How the hell to cope with bunions?!

104 replies

BunionGate · 03/10/2025 20:36

Hey! Has anyone here ever had experience with bunion treatments?

basically I’ve had it since I was a child and it’s just been worsening (late 20s now). I went to the doctors, they initially said it was a bunion- then sent me for an x ray and then said it wasn’t actually a significant bunion and told me to live with it. I went to multiple podiatrists, tried insoles, splints, different shoes and nothing has helped. I went back to the GP and saw someone different and they said mine wasn’t that bad and I wouldn’t qualify for treatment on the NHS and sort of made me feel silly for even considering getting it corrected. Then they said the surgery was agony and made it seem really brutal and put me completely off it. They told me just to go back to podiatry, which I did, but they said we’ve exhausted all options and to go back to my gp🤷🏼‍♀️

basically I’m feeling a bit frustrated and fed up, but equally the surgery sounds awful from what the doctor said (and they also made it crystal clear I was being dramatic for even considering it and apparently I won’t get accepted on the nhs anyway)

but it’s getting worse and can be excruciating. I don’t care about how unsightly it looks but the pain is having such an impact on my life in terms of wearing shoes which cause discomfort and affecting playing sports etc.

has anyone had bunions and had anything that helped at all? I’ll add a pic below to show what it’s like in terms of severity

thanks 😬

OP posts:

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Megs83 · 03/10/2025 21:09

I had surgery on mine 13 years ago and don’t recall it being that painful. I didn’t have my toe pinned, and was in a special shoe for a few weeks and on crutches. Any pain from the surgery was worth no longer having the bunion pain
I have seen podiatrists since then for other foot issues and they are surprised I had it done and I have such good movement in my toe - apparently not always the case.

Kazziek · 03/10/2025 21:00

I've had bunions on both feet done. I have medical insurance, I don't know if that makes a difference to the procedure used. It was an easy recovery, in bandages for 2 weeks. It wasn't painful, just discomfort. I went in to work a couple of times, walking with crutches. I had some physio covered too, which I think helped.

They've been completely trouble free since!

Original poster

BunionGate · 03/10/2025 20:51

Not the nicest photo sorry but just to show severity etc

my other foot is pretty much the same as this too

OP posts:

DwayneDibleysTeeth · 03/10/2025 20:51

Bunions run in my family - my big toes were 'hammered over' my 2nd and 3rd toes on both feet by my early teens, and very painful. As such, I was referred for surgery on the worst foot as soon as I turned 18 (they needed to wait until I'd stopped growing) at an orthopaedic hospital. The bunion was removed, but because I was still young they didn't pin the toe, and I can still bend them.

I won't lie - it was brutal waking up from the operation. The pain was so bad, my 18 year old brain thought they'd chopped my leg off. Only afterwards did the nursing staff tell me it's one of the most painful procedures you can have. I had the other one done when I was 20, but I was better preparedfor the pain that time. In both cases I was in hospital for 3 days, in plaster up to my knee for 6 weeks, and had to get use to slightly shorter big toes on both feet (can't balance on one foot at all!) and have never worn a heel higher than half an inch in my life becausemy feet can'tcope with them.

I was in hospital with women in their 40s and older, and they had their toes pinned. Not sure if techniques have moved on, but the older you are the more uncomfortable the op and recovery may be, depending on the technique they use to fix your bunion.

I would do it all again though - you have my sympathy because bunion pain is horrific. Do your research and look for a reputable orthopaedic surgeon. Good luck.

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