I had the surgery 3 weeks ago and I'm still in some discomfort. I still have to do the saline solutions, I'm congested and I'm still breathing through my mouth. I'm drinking alot of liquids and trying not to take so many drugs but honestly when am I going to feel better??? I'm tired of blowing my noise and yes, the bright lights and loud noises really bother me. I went to a couple of basketball games in the last 2 weeks and I thought I was going to break down and cry. I really didn't know that was a problem until I went to the 2nd game and realized, I can't do this right now.
Let me give you all some advise if you are not already doing it, the neti pot. I use it twice a day and that really helps in getting some of that gunk out of your noise. It sounds discussting but if you've had this surgery, you've seen it all.
Let me give you all some advise if you are not already doing it, the neti pot. I use it twice a day and that really helps in getting some of that gunk out of your noise. It sounds discussting but if you've had this surgery, you've seen it all.
Let me start by saying reading all these messages gives me mixed feelings. My son is 15 yrs. old and has been unable to breathe through his nose since the day he was born. In July of 2007 he had a 3 procedure sinus surgery and today 3/16/09 we went back to the E.N.T after he has suffered from yet another sinus infection that is going on week number 7 and 4 antibiotics. This is the same doctor who did his previous surgery, and before we left his office today they scheduled his new surgery for this thursday 3/19/09 they are doing a septoplasty, turbinate reduction, and max. antrostomies in hopes that he will finally be able to breathe through his nose. After the surgery I also have to schedule an appt. with a sleep center for a sleep study they think he may have sleep apnea he has been hospital bound home schooled for 2 years now and most likely will also be next year. I am just very scared about what to look forward to with this surgery. He also suffers from severe migraine and has medication for it. I have 2 younger sons 13 & 11. can anyone tell me some things I may do to make him comfortable, I do have one of those recliners that you plug in and it helps you get to the standing position but since most of you have been through this already I figured you could give me some good advice. Thanks in advance and I hope all of you are feeling better and the surgery worked for you.
I think that if you follow the out-patient instructions, and don't have reactions to the medications, the healing process should go exactly as expected. Do not blow your nose! Let the stuff drip out, catch it on a gauze pad or use kleenex. I am out of the hospital two days from my septoplasty, turbinate reduction, and polypectomy. I am on vicodin and antibiotics. For me the biggest problem is the blood that has clotted just inside my nostril. I was told not to insert anything in my nostril (different from what some people seem to have said) and use Afrin for nose bleeds. The Afrin helped some, but it caused the blood to clot just before leaving the nose. I start using saline spray today to keep the nose moist, but I cannot even insert the bottle in my nostril because it is so clogged with blood clots. I am thinking of using the wet cotton balls someone mentioned, just to loosen up the dried stuff on the outside.
Yes, it will be sore, you will be stuffy, and uncomfortable, but you just got out of surgery! It seems some people don't understand that. When your doc says you will feel great, they mean after the healing process.
Stock up on soda crackers and bland food- swallowing blood sure doesn't make for an appetite!
Best of luck to those of you awaiting surgery- I think mine was worth it already- the day of the surgery I could breathe WAY better (until it filled with blood)!
Yes, it will be sore, you will be stuffy, and uncomfortable, but you just got out of surgery! It seems some people don't understand that. When your doc says you will feel great, they mean after the healing process.
Stock up on soda crackers and bland food- swallowing blood sure doesn't make for an appetite!
Best of luck to those of you awaiting surgery- I think mine was worth it already- the day of the surgery I could breathe WAY better (until it filled with blood)!
Hi all
I just went to an otolaryngologist today who suggested I have the sternoplasty.
I consistently am only able to breathe out of 1 nostril or the other - I can never breathe freely out of both nostrils and I end up breathing from my mouth far too often. Plus I lose sleep because of all the pressure in my nose.
For those of you have had the surgery and are finished with the recovery, was it worth it? Can you breathe freely?
