You can recover from bunion surgery!
I am happy to say that I have almost completely recovered from having successful bunion surgery. I wanted to share this after reading so many horror stories of those who have had bad experiences with this surgery and recovery. My journey began about a year ago and required two surgeries. You can read the details of my bunion surgery here but long story short my first surgery was a disaster.
After years of dealing with progressively worse foot pain and after taking with several doctors I decided surgery was my only option. The procedure I had was lapidus fusion, akin osteotomy, and excision of the tibial sesamoid. Unfortunately I had a vitamin d deficiency that went undetected (my level was around 12) so the bones never fully fused back together. On top of that one of the screws broke in half so all of the hardware needed to me removed. The orthopedic surgeon told me essentially the second surgery would be starting the entire process over again from the very beginning. As you can imagine I was devastated.
Perseverance and a positive outlook are required
After trying everything including a bone stimulator I went to another orthopedic surgeon and decided to have the surgery again after getting my vitamin d level back up to normal levels (around 40). I was extremely nervous because I did not want to go through the long recovery again which had been around 6 months the first time only to still have constant pain when walking. I was also concerned since this time in addition to screws a metal plate would be installed across the area that had not healed the first time.
I am so happy to be able to report back that after this year long journey the bone is my foot is now 100% fused. I am walking and running now 100% pain free. I have 2 small children so being able to play and run around with them was one of my top priority!
Don’t get me wrong my recovery was slow and I won’t be winning any foot beauty contests with all of my battle scars. I took 2 weeks off from work after the surgery and was on a knee scooter for almost 3 months and a walking boot for another 2 months. But now that I can walk around without pain I can say that in the end it was all worth it. Heck, 2 weeks off work was a nice break and I was able to catch up on some much needed rest, video games, and movies while I was laying on my butt!
100% recovery is possible
I felt I needed to write this post for anyone considering bunion surgery. I read so many negative and scary stories on forums and message boards it could easily lead you to believe that no one has a positive experience or a successful bunion surgery. I know I felt that way.
Most likely you won’t have a quick and easy recovery but hopefully your recovery will be easier than mine. Needed to have a second surgery is extremely rare. In fact my doctor told me that this happens in less than 2-4% of cases (lucky me).
Before you go under the knife be sure to get your Vitamin D level checked! This is critical and like I mentioned earlier a deficiency led me to having surgery twice. There is light at the end of the tunnel and even after going through everything I went through it was all worth it. I went to Turks and Caicos to celebrate and walking on the beach barefoot pain free was glorious!
Follow your doctors orders, eat healthy and believe that you will fully recover! It is possible. This is something I never thought I would be able say after spending months rolling around on a knee scooter. Good luck!
Update:
My foot continues to feel fine and I am running and as active as ever! I can keep up with my kids and am running pain free and as fast as I was 10 years ago! If you are considering bunion surgery and have any questions I’d love to hear from you. Just comment below.
Second Update:
After more than a year and a half later I am happy to say that I am pretty much back to 100%! I run, workout daily and go on long walks with zero pain. As I look back this was quite a journey with many ups and downs. At my low point when my doctor told me I would need surgery again I almost could not imagine a complete recovery….but here I am today! If you are considering bunion surgery and are worried because of all the negative articles and posts online just know that I was in your same “shoes” and I am now walking and running stronger than ever. So do your research, get the best doctor you can and get on the road to recovery!
Thanks for this positive and inspiring post. I am scheduled to have surgery soon and so many of the posts are so negative I was starting to get pretty nervous. Thanks so much for sharing your story!