Recovering from septoplasty surgery

Well there are some major differences depending on your op, how many procedures, your surgeon (I think), even your country (we do things differently here in Australia according to my surgeon), your pain threshhold, what was wrong in the first place, etc, etc. The above 2 examples are testament to that. 4 weeks in and T'boo is still in a bit of pain, swelling etc. Then smith.js1 is feeling good after 6 days. Hard to gauge why 1 is good 1 isn't, but my first sentence might help.

We are all different. As you have said T'boo, you'd do it again if you had to, so yours might be taking a bit longer than others, but hey, you feel better and it will get better each day. That's important. Doing the saline rinse a few times each day?

Just had septoplasty, radiofrequency turbinate reduction, UPPP, tonsil reduction done on Monday. Today (Friday) would be day 5 of recovery.

I am experiencing something weird: I breathe very heavily. So heavily that I can't sleep! I can't seem to draw air through my nose breathing normally/lightly. So, whenever I get to the point where I would normally doze off, my breathing slow down and I wake up gasping. This repeat through the night and I hardly get any sleep!

Is this normal? Is it because the inside of my nose is swollen and healing? This only happened after I saw my ENT specialist yesterday (Thurs) so I didn't get a chance to ask.

Day 6 - Was so tired I passed out in bed without knowing it! Remembered waking up twice or thrice at night I think, mainly from the sore throat (UPPP). Had a very long dream, not sure if this is indicative of a period of uninterrupted REM sleep? Well, at least I got some sleep! Can't say I am thoroughly refreshed from the sleep. Although it is better than yesterday's.

Still trying to get used to my new nose. Breathing is still a bit heavy because I used to breath heavily in the past I guess? Not sure if its because there is a bit of congestion up there. Have not tried blowing or breathing in/out hard to see if its congested.

Not sure if I can consciously will myself to sleep anymore. Keep focusing too much on my breathing. Perhaps I will "learn" to sleep again with my new nose.

Update:

I suppose its the congestion that is keeping me from sleeping. I realized that I can't breathe through my left nostril.

I can only breathe through my right nostril with effort, which explains the heavy breathing.

The splints were out day 3. Hopefully things will get better over the next few days.

Day 7 - My usual day time tiredness is gone. But it has been replaced by a kind of dizziness/weakness. Not sure if the surgery cured my sleep apnea (usual tired feeling gone) or made it worse (dizzy and different kind of urge to lie down and sleep in the day). Maybe its because my body is still recovering from the surgery.

Get so tired at night I usually just pass out without consciously trying to sleep. Only remembering waking up twice last night: to pee (drank lots of water) and from sore throat.

With just 1 painkiller, the sore throat is completely gone. After it wears off, I only feel the pain when swallowing the soft/blended food I am on. Things looks to be getting better!

I had septoplasty and turbinate reduction about two weeks ago. The first day was horrible but I mostly slept. I kept asking for painkillers because all my teeth were killing me (slight exageration) but you know you can't sleep with aching teeth. They said it was due to all the fillings I'd had in the past. They ended up giving me a mild shot and I fell asleep eventually. The next day after surgery I had the packing removed from my nose. Yuk. Slightly uncomfortable. Who am I kidding? I thought they were going to pull my brain from my nose... be brave girl.... it was all over in about 2 mins. I soon forgot all about it and was so relieved to be able to breathe slightly. Splints took a further week to remove. Doctor said they had to stay up there and I was climbing the walls by day 5 saying 'come on damn you'..... I'm terrible when I'm sick. These came out without any pain at all and I was miraculously able to breathe for the first time in years. Over the last week (where I"m up to now) I have had to use saline spray about a dozen times a day and softly blow my nose. No great problems there and yesterday I had the doctor clean my nose out again. Last night I started smelling a dead rat type smell out of my left nostril. This is the one that most of the gunk comes from. So I just keep doing what the doctor says 'Take a handful of cold water (room temp) and breath it in gently so that both nostrils are really wet inside. Wait one. then blow all the c**p out. Do this about seven to ten times a day or as needed. He said you can't blow anything out that isn't meant to come out. don't get carried away with it though. Have to remember it's only been two weeks since surgery. The main thing is not to let it all go crusty. It gets better each day and I'm so glad I had it done. Don't worry about the dry mouth still... humidifier in the bedroom should ease that and a bottle of water beside your bed. Eventually things will be perfect.   Oh and it's normal to feel tired, dizzy, sweats on occassion and all you need to do is lie down and be kind to yourself.

