeks & just got out of the "boot" at my six week visit. He said my bone is about 60% healed & it actually could take 18 months for it to be totally healed!! I am wearing shoes (about a size larger than normal) most of the time around the house, but still wear my boot when I go out & have to walk any distance. The shoes are about as comfortable as possible, but my foot still hurts much of the time. I still walk very slowly with a limp. I, too, have the swelling in & around the big toe joint & in the ball of my foot which makes walking regular almost impossible at this point. Looking at my foot, big toe area, from the side, it is at least 1 1/2 - 2 times as "thick" as my left foot, if this makes sense. I talked w/my doc about it & he said this is normal. He has me wrap foot with Coban to help control swelling--are you wrapping yours at all? He also gave me a prescription for a compression sock which I haven't gone & got yet. He said controlling swelling is very important at this point. I'm not taking any prescriptions or any medication for this--I didn't know there was such a thing. As for going barefoot, my doc said absolutely not at all right now! He said this is very bad for my foot. :nono:

As frustrating as this long recovery process is, I do see progress from week to week. It sounds like 5 months may be the "magic number" for most--that's pretty much what I've prepared myself for. We're going on a cruise in early April which will be about 3 months post-op for me, and I'm hoping by then I'll be a lot less "gimpy" than I am now, but I know I won't be 100%!!

Hang in there & know that you're in good company with all of us fellow bunionites here on this board!!

Gimpy1

I just don't know what to think, if there has been any improvement at all

1. I still have significant swelling especially at bunion site
Is anyone wearing regular shoes yet, and if someone is postop several months, when can you start wearing them? (I am wearing a single pair right now that I bought in 2 sizes)

Yes, I still have significant swelling at the bunion site and no, I'm not wearing regular shoes yet. On my other foot, the doctor told me at 6 weeks to ease into a tennis shoe and it was hard as heck finding ANYTHING that I could tolerate!

2. are people putting weight on their big toes/base of their big toe as they walk?
It is still really tender and I noticed I am tending to walk on the outside of my foot still and tend to lift my big toe up to avoid putting weight on it (i wonder if that's the reason people's big toes are not lying flat on the other posts)

No, I am not putting weight on the ball of my foot yet..I am guessing that when I go to the Dr. this week at 6 wks2days post-op that's what he's going to tell me. It was months , though, before it felt normal for me for walk putting weight on the ball of my foot. That's why I decided to get physical therapy (at 4 mos.post-op).

3. are people wearing shoes all the time or walking around barefoot? I do walk around with a sock on sometimes in the house
Is walking w/o shoes a bad idea?
I don't know?
are people wearing splints all the time or only at night?
splints? I'm wearing the blue shoe during the day.

4. I have noticed significant changes in appearance after weight bearing (if I stay off my foot the foot looks fine, if I walk on it for a while it looks like the bunion is reforming). Is this happening to anyone else?
By this point the bones have healed, so I am very concerned that the bunion will recur once I start walking like a normal person again b/c of soft tissue issues

To be honest, on my left foot which was done last May, there is a small bump there but if you could have seen the big honkin' bunion that was there you'd see the improvement. Today, a girl showed me her "bunion" and I laughed--my new foot had more of bump than her "bunion". I told her to lighten up!

5. are people takins antiinflammatory medications regularly? I took an ecotrin for the 1st time ever the other day b/c the swelling was really bad and it seemed to help

No I am not taking anything for swelling...just elevating when needed.

I just want my life back at this point!

Sit tight! My magic number was about 5-5.5 months post-op on my left foot. It FINALLY felt normal then.

PMCW (Paula)
5 weeks 5 days post-op right foot bunionectomy
left foot 5/03

Thanks all, very reassuring to hear that this extended course of things are just routine

Gimpy, my swelling sounds just like yours, a lot of puffiness right where you said; what kind of surgery did you have? It sounds more extensive than mine (I had Austin chevron osteotomy w/bumpectomy)

macaroni - I have diffuse soft tissue swelling at the bunion site, but if I have been walking in my closed back clogs all day, I definitely notice that it looks like an angled bump, not as severe but similar to what the bunion looked like, but then it goes away if I wear a tight bandage and not walk for a while. THis is somewhat alarming as I really do not want the bunion to recur

Hi Paula - what kind of shoe did you get to wear after your left foot recovered? Did you ever get to wear high heels after the left foot and before your right foot?
Are you wearing a specific brand of tennis shoes that give enough support? Or are they just regular sneaker types (like cross trainers, or running shoes - I wore some Saucony running shoes at the beginning and I don't think they were so good for my feet)
(I am very sick and tired of only wearing one pair of shoes!)

So far the best thing to keeping things looking okay is wearing a tight cut-down ace bandage or sports tape wrapped around the bunion site to keep things straight plus the splint over it (I've been alternating Bort at night and Darco daytime at home w/ the surgical shoe) w/ silicone toe spacer.

only 4 more months to go! I'll be in Miami in May so looking forward to wearing some tiny strappy sandals then

1. I still have significant swelling especially at bunion site
Is anyone wearing regular shoes yet, and if someone is postop several months, when can you start wearing them?

MY ANSWER: I still have swelling too. Not nearly as bad as before but I can only fit into New Balance mens size 7 extra wide.

2. are people putting weight on their big toes/base of their big toe as they walk?
It is still really tender and I noticed I am tending to walk on the outside of my foot still and tend to lift my big toe up to avoid putting weight on it (i wonder if that's the reason people's big toes are not lying flat on the other posts)

MY ANSWER: At this point, I'm still walking very flat footed, more of a shuffle. My podiatrist told me to do this and not put pressure by the toe. He told me this at my 4 week post op and I go in tomorrow for my 6 week...maybe this will change.

3. are people wearing shoes all the time or walking around barefoot?

MY ANSWER: I only walk with my tennis shoes. I have walked barefoot maybe a total of 5 steps, just in an emergency situation and only on the heels of my feet. They told me not to go barefoot yet, and my internet research confirmed that.

are people wearing splints all the time or only at night?
MY ANSWER: I'm not at all, but I'm going to ask my podiatrist tomorrow about it b/c the big toes are slanting toward the other toes.

4. I have noticed significant changes in appearance after weight bearing (if I stay off my foot the foot looks fine, if I walk on it for a while it looks like the bunion is reforming). Is this happening to anyone else?

MY ANSWER: I haven't noticed this.




5. are people takins antiinflammatory medications regularly?

MY ANSWER: No, I don't take any medicine. I just pour gobs of aloe vera gel on my incisions when they irritate me.

I'll give an update tomorrow after my 6 week post op appt. Take care!!!