Hi, I am a 27-year-old Hispanic female. I am an exotic dancer,
which means I dance in high heels for a living, I had bunion surgery at 16 and I
don’t quite remember the healing process for that. I had surgery on 3/29/18...
on BOTH feet: toes 2-5 for hammertoes and shortening, and tailors bunion on
both feet as well. I had my stitches out on 4/11/18. It is now 4/20/18 and my
feet are extremely swollen like two sausages. I have to wrap them everyday in
coflex in order to better control the swelling. I continuously read things
online, and I am driving myself insane wondering when I will have normal
looking feet. I understand it hasn’t even been a month but summer is close by
and I am paranoid about when I will be able to work again because I need to be
able to wear heels. Prior to surgery I wasn’t necessarily taking the best care
of my body. I would drink, smoke weed and cigarettes. I am a workout fanatic so
not being able to go to the gym is driving me insane. I thought after removing
my stitches that I would be able to get into a normal shoe and I wasn’t. Stitches
removal was extremely painful. I thought I was going to pass out during the
process. Then seeing my toes was depressing; they were extremely swollen like
sausages. Then I couldn’t walk in my normal shoes so I had to leave wearing the
hideous orthopedic shoe. I had developed an allergic reaction from the surgical
glue or tape (not sure) but a week later it cleared up so it was fine. My feet
smelled and I had a lot of dry dead skin. It was utterly disgusting.
Today it is 4/20/18 and I am still bed ridden, it hurts to walk. Only
orthopedic boot feels comfortable. I am limping terribly but doc said I should try
to walk as normal as possible that way I don’t stress other parts of my foot.
When I do try to walk “as normal” as possible, I walk extremely slowly. I have
decided to remain bed ridden and elevate my feet (I’m hoping this will help me
heal faster). It hurts to shower because I can’t really stand for very long
without feeling pain. I bought crocs and I am usually a size 8 but I had to buy
a size 10, and those are uncomfortable to walk in. I will upload pictures as I
go. I have to try to remain patient and remind myself that it takes time to
heal especially for such extensive work. I’m just very paranoid about the
swelling and when I’ll be able to wear heels. My doc said by month 4 is when
patients usually start to have normal looking feet again. And she didn’t give
me an exact time as to when I would be able to wear heels. She said some can do
it at 4 months, some it takes longer. I am also very careful of what I eat, I
googled anti-inflammatory foods and I’m trying to follow my diet as strictly as
possible. I am applying arnica gel & taking bromelain 2,400 gdu/gram
capsules, and will soon begin taking the arnica pellets all in an effort to
reduce swelling and speed up healing.
I
am going insane being home with nothing to do and also worried about my
financial situation. I don’t want to be stuck in the house all summer because
my feet don’t fit into a normal shoe or because my limp is so bad that I am
ashamed to walk outside. It’s been weeks since I’ve done my nails, waxed,
shaved, done my eyebrows. This surgery is extremely hard on my mind. If anyone
out there has some insightful words or has gone thru this process please don’t hesitate
to contact me via email at gisellemmab02@gmail.com
or reply to my blog. I’m especially curious as to when I should ESTIMATE being
able to 1)go back into a normal
shoe 2) when will swelling go down? 3)when will I be able to wear heels? From other
blogs, I’ve read to multiply by 2 about what the doctors say. My doc said 4
months for heels/normal looking feet but I guess ill give myself 6-8 months
before I can realistically wear heels.
