Day 8: Splints Removed!

My splints were removed and my sutures taken out this morning. It was an uncomfortable feeling to have 2 giant plastic things taken from my nostrils. I didn't know but apparently they're sutured into place. This is really, really gross I know, but here's what they look like. You can see how big they are compared to my nose guard (it's on the right with the tape still on it). Ew!!

The sutures that were holding my nose together were removed after that. I think there were 5 or 6 of them. It was a little pinchy but not that painful. Here's what it looks like now!

Since the splints were removed, my nose looks smaller. I talked to the doctors and it will take a few weeks (or months) to determine how my nose it will look in the end. During surgery they over-corrected my septum to the right because it tends to try and heal back in the same direction it was. It sure looks straight to me! Look I can smile again!!

Here is the photo on my first post the day before surgery. Notice how my straight my nose is after! Now the swelling just needs to decrease.

I am breathing entirely out of BOTH passages. It's a weird but amazing feeling. The surgery was totally worth it. Also, I was able to taste most of everything at lunch!

I'm only going to be posting weekly photos on Tuesdays to show the progression of swelling for the first month or so. All the exciting stuff has already happened.

I'm truly thankful to Dr. Ramakrishnan, his team at ENT, and University Colorado Hospital for making my nose A) straight and B) usable. I wouldn't want to go through this again but I am 100% glad that I underwent this surgery.

Day 7: One Full Week Since Surgery

I never thought that I'd finally reach an entire week post-surgery. Midway through I was convinced I'd never feel better. Everyday I get stronger and healthier. I feels like the splint in my left nostril shifted during the night. I can't get the saline spray into that nostril anymore but it gets removed tomorrow morning.

I still get fatigued when I leave the house for too long. I don't get too tired while doing light chores or cooking but I'm not sure how tomorrow is going to go. I go to work after getting the splint removed. I'm looking forward to no more bag-face showers.

Swelling and bruising is decreasing. I think the black and blue under my eyes is just about gone. Ugh, my nose is still bulbous though! Luckily the swelling is starting to even out. If you look at day 5 or 6 photos vs this one, my left side is going down! Hurray!

Day 6: I Sneezed Today... Ow and Ew

I have been lucky enough not to sneeze, until today. It's painful and you get very concerned that it might harm your nose. Sneeze with your mouth open but of course, there is nose involvement. It ached for awhile after but I don't think there will be lasting damage!

After about a half hour I begin to have a smell... a gross sort of rotten smell. I couldn't place it until it reminded me of the Coroner's Office. I have been a volunteer/intern for our local office for 2 years. Great, the sneeze dislodged some tissue or blood that's been sitting around, and now I smell the morgue all the time. Thank God I'm used to that smell but I don't like that it's emanating from the inside of my nose! If you haven't been around the dead much it has this sickly-sweet, harsh smell. Ugh. I hope it goes away soon.

Sleep was hard last night. My nose feels best when I'm lying on my back but I'm typically a side sleeper and my back hates it. It must have taken at least 2 hours to fall asleep. Oh the sleeping problems.

Swelling and bruising is still decreasing! My nose still looks huge and a little lopsided. This is as big as my smile gets; the swelling keeps me from doing my full smile!

Day 5: Doing Good

My sleeping schedule is getting back to normal. I went to bed at 10:30p and woke up at 10:30a. 12 hours of sleep seems like a lot but I feel good today. I can feel air movement through the air passages even though I know there's splints in them. I'll take it easy again today but I think I'm getting out of the house today for a quick adventure. Pick up lunch maybe? I know I need more saline spray. Weird looks or not, I don't care.

Neat thing is I was able to taste a flavor for the first time since Monday! Garlic. I can only faintly taste it but at least it's something!!

My swelling is going down visibly with my jaw and and cheeks. I can actually start to smile again. I smile with teeth not lips only. It's coming! Also the black and blue from my eyes are fading even more.

Looking at this photo my nose looks a little different in sizes but you have to remember my left side was my problem side. It probably has more inflammation and swelling due more work on that side... at least that's what I'm telling myself. Seems like a valid hypothesis.

Don't think I don't wear my nose guard or drip thingy! I just take it off and take a photo so we can see what the healing process looks like. This is how I look the other 99.9% time when I'm not taking a photo for the blog. Also I have to take off my gauze mustache for eating or it gets gross.

