I am 6 weeks post op from a double bunionectomy, and I still have considerable soreness and swelling. Is this normal? :confused:

Yes it is perfectly normal!! You were very brave to have both done at once. 75% of the healing is done in the first 2 months ....that's 6-8 WEEKS (YES IT TAKES 6-8 WEEKS FOR THE BONES TO HEAL)... the remainder of the healing can take up to one year!!! Be easy on yourself :D Remember to keep your foot elevated...ice it when it swells up and take it easy!! You will soon be very happy!!

Thanks, sorefootsophie. I've heard so many stories of people having no pain, or little pain after bunionectomies. I don't really have pain, but my feet are very sore all the time. Constantly. And I have a lot of swelling. I thought I'd have pain for a couple of weeks, and then be back to normal. Wrong. I realize this could also be a function of my age (46). Did you have surgery? When? How long until your feet felt better? I think I'll call my doctor tmw and inquire, since I'm not scheduled to see him until March. Your thoughts?

Hi Cindy Jo, There are SO MANY different kinds of bunion surgeries (screws, no screws, wires etc.) and that as well as age affects your healing time. As well as staying off your feet IF that is what the doctor instructs. The main thing to remember is that it takes a minimum of 6-8 weeks for any fracture to heal and when the doctor cuts the bone...that is a controlled fracture. Healing takes a lot of patience which a lot of us don't have. It is always better to call your doctor if you have concerns. The sign of a good doctor is not only the surgery he performs but just as important his follow up (after surgery) care :D . I had bunion surgery on both feet separately 15 years ago with no pins or screws...just a cast for a month afterward. I was younger then!! The surgery I had isn't performed anymore as it shortened the first metatarsal too much! :nono:
Now I've had the second metatarsal shortened at the proximal end of the bone (close to the midfoot joints) and the tarsometatarsal joint which had some arthritis was cleaned up. Unfortunately, that metatarsal has been trying to heal for the past 11 weeks nwb and it is being stubborn!! :rolleyes: But I am being as patient as possible and go back to see my doctor at the end of February. That will be 14 weeks of not walking and in a cast for me....not what I had planned!! :eek: My doctor has had plenty of calls and always calls me back!
Hopefully you are having a good day. Always remember to elevate your feet if they become swollen and sore. It really helps. Sophie :angel:

oh cindyjo!...our names fit us so well!.....(well, different middle but still the same!:)...)....
I had really severe bunions...the right one was well......EEEEEEEEEEEEK! I have no idea how I functioned honestly. NO IDEA! I'd put off the surgery for years too.
I'm 37y/o and thinking like you it would be no big deal ...uhmmm...as the doctor had told me(sorry, can't get that one loose yet)....so wanted them done as close together as possible. He wouldn't do them at the same time and thankfully not. I'm not sure what difference a week makes however which is what he had planned originally. After the first one was done I said let's wait a couple more weeks. I did really well with it actually. Was up and hobbling well after about 5 days. Lots of swelling afterwards but could still get around. ....It's now been 16 weeks since the first foot was done and 13 weeks on the second. You can go back and read some of my posts and see how I was doing. Not well at ALL!!! I still can't do everything of course but SO much more than I could. It's going to take time...I know you're so sick of hearing that!! I'm not sure how early you can start physical therapy but I would as soon as possible. That's helped me more than I can tell you.
..I'm actually on my way there now so had better go but feel free to ask away on here. This site has been invaluable to me!! ....and remember too right now you're at just 8 weeks.....I'm not sure just how true this is but have heard the 12 week mark seems to be a big one. Hopefully it will be for you. I know in just 8 weeks ...well, at least I sure can't imagine being anything but extremely frustrated!!! ...which is just what I was! Ready to set my hair on fire and scream my lungs out!..funny but NOT! ....will be back later and write more...hang in there and try to keep busy with whatever you can..i know....hard for me and i think most if not all here not being able to be active. .....just be thankful it's winter and you're not stuck like this spring and summer and having to look outside wanting to do everything! I have told myself that one at least a million times!!! be back soon......cindy

HI Cindy Jo
Hang in there im sure u will feel better soon. Im having both mine done at the same time and Im dreading it especially because Ive got two young children and I dont know how Ill cope for so long not being on my feet. I too thought that I would be up and about in no time but from reading throough past posts I think I was wrong. Make the most of doing nothing and rest up good and Im sure it will all be worth it in the end(thats what im going to keep telling myself!)
Hope you have improvements soon
Debx :)

