Week 4 post op - right foot

   I have been doing my assigned exercises per my surgeon's orders and have really noticed a difference in pain and flexibility compared to my other foot at 4 weeks post-op. The other thing I have noticed is that I have almost no numbness to any area of my foot near the scar. My last surgery, I experienced numbness between the big toe and 2nd toe, on top of my scar, and below my big toe. It has improved over the past year but some of it is still there. Nerves grow very slowly if they are damaged. You never know if they will truly heal to their original capabilities or if there will be permanent damage. So it's a waiting game.

   I still ice my foot about 1-2x per day or more if I am up for a long time or out for awhile. It helps tremendously with swelling and it just feels fantastic. I'm not experiencing much pain. I just take Ibuprofen if my foot is sore. If I know I'm going to be out for awhile with my foot down, I take Ibuprofen before activity to help cut down on swelling and inflammatory pain.

  At my week 4 visit my surgeon gave me permission to manipulate my toe back and forth to help stretch it. It is very painful! However, I just try to think about the fact that the more I do this, the more flexibility I will gain back in my toe! I've continued to shower with the boot off but not weight bearing yet. My steristrips did come off.

   You can see where the steri strips were. Lots of dry dead skin ready to be sloughed off. Gross I know. I'm interested to see how the scar will look. Once all of the black stuff sloughs off, I will start using the scar product I bought. I decided to try a different one this time to see how it works compared to the Scarguard. 

   Having done this whole operation twice now, I have to say, one of the things that bothers me most is the hassle of the boot. I can take it off when I am sleeping and showering but I cannot weight-bear on the affected foot without it on. So it's just a hassle to take it off in bed. I spend a lot of time in bed anyway, keeping my foot elevated to help with swelling and healing. You can see in the above pictures I haven't had that much swelling. 

  Will report back in 2 weeks!

Week 2 Post op - Right foot

   I am surprised how well I am feeling now at week 2. I guess after having done one foot it gets a little easier and less stressful the second time around. I have been very diligent about keeping my foot elevated as much as possible. I also do my leg exercises in bed to help prevent blood clots - per my doctor's orders. I have ventured out this past week to restaurants and the movies a couple times. I made sure to sit in the seats that are right next to the railing so I can keep my foot up. My knee-rider is a life-saver for getting around. While my foot doesn't hurt actively, if I keep it down for over 20-30 minutes it starts to ache. I am also still icing my foot, every couple hours when I am in bed. I stopped taking pain medication after the first week. Now I just use Motrin if it's bothering me. The biggest irritation is sleeping with the boot on. I am just stuck on my back and the weight of the boot is uncomfortable. During the first week I planned my pain medication so that I would take the last dose right before bed because I would fall asleep easier even with the annoying boot.

   Here is my first picture of my foot out of all the post op wrapping! It isn't a pretty site but there isn't a lot of swelling, so yay!

   As mentioned before, the gap between my toes will close in a couple weeks. Something I worried about the first time around;) At this point my doctor said I can start showering with the boot off, just avoid soaking the foot in water (for sanitary reasons). Do not remove steri strips - let them fall off by themselves. Do not scrub the area vigorously, but ok to gently clean around surgical site and rinse off. I am also allowed to start stretching my toes back and forth and doing range-of-motion exercises with my ankles. Continue to keep foot elevated when possible - doesn't have to be majority of day, but just when resting.

   My foot is VERY stiff. Just stretching the big toe is quite painful. However, the more I stretch it the less it hurts. I'm also still elevating the foot. At this point last time, I was spending more time on my feet, walking around. This time I'm spending about 6-8 hours on my feet and about 6 hours in bed with my foot elevated. I know it's hard to spend so much time doing nothing and keeping your foot up but, trust me, it makes such a big difference! It also helps the surgical site heal better.
   Oh, and I am also allowed to sleep without the boot. However, I've noticed that just the pressure of my blankets on top of my foot hurts my big toe. Rather than continue to wear the boot for a few days like I did last time I just went with it. It was totally worth it, so much easier to sleep without the boot! I still keep my foot propped on several pillows though. Also, it really helps to keep an additional pillow between your propped pillows and your body. It's a lot more comfortable for propping up your leg. It's a method we use in the hospital for elevating patient's feet to reduce swelling and it works fantastically!

   

Second foot surgery - Right foot

   Well I took the dive and just got my right foot done as well. Bye bye last bunion! Had my surgery on Tuesday and it is now Friday. No real pictures interesting pictures to show as the wrapping is still on for the next two weeks.

The "no" is to prevent accidental surgery on wrong foot:D, not a tattoo

   However I do have some major toe swelling as you can see above. I am taking Norco this time instead of Percocet, which I like a lot better because I don't get a nauseated. I am taking it about every 5-6 hours while awake. I haven't gotten up much, just to use the bathroom and grab food. I've been icing my foot as much as possible. It's a lot easier this time around since I already know what to expect.













  I wasn't sure I would even bother about blogging this foot but I

thought it might be a good idea in case anything is different this time around. To prep for this surgery I did the same things as in my first blog posts. However, this time I did get a shower with a removable handle and an actual shower seat. Worth the splurge, let me tell you. Getting down into a tub with your boot sticking out really tests your core ab abilities. After laying in bed for a week, you won't have great abs anymore. Or like me, you never did in the first place.

   I am really restless this time around. I would definitely be going out of the house today if sheer pain didn't stop me.

6 Months post-surgery

   I can't believe it's already been 6 months since my bunionectomy! Now I'm about to dive into surgery on the other foot. Regretfully so:( Would rather not go through that experience again but if there is one thing that I have learned from this surgery it's that you should do it while you are young! It's a long recovery process which is made much easier by my age. Here are some pictures of my left foot before and now at 6 months:

    I really don't have any pain physically or neurologically. The numb areas have mostly gone away except for over the scarred area. Every so often if I exercise a lot or I've been on my feet all day I notice that my big toe feels like all the blood has just rushed there, a painful sort of pressure. Other than that, great results. My toe is just as flexible as it was pre-surgery. A lot of my anxiety before surgery was regarding long-term results. I'm pleased to say that I really don't have any negative long-term outcomes - except for the scar;).

   Regarding shoes - I kind of gave up on looking at specialty shops. Plus a pair of shoes will cost about $150 on average! I have found that Famous Footwear tends to carry the largest selection of wide shoes. I bought some orthotic inserts from Foot Solutions and place them in all my shoes. I can't bring myself to not wear sandals, even though they are bad for my feet. My over pronation and flat feet are what have caused my bunions. To correct it, I use an orthotic device that has a high arch and a metatarsal support (a pad that is just below the toes). I have even run several miles with these orthotics and am happy to report my feet don't hurt afterwards. Eventually I will probably get an orthotic insert from a podiatrist but this is just a way to save money for now.