I am post op bunion surgery of 5 days. I'm still having quite a bit of pain, and a lot of swelling. I thought by now I would be down to icing a few times a day and elevating my foot on occasion. I'm still couch bound with my foot elevated almost all of the time and continual icing. Just want to see if others have had similar problems. I was given a "boot" to wear and no crutches, but the day after my surgery couldn't put any pressure anywhere on my foot, and had to resort to crutches. If I would have know this surgery was this painful, I never would have had it. Just to let you know, I'm not a big sissy and pretty tolerant to pain.

HI,

Hang in there it's a long recovery. Believe me I know and anyone else will tell you the same thing.5 days is pretty quick to expect a change.It will get better and remember to take your pain meds. before the pain starts. It's easier to prevent the pain than fight the pain.
Sue :)

:) Ditto to what Sue wrote. I am now 15 days post-op. The pain is still there but tolerable. Patience is definitely a virtue with bunion surgery!! Hang in there and take care. :wave:

I am sure no one thinks you are a big sissy! Just out of curiosity, was this a simple bunionectomy or something more? What type of procedure was it, and do you have pins or screws in place? How bad was the bunion before surgery? And what did your doctor lead you to believe your recovery process would be like (is what you're experiencing in line with what you were lead to believe by the doc)? I'm just trying to understand why people's recovery experiences are so different with bunionectomies...it would be nice to find some rhyme or reason for the differences.

I'm doing extremely well with my own bunionectomy recovery, but I'm still not sure if I should contemplate doing the other foot, or just leave well enough alone.

I also wasn't aware of the intense recovery time that the surgery would take. I really doubt that I will have surgery on my second foot. I am 4 months post-op (NO weight bearing for 4 weeks and I had a pin removed after 6 weeks) and still experiencing pain and stiffness (it doesn't bother me 80% of the time, so it's not all that bad). I've heard it can take a whole year. I hope this isn't a lifetime pain.

Just wanted to give you a positive experience. I am three months post op bunionectomy with temporary pins. I also was given the boot. The first three weeks were definetly the worse for me. After that it got better each week and now I am doing great. I had to ice and elevate for six weeks on and off. I still ice when I am uncomfortable. Just listen to your foot and take it easy. I promise each week you will feel a little better. I don't know if you have pins, but once they came out I felt so much better. Best of luck to you!

hi, im just 13 days post op and i feel great! you wont believe the places ive been on just one foot. now im taking it easy. and im so ready to get this pin out still a little scared, but you have to think postive and be strong! i doubt i will get my other foot done because it does take a long time to heal and im tried of falling! the first couple days were the worst for me too it will get better just take one day at a time! good luck to you! :wave:

5 days is way too soon to feel better! It will be a little while before you can move without pain....be patient, you will be better before you know it! I had some pain and swelling for 2-3 months, although it got better and easier to deal with after a few weeks!

I am 16 days post op today and my ankle is still swollen. I am still icing and elevating too. I took five days off from work and have been back four hours per day the past week and a half. By the time I get home from work my foot is throbbing and it somewhat painful so I elevate the rest of the evening. Although the surgeon told me I could bear weight on the side of my foot and the heel the day after surgery, I used crutches for the first 12 days. Like someone else here said, every week the gets better. The pain is still there although it is tolerable now and I don’t have to take my pain med as often. I have read that the swelling can sometimes last up to six months for some people. As frustrating as the recovery time has been for me, I am planning on getting my left foot done in September so that I can get this over with. Hang in there, it will get better.

Thanks so much to all of you that replied. I'm feeling better today, but still have pain. The first day with no crutches. I had my follow up today with the doc, he said that the foot looked great, and that he couldn't understand why I was having so much pain. I go back in two weeks to get the stitches out, seems like a long time to have stitches in. I have two pins in my foot, one in the toe and one where the bunion was. The x-rays looked great, big improvement in the straightness of the toe. I did have a huge blister that ran from the bottom of my big toe nail around and between it and my second toe. He did puncture that, but this evening it was full again. Thanks again for the replies, it's nice to know how others are doing.

Thanks for the reply. I don't remember what they called what they did, but he took out a wedge of bone near the joint and another out of the big toe. I have pins in. I understood that I would be off my feet for a few days with some discomfort, but definately not with the pain I experienced. My bunion wasn't too bad when I went into him, but I was starting to experience some throbbing pain even if I was just sitting, so decided to get this done before it got worse and required more work. I'm better today, so hope that it continues to feel better.

Glad to hear that you're healing well. I would think that if things went well with your first one, that the second one wouldn't be bad either. I wouldn't even consider doing my other foot. I told the doc that today, and he was surprised, says it's very rare that he has that much pain complaint unless the patient has infection or something unusual going on. He said that looking at my foot, he just couldn't understand why I was having the pain I was having.

Hi, I am glad to know you're starting to feel better. It sounds like you did have a different type of bunionectomy from me--I only had what's called a "V-incision" bunionectomy, maybe also called a "Chevron" procedure--with permanent screws. My recovery has been pretty much exactly what my doctor led me to believe it would be--pain for 2 - 3 days, weight bearing from the get-go, and being able to walk on the foot with no pain whatsoever by day 5. What I can tell you is that when I turned the corner from feeling lousy and incapacitated to feeling able to walk around the house comfortably, it happened very quickly. For me it was on day 4, I think. Maybe you will have the same pattern, just on a slightly later schedule. My doctor told me to take lots of Advil to reduce inflammation, and I was popping the advil religiously (2 pills every 4 hours) for the first several days. That might have helped. I think the rapid improvement begins once the swelling goes down...the swelling is really what creates the discomfort. Keeping on elevating and icing is also extremely important in that first week, so keep doing it as long as you need to. I bet you will find yourself feeling a lot better in a short time, best of luck to you!

(Despite my "good" experience with this bunionectomy, I doubt I'll be signing up for a second one anytime soon...I like to quit when I'm ahead. Seems like there's too much chance involved here for my taste.)