Bunion surgery-anybody btdt?

Discussion in 'General' started by cheezewhiz24, Apr 7, 2014.

  1. cheezewhiz24

    cheezewhiz24 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    Welcome to 30. I have a bunion getting bigger and went in today to discuss my options. I was hoping to wait on the surgery as my mom has BAD bunions and the recovery was terrible but I already have a moderate bunion and there is no treatment to correct the toe other than surgery. I can do a shoe insert which may slow down the bunion but it won't correct it.
     
    So- anybody have one of these things fixed? How bad was your foot and how bad was the recovery?

    TIA
     
  2. MNTwinSquared

    MNTwinSquared Well-Known Member

    Me!    I had both feet done (big toe) in 1986 when I was 17.  I had another (2nd toe) done about 3 years ago. 
     
    I won't lie, the first night of this 2nd one was painful.  I had a boot to wear and sleep in and that was NOT comfortable.  The first time my feet were both casted (sign of the times). 
     
    I was not told back when I was 17 that doing the surgery back then would change the alignment of my bones/feet and then the next toe 'might' need doing, which was the case for one of my feet.  Apparently I had quite a bit of my toe cut off and that changed the natural arch of joints, which meant that there was more pressure on the 2nd toe joint.  (if that makes sense)
     
    I've never heard of putting something in my shoe to slow it down. 
     
    Back when I was 17, I was back to work (limited hours) after a week and did the State fair in a wheel chair at the 2 week mark.  Right after that I went back to school on crutches.  This second surgery on my 2nd toe, 3 years ago, I was hobbling about after about 2-3 days.  It was my left foot so I still could drive.  I took my pain meds when I needed too, and definitely on a schedule. 
     
    Any more specific questions, let me know! 
     
  3. Dielle

    Dielle Well-Known Member

    I had one foot done when I was about 25.  I don't know exactly how to define how bad it was, but I'd had problems for years... probably exacerbated by being a dancer.  It started really bothering me and was painful to walk, drive, etc.  In the surgery I had, they cut 2 pieces of bone out of my foot, one triangle in my big toe (they wired the bone back together) and a larger piece from the bone in my foot that the big toe attaches to.  That was put together with a screw that was in my foot for about 6-8 months (I had to go in and have the screw taken out after the bone had totally healed, and that hurt like hell!).  I won't lie, recovery sucked.  But then I'm a weenie.  I swore I'd never have the other foot done.  It was probably 10 years before I could wear shoes that cut across the scar on my foot.  Seriously.  Even now, I rarely wear the couple pairs of shoes I do have like that, because it hurts after a fairly short while.  Then the other weird thing is that my left foot is much narrower now than my right foot, so finding a pair of shoes that fits both feet well, is harder.  And recently, my right foot has started giving me fits and I've actually considered seeing about having it done.  But I don't know if I really will.  
     
    About 15 years before I had mine done, my grandmother had both hers done at once.  But her surgery basically consisted of just shaving off the bunions.  She thought it was great and said she didn't have problems with her feet after that.  My Dr. said that wasn't a type of surgery they did anymore.  But who knows?
     
  4. kingeomer

    kingeomer Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    I did not have the bunion surgery done.  Eventually I will have to, but my doctor wants to hold off because (I don't know if this is standard or not, it probably is)...I will have to have joint replacement in my big toe and little toe of both feet (I have arthritic bunions on both toes on both feet) and if I do it now, my doctor says the joints only last for 20 some years and I would have to have it done again-where as if I can hold off until I am older-I will only need it done once.  I do have orthotics and they are supposed to slow down the bunion damage but not cure it.  There is only a few sets of shoes I can wear without pain (no more flip-flops and never high heels)  and I am not allowed to run because even though I have the orthotics, the orthotics do not protect your foot from the shock of running.  
     
  5. becasquared

    becasquared Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    Booo for foot surgery.  I think I'm going to be joining the ranks soon, but not for a bunion. 
     
  6. Xandrae

    Xandrae Member

    Think well before deciding to do the surgery because usually it's the last option to do.
     

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