Are you glad you went through with the surgery (if it was voluntary)?
Thanks.
I just went to an otolaryngologist today who suggested I have the sternoplasty.
I consistently am only able to breathe out of 1 nostril or the other - I can never breathe freely out of both nostrils and I end up breathing from my mouth far too often. Plus I lose sleep because of all the pressure in my nose.
For those of you have had the surgery and are finished with the recovery, was it worth it? Can you breathe freely?
Are you glad you went through with the surgery (if it was voluntary)?
Thanks.
I am just about a month removed from my surgery. I was just like almost everyone else before the surgery: nervous, up until I passed out in the OR.
I was diagnosed with a deviated septum when I went to my MD for a sinus infection. I also have severe allergies which contributed to my infections, so the thinking was that the surgery would help at least curb the allergies somewhat.
I woke up about an hour after the surgery. I was woozy, but I had full consciousness (I knew where I was, what happened, and so on). I was good enough to leave about a half-hour after I woke up, and aside from a near-fall leaving the room, I was able to get to the car, with minimal help from my dad. Before I left, the doctor told me that the surgery had gone well, and that my septum was one of the worst ones he had ever worked on (which made me feel special).
The first day, I felt nothing but pressure on my face. I had to change the gauze every hour because of the blood dripping out, and when I took off my gauze, I saw that my nose was swollen to the point of it being unrecognizable, partly due to the splints and partly due to the stitches.
I slept off and on that first night, getting a couple of hours of sleep, then waking up for about a half-hour, then falling back asleep in a cycle that repeated itself 3 times that night.
The second day and night, I started feeling sick. I lived pretty much off of Gatorade and Powerade that day. It was still hard for me to swallow due to the hose they put down my throat during the surgery causing a sore throat. Had some feverlike symptoms, but the bleeding slowed down that day.
Had a full night of sleep, but when I woke up, I felt even sicker than I did the second night. It got to the point where I was shivering, my head was pounding, and my throat was on fire. My mom gave me some Aleve, and I decided to take a shower. Then the weirdest thing happened...when I got out of the shower, I felt 200% better. I mean, I felt great, like I had never even been sick.
My splints got taken out the next day (I was so scared, judging by all that I read, but it honestly was not bad at all...it just felt weird) and the moment the doc pulled out the splints, I felt the air rush into my nose, and was it great! Granted, it didn't last all that long because it started bleeding again, but that moment was so exhilarating to me.
I was clogged for about a day and a half, then I took some peroxide and swabbed out my nose, and I can honestly say since then, I have had no other problems. No clogging, no sickness, no nothing. The nose is still tender, and I almost cried when I went to scratch my nose and ended up scratching my surgery site instead, but since then, no problems whatsoever.
I am so happy I had this done. I still don't have all the feeling in my nose yet, but even now, this surgery has paid big dividends for me. I highly suggest going for it. Now, a month later, I look back at myself and think "What was I so worried about?"
I was diagnosed with a deviated septum when I went to my MD for a sinus infection. I also have severe allergies which contributed to my infections, so the thinking was that the surgery would help at least curb the allergies somewhat.
I woke up about an hour after the surgery. I was woozy, but I had full consciousness (I knew where I was, what happened, and so on). I was good enough to leave about a half-hour after I woke up, and aside from a near-fall leaving the room, I was able to get to the car, with minimal help from my dad. Before I left, the doctor told me that the surgery had gone well, and that my septum was one of the worst ones he had ever worked on (which made me feel special).
The first day, I felt nothing but pressure on my face. I had to change the gauze every hour because of the blood dripping out, and when I took off my gauze, I saw that my nose was swollen to the point of it being unrecognizable, partly due to the splints and partly due to the stitches.
I slept off and on that first night, getting a couple of hours of sleep, then waking up for about a half-hour, then falling back asleep in a cycle that repeated itself 3 times that night.