I had septoplasty and turbinate reduction 4 days ago.  The first day was a slight fog, I was on generic percocet and still had a bit of an appetite but couldn't figure out why my jaw hurt so bad.  Day two was much worse, pain and swelling and severe jaw/tooth ache and absolutely no appetite.  Turns out when they intubated me my mouth was hanging open and I have TMJ which only made my jaw pain worse.  Pretty sure my jaw hurts more than my nose.  Don't get my splints out for another two days, I think that has a lot to do with my nose pain - that and the fact that I'm not allowed to blow my nose, all of this sniffling is driving me crazy!  As of today I'm only taking extra strength Tylenol, have a bit of an appetite back though my teeth are still sore.  Hoping the majority of my pain goes away after my appt on Tuesday.  I keep reminding myself that the pain will go away and the outcome will be worth it.

On a scale of 1 to 4 my septum was a 3 on the left side.  I'd broken my nose twice before though it can't be said for sure that is what caused my nasal issues.  I had this surgery done because I'm a runner and a biker and I cannot ride my bike with my mouth shut - yes I got tired of taking in extra "protein"  (bugs) on every ride.  Hoping I'll be able to get back to running by early December.

 

It's so interesting how different doctors do different things. My doctor used no packing and no splints. (I had septoplasty, turbinate reduction, and ethomoidectomy on 10/10/12). I had some stitches inside my right nostril where he had to do the major septum work.

He has me using a saline rinse with the NeilMed bottle system. I was first just using the regular little ocean bottle and he told me that wasn't enough. When I got the other, it was AMAZING how much more cleansing it was. Using distilled water with it and the little saline packets that come with it (and later buy separately). It took several weeks for the swelling to come down, but I am breathing clear (although it is funny that after I do the saline rinse, some of it stays up in my sinus cavities - now that I have them!! and anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour later, if I bend over, saline just comes running out of my nose!!! It is SO weird!!)

Fewer headaches now, too!! Thank goodness! Used to be awakened with that nightly about 1 or 2am .....taking 10-12 sudafed a day to get relief. Now, I rarely take sudafed, and IF I do, it's just two of them. I am SO glad I had this done.

My ENT told me to keep doing the saline rinse 2-3x a day for a total of ten weeks, and then every morning the rest of my life for the surgery to remain successful.

My ENT is also on staff at a top 10 university, so I feel very privileged to have him as my doc!!

Continued good luck and blessings to all!!

Day 8 - The dizziness and drowsiness continues throughout the day. I read online that if the sinus is not well, one can feel dizziness and drowsiness. Perhaps its because of my sinus? When I get water in the sinus (left cheek) after rinsing, I can feel a toothache like pain when I turn my head too fast. So I suspect there could be something going on in there. Hope this is normal recovery process.

Sleep quality improvement? Not sure. I actually heard myself snoring for the first time in my life just before waking up this morning. I never noticed snoring before, my parents never said I snored. Could the UPPP have made it worse? Or is it because my nose is swollen/blocked and so I breath heavily through my mouth (wake up with dry and sore throat).

Day 11 post surgery, and I believe it was a total success! My splints were removed 6-days post surgery and received an endoscopic cleaning (a little painful, but worth it). I can breathe better than I have ever been able to breathe! My wife reported that I have stopped snoring at night (which make for a happy spouse, believe me). I didn't realize just how badly I was sleeping until the night I had the splints removed. I went to bed at 10:30pm and woke up totally refreshed at 12:30am. Each night since has been the same way. I use a neti pot and buld syringe religiously (and it just feels good). I start with the neti pot to just loosen stuff up, especially in the morning. I follow it with a flushing using the bulb syringe to clear everything out. The amount of stuff that comes out is amazing, but it feels great! For the first time in 30 years, I can breathe while chewing, and my wife can't hear me breathe! Although the first several days were a little rough, it has been the best surgery ever. I absolutely cannot argue with the results.

Had my splints removed yesterday, it was the most amazing (and painful) feeling ever.  I guess I didn't realize how much I couldn't breathe until I could!  The removal and cleaning was awful, but totally worth it!  I've got zero restrictions (I can finally get back to working out) and go back in 3 weeks for a follow up.  My only instructions were to continue to rinse with saline several times a day as the nasal cavity heals.  I couldn't believe how HUGE the splints were!!!  My ENT asked me if I wanted to YouTube or record the removal, I guess people do all sorts of stuff. 

