This is it....

Just a quick update

Thanks to everyone who has posted recently,I have been a bit down this week due to being stuck inside especially now that everything is blooming and it was so nice to get outside for two minutes as I hobbled to the car to go and have my dressings changed (they didn't look nice) and the stitches out.The lady who treated me today was the same one who injected me with the numbing stuff when I had my op and she says she goes everywhere doing so many different tasks within the hospital

I have also been put on antibiotics as a precaution as two of my toes are pinching each other and there is a bit of a breakdown in the skin so she wants to be more safe than sorry

Anyway,she was pleased with my foot although to me it looks horrible and I still can't rotate that ankle or wiggle my toes so the biggest fear I have is never being able to walk again although I am managing to walk up and down the lounge and get to the front door and back so my ankle must be doing some sort of movement

Mr Kandy is hanging out some more washing but hasn't got much fro me as I am not changing my T.Shirts and leggings every day only my undergarments

I must be going stir crazy as my new dressings make my foot look like an ice cream cone

 

Time is early yet Kandy, your foot needs time to heal and if you're walking on it already that's a good sign. It took me nine months to recover after having a shattered ankle pinned together. Three months of that in plaster and not allowed to put it on the ground for that time.

If you're bored.....have you got a sun lounger you can use in the garden on nice days? Just being outside in the fresh air will make you feel better. Oh and you could turn that 'ice cream' into a face with a felt tip pen. The white dressing over your toes could be a hat.

 

@Sheal the info leaflets the hospital gave me said that they expect all patients to be ambulating round the house after day two but it took until the end of last week before I could get around properly.I have a black solid soled shoe that I have to wear when I move around so that takes all the body weight.The walking is to stop me seizing up and to get the blood flowing round the foot.

Yes I have a sun lounger but have been told by the hospital that I can't go outside to do anything in case I get the wound contaminated or wet so they are very strict on what you can and can't do.If it carries on this way I still have another four weeks of being stuck inside apart from when I go for my dressing changes.Mr Kandy took me on a drive round last Friday to show me the fields of rape and all the hedgerows either in the green or white with blossom.

I did stand on the outside front door mat for a minute or so last evening to get some fresh air and I sit on our bench seat in the conservatory with the window open while I am potting up cowslip seedlings and taking photos of the garden

This is another reason why I have never rushed into having my foot sorted earlier as I knew it is a long recovery.I didn't want it done in the winter months as I suffer with winter depression and being stuck inside for weeks on end would have made it worse

Sorry to hear you had a rough time when you shattered your ankle and hope that you don't suffer with it all these years later

I was thinking of doing the smiley face on the bandage but wasn't sure what the hospital staffs humour was like so thought better of it

 

You have to follow your doctor's instruction for you to have full recovery. Don't rush things.

 

I agree @darryle that is why I am putting up with staying indoors.I am only able to do it is because all my working life I was trapped indoors for anything up to twelve hours a day and in the winter I went to work in the dark and came home in the dark so no chance of getting outdoors.

I have not seen my own Dr only the Consultant/Surgeon and he said it is in my best interests not to go outside so that I don't get the "K" wire knocked or bacteria getting into to it.When I go next week,I will be four weeks post op and I am having X-rays taken of my foot and the K wire pulled out.Something I am so looking forward to...Not Hopefully I will get the ok to start getting outside and a nice bath or shower,something I have missed so much

 

Hi there Kandy I only joined today and have just read through your thread with great interest.Did you suffer from arthritis? I only ask because I did, and had my right foot (toes) fused 6 yrs ago and then had my left toes fused last Dec, My last surgery took longer to recover from - not sure why, maybe because it was a different surgeon. I had 15 wks off work but although it is still tender at times and can swell up a bit it was well worth it. I have my final checkup and Xrays in a couple of weeks time and hopefully be given the all clear. I was warned that it would take some getting use to walking this time as I would now have a double fusion to cope with , but to be honest once I stopped having to wear ' THE SHOE' I didn't really have any problem at all. I love walking for pleasure and also I need to walk quite a bit in my job as well, so I am on a mission at the moment to regain the power in my foot. Last week I walked 12 miles in total , but apart from a few aches and pains all was good. Hope my account of my recovery will be of help to you.......another good thing for me was that at least I now have a matching pair of 'THE SHOES'.
Wishing you all the best in your recovery

 

Hi @Upsydaisy and welcome to GC

Yes I did have quiet severe arthritis in my toes and the big toe had drifted across and had pushed into the next toe which then became a hammer toe,but that only happened in the last couple of years.If I tried massaging the toe it was very painful as the Arthritis had set into to it.I had also suffered with chronic bone pain in my feet bones and other bones and I was found to be dificient in VitaminD3 so had to have tablets for that.My levels are now up to 70 which is good

Yes my big toe has been fused with two screws and I have a "k"wire put through the second toe which has had work done on it and that is the reason why I have been told to stay indoors for six weeks.The Consultant/surgeon said that if I didn't have the toe fused then I would need more work done in the future but it will mean that I can no longer flex that toe when I walk.