The second day and night, I started feeling sick. I lived pretty much off of Gatorade and Powerade that day. It was still hard for me to swallow due to the hose they put down my throat during the surgery causing a sore throat. Had some feverlike symptoms, but the bleeding slowed down that day.
Had a full night of sleep, but when I woke up, I felt even sicker than I did the second night. It got to the point where I was shivering, my head was pounding, and my throat was on fire. My mom gave me some Aleve, and I decided to take a shower. Then the weirdest thing happened...when I got out of the shower, I felt 200% better. I mean, I felt great, like I had never even been sick.
My splints got taken out the next day (I was so scared, judging by all that I read, but it honestly was not bad at all...it just felt weird) and the moment the doc pulled out the splints, I felt the air rush into my nose, and was it great! Granted, it didn't last all that long because it started bleeding again, but that moment was so exhilarating to me.
I was clogged for about a day and a half, then I took some peroxide and swabbed out my nose, and I can honestly say since then, I have had no other problems. No clogging, no sickness, no nothing. The nose is still tender, and I almost cried when I went to scratch my nose and ended up scratching my surgery site instead, but since then, no problems whatsoever.
I am so happy I had this done. I still don't have all the feeling in my nose yet, but even now, this surgery has paid big dividends for me. I highly suggest going for it. Now, a month later, I look back at myself and think "What was I so worried about?"
Hi,
I'm into Day 4 since the septoplasty and turbinoplasty and I wish someone (the doc) would have told me about the pre op discomfort and pain so I could have been ready for it.
My operation day started with the nurse missing my vein for the IV and she poked a hole through it so I now have an achy and very black and bruised hand. They got it in the third try. I was very woozy and felt awful after waking up from the surgery (which took about an hour) and it took several hours before I felt I could leave the hospital. An added stress for me was that I don't live in the city so had the added burden of a $400 hotel bill, gas bills for me and my daughter who came from another city to be with me, and take-out food for three days - mostly for her as I didn't eat anything the day of surgery and very little the 2 days after that.
My nose is very painful and swollen and I have to keep calming myself down so I don't panic and scream and try to rip my face off. Just kidding..sort of. I have been taking Tylenol Extra strength and also saline solution, q-tips dipped in warm water and a little polysporin as per the doc orders. Today so far I haven't taken any medication, hopefully that means I'm starting to heal.
It's hard sleeping on my back all the time and I have also been taking a mild sleeping pill otherwise I wouldn't be getting any sleep at all.
Finally called the doc's office today and the receptionist suggested I could spray a bit of otrivin into my nostrils to help clear them up - that was the best news I've heard in a week! Just can't do it too often (like I was before).
So far I can't say whether this will be successful - sure hope so, looking forward to breathing and sleeping better. But I do suggest you ask lots of questions pre-op about what you can expect and be prepared at home with getting any major cleaning or chores done and stock up on soft easy to eat food like yoghurt and apple juice.
I'm into Day 4 since the septoplasty and turbinoplasty and I wish someone (the doc) would have told me about the pre op discomfort and pain so I could have been ready for it.
My operation day started with the nurse missing my vein for the IV and she poked a hole through it so I now have an achy and very black and bruised hand. They got it in the third try. I was very woozy and felt awful after waking up from the surgery (which took about an hour) and it took several hours before I felt I could leave the hospital. An added stress for me was that I don't live in the city so had the added burden of a $400 hotel bill, gas bills for me and my daughter who came from another city to be with me, and take-out food for three days - mostly for her as I didn't eat anything the day of surgery and very little the 2 days after that.
My nose is very painful and swollen and I have to keep calming myself down so I don't panic and scream and try to rip my face off. Just kidding..sort of. I have been taking Tylenol Extra strength and also saline solution, q-tips dipped in warm water and a little polysporin as per the doc orders. Today so far I haven't taken any medication, hopefully that means I'm starting to heal.
