I am 12 weeks post op from a bunionectomy osteonomy. I saw the Dr. this morning and he cleared me and said everything looks super. One last xray showed everything has healed nicely. I expressed my concerns about the swelling and he assured me this was perfectly normal and I should expect it to be around for a WHILE and not to worry about it. He cleared me to do any physical activity I desire but also said to listen to my foot. When its sore, ease up. I also expressed my concern about my toe slightly leaning towards 2nd toe again. He told me not to worry about that either. He said it would angle a bit towards second toe because he did not do anything to the 1st metatarsal (I hope I am saying this right!!!) He said my Big toe before surgery didn't angle severely enough to warrant doing anything to my toe surgically. He also laughed at me when i told him I thought I noticed a more pronounced bump where bunion was, now than right after surgery. He told me I was being paranoid and to relax and enjoy my new foot. I told him about these boards and he wasn't aware of them and thought of no better way to recover from such a surgery than talking, asking, and venting with other people going thru the same thing. He admitted that most doc's do their job and send you on your way. He was going to start recommending the website to his bunionectomy patients from now on. I want to thank all of you for your support thru all of this, especially you Lisa (joll43)!!! I feel like I've made a new friend, and a future movie star at that!!!LOL I am going to hang around on these boards though becuase I want to keep up with how you do with second surgery. Plus, I want to help all you new members just going thru the surgery right now. I KNOW FOR A FACT MY RECUPERATION WOULDN'T HAVE GONE AS WELL WITHOUT THESE BOARDS!!! So, anyone with bunionectomy questions.....ASK AWAY!!!!
Peace, Sharon ;)

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's awesome, Sharon! I'm seeing my doc tomorrow - I'll let you know what he says....

CONGRATS on your final 12 week Post Op visit! I have read all your previous post, and reading has helped me so much! I am so glad you are going to stick around for us, and I am sure all us bunionectomy newbies will have many more questions!

Oh.. and it sounds as though you have a really good doctor, too! Glad he explained things, and I know what he meant by your toe not having surgery on it. Some pictures on the web show on some bunionectomies, that the actually have to cut the toe bone too (the shorter bones in the actual toe).

I do think that these boards are very helpful, and already reassured me all the weird things I have been feeling are NORMAL (toe/foot jerks, electric sharp pains, popping veins, etc...)

Great news and good luck to you :)
Sue :angel:

Yeh Sharon..............welcome back to real life!!!!!!! and take your Dr advice...listen to your foot!

Hi Sharon, I am reading the old post, and your 12 week post op is coming close to where I will be in a few weeks with my first foot. I noticed that my big toe moved since the first couple weeks, and now seems to drift more to the second toe! :eek: Has yours moved any more or does it seem to be the same as last month?

2nd Question - my first foot is 9 weeks post op, but it is still sore when walking (especially as I bend the toes upward) Was your toe pain free at 12 weeks, or still sore. I am not walking much on this foot since I am recovering from the 2nd foot. I guess I am just concerned, and wondering when the toe will be "almost" pain free.

Great news Sharon!!!

I have a question as well. I am going on 12 weeks post-osteotomy and everything looks good, I have really good range of motion - but my joint aches constantly - unless I take Advil on a regular basis. Do you still have joint pain - I was pretty much pain free until week 10 - now its so sore.

Terri

Terri, I am hoping Sharon will read & reply. My foot was feeling pretty good until I started to use it more. When you say you have joint point, is it constant ache, or does it hurt in the joint when walking? I feel pain when walking - in the big toe joint, but I am unsure if this is "normal" at my stage of recovery.

The joint pain is both when walking or at rest - sometimes worse when driving. We had rain for a week, and I thought it was that "weather" related - but now its sunny. Someone suggested that maybe it was scar tissued breaking up. I'm just wondering if others had it - I see my doc next Thursday - so I will sure ask him.

Hi :wave:
That is good news for you!!! I hope you do well. I know you will :bouncing:
Thanks for all YOUR support too, you really helped me alot.
I am doing well, back to work and the old grind... I feel so much better.
Take care! :angel:
-Lou

Sorry Im just now responding, Ive been out of town.

12 weeks, my foot was still swollen and very sore. Yes, my toe drifted back over to second toe but not as badly as before surgery. I had very little ROM at 12 weeks in my big toe.

If I do alot of walking my foot gets very very sore!!! My surgery was January 25th and it still is sore if I walk alot on it. This week I walked on the beach every morning (barefoot) and boy am I payin for it now. Very sore and swollen.

BUT the good news is this is all normal and to be expected. Full recovery of foot is about a year so Im told. The big toe inching back over to second toe does happen with some people as well. Feel free to ask any more questions!!!
Sharon

Thanks Sharon, my toe is drifting back over as well, and the doctor said he expected it. He proceeded to show me my shoe and it makes sense that I am pointing the toes to get it in. I am now wearing a spacer 24/7 and that is making my toe much ,more straight, but I am not sure it will stay that way once I wear a sneaker for an extented amount of time.

