Recovering from septoplasty surgery

I had my septoplastys surgery a few weeks ago & this awful smell is coming from my left septum but thank God I can breath better. Btw my nose looks really nice first thought it looked odd but better than before :) But the smell needs to leave :(

I'm scheduled for April 18 I already have panic attacks and was on xanax how are u now I'm so afraid of feeling like I can't breathe and going into the hospital because of a full blown panic attack

I'm scheduled April 18th I already have panic attacks and was on Zoloft And xanax I'm so worried about not being able to breath thru my nose during recovery how are u now

I should have chose to take two weeks. I work in a busy law office and am having a very difficult time, I am 7 days post-op. I have been throwing up chunks of blood and phlem. I have plastic splints in my nose right now which are being removed in 2 days. Really hard to cope but I keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end.

You need to go back to the surgeon. The smell can indicate infection. I was told if I get the smell to go to the dr.

Hi All, I had Rhinoseptoplasty 7 days ago, and it has been an experience!  It was done at 9am last Saturday morning, i was not looking foward to it at  all,  my main worry was going under general anesthetic ,but once i realized that the chance of dying is like a million to one, i calmed down a bit.  The surgeon came in about 20 minutes beforehand, and asked me what bothered me, i told him i couldnt breathe through my nose hardly at all, and my nose looked crooked from the front, he said no problem, and i was wheeled down to the surgeons room...I woke up in a room full of chattering nurses asking me if i was all right, i had the shivers, and they had to go get me extra blankets, i couldnt physically stop shaking as though i was freezing, but felt no pain at that stage, just felt woozy.

I had a massive bandage under my nose, some bruising under my left eye, but slight, still no pain, i got into bed, and fell asleep again for a few hours sitting upright. I was so so tired after the anasthetic.  I couldnt breathe through my nose atall, because there was packing in, but it didnt bother me to be honest, i always had to breathe through my mouth anyway, maybe not to that extent, but it wasnt too bad.  I woke up though, and i felt like i had swallowed sand, my mouth was like the Sahara, and i had to bleep the nurse to ask her for water, this happened for the rest of the day, fell asleep woke up an hour later parched.   Around 5pm they came in with food, i was so hungry i would have eaten anything, i had salmon fillet salad with bread, in hindsight, i shouldnt really have eaten something i had to chew, but they should have known that!! It was lovely.   I kept getting asked how my pain was on a scale of one to ten, i was around a 3 untll about 7pm when i moved it to a 5, the nurse came in then and said i was getting an injection to control the pain, that knocked me out again, and i slept really well for a few hours untill i woke up like the Sahara again, between the drip in my arm with fluids and all the water i was drinking, i must have went to the toilet about 10 times, honestly, the nurse said to bleep the buzzer when i had to go, so that they could help me, (incase i was dizzy) but i was too embarrased to keep buzzing. The whole night i was waking up on and off, and eventually 8am arrived and it was breakfast time.

After that it was time to take the packing out, the nurses had already explained this to me, and i thought no problem, then just before the surgeon came in, another nurse came in and said "i just want to warn you, that your surgeon tends to pull the packs out very quickly, other surgeons do it very slowly, and we're not sure what the right way is, but im just letting you know.  He came in, and by this time i was getting a bit worried, only because of the look on the nurses faces, they looked more scared than me, i was told to hold a bowl under my chin incase of bleeding. He just pulled them out so quickly, (they looked like two blood soaked tampons)it was a disgusting feeling, really, but over within seconds, and not much blood, i had to lie down after it though for a while because i was so woozy.

By 11:am i was allowed to go home, my sis was collecting me, i got up when i got her text, got dressed and cleaned up, was standing at the window waiting for her, when i started choking on something, it was something really really sharp, and hurting my throat so much.  I was choking, eventually i stuck my fingers down my throat and found the culprit, it was a bit of cartilage from my nose, quite large, i couldnt believe it, i was still holding it when the nurse walked in with my sis, i told her i was choking on it, she put on her gloves, examined it, and said, oh it must just be a bit of debris from the op!!  I was so lightheaded and just dying to get home.  I was given a prescription for Solpadol, and Otrivine spray, and away i went.

