Going to the doctor today to have him look at a bunion. What should I expect?

I am seeing my Family Practitioner for a bunion on my right foot. Can I expect him to take an x-ray? Send me to a specialist? Give me anti-inflammitories? And do they routinely do surgery for bunions?
Mine is getting to a point that it hurts when I have to do very much walking (like a trip to Walmart).

In my experience, your FP may take an x-ray or send you to a Podiatrist. Depending on how comfortable he is with foot problems. Since your bunion is so bad, you may be sent directly to a Foot/Ankle Surgeon for a consult.Here's what I found on the Foot Physicians site:

Diagnosis
Bunions are readily apparent--you can see the prominence at the base of the big toe or side of the foot. However, to fully evaluate your condition, the foot and ankle surgeon may take x-rays to determine the degree of the deformity and assess the changes that have occurred.

Because bunions are progressive, they don't go away, and will usually get worse over time. But not all cases are alike--some bunions progress more rapidly than others. Once your foot and ankle surgeon has evaluated your particular case, a treatment plan can be developed that is suited to your needs.


Treatment
Sometimes observation of the bunion is all that's needed. A periodic office evaluation and x-ray examination can determine if your bunion deformity is advancing, thereby reducing your chance of irreversible damage to the joint. In many other cases, however, some type of treatment is needed.

Early treatments are aimed at easing the pain of bunions, but they won't reverse the deformity itself.
These options include:

Changes in shoewear. Wearing the right kind of shoes is very important. Choose shoes that have a wide toe box and forgo those with pointed toes or high heels which may aggravate the condition.

Padding. Pads placed over the area of the bunion can help minimize pain. You can get bunion pads from your foot and ankle surgeon or purchase them at a drug store.

Activity modifications. Avoid activity that causes bunion pain, including standing for long periods of time.

Medications. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, may help to relieve pain.

Icing. Applying an ice pack several times a day helps reduce inflammation and pain.

Injection therapy. Although rarely used in bunion treatment, injections of corticosteroids may be useful in treating the inflamed bursa (fluid-filled sac located in a joint) sometimes seen with bunions.

Orthotic devices. In some cases, custom orthotic devices may be provided by the foot and ankle surgeon.

When is Surgery Needed?
When the pain of a bunion interferes with daily activities, it's time to discuss surgical options with your foot and ankle surgeon. Together you can decide if surgery is best for you.

Recent advances in surgical techniques have led to a very high success rate in treating bunions.

A variety of surgical procedures are performed to treat bunions. The procedures are designed to remove the "bump" of bone, correct the changes in the bony structure of the foot, as well as correct soft tissue changes that may also have occurred. The goal of these corrections is the elimination of pain.

Before you decide on surgery, try everything else first. Info I have read on the bunion surgery all points out what a troublesome surgery it can be and you can still have some pain. The main things to consider are that there is a 10% chance of foot infection with surgery & once surgery is performed your shoe options are limited for life. If the Dr seems to think that surgery is your only option, you might check the the www.footphysicians.com website to find a good foot surgeon in your area. They have a listing by state.

In selecting the procedure or combination of procedures for your particular case, the surgeon will take into consideration the extent of your deformity based on the x-ray findings, your age, your activity level, and other factors. The length of the recovery period will vary, depending on the procedure or procedures performed.

Hope this helps and you get relief from your foot pain soon!

I can't beat that answer by Zsa Zsa Galore, but I had a bunion and it was painful. The doc might send you to a specialist and maybe they will give you an orthodic to wear. Be sure to wear wide width shoes and nothing pointy at the toe. I had the bunion surgery. it's very painful and takes a long time to heal, but I did have the most extensive surgery there was. I had a bad bunion. You may be at a point like my sister, where the doc gave her orthodics. Anti-infammitories won't get rid of the bunion and it'll only get worse if measures are not taken. You're regular doctor will most likely send you to a podiatrist and they will take X-rays and let you know whats up and what your options are. I hope you don't have to have surgery. But if you do, just get it done and overwith and make sure you do your toe excersizes after the surgery, bending the toe up. I had my surgery 3 years ago and I'm sure I would not be able to walk if I hadn't. Now I can walk and hike and play volleyball and basketball and even shovel snow and mow the lawn (I know LUCKY me, I get to shovel snow, NOT) I have a pin in my toe and once in a while it's a bit sore, but no big deal at all!