Thommo here (cant log in stupid system wants my email address to reset my password and it says it's wrong! No it aint!!). Anyway glad youre going well Paul.
Went back to my surgeon/specialist for the first time last Monday 28/5. Surgery was 1/5. 4 weeks and it's been damn easy. Told him it was painless from the recovery ward until today. He mentioned that it was rare for there to be much pain. His aim at surgery is to be little to no blood and same with the pain. He uses a mild amount of cocaine I heard, also (read up on this).
Discussed various web sites with the specialist and why some people experienced big pain. He mentioned that Australian and New Zealand docs actually do a different procedure in relation to re-using some of the septum (I think it was the septum or was it the turbinates??), as it aids in less blood, less pain and quicker healing. He said we were world leaders in this aspect. Perhaps this is why a few of us have experienced almost none, to no pain. Of course there are dozens of variables as to why patient X's pain is different to Y's. Nonetheless, reading the horror stories on here (100% are non aussies!) certainly had me concerned and for nothing, it appeared. Of course this only MY experience. Pauls too it appears.
Food for thought.
Thommo: Hi Paul. Feeling better than I ever have. Have been breathing normally through both nostrils for about 2 weeks. Initially after a few days when I gave up using the 3 pillows (which also, like the other Paul above, is bloody painful and uncomfortable) and went back to my normal pillow I kept mouth breathing of course, but every now and then you would hear crackling and popping sounds and I could breathe through one nostril and sometimes partially the other. Specialist said my L nostril had more work done, so this side has taken longer to fully open. Even in its less fully open state it is better than it was pre op! Douching your nostrils with the saline unit they give you has helped considerably. Still doing it twice a day (due to work constraints). Doc said to wean it off and see if it gets too dry and crunchy. If so squirt some more up there. I reckon I could stop it now, but am continuing as it's hardly inconvenient and has helped a lot.
I too asked the question over and over about what's the point (pre op)? I can breathe fantastic after I squirt Sinex (insert whatever product you care to mention), up my nose, so why would I want to go through the horror stories Ive read on here, when a little $7 product does the job??!! Albeit using it 3 or 4 times a day for 36 years (read my earlier stories). Reason? It was a piece of cake to do so and Im already breathing better than ever and it's only been 4 weeks. After 2.5 weeks (I think it was) I was probably 90% completely clear and now Id call it 99%. So I can breathe better than I ever had and I dont need drugs to make it so.
Not knowing your exact issues no doubt youve been to a specialist and he reckons you need surgery? If unsure get another opinion, but if both agree, then it's really up to you. No-one can MAKE you undertake surgery, you have to weigh up the surgery with the very real and almost certain possibility that you'll breathe better for the rest of your life. Really a no brainer isnt it. However as I was almost 99% blocked in each nostril it was easier for me to make that decision. But I did think why go through hell when I can spray this stuff up my nose? mmmm. Dilemna isn't it. I chamged my mind a dozen times until it was almost the day before surgery! lol.
Bumped into my mechanic a few days beforehand and he was the only one Id ever heard have these procedures. He said it was a walk in the park too. So I decided to do it. He said in a few months you'll come in here and shake my hand. I'm 100% certain that will be the case. I have shaken it already, its been that good! lol. Good luck with your decision Paul. GT
Thommo wrote:
Thommo here. Im from Gosford NSW. 1hr North of Sydney. Didn't cost me a cent. Im with NIB in a family package (pretty basic, no extras etc) and they meet all the costs......almost. Surgeon was free. Anesthaeseologist will be about 3 to $400 they told me. Other than that, and some after surgery meds (about $60 worth), nothing else. For lets say $500 you can get all this done. I was in Gosford Private hospital also so not your local hospital. Excellent care and I have some doctor friends and they said my doc is the one people come to see for this type of surgery. He was a Thomson also (name sake!). Cost me about $230 to see him initially and I got back about $150 I think. Obviously talk to your specialist and see what they charge. Not a lot of money to free up your breathing for the rest of your life!! I pity the US people on here as I see and hear what they [pay. $10,000 type figures are not unusual. Yay Australia and its great medical system. I see why US citizens go across the border to Canada for care!
Not all US people pay $10,000 I have insurance and the total price, with surgery office visits and meds, was $100.
I was fully covered by my insurance and paid a 35.00$ us dollar fee. I don't know why you think Americans have to pay full price for any surgery. the majority of Americans do have health insurance and are covered.U.S. citizens do not cross the border for healthcare as a matter of fact my maternal family is Canadian, and they come across the border for American health care because Canada's health care system is horrible . My cousin in Canada with terminal cancer was on an MRI waiting list for a year and a half. I love our healthcare system.
It's now the day after surgery, the doc took bandages out of my nose this morning, I came back home & slept. Still have only had paracetamol & an anti-swelling drug. Been told I can use a sea salt nasal spray I want to but my nose is blocked with scabs - obviously, so I'll leave it for a bit. I'll see the doc again in a week so he can clean the areas out. No probs really. This has been the easiest surgery I've ever had.
* Update: So it's been 2 months since the op and all is good. Other than my previous discussions about blockages, lack of pain and douching my nose (fun but the blood clots and blobs are lovely lol), it has been a walk in the park. If I hit my nose front on it still hurts a bit, but I can wiggle it with my fingers, scratch it etc. The whole range of normal things one does with a nose. It's great never having to grab nose spray again! Highly recommended that you do this op. As Ive said before, it's hard to compare apples with apples to gauge whether the exact same op with the same conditions resulted in different pain. Tooooooo many variables (as Ive discussed before). Mine? No pain from moment one. Just blocked up obviously. Douching really helped with clearing it.
Good luck all
I had my septoplasty done yesterday and am also experiencing quite a bit of pain. The first two times I changed my bandage, I also experienced a tremendous hot flash followed by cold sweats and a near fainting episode. I just attributed it to the fact that I'm a 34 year old wuss. LOL. I have not experienced the blinds or headaches yet and hopefully will not anytime soon! Hopefully after a years time, you feel better having had the surgery.