Recovering from septoplasty surgery

Mine was 2 wks ago and left side still completely clogged most of the time. I would LOVE to have both sides working. Assume this will happen as swelling subsides. Yesterday and today my sense of smell briefly returned (one nostril only for 5 min). Seems like ENT surgeons generally fail to "inform" us about some of the nasty details before getting the "consent".

4 weeks out from septoplasty, graft to septum, and valve graft.
Was anesthetist for 6.5 hours. