r/bunions

Had surgery Sept 25' - The first photo is late December after 8+ weeks of Physical therapy. Had some pain, but elated at the progress. 2nd photo is as of yesterday. I'm more active as I walk 3-5 miles 3 times a week and play in a men's softball league once a week. Right now, it seems like I have either permanent inflammation in the ball under my big toe or another issue entirely.

I stopped doing my toe stretches for awhile because I had been feeling good but started back up a few weeks ago. When I move my toe around in circles I can feel the bone cracking and grinding which I never heard before. Its also starting to bruise more than usual and also bumpier on the side of the big toe.

Wondering if anybody has run into this? Insurance doesnt go into effect until June so can't see my podiatrist until then.

Desperate for thoughts and advice-

Bunions only recently started to cause issues over a short time but pretty severely. Pain on bottoms of both feet, burning pain, tingling pins and needles, sesamoiditis with bone marrow edema, and lastly the top of the bunion joint has begun to feel sore. The rest of my foot pain is constant and came on very fast. In both feet.

Obviously the sesamoid issues are most concerning-no cause/injury. Just a teacher who stands a lot. I used to dance but haven’t in 2 years. At this just point walking hurts. And I haven’t had much acknowledgment from drs that my bunions are the cause. But I know.

Ortho wants to put me in a cast to fix the sesamoiditis. If that fails she wants to remove the bone. After MY questioning , she shifted and suggested a chevron osteotomy to address the bunion that may be putting sesamoids out of alignment . I’ll be seeing a new orthopedic soon. I expect to be told that surgery is in my future. Whether it’s a chevron or a sesamoidectomy-or both remains to be seen.

I am terrified. Of the post op pain and the possibility that I’ll end up worse off from the surgery. I support myself and my husband as a teacher-petrified that surgery will fail me or not having surgery will debilitate me. I can’t afford to lose my job.

Can anyone share their outcomes?

1. How bad was the post op pain? Can you function? Are you able to watch a movie through it? Is it panic mode the whole time?
2. Did your foot function/pain improve once you healed?
3. How long until you could walk comfortably? (Not physical activity, just basic walking).
4. How long were you out of work? I can teach from a seated position most of the day. But need to walk a bit. Maybe 2-3000 steps a day.

Sorry it’s so long and thank you for reading down to the end. Hope everyone is recovered or on the road to it!

Hi everyone! I’ve never posted here before but bunions have been an issue in my life for years now. I’m 22F and already have arthritis build up especially in my left big toe joint. I’m scheduled for a bunion distal metaphyseal osteotomy on my left foot next month and I’m extremely nervous. We likely will operate on my right foot soon after the left one heals up enough, because both feet are problematic. My bunions have been progressively worsening over time and causing preexisting conditions to worsen. I have quite a bit of hyper-mobility, and my knees have been prone to subluxation way more frequently. Along with my right hip having a lot of pain as it tries to compensate for my feet and knees. I’m honestly just looking for some comfort/advice because I’m really nervous about surgery/recovery as I’ve never had surgery like this before. I added an image of my x-ray for reference.

My bunion is getting worse and it’s making my fourth toe curve and everything else go out of alignment. I’m 27. I am uncomfortable every step I take. This foot is worse than my right. I’m scared of the surgery but I think I need it to correct some serious alignment issues and tendon stuff

Cant tell if i need surgery. They mostly dont hurt except my left one very scarcely does.

Hey everyone,

So I’m just wondering do I have mild or moderate bunions?

For reference my feet are 24cm long and 9.6cm wide for right and 9.1 for left.

I’ve always had bunions since childhood but they’ve never hurt or grown. They only hurt (especially my right) when I wear heels where the straps dig in or narrow shoes.

Should I be concerned? It’s just an annoying problem I have because I can’t wear cute shoes.

I joined this group before my surgery looking for other people’s stories so I wanted to share my own. I am 24 years old and have had bunion pain for the last 4 years from being on my feet and normal day to day life. I went to a consultation in 2024 about the surgery and put it off until March 6 2026… I used to be ballet dancer and I was so scared of not having my normal range of motion that is why I put the surgery off. In these years of dealing with pain 24/7 I realized I can give up some range of motion for pain relief. I danced on pointe for a year and half and also my great grandmother has a bunion. I blame genetics and ballet. For years I used a toe spacer everyday, toe socks, toe spacers for all toes, wide shoes, and the list continues. This was my first surgery ever in my life which also made me put it off for so long because I had so many questions I didn’t have the answer to. I made the decision to go through the month of not walking to have an outcome of my bunion being fixed and pain free. It was very hard decision for me. Everyday I went on Reddit and read about bunions, what people say about their toes, reading horror stories about surgery, etc. The wonders consumed my brain these last few years.

I decided the lapiplasty would be best for me and my needs. I had my surgery March 6 2026 and did not put weight on it for 2 weeks. March 19th I had the stitches removed and was placed in a walking boot. April 1st or 2nd is when I started walking in my Altra walking shoes and have not warn the boot since. I started back at work April 20th I am a clerk at the post office. I put my step count for myself this week because I was able to do 10,000 steps! I am so happy with my progress and recovery. I am so proud of myself for making this scary decision to go out of work and work on myself to be the best I can be.

I would love to answer any questions or concerns. I have read lots of stories and posts in this group and want to help you all the way you helped me.

i feel so embarrassed and i don’t know if surgery is even available for cosmetic reasons

but i’m only 22, and a woman, and i’m so scared of rapid progression

i don’t know why i feel so humiliated just looking at them
:(

any advice for dealing with the insecurity

So I have dozens of toe separators that I'm experimenting with. Because my theory is that if bunions are made worse over time, it seems that we should be able to at least delay it's progression. This is mostly because I also believe that surgical corrections will become better over time too. Thoughts everyone?