It's hard sleeping on my back all the time and I have also been taking a mild sleeping pill otherwise I wouldn't be getting any sleep at all.
Finally called the doc's office today and the receptionist suggested I could spray a bit of otrivin into my nostrils to help clear them up - that was the best news I've heard in a week! Just can't do it too often (like I was before).
So far I can't say whether this will be successful - sure hope so, looking forward to breathing and sleeping better. But I do suggest you ask lots of questions pre-op about what you can expect and be prepared at home with getting any major cleaning or chores done and stock up on soft easy to eat food like yoghurt and apple juice.
I'm starting to think that I had a very fortunate experience with this.
Friday morning I went in for septoplasty (surgury at 10:30) and was on my way home by 1:30 in the afternoon...No splints, no packing, just some gauze taped under the nose to catch the blood.
Day 1: Felt stuffed up (obviously) and had to change the gauze frequently. I found that talking and eating caused it to bleed a bit more, but I didn't have any pain. I didn't sleep much this night due to the breathing through the mouth and constantly waking up with a dry mouth. I think I may have gotten lucky with not swelling or being in any pain.
Day 2: No pain, and bleeding had pretty much stopped. I was able to breathe a bit through my nose, but still needed to breathe through my mouth mostly. I was able to suck some of the blood/mucus from my throat and spit it out...this helped a lot. I also took a soaked tissue and held it just on the crusted blood at the rim of my nose (DO NOT put anything inside your nose) and it loosened the crusted bits up enough that I could wipe them away. People can't see up your nose, but crusted blood on the rim may be visible...so taking this off I looked like nothing was done...gave me a better feeling. The only discomfort was being congested and clogged up...but anyone who's had sinus congestion will already be used to this feeling (or a bad head cold).
Day 3: Woke up stuffed, but today was the day to start the sinus rinses. It was a bit of a weird feeling with the pressure building before it worked the blood/mucus blockages out. After that, feel a lot better. Still congested and sniffley, but am mostly breathing out of my nose again.
I've taken a total of 2 Tylenol 2's (one when I got home fromt he hospital, and one to help knock me out the first night) and that's it.
Only advise I can give is to not sniff or blow very hard for the first couple of days...I found this irritated my nose and was uncomfortable. Warm showers helped quite a bit...the water vapour going up the nose and loosening things off was great. I wonder if putting your head over a bowl of warm water will help the same way?
Don't expect to breathe perfectly right away, and be ready for some congestion for a while, but I can already say that this has been worth it for me.
Happy breathing to everyone :-)
Zro
Friday morning I went in for septoplasty (surgury at 10:30) and was on my way home by 1:30 in the afternoon...No splints, no packing, just some gauze taped under the nose to catch the blood.
Day 1: Felt stuffed up (obviously) and had to change the gauze frequently. I found that talking and eating caused it to bleed a bit more, but I didn't have any pain. I didn't sleep much this night due to the breathing through the mouth and constantly waking up with a dry mouth. I think I may have gotten lucky with not swelling or being in any pain.
Day 2: No pain, and bleeding had pretty much stopped. I was able to breathe a bit through my nose, but still needed to breathe through my mouth mostly. I was able to suck some of the blood/mucus from my throat and spit it out...this helped a lot. I also took a soaked tissue and held it just on the crusted blood at the rim of my nose (DO NOT put anything inside your nose) and it loosened the crusted bits up enough that I could wipe them away. People can't see up your nose, but crusted blood on the rim may be visible...so taking this off I looked like nothing was done...gave me a better feeling. The only discomfort was being congested and clogged up...but anyone who's had sinus congestion will already be used to this feeling (or a bad head cold).
Day 3: Woke up stuffed, but today was the day to start the sinus rinses. It was a bit of a weird feeling with the pressure building before it worked the blood/mucus blockages out. After that, feel a lot better. Still congested and sniffley, but am mostly breathing out of my nose again.
