I'll be seeing an net specialist this Friday to all about surgery. I've been told I need endoscopic sinus surgery, septoplasty and sinus turbinate reduction. Doc says my case is really bad - on a scale of 1-10 it's a 10. I also have a polyp. Any advice or questions I should ask would be greatly appreciated. Tis will be my first surgery. Thanks!
I just had Septoplasty, turbinate reduction, and adenoid removal last week. The best advice I can give is to try to be calm before the surgery (it was my first surgery too). You honestly will be out like a light before you know it, and you will only feel groggy afterward (the IV is the worst part! the nurse missed my vein the first time). Eat lots of cool food (ice cream, Popsicles, etc.) and some ice cold sweet tea helped my throat heal from the tube they put down your throat while you're asleep. It's not a sharp pain ever, just more like a headache/nasal congestion nagging feeling that doesn't go away. DO NOT BUMP YOUR NOSE. That's a lot of pain.
Take all the meds the doctor gives you. Use nasal spray about 3 times a day, and generally relax and keep your head elevated. Do something to take your mind off of it (movies, games). You probably won't sleep very well the first night, but that's normal.
The worst thing I did was come back to work on Monday after surgery Thursday morning. I was generally fine, but had a 4 o'clock crash where everything started hurting. So just take it easy and relax, and you'll be fine. The surgery is the easiest part because you're asleep so no need to worry about it.
I get my splints out tomorrow morning so I'm very excited to be able to breathe again.
Good Luck
Hi All
I am new to this forum and have been considering septoplasty and turbinate reduction for more than one year now. after much deliberation, i have decided to go ahead. I have seen a few surgeons in this regard, some of which struck me as too quick to recommend he surgery .
Does anyone have a recommendation for a good surgeon in southern california, especially in or near Orange County?
thank you in advance
I had the septoplasty and turbinate reduction on Tuesday and tonight is Saturday. I do not know why people complain soooo much-it is surgery! I was given one does of liquid Vicodin before I went home and had an RX for Percocet for pain. I was told to take the Percocet as needed and was worried I would be in pain so I took it a few times. I did not like it at all, so I stopped taking it the day after surgery. With the anesthesia the Percocet was too much. I did not like the way I felt while on it, so there was no point in taking it. I know most people are on the pain meds longer than I was but I have been told I have a high tolerance for pain and did not need them. The pressure from the packing was not awful. The splints and packing do not feel great, but do not actually cause pain. I had the packing removed on Thursday. I was not at all painful. At the very end, you will feel the suction release but that is all. If you are generally a complainer, take some pain meds beforehand. I took Extra Strength Tylenol, but really do not think it was necessary. The vacuum felt strange. On Wednesday i will have the splints removed. I have been watching videos of this on YouTube and am amazed at the size of the splints! No one has said the removal causes pain and it would be evident in the patients' facial expression, so I am not worried. I do not like not being able to breathe through my nose yet, but that will be alleviated soon! The blood feels like post nasal drip and is annoying. I do not think it would have been beneficial or prudent to use nasal spray while the packing was in my nose. Maybe with it removed, I will try it. I was told not to go back to work until after the splints are removed. It is up to the doctor, but my ENT told me 7-10 days for recovery is normal. Since I have lupus, mine may be longer. I would bet there are different opinions on when to return to work or normal routines, so you should speak to your doctor. If you are trusting this man to do surgery you should trust his opinion on matters related to it as well!
This is something you should ask your doctor, not random people on message boards. All you will get here are opinions of people who do not know your case.
The above was in reference to this post:
i am wondering why my doctor has opted to remove my gauze packing in seven days and i keep reading in blogs that they had gauze removed in 1, 2 anf 3 days after sugery does any one know why oh and also was anyone packing in so very tight that it caused severe pain and showed a bumb at the nose ?
A tip for gum/teeth pain(hopefully this isn't redundant)- put a small piece ice between the lip and gum in affected areas. For targeting specific areas ice is way more effective than a pain med like a percocet.
17 year old guy and I just had the surgery about 20 hours ago. Took a couple antibiotics during the 24 hours prior to the surgery. I suppose that it makes a difference but i had it done at a private clinic and not the hospital. You just gotta take some deep breaths and remain calm, then you'll be out like a light before you know it. Literally the most painful part of the procedure was getting the anesthetic (1-10). Apparently the surgeon did the whole thing in record time (about 35 mins) and I had a "pretty complicated" situation (deviation, congestion, torsion) so that was awesome. To this hour i still feel no pain unless i touch my nose, the only problem is dry throat because my nostrils are stuffed with packing. Eating and drinking is surely the most annoying part but still manageable. As for sleep i should probably get some but honestly it wasn't an exhausting experince.
