NC because I posted something health related before and don’t want to out myself! Just looking for some advice from someone with more knowledge than me. I’ve had bunions (both feet) for most of my life. They seemed to flare up overnight in my teens and suddenly walking, running and wearing shoes were all excruciating. At that point my toe was only slightly bent inwards however the lumps were both fairly big. I went to the gp who sent me for an X-ray to confirm, however the results came back clear and he told me not to worry because it’s not bunions. I (stupidly) didn’t ask what it was, I was just like great thanks bye!
That was years ago and I hate going to the GP unless I absolutely have to go, but it feels like it’s getting worse. My big toe now bends inwards and goes behind the toe beside it. The lumps have got slightly bigger but I don’t know if that’s just because the toe has bent inwards more and it’s pushed the lumps out, if you see what I mean. I work standing up/ walking all day and i often have to pretend to go to the bathroom/to go and get water just to take off my shoes because the pressure against the bunion is unbelievably painful. I’ve already tried supportive shoes, insoles and separators.
I’ve put off seeing my gp about it again because they said the xrays were fine, and if it’s not a bunion then I don’t know what it is or what they will be able to do to fix it. I saw a private podiatrist who said it’s almost definitely a bunion but without seeing the x rays they can’t say for sure, but they weren’t sure what else it could be. I was a competitive dancer for most of my life so they said this probably worsened it but it’s genetic. I’ve found information online about cysts but the lumps are not soft or cyst-like and they both just feel like solid bone. If it is a bunion, would the next step be surgery since I’ve tried everything else? I’ve read online that the surgery is brutal to recover from, ideally I would want to get both feet done at the same time to get it over with but everything I’ve read says this is a bad idea. Is the recovery really painful and as bad as everyone says? And how bad does a bunion need to be to get treated on the NHS? And realistically would I be able to go back to work after a few weeks, even if it was with crutches if necessary?
I really want to avoid surgery if possible but the pain from walking is sometimes unbearable so if this is the only way to fix it then it’s worth it