Today I was wide awake, barely slept at all. Maybe I'm anxious about having just had my toes did. I experience discomfort mainly because I'm laying down all day with my feet elevated. It's mainly cabin fever. I watch TV and go online and eat. I ice my ankles, as instructed, for 15 minutes, take off for like 10, repeat. The most discomfort is in getting to the bathroom. I have to walk on my heels, which isn't easy but doable. The blood rushes to my feet so yea, I feel that pressure. But it's alleviated as soon as I'm back in bed! I'm taking vicodin every 4 hours, I even set an alarm to go off to remind me. I'm not waiting to SEE if I have pain before taking it, no thank you! Oh and I'm getting bouts of emotions, like crying fits just because I'm a control freak who has to rely on others. I think anesthesia makes me sensitive too.
THE ICE WRAP I used was by ACE and is incredible. It looks like the pic above and yes, there is a major difference between cold ice in a bag and cold gel in this bag. Trust me, this is worth it! Again, the ice goes on my ankles. So weird since it was my toes that were done. Oh well, I do it.
Cabin fever is the worst. The elevation really made the difference and icing it. The bathroom was the worst lol trying to hold it to keep the trips to a minimum. I also set my alarm, because I tried to see if I could last longer then the 4 hours and that was a BIG mistake and I did not make the same for the next 3 days:)
ReplyDeleteHi Tootie,
ReplyDeleteI had bunion and toe shortening operation two months ago. My feet look great but I'm having problem with the stiffness in my toes. I saw that was a complaint that you had also. Did it ever subside? You said your doctor gave you injections to soften up the joints, do you know what it was? My hammer toes were pretty bad, but I didn't want to trade one pain for another. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
My stiffness never went away. I have more on the left foot than right because I got steroid injections (cortisone? something like that) and that loosened up the stifness in my right foot, but it made my toes look weird to me, so I stopped after 2 injections. It did loosen them up and take away a slight soreness I had in the joint. But I didn't go through all this to have ugly toes! So I'm not going to continue with those shots. I would suggest asking your doctor if they have the laser machine. I heard it takes longer to loosen the scar tissue but maybe since it's not physically messing with the scar tissue, the way the needle does, it won't change the appearance (my doctor would inject my toe and then physically with the needle try to break the scar tissue). You can ask, I haven't been good with following up with my doctor on that machine because since it takes longer to see results, that would mean more office visits and I know this sounds terrible, but I'm sick of paying a co pay each and every time I go to the office! I believe some insurance companies cover the co pay for like the first 6 months after surgery, something like that, I know mine did. I should have gone on that laser machine right after surgery but I didn't know about it until it was too late. I might just live with it. Maybe they have loosened up gradually and I haven't noticed. I know they don't hurt. They just don't bend in the middle joint.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your information. It was very helpful. Four weeks ago I had bunion and hammertoe surgery. My pins were just removed ( from second and third toes) and now my second, third and fourth toes don't touch the ground. I read that this is a complication of hammertoe surgery and it is permanent, but you write that this is due to swelling. When they took out your pins, were your toes floating? When did they go down to the ground?
Hi Anonymous :)
ReplyDeleteMy toes did float and they were very swollen but they did go down (I didn't have pins, my doctor used tight stitches to keep my toes straight). It's been a year and 7 months and yes my toes "float" a teensy bit but nothing crazy. You seriously barely notice. I personally wouldn't consider it a complication at all. I noticed a difference in the floating and swelling everyday and tried to stay completely away from salt and drank a lot of water.