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.)