Here I thought I'd have the best sleep of my life last night, not at all.  I tossed and turned all night, couldn't get comfortable and at 1:30 headed for the couch and some tv.  I don't know if it had anything to do with my ability to breathe so well and smell everything or if I was just still on a "high" from the success of the surgery.  Hoping tonight will prove differently.  Glad to have my taste and smell back in time for Turkey Day, and I'm looking forward to the possible changes in my running pace now that I'll be a more efficient breather.

In the end, all the pain and restless nights were worth it.  Anyone still recovering, hang in there!!!  :-D

Day 11 - Dizziness is around 70% gone! I think it is the 120 mg of Arcoxia (painkiller) that I was taking daily that caused it. Dizziness is a common (1 out of 100) side effect.

Sore throat - pain level 1/10 without painkillers.

Snoring - Doctor says its normal because my uvula and throat is swollen. It should go away in a few weeks.

Nose - Still blocked but I think I am drawing in more air than before the operation.

 Everything is MUCH better!

Hi, since this thread has helped me, figured I would post my experiences to add to the list.  I had septoplasty and turbinate reduction as well as the removal of a sinus polyp or two on Monday 11/19/12.   I'm having surgery as I've lost over 100 lbs, and I am hoping that having it may help reduce the amount of CPAP pressure I still have or possibly allow me to move to an oral positioning device.  

Day of surgery:  Nothing unusual.  Got there on time,  Surgeon was running late so that was a bit annoying to sit and wait and anticipate the 'fun'. 

Surgery: - nurse started IV easily and they kept me warm with this nifty little thing that attached to my hospital gown and kept me warm.  They must have intubated me gently, in the past, i've had a bad sore throat from intubation, but no issues this time.  I was coughing a lot as I woke and cleared the anesthesia out. 

Discharge and Pain Management: was probably 3 hours all told after surgery started.  They gave me just one hydrocodone 7.5 to 325 mg aceteminophen.  I upped to 2 based on the bottle saying I could take 1-2 every 4-6 hours ,but I was breaking through on two of them in a lot of pain at about 2.5-3 hours.  The next day they called in a prescription for hydrocodone 10 mg to 325 mg aceteminophen.  I have been using that level since with much greater coverage of the pain.  They told me I could advil in between if it still wasn't completely covering the pain.  I was able to space back out to 6 hours in between doses today (Day 4).  I'm a pain wimp though. Tomorrow I will go in to have the splints taken out and I am not looking forward to that, so I'm saving two of the higher dose pain pills for right before that visit tomorrow.

Sleeing:  I've been able to sleep upright -- first night in a recliner, but subsequent nights propped up nicely in my bed, and that was way better.  I hate that my mouthbreathing leads to my throat and tongue feeling like dry leather when i wake up, but I was doing that to some degree prior to surgery so its not exactly a new feeling.

Nose care:  I've been using ocean complete to moisten/rinse my nose and have dipped q tips in hydrogen peroxide and just very gently went around the edge of nostril to get caked blood/gunk off.  I stopped needing gauze mustache yesterday evening, which was nice to get rid of.  after each time I rinse, I put bacitracin on a qtip and gently swipe it around in there.

Hydration: Blistex to keep my lips moist has been critical, and just constantly drinking crystal light lemonade for hydration. I also have a warm mist humidifier running right next to me.

Working:  I was able to work from home for a couple of hours the afternoon of Day 2 and then off again /on again throughout day 3.  Tomorrow will be day 5 and I expect to work a bit more from home.  I plan on going back in the office on Tuesday of next week. 

Day 3 it seems like I got a lot stuffier and congested as compared to Day 1 and 2 seemed like I could breathe a little through my nose.  Now its next to nothing.   

 

 

Hey Glassjules, your post is encouraging and helpful. I had Septo the day the day after you and similar experience. My throat was VERY sore from the intubation and the tube caused a 1 cm cut in the top of my palate. Nothing some stitches couldn't fix. 1 1/2 days of Hydrocodone. No splints, no packing, thank the Lord. Also 1st night in recliner, 2nd night good sleep propped up, 3rd night not so good, 4th night a bit better. Gauze mustache only 1 1/2 days. Trying to take it easier on the nasal spray, using the heck out of NeilMed. Have Ocean but NM working much better. Also using the ointment, Chapstick, H2O2 and Humidifier. Energy level low today but trying to take it easy!! Already glad I had it done.

Just a note to Robin that I have been absolutely unable to play the Piccolo after my surgery. Called the doctor about it this morning; he helpfully reminded me that I couldn't play it before, either.