Bunion surgery :(

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I didn't know whether to put this in this topic, or womens or haven. I guess it can go anywhere. I'm in my 30s. Ladies, have you had any type of foot surgery? If so, did you gain any weight or lost weight? Do you enjoy working out? I been doing Zumba since April of this year and love it. I do lift weights too. I have 5 pound dumb bells at home too. I also have a home gym that includes treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine, recumbent bike and weight machine. I never had foot surgery ever. I never worn a cast. Never been in a surgical boot and never had to use crutches. The podiatrist said I can't do Zumba for THREE months post op! But at least I can lift dumb bells to keep myself in shape. I'm not overweight by any means. I'm 5'4, 125 pounds. My body is so toned due to Zumba that I'm afraid that those 3 months my legs and hips will be flabby. I do work in DC and won't be able to take the subway into work since the subway stop in DC to my office is 4 blocks. No way I can use crutches for that long. I would need to take two weeks off from work after surgery to recover. I will be in cast for two weeks, then surgical boot. Not sure when I can put weight on foot and walk. Dad at least has HOV license plate so it will be a quicker to drive me to work in DC. It's about 30-45 min from my house to my office in DC.

Ack! I hope recovery goes smoothly!

I've never had foot surgery; that said, I have craptastic knees, so high impact workouts are right out for me. I do DDP Yoga; the workouts are very, very challenging, and zero impact. I dropped two pants sizes and a shirt size this semester. I actually have definition in my biceps, which I've never had. I highly, highly recommend it.

Hi luvsterriers,

I've had bunion surgery on my left foot with two two surgical sites involved (big toe and second toe). I never had crutches, had a driving boot, and was able to walk in a walking cast the entire time. There were recovery guidelines, especially the first two weeks, working up to more movement than resting, but after that, as long as I elevated it and iced it daily, I was able to walk on it. If I felt it starting to swell and hurt, I elevated and iced for 20 minutes.

If you're not locked into your surgeon, you might check around for a doctor that uses a walking cast as the post op treatment. They're out there. And if you have to stay with your doc, do a google search for other docs who are doing walking casts for treatment and show him/her that it can be done. Sometimes, the docs just have their own way of doing it and don't want to waiver - certainly their choice - but sometimes, they just need incentive to try something a different way, especially if it's been successful by other surgeons and you can show them a website link for validation.

I gained some weight but that was more a function of comfort eating. It sounds like with your routine, if you manage your eating habits, and do your upper body workouts and all but weight-bearing leg exercises (you can do leg lifts and floor exercises with your legs in the air) you'll be fine. I did notice some muscle atrophy in my right calf after six weeks, but it came back within six months. I am a racewalker and do yoga, and while it took me six months to do downward dogs again, I was walking - albeit slowly - two weeks after surgery. (My doc said I'd never do downward dogs again. Wrong).

Given that you're so fit, you'll probably heal faster than you think, yet, do follow your doctor's orders, be patient with your healing and let yourself enjoy the downtime. Your feet are with you for a lifetime and you want to make sure you give them the attention they deserve. Long term gain for short term extra care. If you push yourself, you could end up taking longer to heal.

A good blog to read for successful bunion surgery and recovery is Bunion Survivor. Best wishes. Mary

Some of my cousins on mom's side (Korean) rarely work out but eat small portions and still maintain their weight. Most have had children too. They are all in their 40s/50s now but still look great. I won't be pigging out during the weeks I'm recovering. At least I still with parents so that helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqlRGLPlJ7A

These are the type of youtube clips I have watched and I know I can do that temporary.
I wonder though if someone my age (30s) had the same type of surgery done, but was overweight would their recovery take longer?
Or if a woman was much older say 60s/70s and had the same surgery would her recovery be longer?

My podiatrist wrote a note for my employer requesting that I take 2-3 weeks off from work. Dad can drive me into DC which a problem. I wouldn't be able to take the subway into work for a while. According to his note, I'm getting right foot bunionectomy with 1st metatarsal osteotomy. It sounds scary.

Mary, did you cry before being sedated? Being autistic I wonder how people do when doing surgery? It can be overwhelming seeing so many people around you touching you and I know autistic people can be sensitive to touch and sounds.

Mary, do you gained weight because you weren't eating properly? Did you eat junk food? Tons of cookies, cakes, ice cream, chips? I tried yoga but it just isn't for me. It's too slow for me and the downward dog and plank just isn't for me at all. I prefer faster music which gets me moving and sweaty. My last day of Zumba will be March 3, since my surgery is March 6 Dreading not being able to dance regularly to Pitbull's music But I guess "dancing" while sitting down to his music is better than nothing. I actually did try 11 Zumba songs while sitting down as practice and while it wasn't much of a sweaty workout I did feel good. I have 11 Zumba songs on my Iphone of the songs I have learned in class. I figure even people confined to wheelchair can still maintain their weight and be active just like people who can stand. Plus if foot surgery made everyone overweight, then we would see NFL or MLB players overweight once they come back for the season. I remember when Derek Jeter broke his ankle, when he came back he looked the same as before. But breaking a bone in ankle is worse than bunion?