cindyjo....I just reread the post I made earlier and was in such a hurry to get to pt I hope it made sense! It was after the FIRST surgery that I was up and going after about 5 days but once I had the second foot done I was down for the count. I do think you'll be very glad they're both done once you've healed and are back to normal. I've had several people tell me they had one done and never went back for the second and now wish they had've but just still put it off because they don't want the downtime. I'm dealing with the same thing with both of them healing and no, it's not been fun but they are slowly healing.
We seem to have the same problems as far as the soreness and swelling. It's not like pain as in jabbing but just so sore and tender but that has gotten better and honestly when I was at 6 weeks ..where you are...it was tough! Once I hit the baseline and started being able to see progress then I knew I wasn't going to be stuck like that forever and once I started really seeing progress which was around 10 weeks or so after the last foot was done then I had something to go on and could put a timeline in my head. At least for me that really helps. I think we all wish we could have someone say .."you will be completely well on such and such date at such and such time"...ok, or maybe just I do!:) I will say I've been very pleasantly surprised at how well I've done since starting the pt. Between all the pain/soreness I had for so long topped with a bad doc and me seeing no progress I felt so desperate and hopeless. I'd finally been able to be very active again after a lengthy illness and to think I'd possibly worked so hard to be able to have that again ....which yes, it does become your life....and it be taken away was more than I could stand to think about. I know everyone has a different story but noone likes going through something that is so life-changing...literally overnite. It will pass though I promise. Even over the past couple weeks the swelling has gotten tremendously better. Now it's mostly at the end of the day or after I've done alot(as opposed to nothing!) and the swelling is isolated to mostly just below my toes rather than all over. No, I'm not in pretty shoes yet but have been able to wear some REALLY WIDE Born mules I found a couple times and not have them on for too extremely long.
I will tell you that those orthotics(sp??..gotta look that one up!) have really helped and you might want to check into it. My feet were so sore and tender on the front especially and hurt so badly when I put the least bit of pressure on them I couldn't stand it. My family/friends called me MissisuWhiggins because of how I walked!...ok, still do some...but not all the time:) I'd honestly never given it any thought but lifting up my arch(which I thought all this time was fairly high??duhhh?) will take the pressure of your toes and you'll be able to roll over so much easier when you walk! ...might be something to look into if you haven't anyway.
I do hope you're feeling better. Sorry to be so rambly....I really do hurt for you. Like you I thought as I'd been told I'd be feeling GREAT in about 8 weeks and that was one huge setup for disappointment...a BIG disappointment. Give it just a little time though and you will be feeling better and no, I'm not to this point yet but think in time I will be very glad both my feet are fixed and I don't have that constant pain from the bunions anymore.
cindy

Thanks. My feet actually feel a little bit better today. I had bilateral surgeries with pins in both feet. I called my doctor today, and he gave me a prescription for an anti-inflammatory, and I'm also taking pain meds. Nothing really seems to help, though. But I'm reading on this message board about so many people who have pain and swelling after surgery, so that at least reassures me that this is fairly typical. I'm going back to work next week (I've been on medical leave since before Christmas), and in the meantime, I'm just trying not to do too much and to keep my feet up. This is not too easy, since I have twin 9 year olds.

Oh you poor thing!:( You do have alot keeping you busy and on your feet. That alone (being on your feet) will of course contribute alot. Ya know...I'm just wondering if having them done at the same time isn't alot of the problem. From what you said you had the same done as mine.....They sawed off that outer bone then sawed(sorry to be so graphic...a better term?) the metatarsil 1 or 2 times and I ended up with I think 3 pins in the right foot and 2 in the left. The doc refused to do them both at once because they were so bad but then had it set for a week apart....geez...what the difference??? Anyway....after the first one I had no trouble at all. After the first 4 or 5 days I actually was out shopping! Yes, it was stupid of me and I paid for it afterwards but was tired of being pinned up at the time and didn't know NOT to do that at the time but besides some swelling after that it was honestly not much trouble for me at all. I even had one night that I stayed at the sleep clinic with the stitches still in. HOWEVER.....after the second foot was done....WOW!!! Not just pain in it but pain in BOTH! It was sheer pain too....not just a little discomfort. I got about 3 hours sleep total one week and by the end of that week my mom who was staying with me was exhausted too. Nothing seemed to stop the pain. They said I'd not been taking my pain meds on time and had broken the cycle so gave me a nerve block which did help tremendously. (No, the surgeon didn't do that.....a new doc at the clinic who is frankly the only one out of around 10 docs there that I really have anything for).....Maybe it's just me but I've talked to other friends in health professions and all agree that it's just too much for your system. For me it was like I was on overload ....it was more than my body could handle. Sounds maybe a little of the same for you?
Are you going to get to do any physical therapy at all? I hope so. That has helped with the pain/discomfort/swelling too. I think it would help alot if you could go....just imho.
I'm very happy others heal quickly and are in their regular shoes with no swelling but that just doesn't seem to be the case for all of us. I'm sure there are many factors that contribute to the differences. Good idea to rest up this week but be ready for next week with work too. My neighbors mother(early 50s) had her feet done 6 weeks apart and went back to work 4 weeks after each surgery. She has a job where she's on her feet all the time. I saw my neighbor today and asked about her. I would say she's probably around 10 weeks on the second foot. She's able to make it during the day but gets very tired in the afternoons and of course comes home every nite and props up and ices her feet. That is the point I'm at as well. I seem to finally be able to make it through the day but after I go to the gym or hit against the ball machine at nite I have to come home and prop and ice. Be ready too for it to just be hard most likely that first week or so. I was in really good shape prior to the surgeries and it's coming back now but honestly amazed me just how quickly our bodies atrophy during that time we're not doing anything. Just remember it will get better and it will actually pass. I'm frustrated I'm not back in the shape I was of course but honestly don't think that's possible until I'm back playing tennis but I am very happy with just what I'm able to do now....even as opposed to a few weeks ago. Today was another first even. I'm not sure if this is "normal" or not but the swelling originally was well.....like my feet were blown up latex gloves or something. The decrease in swelling started with my ankles....then stayed on my feet for what seemed forever.....then went to the front of my feet (balls of feet and toes) then tonite I went to the gym and did the slow walking so I get on the balls of my feet...roll over....then to get some cardio did about 40 min on the elliptical machine but on my heels mostly....then the bike for about 20 min. I just knew when I got home my feet would be huge. I needed to get out the frustrations with the exercise but also kept thinking...I'm overdoing it!(stupid I know).....I got home and yes they were hurting but surprisingly I didn't have those pump knot things just below my toes. Some swollen and my toes definitely but it's slowly going down. I did get alot of blood flow to them though....just on the balls of my feet and toes...but they were black and blue looking. That's happened all along though so I'm assuming it's normal?
...anyway...hang in there.......take breaks when you need them.......hopefully you have a little help with the boys too? ...you'll make it!.....cindy