2 months since bunionectomy - Foot Problems Message Board

carolcrone · 02-23-2004, 01:40 PM

I had my Austin bunion surgery exactly 2 months ago, and to celebrate my s-l-o-w recovery, I wore a skirt and 1 flat to work today! Still have that tennis shoe & sock on my ex-bunion foot, but at least it's my own shoe and not the extra-large men's shoe I've been wearing. By afternoon, when the swelling gets too bad, I just take out the innersole & make a little more room in there.

I thought I'd be fully recovered by now. Bone-wise, the x-rays show I am, but muscle & tendon-wise, I have a long way to go. The incision still has a big scab on it & is very tender (I'm massaging it with Mederma). The joint area is red and after showering, the underside of the foot is dark red. I'm still taking anti-inflammatories. Even with the toe exercises, I don't have full upward motion of the toe and practically no downward motion.

I try not to go to stores that don't have handicapped scooters. Haven't seen a mall in 2 months (saved some money, too)! I worked out in the yard about 6 hours this weekend moving & burning brush, and that made my foot feel like one big stone bruise. However it was no worse for the wear & not swollen any more than usual on Mon morning, so I guess it's recovering. Just got to get back into physical shape after laying around for 2 months. I look forward to reporting better news at 3 months. Thanks for everyone's support.

sweetficus · 02-23-2004, 03:37 PM

Hi CC - I'm right there with ya on the Austin at 2 months post op!
and yes my foot is still slightly purply discolored and puffy and sensitive compared to the other nonsurgerized one, but it's way better than even last week so we'll just continue our tortoise like progress to a completely healed foot
I hope you are doing your gentle toe stretches/exercises - I hold my toe out for alignment and slowly bend it up and down - this has helped a lot in increasing the range of motion - I do it 2x a day am and pm about 10-15 times up and down
I also missed shopping the last 2 months but plan to make up for it soon w/ the early spring sales (and don't we deserve it!)

gimpy1 · 02-23-2004, 10:16 PM

Hey all,
Thought I'd post over here, too, since I'm right there with you at basically two months post-op. That's great that you were able to do so much yard work & still be functioning the next day. It does seem to me that one of the areas of slight improvement for me is that I can "rebound" a little faster by sitting w/foot elevated for 1/2 hour or so vs. being "done for it" for the day if I over-did it just a couple weeks ago. (Hope this makes sense) It's like we're slowly getting our foot re-conditioned to "be all it can be"! I know I'm ready for mine to go shopping again LOL! We're going on a cruise in 6 weeks & I'm dying to go to the mall! Seems like we're all missing this part of our life...

Wishing you a speedy recovery,
Gimpy1

twobadfeet · 02-24-2004, 08:34 AM

Hi carolcrone,

I'm glad to hear your foot survived the rigors of 6 hours of outdoor work. I've seriously overdone it twice since my surgery, by necessity really, and was relieved that my foot bounced back both times. The first and worst time was when my husband and I got a call from his brother. He was in town and (wouldn't you know it) for the first time in 15 years he called my husband. There had been some misunderstanding between them and this was the first time in 15 years they'd spoken.

Anyway, I was only 6 weeks post-op, and just getting ready to start slowly but thoroughly cleaning the house after weeks of recovery time and suddenly we had to entertain his brother and sister-in-law on two days notice. I logged two frenetic days of cleaning the house top to bottom, hobbling around on my poor foot. I called in a distress signal to my husband, who took time off work to help me, but I was afraid my foot would be permanently damaged. I guess the moral here is that once the bone is healed, our feet can survive more than we could ever expect. We pay for it afterwards, but do ourselves no real harm. By the way, the visit went great and the relationship was mended, so it was worth it.

The other part of your message I wanted to respond to was your massaging your incision with Mederma. From your previous posts, I know that you know about the wound needing to be completely closed first, so I'm guessing that you're not massaging the part that is scabbed? None of my business, but I don't want you to wind up with keloids. And finally, congratulations on reaching your two-month milestone. Slowly but surely, we're getting there.

twobadfeet

carolcrone · 02-24-2004, 02:08 PM

2 Bad, strangely enough, at my last doctor's visit, he said 'you ARE using the Mederma, aren't you'. I had thought the scab had to be totally gone, but he said to go ahead & start using it. It has really softened up the area, so it makes possible the little downward motion I have. I don't rub it too hard. Gimpy, where are you cruisin? We're going to the Bahamas in mid-May. I decided to cancel the western backpacking trip in Apr, because I just don't know how this foot will behave or if I'll even get it into a boot by then. It seemed like an easier vacation to go on a cruise!