Also another thing a co worker of mine had Achilles tendon surgery but came back to the office in ONE week. I read though that the person should take 2-3 weeks off from work. We mainly sit at our jobs. I don't do retail or waitress. My co worker did tons of marathons when she was younger. She's 40 now. She's slightly overweight but taller than me. She's ok to go back to kickboxing in Jan, 6 months after her surgery. I'm clear to do Zumba by June then. So it seems like Achilles tendon surgery takes a longer time to heal than any bunion surgery? But I thought bunion is worse since it involves breaking or shaving bone.

The older you get, the longer it takes you for recovery by statistic. You simply dont produce cells that fast anymore, so healing takes longer, specially when it comes to bones. Thats as well a cause, why stuff like artificial spiral bones OP should best be done before 55, because part of the artificial stuff should be recovered by natural substances, and beyond 55 that takes you much longer. Out of the same causes, bones of older people are more likely to brake, because of them exchanging cells not that fast anymore, their bones are not that hard/flexible anymore. Where a bunch of teenies simply will slip on the ice and most likely stand up again laughing, the same fall will cause 70+ people most likely to either hurt arms or legs/hips.

Dont bother yourself that much about your weight, bother yourself about getting healthy. When you are done with that, you can dance again as much as you want.

And yes, actually by statistic, people with a normal weight according to BMI 20-23 have a bit faster healing rate, then actual skinny people with less BMI 20-. Its suggested that if you have some small reserves, the body is more likely to simply exchange certain materials from "free ressources" to "wound healing = cell building".

Grandma told me that she didn't gain any weight while she was in cast for 9 months. She was 71 when she broke her ankle. The operation was 3 hours. It was brutal. So if a 71 year old woman didn't gain a pound and was in cast for that long, me at my age (30s) won't either. I'm under 130 pounds, and 5'4. I know women in my family who barely work out and still maintain a good weight and that's even after giving birth. I do remember visiting parts of South Korea and rarely seeing women in their 20s/30s overweight unlike here in the US. I do have dumb bells but at only 5 pounds, but at least its something. I do have a weight machine but that's in basement so probably for few weeks I can't go down there. I'm sure I can do some cardio way before Zumba. Maybe elliptical machine? We have that in basement too. So I figure quit Zumba all together till at least June 2014. My surgery on right foot is March 2014, and podiatrist said no Zumba for at least 3 months. I'm sure tennis is more harder on feet than Zumba. Older women who have had bunion surgery said that they were able to do tennis within 3 months.

I am 25 and I had bunion surgery in early December 2013 on my right foot and I am scheduled to get my second one done in two days. Being that it was my first real surgery ever, I wanted to take it really easy during my recovery so I took off 3 weeks from work (what the doctor told me to do, also, I am a waitress) I ended up taking off an extra two weeks after that because I was unsure how I would be able to handle being on it for 8+ hours at a time. Plus, I still had the pin in my toe and after a while of being on it, it would swell a little and get sore.

When I talked to my doctor about returning to work he was not very clear and said it was up to me, but what the heck do I know I'm not a doctor! Anyways, he said once I was comfortable wearing normal shoes and not the boot I could have returned, and like you, I'm rather active normally, but I still managed to do exercises on my floor not only to stay in shape, but also to keep from going insane haha. Also, during my recovery time I managed to lose 8 pounds from 121.....but that could just be because I wasn't eating crap restaurant food, I'm not sure. Either way, sounds like you lead a pretty active/healthy lifestyle anyway so I'm sure your recovery will go a lot like mine did and you will be back to doing your Zumba before you know it. Good luck!!

Day 8 after bunion and hammertoe surgery on right foot, I was able to walk without crutches. I call crutches hell on sticks! I'm in my 30s. I think I have lost some weight. I took two weeks off from work and will go back Mon Mar 24. I been sleeping 11-12 hours a day though. The podiatrist prescribed Percocet for the pain and also anti nausea Vistaril. I didn't need the anti nausea medication at all though. I had some pain first few days, but my appetite is good. I still live at home so I was eating healthy. I can finally get my foot wet. I never was in cast, just thick bandage and surgical shoe. Day 13 now and my walk is a little better, but I would need a metro access van to pick me up at home to take me to my office for a while. I can't use the metro subway since first I can't drive to the parking garage, and also can't walk 4 blocks from the metro stop to my office. I work in DC.

I want to be comfortably be able to stand barefoot and take shower. Good thing though that parents have a walk in shower where you can sit on bench. I want to put on regular shoes and drive. I haven't driven in two weeks. I of course want to go back to Zumba very soon. I miss dancing to Pitbull's music!