At almost 4 months postop from a double bunionectomy, I feel as though I am doing very well.

My left foot hardly ever hurts at all. It was a moderate bunion, but not as bad as my right foot. My right foot hurts when I wake up in the morning and first put my tennis shoes on. Usually the first few steps hurt in the morning but after that, it limbers up or something and it feels pretty good.

Sometimes at night my right foot will hurt when barefoot.

That being said, my feet don't inhibit me during my day-to-day activities around the house.

I can't walk as long as I'd like to when I take my walks, so I do 2-3 shorter walks a day. I've been playing tennis this past week, and have been able to run to many of the balls on the court. I don't push it too much, but at least my dh doesn't have to hit the ball right at me anymore and I actually feel like I get a workout!

I only wear my tennis shoes. Thankfully, I'm a SAHM and don't have to wear dress shoes. The reason why I am still just in my tennis shoes is mainly b/c my scars are still sensitive and so the socks under my shoes take that pain away. Also, the support that tennis shoes offer me feel much better than sandals/flip flops. For those of you early on, use lots of cream/aloe on those scars. I did on my right scar but not my left scar and my right scar hardly has any pain to it...just the left. My right scar initially was much worse which is why I used so much aloe on that one...

I'm thinking that it will be another few months before I feel 100%....of course, by then I will be 5 months pregnant and then I can blame any foot pain on the pregnancy! ;)

hi happy mom :)
glad to hear that you're able to play tennis at 4 months~ i also had a (almost) double bunionectomy (they were two weeks apart) and it's been about 4 wks and 6 wks respectively. just out of curiosity, do you remember what stage you were at around 6-8 weeks postop? i know it's probably hard since i even have trouble remembering where i was at just a week ago... feet are doing fine, but progress seems veerrry slow, so i just wanted some encouragement...or at least some landmark to look forward to in the near future? :)

Hi there,

My feet were still very tender at 6 weeks. There is no way I could have been able to run on the tennis court at that point. I still had trouble doing my daily chores/stuff around the house at that point. It just slowly got better, and still continues to improve...you'll get there, I promise!

Congrats on your tennis playing at 4 months & also on the prospective new addition to the family. I'm also at 4 months & although I don't play tennis, I did walk quite a lot before the surgery. I'm trying to get back up to the distances I used to do, but it's difficult because I still have quite a bit of swelling. I can get my hiking boots on now with a thin sock on my right foot & the usual 2 socks on my left. Maybe by the end of summer I can do that 10 mile hike! I know what you mean about tender scars. I pretty much keep a bandage & sock on it during the day just for padding.

I am so glad you are doing ok! I feel pretty good most of the time now too, except for the tender scars! I am so glad to know that you and carolcrone are also experiencing the tenderness, i thought i was crazy because the scars are still so tender! Is everyone else's scar still pretty noticeable? Mine are still red in spots, and pretty noticeable! I am ready for them to fade!!!

Congrats on the new baby! Are you going to find out what you are having??

Mandy

Hi Mandy,

I'm ready for mine to fade too! They are definitely noticeable..I guess it'll just take time...like everything else, huh?!?

We're not going to find out what we're having. We waited with our first and it was so neat to find out at the birth, so we're going to do the same with this little jellybean too....which is a VERY HARD thing to do!!!

Hey, I saw on another post that you may be playing softball this summer...good luck with that! I hope your feet are able to do it. :)

My scar is still red & angry looking too. There is a box of white around it where I keep it protected from the sun. The rest of my foot is brown. Nothing like a 3-tone foot for the summer. Another post, by Ana, indicated that we will have many months before the scar settles down to a thin white line.

I wish there was a way to have this surgery without such a big nasty incision!!!
O-well, the pain before surgery was definately worse than it is now, and even with the scars, they still look better! I am hoping to play softball.......I might not be able to run very well....i guess time will tell, i still have a little bit before it starts!!! Happymama...I think waiting is the best thing to do! It is so much more exciting once the baby is born!! I didn't know with my first, but did with my second, if I would have had anymore, I wouldn't have found out again! Be patient, the jellybean will be here before you know it!!

Mandy

To fade the scars a bit, try that Mederma stuff. It's pretty pricey, but worked wonders for my post-op foot scars. It takes 6-12 weeks for it to do all it can to fade the scars, and for some people, it will work better than others. Mederma can be found in almost any pharmacy, even the ones at most grocery stores.

I think I will try the Mederma....do you think it would be beneficial starting it at 4 months post op?

I second with Happymama, will it take any affect after 5 months? I tried Vitamin E that didn't even touch this horrible looking scar. :eek:

I used mederma from 2 months to 3 months on the part of my scar that was closed & that part is just a white line (so I'd have to say it works). Then the doctor debrided the last inch of so of the wound (cause the scab never would fall off), so it was open again until just a couple of days ago. Now I'm at about 4 months & using the mederma again on the entire scar. It smells pretty bad (made out of onion extract), but the package says you can use it on old scars too, 3-4 times a day for 3-6 months. Guess I'll get used to the odor.

Another scar question: I am 6 months post bunionectomy and still a bit swollen under scar. My doctor says I didn't massage across the scar enough. She's right, I only really massaged with the grain of the scar, not across it- if that makes any sense.. Anyway she says the scar is "glued" for lack of a better word= the skin isn't loose under it. It can be kind of uncomfortable at times. I have mederma, but don't think that will help this issue. Any thoughts?

Another scar question: I am 6 months post bunionectomy and still a bit swollen under scar. My doctor says I didn't massage across the scar enough. She's right, I only really massaged with the grain of the scar, not across it- if that makes any sense.. Anyway she says the scar is "glued" for lack of a better word= the skin isn't loose under it. It can be kind of uncomfortable at times. I have mederma, but don't think that will help this issue. Any thoughts?

I think that might be called "adhered"? I remember my physical therapist saying that when I had my left foot done. She manually massaged it very hard and also used and ultrasound (?) machine on it to help break up the scar tissue. anyone else heard of this?
Paula
almost 4 months post-op right foot bunionectomy
perking along with recovery, at about 90% now

My physical therapist started to use a really fast vibrating machine that supposedly broke scare tissue. Looked like a pencil, but the tip vibrated reall fast--felt good, actually. =) She also used the ultrasound, which she said broke scar tissue and reduced swelling.

Carlos

Congrats on your tennis! I'm glad to hear that others are doing well as am I. I had a bunionectomy on my right foot (inner joint) in May '03. I am also 19 years old and people were teasing me saying I had "old lady feet," which I took in pride of course. I don't feel any pain when walking or running anymore, but I can tell when it is going to rain. I am still having tenderness when it is cold or humid and I live in PA so thats just something I deal with. My scar is still there and of course is discolored a little. I was wondering if anyone knew how long and if you can indeed get the screw removed and if there are any negative side effects in doing this. Hey good luck with the baby and congrats!

Iciblues,

Wow, how funny you say you can tell when it's going to rain or be cold. Yesterday was a really cold day here and it rained and my foot was very tender all day. It was the first cold, rainy day we've had in a while and all of a sudden my foot hurt. It's fine today though (it's clear and in the 70s!). WEIRD!!!!