I had a bunion repaired.
Doc put a screw in the bone to keep it straight. I recovered (stayed off of it) for 2 weeks, then wore a stiff shoe for a month. No problem after that. Never took a pain pill after the surgery, just Motrin. Not all of these have to involve a horror story. Incision scar is about 2 inches long.
A quick check - stand barefooted along a line on the floor. Feet together. Line your “good” foot up on the line, put the “bad” foot against your good foot. Does the big toe on your “bad” foot lean out toward the other (smaller) toes? Is it trying to dive over or under the rest of the toes on the foot? Or are your big toes about equidistant from that line?
You should see a doctor about any consistent pain, but if that toe on your bad foot isn’t misaligned, you probably don’t have a bunion.
I had done that with my feet ~ lined them up. I don’t see the “leaning of the big toe” but where the joint of the metatarsal connects to the foot there is a bulge, which I have taken to be a classic symptom. It is significant when compared to the other foot. I think the advice to see a doc is probably best.
These last few nights I have worn stiff shoes, which do not allow me to flex that part of my foot, and I have kept my foot flat to the ground. I have had less pain.
A friend of mine at work had the surgery that you mention. She said it worked, but that she had to stay off the foot for a month. That would literally kill me.
In the new year, I hope to be certified as a Medicine Aide; which means less stress and strain on this 48 year old body.
Thanks again for the helpful advice. I’ve been a FREeeper for many years and am genuinely surprised by a good bit of the adolescent nonsense posted on this topic. I’ve always found good advice in the threads, or at least well meaning suggestions from an audience that could be counted on for constructive feedback.
~ij