They also told me 1 full year, but I get so many mixed vibes! It sounds like some (Lou & Megan) are doing great and 100% painfree!! My ROM I think is pretty good, although I cannot bend downward too much, and when I reach the upward motion - I free the most pain. Pain old walking - it's tender, and stiff feeling (especially first thing in the morning). PATIENCE I guess... thanks agian for your response!!

I find that wearing my toe spacers when I know I will be walking an extended period of times REALLY helps with the pain. I started doing that even though Doc said there was no need to wear spacer anymore. I sometimes wear my spacer at night as well. My foot is super sore and swollen right now from walking bare foot on beach for a week, probably not the best idea really but Wearing tennis Shoes in teh sand is no fun.
Don't get discouraged about other people;s progress, I made the mistake of doing that in the beginning. Everyone's surgery post recovery is different. You will be amazed how much better your foot will feel in another month. You really will just wake up one day and realize your foot doesnt hurt. I do wonder if I will ever have 100% ROM again in my big toe. OOOOOOH, it hurts to curl it forward. YOUCH

It is just your toe that hurts - or does the rest of your foot hurt too? Today the "bridge" of my foot - lets just say the whole top of my foot hurts - couldn't sleep much last night cause the side of my foot hurt - go figure. I had to wear flip-flops yesterday cause my foot was swollen and was uncomfortable in a shoe - I really thought that by now that things would have eased up - especially since week 8- 10 were uneventful and pain free.

Hi Terri, thanks for the encouraging words! I guess I need to stop comparing my foot and recovery with others like you said, and realize we are all different. What hurts..? Well, just lying around doing nothing, my foot feels great, but once up, the ball of my foot hurts as well as the big toe. The big toe hurts when I lift it in an upward motion, on it's own, with no help from my hands. I also find that it hurts less since I have been wearing the toe spacers, and I am wearing them 24/7 now in hopes that it will keep my toe straight (or at least straighter). Foot will still swell up and get purple if I am on it for more than an hour, but I do know that they told me this is 100% normal. It was just freaking me out to hear others who have underwent a similar surgery, seem as good as new! I am NOT suffering by any means, it is just sore and tender overall, and the big toe joint hurts as I described above.

Thanks for your feedback - PATIENCE, I need more!!

Terri,
Sometimes my entire foot aches but usually just the big toe is sore. Man, there is nothing worse than foot pain. I think we are all doing great though!

Today I go for my 12 week checkup - can't wait - I haven't slept well the last few nights because of foot pain - I know it will get better - but its hard to function on 4 hours sleep, even after taking 3 or 4 advil - glad there are others of you who understand!

So I listened to my foot - doc says it shouldn't be that swollen - I still have really good range of motion but pain in the joint and in the swollen tissue. I have to go for more xrays, ice, elevate, etc. It could be strained scar tissue, which won't show up on an xray. He said that if that seems to be it, that we could inject cortisone, which would give relief, but he hates to do that. Anyone have experience with this new twist?

Terri,

I also have severe swelling going on.The Dr was not happy with the xrays along with the swelling.So he made an appointment with a specialist for Fri to rule out RSD.My DR is very cautious.

I hope your swelling gets better :)

Sue :angel:

Susieblueyes,
What is RSD? I don't think I have ever heard of it before. What are the symptoms? Can it be fixed? I hope I am not being too nosey!!! ;)

HI, you can check it out on here, there is a title/thread.It is Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy.

Hi Sue,

Its amazing how things develop during the recovery period - good luck with the specialist appointment. My swelling is okay if I ice it ALOT and take 3 Advil at a time - which makes me a little drowsy. Its the pain and discomfort that I wish I could get rid of - so I'm taking it easy for a while - cutting back on the walking until I find out what is going on.

Susieblueyes, hope all turns out well, you've been through alot. TerriC, hope things start getting better for you as well. I do have concerns with my first foot, as it still swells a lot, and foot and joint is sore in a few areas. My fingers are crossed that I only need more time!

Hi sharonssorefoot,
I'm guessing you are no longer reading these boards as it's been so long since your surgery, but just in case...I am 11 weeks post op, silver bunionectomy, and although I've come a long way in the last few weeks, I am having thoughts like yours.
To me, it looks as if the bump at the surgery site is no better than before surgery. Although there doesn't seem to be much soft tissue swelling, my physiotherapist says that the bone is still inflamed (whatever that means), and it will go down in time. On bad days, I'm wondering why I bothered with the surgery as my foot doesn't look a whole lot better than it did, and at the moment it's still pretty painful.
Anyhow, I'm looking for someone to tell me it will be ok in the end, so I wanted to find out how your foot continued to heal. Did the swelling go down? Did the bump go down too? And how long did it take?
Thanks so much!
miss_p