Hello,
I'm Darren from England i'm 39 years old and had problems with my big left toe for years after stumping in playing football. I have bone on bone which was hurting me afer walking for a few hundred yds.I had the part of the bone cut off ( the spars I think ) 2 years ago but it didn't help.
Now I have been told about having toe fusion. I'm worried about the time off work again for a long time as i'm a self employed floorlayer, but i can't go on like this anymore. It doesn't effect my job but I can't walk far without it hurting. I want to beable to play golf again and walk ok, i'm only 39 and worry if I don't have it done now it will it get worst. I have spent most of my life playin sports - squash, football, karate etc and now i'm puttin alot of weight on because I have stopped which isn't good.
So if anyone could give me advice on should I have it done? How long will I by off work and does it work?
I had my big toe fused on Oct 28, 2009. I was very apprehensive and scared before hand. I did a lot of research and learned a lot. I also had just about no cartilage in the joint, and many bone spurs. If I went for a walk, my foot would feel like there was an ice pick being jammed into that joint. It had very limited range of motion. I asked the surgeon if it would fuse on its own and he said not entirely, and that it would continue to get more painful. That is what made me know it was the right choice for me. I was totally calm on the day of the surgery, and ready for it.
I have a plate and screws to fix the joint. I was able to walk on my heel from the beginning. I was given permission to walk on the whole foot at six weeks. I returned to work after two weeks because I have a sedentary job and could bring a stool with me. If I were a floorlayer, I might have been able to return to work after about six weeks. It depends on the footwear. The bottom line though is how is it affecting your life over all? I decided that my foot had altered my lifestyle so much that I had to do something.
Now after four months I can walk and walk with no pain. That is fabulous! I would not be ready to do something like tap dancing yet (if I were so inclined) but normal activities are fine. It does still swell a bit, but I can wear my shoes.
There are lots of threads in here on the topic. Browse through them and get more information. Good luck.
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Life is too short to wear tight shoes. ~ May you have happy feet in 2012.
i had toe fusion 3 and a half years ago. no, i didnt want it, but it sure got rid of the pain. everyone heals differently due to what type of surgery the dr does. i was in a cast for 8 weeks with crutches and then a walking boot. ask your dr what he is planning.
I had my big toe fused 5 weeks ago and loved reading your post - makes me hopeful that in 2 months I will be in shoes and no pain. On Tuesday next week I will have the tell all x-ray to see how the fusion has gone. I so look forward to no pain and wearing shoes.
I had a mosiac cartilage graft 7 months ago that failed and the fusion has been a walk in the park compared to the graft.
Good luck with your x-ray Nixstix. Don't be discouraged though if it does not show fusing right away. My first x-ray showed no fusing then the one a month later had something happening, and then the most recent one, at about three months showed that it is fusing. I am going to ask to get an x-ray at the six months mark as well.
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Life is too short to wear tight shoes. ~ May you have happy feet in 2012.
Thanks Northwind, good to know that there is still hope if the fusion has not started yet - feet really take time to heal. I still hope to see tons of new bone bridging the gap though. Holding thumbs!!!
I am 36 and had the same decision to make that you have now. I am young, do a lot of sport and the last 2 years the pain in my big toe was affecting my decisions. I would hesitate before going for a walk on the beach, decided not to do a hike etc. I also had the joint cleaned and even a cartilage graft done last July, trying to save the joint. I did tons of research and found that a good fusion done by a top ortho doc is the best option if you are young and active. It has a high success rate. My op was 5 weeks ago, the healing process has been problem free but I did make sure that I could stay in bed full time for 4 weeks. I have been up for a week now, very little swelling and in a heel boot. I also work for myself and had to close for 7 weeks. I will have to keep you posted on what the next few weeks hold for me but so far I feel the fusion was the best option. Making the decision is the biggest part.
Thanks Guys for your posts, you have really helped me. I am goin to have it done this year i've decided. I cant go on like this much more so not much choice. Keep me updated as how your both getting
on
Darren