Update on Leaving the House:

I went out to pick up some food to-go and get more saline spray. I got so many weird looks and sideways glances! Also I got fatigued easily. My nose started to throb and my eyes were still sensitive to the light and they started dripping again. A 30 minute excursion wore me out! It was nice to get out but I'm staying in for the next few days until I have to get these splints taken out and the bruising/swelling goes down more. 

Post-Op Day 4... My Nose Gaurd Fell Off! Panic??

I got some blessed sleep this morning after some panic. I can't freaking believe it. I took a Vicodin about midnight and settled down to go to sleep. I woke up at 2p in a deep sweat. I tend to sweat a lot when I've been sleeping lately. It took me an hour to finally get back to sleep. 3a to 5a. I woke up feeling something hard next to me. What was it? My hard nose guard on my nose had fallen off while I was sleeping!! Whatttt???

Waking up with this in your hand will A) wake you up completely and B) send you into a panic. I went to the bathroom to see how my nose looked. I didn't know what to do! So I called the emergency hospital call line at 5:30a and talked to the ENT doctor on call. I felt SO bad calling so early on a Saturday but I was really freaked out.

She told me it was okay that it had fallen off since it'd been a few days but she'd let my doctor know. Maybe I'd get into clinic a day or two early but not to worry. She told me to be especially careful about knocking my nose. Okay I can do that.

Okay so what do I look like without that hard plastic thingy?

Wow. That's a of swelling but less than yesterday. Also less black and blue eyes. I decided that I'd stop sleeping at an angle and lay down like normal after I'd calmed down enough. I laid in my bed for the first time since Monday night and fell asleep at 7a and just woke up not too long ago at 1p! OMG so much sleep. I feel amazing!! 

Today feels like a real turning point. I don't feel the need to take pain pills nor lay down all the time. I did a few little chores around the house without getting chills and I could open my mouth wide enough to eat food. Still can't taste it though :(

UPDATE ON NOSE GUARD: JUST TAPE IT BACK ON

My doctor is really cool. He get's back to me quickly and gives me solutions. He told me just to tape the nose guard back on with tape. I thought that might be what I needed to do but I'm not going to do anything to my nose without my doctor telling me. Alrighty... I washed it with soap and water, dried it, and used a bit of tape to put it back on.

Thoughts on Recovery After Septoplasty

Here are my thoughts on recovery:

Soft food is a good idea but it doesn't have to be gross. Why soft food? My jaw and teeth are sensitive. Besides, I can't open my mouth that wide. I've been eating meat sandwiches cut into tiny blocks, fish, mac and cheese, and soft noodles from Chinese food take out. It really doesn't matter what you eat though because you CANNOT taste anything. It's been what, over 100 hours since my surgery and I still can't taste food.

Buying Ensure was a great idea for when my stomach got sour and sick from drainage on Wednesday morning. It's the only thing I could keep down to take a pain pill to go to sleep. Throwing up was painful but not as painful as you would have thought.

Taking a shower without getting your nose wet is crazy hard. Especially with long hair like mine. I had to tape a quart sized bag to my face and wash my hair gently. It felt great to get clean.

Use the sterile saline spray all the time. They say use it as often as you can, I say dooooo-it! I do it about once every hour or two and change my dressing as well. I think that's why my nose is looking so good but the rest of my face isn't.

When the doctor says non-petroleum based jelly to keep your nose moist he means KY jelly. (Seems weird but I used it up to 6 months post surgery!) 

To keep swelling at a minimum, keep icing your nose/cheeks with a bag of peas. It's not a lot of weight and it contours to your face. Also, don't eat a lot of salt. Salt increases edema. There should be swelling for 2-4 weeks (which I had).

Watching movies is a fine idea to pass time but don't get ones that have lots of bright lights or noise. Nothing will make you more upset than finally, accidentally, falling asleep just to be woken up by gun shot sounds or yelling. Sleep is a precious, desperate thing you need. I still haven't slept more than 20 hours in the past 4 days.

When they say "sleep sitting up" they mean sitting at an angle of about 30 to 45 degrees. You want to elevate your nose above your heart to help with drainage and reduce swelling. Not to mention the throbbing hurts worse when laying down and I'd do just about anything to stop that throbbing.

Throat soothing medication like that spray antithetic (Chloraseptic) is pretty necessary the first few days. The breathing tube scuffed up my throat pretty bad and the constant mouth breathing only irritated it more.

Even if you feel not too bad the first night, it's the second night that's out to get you. That's when all the good drugs they gave you at the hospital have finally worn off, you're sleep deprived, and you don't want to sit up anymore. I would have cried I was so aggravated and tired but it hurts to cry, so I didn't.

