Recovery after surgery for Morton's Neuroma

I think the problem is that when people get better, they usually don't waste time going to sites like this. :) I had MN surgery to remove 2/3 and 3/4 neuromas from my left foot in late July 2014. I was running and hiking and walking all over the place from November 2014 to recently (~February 2015). I used the Couch to 5K app on my phone to make sure that I didn't start off too fast.

Lately, I've been having issues with the neuroma in my right foot, which I believe has been the cause of pain and swelling in my left foot (from putting weight on the left to take it off the neuroma). So, I believe the initial surgery did help, and I was doing great until the right foot started acting up. I've been swimming instead of running recently, and I highly recommend it to anyone with neuroma/s (because painful walking = weight gain from inactivity, at least for me). Make sure you stay out of the hot tub, though, as it causes swelling.

I also recommend to get a rolling ball foot massager for under your desk at work or your couch at home to help massage away that scar tissue post surgery. I found one for $12 on Amazon and that worked wonders.

I am ten weeks post bilateral neuroma surgery. My neuromas had a lot of branches, which made the surgery more complicated. I am healing slowly. I do too much and I have setbacks-right now I'm recovering from a 4 hour drive yesterday and I pulled up this blog because I'm bored with sitting with my feet up... I had a podiatric surgeon- the third podiatrist I visited and the only one I felt was good enough to do the surgery. I did a lot of research prior to the surgery as well and quizzed her on her technique prior to making any decision.

 My surgeon was honest about the recovery time, something I am sensing a lot aren't. A year is not unrealistic. Think about how many nerves run through a foot and the amount of weight your feet carry. I am still walking carefully, mostly flat footed AND taking stairs flat footed as well. I still swell. Still have some zapping pain and some cramping. All of it is normal. Patience has never been my strong point but I plan on a full recovery so I'm using every ounce of it now. I think too many people expect fast miracle recovery.  This is an intense invasion of tnerves in your foot, where part of a nerve was removed and the stump buried in your muscle, so I'm giving it time. every day is a little better (unless I do a four hour drive that is!!)

i had the operation 3 months ago my dr said it was the largest neuroma hed worked on im amazed i have a very thin scar and no pain at all i looked at these sites and trawelled through the internet it seems people who are unhappy with their results tend to write more about their e periences. i want people to know im 45 have 2 boys 12 and 13 and ajob where im on my feet all day i was in agony and now i have my life back there is hope i rested a lot after the op i put astone of weight on but im now able to resolve that be kind to yourself take time to recover and it was all on the nhs im sorry for everybody who it didnt work for

 Hi Everyone!

I had surgery to remove a neuroma in my left foot on 14 April.  Sutures were removed on 30 April. I was told 2 more weeks of shoeboot after that and then one more of sneakers. I can start walking and biking now and wearing normal shoes, but am not allowed to start jogging until I see my surgeon in June. There’s some tenderness in the ball of the foot (the incision is on the top of my foot), but that goes down almost every day. Overall it’s doing pretty good. As of this moment, I’m glad I did it. I’m still recovering and trying to smart about it.

I think I healed within the general time frame and only took Extra Strength Tylenol. My scar is isn’t too bad and is a lot less Frankenstein than I anticipated. I attribute this to good genes, eating semi-clean most of the time, listening to my surgeon (do what you’re told when you’re told to do it), icing in the morning, after work and before bed…..and telling myself to shut the hell up.

My experience is my own- but I think these points make sense for everyone:

First- Everyone is different. I might heal quicker and have less pain than the next person. This doesn’t mean squat to you. Someone else had a horrible recovery. This also doesn’t mean squat to you. So what does that mean? You know your body. You know YOU. It could be an easy recovery or not so easy, your body will decide how it goes, but it needs your help. And no one knows your body better than you.

This leads me to my second and third points, which go together-

Second: you need to honor your body. Third: you can lean on your Inner Warrior when you start to get antsy or upset that going to the bathroom is a CHORE. But you need to be ready to tell him or her to pound sand when he/she starts whispering about maybe taking off that ugly surgical shoeboot early, or maybe taking a light jog before your surgeon clears you to. Draw on your Inner Warrior for the strength to honor your body to recover and to do what your surgeon tells you to, even though you don’t wanna. But you and I both know your Inner Warrior can turn into an Impudent Child who will lead you down the Dark Path. Don’t go down it. You want to get over this The Right Way? Use your brain and tell these parts of you to shut the bloody hell up.

Fourthly- This is surgery.

In the grand scheme of surgery, this is minor, right? It’s not cardiac surgery. It’s not hip surgery. It’s still surgery for crying out loud!! Someone cut open your body and removed something that belongs in there. Your body doesn’t dig this. Be nice to it. Elevate your foot. Take your painkillers. Drink lots of water. Ice that baby. Don’t get the dressing wet when fake-showering (I did and had to go back to my surgeon to get the dressing changed). If your surgeon says don’t walk on it for a week, don’t do it.

Like I said, someone else might have another experience. I'm 39, have a desk job and have been pretty much sedentary for the last year because of the neuroma pain. I had to stop running and kickboxing because of it. I hope to start running again soon. I adapted to the evil neuroma for 7 years, did the orthotics and cortisone to no avail until the pain got really bad. I have to admit, I got really antsy about the recovery but my husband would remind me of the paid I'd been in for so long and that did the trick. I won't ever be able to wear cute pointy heels anymore- it's not worth it- but if I can walk without pain, I'd say it's worth it if you take care of yourself.