I've taken a total of 2 Tylenol 2's (one when I got home fromt he hospital, and one to help knock me out the first night) and that's it.
Only advise I can give is to not sniff or blow very hard for the first couple of days...I found this irritated my nose and was uncomfortable. Warm showers helped quite a bit...the water vapour going up the nose and loosening things off was great. I wonder if putting your head over a bowl of warm water will help the same way?
Don't expect to breathe perfectly right away, and be ready for some congestion for a while, but I can already say that this has been worth it for me.
Happy breathing to everyone :-)
Zro
Hello. I just had a septoplasty to reconstruct my newly broken nose. I was really concerned with the recovery and read many of the posts prior to having it done. I gotta tell you I was very scared after reading how terrible everyone was doing. My surgery was six days ago and I am feeling nearly 100% already. I am down to taking a few Motrin every 4-6 hours depending on the pain. I might have a high tolerance for pain so take this as you are.
The day of surgery I talked wiht my Dr. about the pain and he prescribed me a stronger pain med. He also gave me a drug to help ease my anxiety right before surgery. The nurse numbed my arm before they placed the I.V. (I didn't even feel it go in!) That was really nice. The surgery lasted about 28 min. I woke up fairly easily. Ate a popscicle ,some pudding, and apple juice. Took a pain pill and was up and walking to the car within an hour!
My Dr. doesn't believe in packing the nose. He said it was archaic and mean. He couldn't imagine not being able to breath out your nose for three days. I have a nose cast and didn't require splints (he only does those if necessary). This could be why I felt pretty good. I was able to walk around Target while my prescription was filled. I picked up some gel ice packs, Vitamin water, and a bed tray for eating.
The first day I took my pain meds every four hours and slept a lot. I was able to spend some time with visitors. I had to wear the mustache dressing to catch the dripping blood for the first day and a half. I changed the gauze every two hours.
The second day I started spraying my nose with Ocean Spray and cleaning the front of my nose with Q-Tips, hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin. I did this three times a day for the whole week. I would suggest getting the Neosporin with pain relief. It actually numbs the wound for a few hours. It was amazing.
I've also been sleeping in a recliner which is way better then sleeping in a bed propped up with pillows. The hardest part for me was sitting still. I am very active. When I felt good enough to get out and do something I would quickly discover that my body wasn't ready. It would tire me out and cause more pain. Just sit tight for the first four or five days. Easier said than done.
My pain level was never more than a 3 out of 10! This is easier than having a baby...and there isn't a little one depending you the whole time you are recovering.
Don't be scared. Talk to your Dr. if you are. Be prepared. All of this will help. Best of luck. I know you will enjoy your new ablility to breath and a beautiful striaght nose!
The day of surgery I talked wiht my Dr. about the pain and he prescribed me a stronger pain med. He also gave me a drug to help ease my anxiety right before surgery. The nurse numbed my arm before they placed the I.V. (I didn't even feel it go in!) That was really nice. The surgery lasted about 28 min. I woke up fairly easily. Ate a popscicle ,some pudding, and apple juice. Took a pain pill and was up and walking to the car within an hour!
My Dr. doesn't believe in packing the nose. He said it was archaic and mean. He couldn't imagine not being able to breath out your nose for three days. I have a nose cast and didn't require splints (he only does those if necessary). This could be why I felt pretty good. I was able to walk around Target while my prescription was filled. I picked up some gel ice packs, Vitamin water, and a bed tray for eating.
The first day I took my pain meds every four hours and slept a lot. I was able to spend some time with visitors. I had to wear the mustache dressing to catch the dripping blood for the first day and a half. I changed the gauze every two hours.
The second day I started spraying my nose with Ocean Spray and cleaning the front of my nose with Q-Tips, hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin. I did this three times a day for the whole week. I would suggest getting the Neosporin with pain relief. It actually numbs the wound for a few hours. It was amazing.
