It's been 6 weeks since my bunion surgery and I'm so so excited that I can finally drive again! I think that has been one of the hardest things about the recovery from my recent bunion surgery. Having to ask others for help and being only able to go out and do things at the convenience of others (my 16-year-old son has his learners permit so he's been driving me around the most, but he's only available after school) has been trying for me to say the least. Independence is a big thing for me, having it taken away was hard.
I've just had my 2nd lot of x-rays and my surgeon is very happy. He says everything is looking good, bones are healing well and I can get back into most things (except high impact exercise such as running, and no weight training where there is more excessive force through my foot such as squats with weights, no standing on one foot on the ball of my foot - but two feet is fine). You can also see how my 4th toe is way less curled under as he released the tendon on that toe to straighten it out.
Some of the things that are making me happiest are that I can wear any flat shoes I like (to a slight heel) and also be barefoot!
I love being barefoot in the warmer months when I'm at home - in fact my surgeon says it's great as it will force me to bend my big toe upwards and increase its flexibility again and stretch it out (as having worn the post-operative shoe now for 6 weeks which doesn't bend at all, it's really stiff and sore when I bend it upwards).
As we're coming into summer, I'm glad that I'll also be able to wear my sandals again too, something that has been tricky with an orthotic to consider. My foot is looking much better too as the scars heal and the swelling gradually subsides.
My foot is still swollen, so not all my shoes and sandals fit at present, so I'm still limited in my shoe choices, and I know it'll be another 4-5 months until the swelling subsides completely, but I can deal with that and I'm continuing to elevate my foot when seated as much as possible to reduce swelling.
I'm still not keen on having the bedding over my foot, pressing down on my toes, but it's getting a little more comfortable than it was. If it was winter, I'd probably have invested in a cat igloo to put my foot into at night and the bedding on top, but because the nights are warming up I'm Ok having it out of under the doona (that's a duvet or a quilt in other parts of the world). The incision site on the side of my foot is the most painful part of my foot, so I'm continuing to massage twice daily to reduce the sensitivity and help the healing.
There is more pain in my lower back from sitting around so much and limping these past 6 weeks with uneven height shoes/post-op boot, more than pain in my foot. So happy to be back moving again and going back to the gym again.
I've always had narrow feet and my surgeon told me that my foot bones are about 30% finer than most peoples, so that explains why my feet are narrow (and no I now can't officially I can't blame any excess weight on big bones).
There is still another 6 weeks before I can do high impact and heavy weight-bearing exercise on my feet, and it will be some time too before my toes bend like they did before - but I'm well on the road to recovery.
Why I Decided to Have Bunion Surgery
Bunion Surgery 2 Week Post-Operation Update
4 Weeks Post Bunion Surgery Update
What to Wear After a Foot Operation When You Have to Wear a Post-Operative Shoe or Moonboot
How to Choose Shoes with Style When You Have Foot Issues
Finding Shoes for Orthotics That Are Stylish