You sound like you have had quiet a bit done as well to your toes and hope that you get signed off ok and it sounds like you have had quiet a bit of recovery time as well and your walking sounds good as I am a walker as well,one reason why I put it off for years but as the Consultant said they don't advise anyone to have it done until it gets too bad to walk and I was in that stage I have also got the black shoe with the Velcro straps and I did away with the crutches after week two

One upside has been that my hubby has been waiting on me,cooking meals and doing the washing/ironing although he is rather slow at the latter but I blame that on him being left handed He is also wateringand tending the garden/greenhouse/allotment and mowing the lawns although I don't like the way he pushes and pulls the lawnmower across the grass

I have watched so much TV it is unbelievable but I get fed up with reading and doing puzzle books but I find the chatter on the TV helpful when he goes walkabout for two or three hours

We are both now at home all day as we are a bit older now so I haven't got the worry of standing on my feet all day

At week four I went back to the hospital to have X-rays done of my feet and then sat an hour waiting for the Consultant to see me.When I got into see him he tried telling me off for having the X-rays done too early(should have been six weeks)so I had to relay word for word exactly what he had told me to do and I was quiet adamant that I was following his orders and hadn't misheard what he had said.The young Nurse that was in the room with us heard it all but would probably side with him.I think he had got me mixed up with another patient as I already told him I was on week two post op and he wanted the X-rays done at week four

I now have to go back next week to see him but no X-rays just to have the wire out and hopefully get the ok to have a shower and to try walking without the shoe

Have you joined any support groups over these bunion ops at all?I have and it has been good to see how others have got on and to see photos of the nice sandals they are buying and to learn about what oils I will need to use on the feet and toes to get rid of dry skin etc

 

It's the Depression that is the killer Shiney

I got my hopes built up about that wire coming out and even took painkillers beforehand as the support group says it can be painful so wasn't happy to find out that I was going to be stuck indoors for another two weeks and still no showering so my skin is feeling like sandpaper despite using lots of body lotion to add some moisture

We have had to put the plaster tape on the top of my toes because the Consultant skimped on the dressings so the top of the k wire was exposed

 

Morning Kandy, thanks for replying, glad to hear you're doing OK.

Yes, time did hang heavy during the long winter months of my recovery. My first op was during the winter too, so at least I knew what to expect second time around.

After hubs left for work I kept myself busy on our family tree, knitted some soft toys for new arrivals....even tried a spot of crochet...but gave up!

. Online jigsaws, mahjong and suduko all helped keep the brain ticking over . Also on a few gardening and work related forums...so I was able to have a few daily chats
Planned the years borders and sorted out the seeds in readenes to sow.

Never felt the need to check out any support groups. The skin does get a bit manky but once you are able to shower/ bath it will soon sort itself out. The human body is quite a remarkable machine
I would recommend CCS Swedish Formula Foot Care Cream , as with all lotions just make sure you don't have any open wounds. You can buy it from Boots, maybe even Superdrug too. I have used it regularly for years now and wouldn't use anything else, but what suits one may not suit others. But I strongly suggest you give give it a go. Also you might find it useful to wear cotton socks over your foot after you have applied the cream( even at night) as it helps with absorption.

Good luck in your recovery, take care. You can always contact me if you feel like a chat

 

Morning @Upsydaisy I should really have tried for a winter op but it took so long to pluck up the courage to ask about it plus the fact I suffer from SAD in the winter months I thought the spring a better choice with the longer days but didn't get told until after the op that I wouldn't be allowed outside for six weeks.Mr Kandy and I had joked about hiring a wheelchair so he could push me around outside and along the old flat railway beds that are now cycle/walking footpaths

It is good you are good at knitting and crocheting and doing Suduko and mahjong but I have never had the brains for those types of hobbies.By the time I came along my mum was knocking on a bit so never showed me any of those craft skills and all my gardening skillls and photography hobby is all self taught.Before the op I never watched any daytime TV as we were either out walking,gardening,birdwatching,or allotmenteering but I have enjoyed potting up Cowslip/primrose plants that I did with my foot elevated in our conservatory

I have been sleeping downstairs because for the first two weeks I couldn't get up and down the stairs and as our bed is quiet tall I would have broken my neck getting off the bed into my shoe and then using crutches.I also read blogs when I wake up in the early hours and it is nice to go all around the country or world seeing the walks that others do and the photos they put up of wildlife/gardens etc

I do use that CCS cream on my feet,have used it for years and although a bit expensive it is the best one I have found and I do what you have suggested and worn socks in bed afterwards to help the cream soak into my feet

 

Been and had the wire out this morning which I didn't feel as still have no sensation in that toe and the surgeon George that I saw this morning who pulled the pin out has thrown away my black shoe and said I won't be needing that any more

Have been told that as from tomorrow I can bath/shower and do everything that I used to do but no long distance walking for at least the next six weeks

As from tomorrow I have got to squash my feet (his words) into trainers or closed in shoes because if I wear just sandals (the walking type)which I had intended doing my foot will just blow up

I can't even get my slipper on that foot so I am going to walk round today in the house in my nice fluffy socks

My foot looks pretty gross with the skin that hasn't been exposed to the air for six weeks so will need to work some oil into them once I have started showering.

I met a lady today at the hospital who had her op done the same day as mine and six weeks down the line she is still using her crutches and not weight bearing at all and now they have taken her crutches away.I haven't used mine since week two

 

Funnily enough @shiney i have made sure I have kept myself clean and sweet smelling over the last six weeks.

Just got to try and get some work done on my foot and toes to bring the life back in to them.Can start getting holidays planned as well now so that might lift my spirits

Would put up a photo of my yucky foot but don't want to put you off of your food