I've also been sleeping in a recliner which is way better then sleeping in a bed propped up with pillows. The hardest part for me was sitting still. I am very active. When I felt good enough to get out and do something I would quickly discover that my body wasn't ready. It would tire me out and cause more pain. Just sit tight for the first four or five days. Easier said than done.
My pain level was never more than a 3 out of 10! This is easier than having a baby...and there isn't a little one depending you the whole time you are recovering.
Don't be scared. Talk to your Dr. if you are. Be prepared. All of this will help. Best of luck. I know you will enjoy your new ablility to breath and a beautiful striaght nose!
I just had the septoplasty done on 4/17 it is now 4/22. The operation itself went very smoothly, I had very minimal bleeding and actually got to go home from the hospital a couple hours after it. I have had no problems with pain whatsoever except for my throat. I have had the absolute worse soar throat for and I'm really not sure why but it's pretty bad. I'm still stuffed up too obviously but other than that it's going smoothly. I to though have noticed a minor difference in the appearance, it's not major but I can tell my nose looks different. But I go tomorrow to see my Doctor where I imagine I'm gonna get the splints taking out. I'm hoping I'll be able to return to next week and return to some of my normal activities because I'm going stir crazy being stuck in the house. I'll try to update it after I get back from the Doctors but so far I don't have any complaints other than the throat.
Is it normal after a septoplasty to not be able to breathe well for 5 months afterward? I have very labored breathing. In fact it is worse than before.
I had my surgery yesterday and feel miserable. I didn't sleep at all last night, even though I was in a recliner. The pain medicine only works for about 1 1/2 hours then wears off. The pain alternates between my teeth and palette hurting and a horrible headache. My swelling has gone down thanks to icing it. I"m still getting sick from either the anesthesia or pain medicine. Throwing up is not fun, you're left with a throbbing head for an hour or so. All I can do is just sit here and wait for the days to go by when I start feeling better. I get my splints out in 2 days and am looking forward to that. I have to go back to work in 3 days, so hopefully I wake up in the morning feeling miraculously better. Talking and moving around definitely makes the pain worse, even noises such as other people talking or the tv make my head hurt. I don't want to discourage anyone from having this done because the end results will be worth it, but don't expect to feel hunky dory in a few days unless you're just crazy lucky. Happy recovery to all!
Hi there- I am in exactly the same boat you are. I had mine done 5 days ago, and I'm going in tomorrow to get the splint and the packing taken out. After reading some of the previous posts, I'm going to ask my doctor why she uses all of this packing when so many other doctors don't. I too am experiencing pain in my teeth and palette and my nose starts bleeding again when I talk. I'm starting to feel like someone forgot to point out the fine print! Anyways, let's hang in there and get better soon.
I'm having my Septoplasty done on Tuesday. I have been reading up on everything people have wrote. I have already been sleeping in a recliner and breathing out my mouth. I'm very use to getting bloody noses so I really don't think that will be much of a problem.
Hope everyone is better.
Hope everyone is better.
I had the first one done by a plastic surgeon Dr. Huang in Ajax, On Can. He made the problem worse. A lot of pain for his gain.
I went to a nose ears specialist to have it re-repaired. I am now in recovery.
GL
I went to a nose ears specialist to have it re-repaired. I am now in recovery.
GL
I had a septoplasty about 3 years ago... I have not had a sinus infection since, and my ability to breathe is dramatically better!
However, about 2 years ago, I developed a drainage from my ears. It occurs daily, and worsens when laying down. The fluid is usually clear in nature.
I have been checked by multiple specialties, and they suggest that its related to my surgery. Has anyone ever heard of something like this before?
However, about 2 years ago, I developed a drainage from my ears. It occurs daily, and worsens when laying down. The fluid is usually clear in nature.
I have been checked by multiple specialties, and they suggest that its related to my surgery. Has anyone ever heard of something like this before?