I'm not really sure what all the complaining is about but from my current experince the whole thing (prior, during, and post operation) is no more than a 2-10 on the discomfort scale, considering it's a surgery. I'd definitely reccommend a private over a public clinic on this one though.
Also had a really hot nurse to stay the night with me so i don't know maybe i'm just a lucky :)
I got this surgery done on Wednesday, July 24th, 2013. I read a lot of the posts on this blog leading up to the surgery and I got to say most people on here are pretty accurate with their testimonies. I wasn't really expecting too much pain, but looking back on it I WOULD NEVER DO THIS AGAIN! Just one of those procedures that was the worst post-op.
SURGERY - no complaints here, all the doctors came in and spoke about their part on the surgery. Figured out the best anesthesia for me specifically, talked me and my mom through everything about the procedure. I remember going into the operating room and probably 5 seconds later I was out. Now when I woke up and felt pretty groggy, I didn't want eat the graham crackers they gave me, but had to for discharge. I just wanted to get home honestly.
I took off work the day of surgery through Wednesday. I took the pain pills immediately getting in the car and they DEFINITELY help. It will take away all the feeling of pressure in your nose due to the packing and plastic tubes. I still felt very weak though. My ex gf came over and stayed with me for about 3 hours. Her comfort definitely helped me and when she left I pretty much just laid on the couch, OUT OF IT, to say the least.
Thursday was much of the same thing. Friday came and I got only SOME of the packing out, so with that, I had to go the whole weekend with the feeling of pressure and congestion in my nose.
Monday I returned at 1:45pm and by this point I just wanted the c**p out because I was over it all. He took it out. AND YES, let me make it clear, the removal of the tubes HURTS!!! It's quick pain, but pain nonetheless, just a heads up for the people on here constantly asking "does it really hurt when he removes the packing?"
But i must say there was INSTANT RELIEF upon the removal. My airflow in the right nostril had become like nothing before and it was like of feeling of become "new" again, because the kind of breathing I was doing before compared NOTHING to this feeling.
Today is August 1, and the nose is still a little swollen, but still looks good. Scabbing is really the only issue I have now. It scabs so much it blocks my airflow, but I guess that's just apart of the process while the inside of the nose heals up. I put Neosporin on a Qtip and just go in a circular motion to keep things moist and to alleviate some scabbing.
Have another appt with my doctor this coming Monday, I'll assume he'll clean it out some too and check on the healing.
Got it done on a Wednesday. So I took off from work Wed-Fri and had the two weekend days to help with recovery. I would've returned to work that Monday, but my doctor left my packing in over the weekend (I saw him on Friday morning). I couldn't go to work with the tape all over my nose and the tubes still plugged in there, so took Monday off, had the tubes removed Monday afternoon. I was back at work Tuesday morning, bright and early.
Hope that helped...
Hi Shell64, Just read your post. I know you had it done a while back and am wondering how you are today. I had exactly the same as you i.e. no splints and disolveable packing - 6 days ago. I am soooo stuffed up even after the nasal rinse and otrivine squirts up nose and steam. Keeps waking me up at night because I cannot breath. When did you notice any improvement with congestion (as I am ok other than that).
Im due to see the consultant on Wednesay, who's apparently going to clean it out (hover it out). I would like to know what that entails as well...hey ho.
Its now 12 Aug 2013
YES! I made the mistake of reading this board right before my surgery... it seems like most of these people either had severe cases, bad docs, or just bad luck. I had my septoplasty in concert with a full rebuilding of my throat (uvula, tonsils, etc.) to eliminate sleep apnea.
Three days after surgery the doc removed the splints from my nose and it was all better. Three days.
Granted I DID NOT take the Vicodin / Codeine as personally it makes me way too high / freaked out / tired.
I was obcessed with hydration and humidity, which may have made a difference.
I am 11 days post op. It has been fine except trying to sleep at night. Drainage wakes me up EVERY night and I go into a panic attack because of the suffocation feeling, then can not go back to sleep without lorazapam / xanax. It is THE WORST!! I keep wondering how long it will be before I can sleep a full night with no paic attacks and medication. Never have needed meds to sleep before so this is troubling. Am a little nervous this will continue for longer then a few weeks.....
. I would love to know what you did to get back to a normal nights sleep and how long it took...
Much Appreciation!
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Scott
I had septoplasty/fess done on 4dec i panick quite alot as i could not breath out of my nose because of the packing on the fourth day the packing had dissovled. So i could breath out of my nose i still very congested cant sleep very well docxtor told me that i would feel like this for afew weeks, wating to go back and have my splints out cant waite for my nose to feel normal again.