I recently had both of my big toe nails removed. I had chemo back in 2012 ( I am 67 yrs. old today) and had lost all of my fingernails and toenails. They all grew back healthy and normal with exception of the two big toenails. They grew back thick, at an odd angle and were horribly painful. My logic is that as a child I dropped a heavy metal dresser drawer on the left toe and then in my 30s I dropped some canned goods and they landed on my right toe. I am thinking the trauma of those events may of caused some damage unlike my fingers and other toe nails. Just a thought. Regardless they became very painful, so thick that a Dremel drill was needed to trim them and they looked like I had a snail shell on my toe. I have neuropathy in my feet due to the chemo also so it was a constant discomfort. I am very happy having them removed and could almost immediately feel relief. I had one done and two weeks later had the other one removed. They are healing nicely and of course have had some tender moments but not really painful. It has been a month today for the first one and both are on track for a healthy healing. The after care was soaking twice a day with Epsom salt or Dial liquid soap and warm water for 20 minutes. Then bandage with Neosporin for two full weeks. After that the soaking stopped and I was to apply Betadine and leave them uncovered as much as possible unless I had a shoe on and then was told to wear a band aid for protection. That has worked well. I go back in four weeks and I am assuming I will have no further daily treatments at that time. I can assure you I am being careful to not drop anything on them at this point. To answer your question about walking with out the nails, I walked completely normal from day one but found it was a relief to do the soaking treatments. Having the toes bandaged, plus wearing socks and shoes was bit of a crowded feeling. It is a relief to take the socks and shoes off and wear a slipper while being at home.