Hi I had MN surgery on both feet in January 2015 and 4 months later I still have a lot of stiffness and tightness in both feet. It is driving me crazy. My doctor said it is the scar tissue and could take up to 6 to 9 months to heal. Has anyone had this problem after MN surgery. I am wondering if this is normal. Is there anything you can do to speed up the healing and get rid of this tightness and stiffness feeling? Just want my feet to be semi-normal again.

I have starting massaging my feet (I had both done at once) and it seems to help. I did more walking than normal yesterday (which hasn't been much) and today I'm feeling it. As its been said, our feet and neuromas are all different. I am healing normally at 10 weeks per my doctor but not per my level of patience, so I have to constantly remind myself that a year is normal for full recovery! I have very small spaces between toes, had big neuromas, and also suffer from Raynauds so icing has been a challenge - meaning my recovery will be different from others. I'm heading to Europe for a month in late summer and am rethinking how much walking I will do. Frustrating but I'll make it work.

SO, try gentle massaging or consider asking for some PT to help you get moving along quicker. Our feet carry all our weight and we aren't usually very nice to them until they start acting up, then it's too late - it seems like patience is probably the best prescription for all us who went under the knife!

I was wondering how you are doing now. Your story sounds just like what I'm going through.

Am 68 yr male. Had op 4 days ago when the surgeon found a M Neuroma and a bursa in left foot. Hardly any pain at all but there was quite a lot of bleeding into and through the bandages. After only three days (June but not too hot) my foot/bandage started smelling really evil. My cat is showing an unhealthy interest! Dressing change due in another 4 days. I so want to wash it.

My horror story: 10 days after my neuroma surgery, got the stitches out. It didn't feel right to me, mentioned it to the doctor but he said it looked fine. Well, over time I kept feeling worse and worse, in and out of the doctor's offices (GP, podiatrist, neurologist, endocrinologist), plus many, many tests. GP prescribed an antidepressant since I was feeling so lousy, which did not agree with me at all so quit it after 8 days. Three months later, still hadn't found why I felt so bad, had shooting pains and sciatica up and down my legs and in my feet, was very irritable and moody, having memory problems, and more. Literally thought I was going to die, and probably would have. Finally someone in one of my ER visits thought to have my B12 checked, and it was low. Started on B12 treatment, which brought me back to life (mostly), but I still have lots of neurological damage as a result. Both feet are still hypersensitive, can only wear open sandals as closed shoes are too painful. I can hardly walk due to nerve damage caused by the B12 deficiency and some sort of sympathetic nerve behavior from the trauma of having a nerve removed by the surgery. It's nearly a year since surgery, 9 months since my B12 deficiency was diagnosed, and I'm still in a lot of pain and unable to work.

I was a FedEx driver for 17 years (feel your pain). I switched careers and had surgery about 15 weeks ago (2nd-3rd toes). I don't run around in my current job nearly as much as I did before. I was out for 3 weeks (a must) and now I'm having what I believe is stump pain. Going back to doctor to find out. Doing what you do for a living, you really should stay out and off your feet for at least 4 weeks, minimum. I'm not kidding. Good luck!!

I am anxious to know how your surgery went. I have to have surgery on each foot but with two months in between. One foot has the MN along with a hammertoe and the other just the MN. I was told recovery can be as short as 3 weeks but seriously doubt it. I am an international flight attendant who regularly spends 14 hours a day on my feet when at work.
My pain is worsening and it's actually causing new pains in my ankles now.
We do a lot of lifting, stretching, pulling, bending, etc. I need to have surgery on each foot but only one foot at a time. Light duty is not an option me and I cannot use any special shoe or boot once I am cleared to return to work. I'm trained as a first responder and need to be able to perform all my duties before I can return. I need to have a company doctor release me to work. How much time is needed in a very active job?

Where did you have your surgery done at and what doctor? I am only 1 hour from Charlotte, NC.

I had 2 MN removed about 17 days ago. The bruising is still horrendous and I'm wondering if this is normal? At first I was going to have to be off my feet for 2 weeks, now the doctor has extended it to 3 weeks with foot elevated. Stitches come out this Thursday (21 days after surgery). I am apprehensive about my ability to get around...

I had 2 MN removed over a year ago, and my foot was swollen and purple all over when I went to get my stitches out. Your recovery time sounds normal to me. I stayed on crutches as per my podiatrist's orders for 3 weeks. (And continued to use crutches on my commute for a few weeks after that.) It takes a few months to get back to walking normal amounts. And a few more before I could exercise without my foot swelling up. However, I don't even think about my foot anymore, besides wearing comfy shoes to avoid developing neuro mad in my othe foot.

I recommend you make sure to use ice and elevation to reduce swelling and get a compression sleeve to wear post crutches on days that you might walk a lot. This was the first surgery I'd ever had. So I, like you, thought recovery would be quick and only be three weeks. Lol. Nope. Take it easy on your feet and don't try to jump back into normal activity right away. Also, after you get off the crutches try to remember to massage your foot a few times a week to break up the scar tissue and speed up recovery. Good luck!

My gosh I put in this post two years ago and things only just a little bit better but painful in bed at night have to find a position to take weight of bedding off as it causes awful pain. My foot still swells in my shoes no change there it also burns and throbs . I usually have to wear sports shoes but have to be good ones cannot get away with cheaper types. Shoes have to have wide toe fittings as anything that squeezes causes unbearable pain. My surgeon said he did all he could and can't do anymore got the brush off mind you this same surgeon operated on my shoulder and it was back to normal in eight months no problems afterwards at all. Still not happy with my MN surgery wish I had gone to a surgeon with the right expertise done my home work on it, even better to pay for the best as it can affect your whole life, Anyone who is wondering should they get this done or not try other treatment first dont jump into it go to someone who does this surgery on a regular basis.with good results.