Its now the seventh day, and my recovery has been ok, i had massive swelling though and a black closed eye coming home, i ate pineapple every day in smoothies, the bromeline helps bruising, i took st. Johns Wort too every day, and now the seventh day i have zero bruising left.  What i can definitly say is take the painkillers at least for 5 days, eat pineapple, rest, rinse your nose with salt and water at least 3 times a day, and after it i discovered johnsons baby oil gel, i was getting loads of scabs inside my nose, that were blocking my nose completely, so i put some oil gel up there at night, and in the morning, all the scabs were so soft, they just came away when i blew gently! Dont wear glasses on the bridge of your nose for a few months after, and try your best to sleep on a few padded pillows upright, this helped the swelling so much.  I didnt use ice at all, and all my bruising and swelling is completely gone, i thought it was actually sorer with ice.  I have only two days left with my lovely cast on! lol, and i cant bloomin wait to get it off, the last two days it has been itching like mad.  I havent been outside the house for 7 whole days, only out the back to hang up the washing, and i havent drove at all.  I also didnt wash my hair for 7 days, i showered, but my hair is so long it was gonna be a nightmare, so i didnt bother, hopefully the natural oil will have done it some good, lol, anyway, i hope this gives you an insight to septorhinoplasty, its not that bad, i can even breathe brilliantly through my nose today, especially after rinsing with salt and water, it feels absolutely amazing, and i cant believe i was missing out on this all these years!  I cant wait to go for a walk and breathe all the lovely fresh air!  Result, hopefully my nose looks ok when the cast comes off, and i will be so happy!!   Good Luck x

Wow.  I must have the best surgeon on the planet.  I was nervous about the general anesthesia, and the fact this was my first surgery ever in 46 years on the planet.  The anesthesiologist was great in discussing the general and the ENT surgeon was great in answering all questions.  Arrived in the ER to a great team that put me at ease even though I was not in great humor.  Then I woke up.  Done.  Had a septoplasty and turbinectomy and had zero pain.  It has been4 days and all I can really complain about is the fatigue on day three and part of day 4.  My nose is running a bit around the splints, but that is a minor inconvenience.  I worried about nothing.  My surgeon is an ENT God.

I am 3 days post surgery and it certainly has been a miserable experience. Not so much the pain, but the inability to breathe through my nose and the lack of sleep. Seem to be improving slightly each day and have fingers crossed for more than an hours sleep tonight.

My tip is to drink LOTS of water to keep hydrated and use vaseline on lips. In bed prop yourself up  in an "L" shape and have your water and vaseline beside you. Getting through each night so far has been an achievement on its own. Can't undo the surgery so can only look forward to a positive outcome

Now in to day 4 post surgery. Absolutely have a new best friend in MeilMed Sinus rinse. Surgeon recommended 3 times daily but I can't see how it can do any harm so increased to 6 or 7 times. Getting rid of unspeakable "gunk" and was able to breathe
through nose approx 25% effective last night so caught up on some sleep. Hang in there !!

Hi there I had a septoplasty etc like yourself and I am day 5 post op and I feel really terrible. Is this normal to feel this bad. I would not of had op had I know I would suffer like this. I thought its only a minor op but I feel really awful. I had back surgery in 2007 and I honestly think I feel worse after this septoplasty and that is the truth. Please give me some good news that I will feel better soon.
Kind Regards
Helen

I am having exactly the same problem. Had my septoplasty five weeks ago. I can breathe better but I get the same headache, mornings fine, crawls slowly till night. Have you found the cause yet?

I had my surgery 9 days ago now and the last 3 days I have been very sensitive to lights. I hope it goes away!

I had saptoplasty before 20days now when i sleep right side half nose again blocked

Symptoms for me post op were : Redness on face under eyes, above eyes so slightly inflamed sinus Toothache bizzarley Very blocked nose - splints make it worse Increased mucus discharge was bloody to start with - some black Bloodcrusting but not too bad Sleeping - absolutely terrible Just to make folk aware this is manageable but very uncomfortable

I had a septoplasty, balloonoplasty (widening sinus passages), and turbinate reduction done last Wednesday, and today is Tuesday. Like oh so many other people on this board, my expectations for my recovery were far rosier than my actual recovery has been. 

I had out-patient surgery, so was only at the hospital until 2pm after having surgery at 10. I could have been discharged earlier but my husband couldn't make it to the hospital any earlier to pick me up. 

The first 24 hours after the surgery was a dream! I could breathe, I was living high on vicodin and everything was awesome. The next 12 hours were pure hell and I cried a lot and wished I hadn't done any of it. I switched from vicodin to extra strength tylenol and ibuprofen (alternating every 4 hours) and that made a huge difference in my overall state of being. I wasn't so "out of it" and the OTC stuff kept the pain away just fine.

A week out I can already tell I can breathe better (I also have no splints or packing, so that helps), but I'm still recovering from side effects of the anaesthesia that make me super nauseaus. If you think you're going to throw up, drink pepto. It will either settle your stomach or make you throw up, but then it won't be too bad because the base counters the acid and it isn't the worst thing. The feeling of "will I or won't I?" is worse.

I was supposed to go back to work yesterday and have been working from home, probably 6 hours a day instead of my usual 9. I've been really up and down - I feel terrible in the mornings but my the afternoons feel great. If the sinus pressure gets to me too much I've found icing my forehead/nose helps a significant amount.

tl;dr: recovery wasn't as smooth as expected but not terrible. Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.