Don't whack your nose. It's at least twice as big and even the touch of a blanket will send pain shooting through your face. It sounds like common sense but after night 2 nothing makes sense anymore.

Drink as much fluids as possible! It helps keep your nose moist and a moist nose = no itching!

Make sure after the first day to clean your "nest". Sitting in the same elevated condition for hours, nay days on end can get really old. Clean bedding and clothes can make all the difference on whether or not your go stir crazy.

You WILL NEED to take at least a week off work. This is truly a hard procedure on your body; exhaustion and fatigue happen very easily. (I went to back to work exactly a week later and was surprised at how exhausted I was.)

Post-Op Day 3 Evening

The bruising around my nose is reducing! Hurray! But the bruising around my eyes and the swelling my jaw are increasing. If you notice this photo you can see the nose guard is actually coming away from my nose at the top.

My poor eyes are a little black and blue still. Also notice the shape of my face! It's lumpy from all the swelling in my jaw. I can't really smile since my jaw is so sore.

 Let's post a photo of how I looked before surgery since this is all kind of freaking me out looking at these surgery photos. Let's hope my face looks like this again! I wonder how long it will take...

Post-Op Day 3

Things are getting better. Sleeping last night wasn't as terrible as the other nights. I'm still taking pain medication because it helps me sleep. Instead of sleeping for only one hour at a time, I'm sleeping for 2 or 3 hour blocks. I feel really good when I wake up but the throbbing comes back about 2 hours before more Vicodin. I'm not taking 2 pills at a time anymore but 1. I hope the acetaminophen keeps my face less swollen.

I've had 3 sleeping sessions starting last night. One at 11p, one at 3a, and another at 7a. I'm still sleeping sitting up. It's more a 45 to 30 degree angle so I can get proper drainage (ew I know). I have to sleep with something to spit in next to me or it'd all go into my stomach and I don't want to throw up again.

Post-Op Day 2: AKA Hell

Last night was as close to hell as I could ever imagine. I got very little sleep and my body hates sitting up this entire time. The throbbing! I started getting very nauseous around 11p last night and kept it at bay until this morning. I've been sick due to all the drainage. I threw up twice. :(  I'm not sure how but the pain is getting worse. Immediately after surgery was a walk in the park compared to this. I'm exhausted, tired, sick, and sore. The pain hasn't let up one bit but my swelling keeps increasing. How much more can it go? I really need my eyes to see. I'm surprised that the pain keeps increasing! My body aches, teeth aches, headaches, I'm so tired I could cry but it hurts to cry. Everything hurts.

And if you didn't know this about me I've had open heart surgery. So which is worst this procedure? This or open heart surgery... I'm not really sure. It's like comparing apples and oranges. At least with the heart surgery I could sleep and laying down wasn't an issue.

One of the major problems is I can't leave my bed for more than a minute or two! I get crazy-bad chills and when I stand my nose hurts more. It feels like I'll be confined to sitting on my couch forever. This is kind of like hell... truly. I keep looking at the clock hoping time will move faster but nope, I'm in a Twilight Zone episode where it only gets worse not better after time.

Evening Post-Op Day 1

Okay this may be getting worse than earlier. My eye is swelling shut and the throbbing is getting worse between pain pills. The hospital called not to long ago to check up on me. They told me to use bag of frozen peas for 3-5 minutes. It really helps but the throbbing wont stop!!

Also my eyes still wont stop watering. They're terribly sensitive to the light and I just sit upright in the dark hoping to sleep or nap. Ugh.

Aww the swelling is shutting my left eye closed.

Post-Op Day 1

Last night was terrible. I have to sleep sitting up for the next few nights to allow for drainage. I sleep for about an hour at a time before I wake up. I take Vicodin every 6 hours. About 4 hours after taking the pain pills, the throbbing in my nose begins to kick up. My best sleeping time is about a half our after taking a pain pill.

My left eye will not stop watering. It just goes and goes and goes. It's pretty annoying. I can still get airflow out of both passages because there's no packing inside (only splints). It's not enough to breathe out of so I'm a mouth breather only.  I get to start the saline washes today which doesn't sounds like fun. I start my antibiotics 3 times a day for the next 10 days.

My swelling is getting worse and the pressure is increasing. My front teeth ache but that may be due to all the impact in my skull. I've been able to eat soft food like meat sandwiches and potpie. Nothing with crunch! I just have body aches from sitting so much and a headache. The pain is getting worse.