Hello, I need some help. I recently went to the doctor to get my bunions checked out, and my pediatrician said I should wait until i’m 40 to get surgery on my feet as they aren’t “bad enough yet.” My mom agreed, but I am honestly quite insecure of my feet now and I want to get the surgery over with. I don’t have pain when I walk, but I hate looking at them! Can anyone give me some advice on what to do? Should I wear bunion correctors on my feet, get surgery now, or just wait?? Any advice would help!!!

So I’ve been putting off posting about this for a while but I’m now two weeks out from my first surgery and my head is all over the place so here goes.
I’m 24, male, based in the UK. Both my big toes are crossing over the second toe — on both feet the big toe is now touching the third toe. I’ve been told this is progressive and isn’t going to plateau or stabilise, it’s just going to keep going. I can still get into normal shoes which I know puts me at the more functional end of things but the pain has been ramping up significantly over the last 6 to 8 months.
Here’s the thing that really pushed me toward agreeing to surgery — it’s not just my feet anymore. Over the last 6 to 8 months I’ve started getting real pain in my knees, then my hips, and now my lower back is starting to join the party. I’m pretty sure this is all connected. My gait must be compensating for the foot mechanics and it’s working its way up the chain. I work in residential children’s care and in schools so I’m on my feet constantly, walking, moving quickly, sometimes in physically demanding situations — this isn’t a desk job. I can feel it catching up with me.
The plan as I understand it:
• May 21st — correction surgery on the left foot, straightening the big toe
• Roughly 10 weeks later — right foot
• After that — tackle the bunions themselves
I haven’t been given a huge amount of detail beyond that which I’m going to push for more on before the 21st. I assume the big toe correction involves breaking and pinning/plating the toe and possibly the second toe too but I’m not entirely sure.
Why I’m going ahead:
The surgeon and the advice I’ve received has consistently been — at 24, your youth is probably masking how bad this already is. The structural compensation your body is doing is being held together by the fact you’re young and your joints and muscles can absorb it. Take the surgery now while recovery is on your side and before the secondary damage to your knees, hips and back becomes its own problem independent of your feet.
That logic makes sense to me. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.
What I’m looking for from this community:
• Anyone who’s had staged corrections like this — left foot first, then right — what was the gap between surgeries actually like in practice?
• How long before you were actually functional again, not just technically healed but actually able to walk properly and work?
• Did sorting the toe crossing deal with the referred pain up the chain (knees, hips, back) for anyone? Or does that take longer to resolve as the body relearns its gait?
• Any regrets either way — people who wish they’d done it sooner or people who wish they’d held off?
• What do you wish you’d known going into the first surgery?
I’ve spent a lot of time going back and forth on this but I think I’m going ahead. The trajectory without surgery doesn’t look good and I’m already feeling the effects at 24 in joints that have nothing to do with my feet. Just want to hear from people who’ve actually been through it.
Thanks in advance.

I can’t afford surgery for awhile. How bad does this look to yall? They hurt after long periods of walking. I want them done but I’m torn because I’ve heard of a lot of people being worse after. Not sure which decision is right.

Hi, has anyone else had this operation, and how long did it take to heal?

I’m 10 weeks post-op and I feel like the bone hasn’t healed yet. I still have the same pain as I did two weeks post-op when I gently stretch forwards.

What’s your experience been like?

Picture was 6 weeks post-op.

I realize I may not have a bunion after what everyone said in my last post, but I totally forgot I had rhematology x-rays last year and just stumbled on the pics when looking for something unrelated. This definitely seems like a bunion to me, but I guess I could be wrong.

Went to my doctor today and he said I can start wearing a regular shoe again. Yippee. First picture is before. Second picture today. Had a bunion removed off of big toe and tailor bunion off pinky.

hi yall!

i’ve been really struggling finding barefoot shoes that fit my goofy foot size combo of 2 different length feet + extra wide bunion width. for reference, my longest foot is 25.4cm and my width is 10.3cm.

i’m wondering if it’s alright for my bunions to touch the side of my shoe. i feel like that doesn’t help what i’m trying to accomplish ((aka not make them any worse lolol)) but yeah. it’s reeaaalllyyy difficult to find a shoe that’s my size. this pic is a pair of lonos VERVEs that i recently purchased to try in a size 41. my bunions like juuuuuust hang off the edge of the insoles. however, i feel like if i go up to a 42, the length will be too long.

so takeaway questions that im pondering:

1. is this sizing alright for bunions, or should i go another size up?
2. does anyone have other recommendations for extra wide barefoot running shoes?

THANK YOU!!!!! <333 very new to figuring out shoes that will actually be kind to my feet so ur help is GREATLY APPRECIATED

I had surgery on my foot 5 weeks ago. My surgeon made sure with an x ray that the screws were in place and they were and he removed the stitches 1 week ago and i was cleared to take a bath. I dida few days later and made sure my incisions (3) were dry. I covered them and wore my walking boot as i am still not suppose to put weight on my foot yet. Not for at least another week. I am seing him next week but wondering if i should go to the ER or no.

It's weeping a little,light yellowish and slightly sticky waxy kinf of,no smell,not warm to the touch and no fever. I change my dressing once a day and it's not full of it either. The incision is the one over the screws so it hurt bad still but it's manageable. It hurt less than the latst month for sure. I elevate my leg and ice when needed. The appearance of the scar is freaking me a little as i never experienced something like that.

The white-yellow part cannot be wiped it just feels like skin. Maybe someone can help ?