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According to an orthopedic surgeon friend, bunion surgery is among THE most painful surgeries, if not the #1 most painful.

I had a pretty painful bunion years ago, then I started wearing Birkenstocks, Born, and Stegmann clogs exclusively. The bunion went away without surgery..... I only wear cute shoes when going out at night now. Birks and Born clogs the rest of the time.

Try it! Good luck,

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Be careful how much weight you put on that foot.  I was on crutches for several weeks.  It was a real pain but I had to have some of the work redone because I didn't stay off the foot long enough.  My toes look much worse now.  I had a pin in one toe and a permanent screw where the bunion was.  The pin didn't bother me at all to remove but that screw is still very painful.  I am toying with the idea of having it removed if it won't incapacitate me again.  If I had it to do over I wouldn't I guess is the bottom line.  I didn't have much pain which was good because I couldn't take the vicodin.  I spent the whole first post-op day throwing up from that.  I did fine with ibuprophen.  Go for physical therapy if they will authorize it.  It helps a lot.

Good luck!

Hi demodoll,

Thanks for all the info.  My sister was thinking of having this done and I insisted that she read all your experiences.  She changed her mind.  She has kids and a job and no way could she hang out in bed or on crutches.

Another friend of mind has been wearing stilettos for years (she is a fashion editor) and she has hammer toes now but they don't hurt.  Just look strange.  She said the docs wanted to operate on her but she refused and is glad she did because she researched the surgery that her doc was advising and it had a very long and painful down time.

In some ways doctors are like auto mechanics.  And yes...my sister made the right decision thanks to your help.

My auto mechanic told me that if I didn't get my catalytic converter fixed (they wanted $3,000 - OUCH) that my car would in essence blow up.  That was 12 months ago and 2 other auto mechanics told me that my car would "not blow up".  So I am currently waiting for my new (more trustworthy mechanic) to find a rebuilt converter for thousands less. 

Yes...I think that sometimes doctors overstate what can happen. Like auto mechanics. :-)

I didn't realize you had kids.  For some reason I thought you were single and fancy free.  :-)  But having kids and a traveling husband and crutches.  UGH.  How terrible.  Glad you got through it all OK.

I am glad I was able to help your sister.  And yes, I am a busy working Mom although my kids are teenagers now.  They still keep me very busy and there is always something to drive too.  So not being able to walk or drive was unacceptable.  I have decided that all unnecessary surgery is out of the question (except maybe liposuction or a tummy tuck).

Good luck with your car.  That is always a hassle.  My husband usually deals with car stuff.  Sexist I know but it works better that way.

They suggested that I use vitamin E and there is also that stuff called Mederma (kind of expensive though).  I used both but still have scaring, especially along the side of my big toe where the bunion was.  They sliced into each one of my toes vertically since I had all of them corrected and those scars aren't too bad.  Just white lines.  My toes are still kind of red and it literally took a year for all the swelling to go down.  My toes aren't real painful anymore but I noticed in an exercise class that I am taking that sometimes they hurt a bit.  It is more of a permanent soreness.  Not too bad but there is also some numbness, especially in my big toe that I don't think will ever go away.  That bothers me a lot.  And I still don't wear shoes.  Just sandles and flip flops.  That is OK for now because I live in south Florida and it never gets really cold here.  I am probably moving back to Georgia within the next year though and I am concerned about having to wear shoes in the winter.  I really don't know if there are any shoes I can stand to wear that won't hurt my toes.  I can't stand to have anything touch where the scars are. 

Try moisturizing your incisions when your doctor allows it maybe using neosporin or something.  I think caring for that skin is most important.

It could be either a bone spur which is common in the pinky toe, a tailor's bunion (bunion on the pinky toe), or an actual corn which is cause by pressure or a bone abnormality. I can give you a list of websites to visit for more info. I still use these boards for support.

http://www.arch-pain.com/Questions_toc.htm#000013fd

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=56

http://www.epodiatry.com/foot_problems.htm

i had the surgery done to both feet at the same time 2 or 3 years ago (i was 14) and i was walking the same day. i actually went grocery shopping. the goofy shoes i only wore for 4 weeks. it was well worth wearing them though. i never wore pretty shoes or even flip flops untill after the surgery. now i have flip flops in ever style, color, or brand. the little time spent in those dumb shoes is worth a lifetime of summer flip flops and winter snow boots.

good luck. the pain isnt real and the shoes arent that bad.

I forgot to update you guys on my experience. The first 3 days were painful b/c of the muscle cramps in my calf from my muscles not being used much (which were painful and woke me up out of my sleep) and throbbing when my foot wasn't elevated. I was on crutches for the first week and began walking in a surgical boot (at 1st I had a small surgical shoe) to keep from hitting the pin, which was much more comfortable. Other than that, I'm happy I got the surgery. My toe is healing nicely and my foot is peeling a lot. I think it's from the Vitamin E and cocoa butter cream, but I can deal. I am having my pin removed on Monday Oct. 3rd and I'm nervous but happy b/c this pin is so annoying. I'll be able to wear two shoes again--instead of a regular shoe and my "Frankenstein" shoe. Has anyone ever had a temporary pin? If so, what did it feel like when it was removed? Does it feel like stitches? Hopefully b/c those didn't really hurt. Thanks in advance!

the pins were painless but the staples killed me.

im glad your surgery went well. pretty feet are the best.

I am sort of afraid to go back.  What if it gets even worse?  I may need another doctor.

Leducred,

Wow!  You have really been through it haven't you?  Congratulations on being an ovarian cancer surviver.  I know that one is pretty dreadful.  I imagine that foot surgery is nothing to you compared to everything else you have been through.  That is very inspirational to hear that you can go through so much and still live a happy and positive life.

I just don't really have time to be "off my feet" so to speak.  When I woke up from the first surgery they asked me if I had any crutches.  I was shocked as I didn't even know that I wouldn't be able to use my foot.  I assumed a couple of weeks in the booty and I would be back to normal.  What a big surprise that was!  I have two kids and my husband travels most of the time.  I also work full time.  I absolutely could not be off my feet at all so the first surgery didn't really work very well.  I didn't have any pain so I was motoring around pretty quickly.  The crooked toes were still crooked.  So my podiatrist worked on two of them again and they are still crooked and I just decided that since I can finally wear some (not all) shoes again that I would just live with it.  I have found that the screw is really in a bad spot however, and it pains me with most shoes.  I may try to get something else done but I have to wait until both my kids are gone and there is someone around full time who can take care of my house while I am off my feet.  So it may never happen.