I'm allowed to try and take a shower today but I can't get my face wet. I'm not sure how to work that. I might need my aunt to help me since I can't stand for too long without my brain wanting to pound out of my head. I also will begin to get crazy chills if I'm out of my couch-nest for longer than 2 minutes.

Here's what I look like 24 hours post surgery:

Day 0: Post-Op 10 hrs later

5p
The surgery went really well. It was hard waking up from the anesthesia but I think the worst part was the drive home. It was so sunny outside. My nose doesn't really hurt as much just is sore. The annoying thing is the dripping from my nose and by dripping, I mean slow bleeding. I have to keep a gauze mustache on at all times. I keep replacing it every few hours. Also my eyes WONT stop watering. It's like the worst case of hay fever I've ever had.

The coolest part of all this is, I can breathe out of my nose. It hasn't swollen shut yet and I can feel the air in my left nasal passage. It's the craziest feeling since I haven't felt that in forever. I have a headache but I can still sleep. I got home from the hospital and I keep sleeping for about an hour at a time until I need to use the restroom. I guess They gave me 3 bags of saline during the surgery.

My throat is probably the thing that hurts the worst. I've been mostly mouth breathing and they ripped up throat with the breathing tube. It's sore from the constant air and whoever ripped that tube out of my throat. Note to future physicians: DON'T BE ROUGH WITH THE BREATHING TUBE.

Day of surgery

bear with me, im typing this on my cell phone with no auto-correct!

5:45a
So im waiting at the hospital for my surgery. i showed up about 5:30a and now its the waiting game. im not sure why i had to get here 2 hours early. i stopped eatting and drinking last night at 8p. im not hungry since im anxious but i am thristy. my throat feels dry but thats probably from sleeping with my mouth open. im trying not to touch my face but my nose hurts. i usually have to rub it and touch it to make it feel better. ive got my normal nose drip and its a little stuffed up. thats the norm for me.

its hard just to just sit here and wait. im scared but they do this surgery all the time. more people are showing up and chilling in the waiting room with me. im the only person not sitting with anyone but thats okay.

they gave me a living directive and will to fill out. i tried to look it over but i just cant right now.

6:30a
i was taken to the patient area about 6ish. it looks like the emergency room. i was told to take all my clothes off and put into a gown opening in the back. an IV with a saline drip was placed into my right forearm. they're really nice here and answered all my questions. im still a little nervous... they said they have to turn my pacemaker off for my surgery. my stomach is in knots and that thirstyness isnt going away.

my nose is still ichy. i dont want to touch it bit i cant help. talking to the nurse i guess i'll be in pain but it will more burn or itch afterwards. not looking forward to that.

The surgery should take 1 to 2 hours. then ill go to the recovery area where ill be brought out and monitored. i vomitted up a lot of blood for my wisdom teeth surgery. i hope this doesnt happen again. i guess they're adding zofran to my drug cocktail to fight that.

not much else to do but wait.. wish me luck!

Pre-Op

I am going in for a Septoplasty tomorrow. I'm a little freaked out on how long it will take for me to heal and if my face will look different. I was diagnosed with a deviated septum from my ENT. I've had this for years and I finally decided to take action and get it fixed. It's so bad that I can't even breathe from one nasal passage. I can do a flare with my nose though! I'll be a little sad to have it go.

Before photos of my nose! You can really see that curve!

Here's me and why I'm getting the surgery done:

How did I injure myself? Repeated accidents that just made it worse and worse. The major cause was a River Dance fight. Now you're asking what a River Dance fight is right? Well it's exactly what it sounds like. A lot of leg hopping and jumping around with no contact. Except my friend got to close when he was punching and punched me in the nose. I was not pleased. 

Here is an example of what River Dance fighting is:

 

I'm going to be taking photos everyday for my recovery and telling you what it's like and how I feel. I'm anxious right now but it'll be nice to have 2 real breathing passages!

From researching online you need to have a few things ready for post-op. Here's my list:

Post-Op Recovery Essentials 

• Soft foods (broth, noodles, yogurt, mashed potatoes, applesauce) 
• Ensure (you might not get the calories you need by only eating soft foods)
• Saline Spray (for when your nose is dry as heck)
• Carmex (because I'll be a mouth breather only for about a week)
• A stack of DVDs or Netflix (from my understanding you wont be sleeping much the first few nights)
• Soda (because nothing says soothe me like 7-Up)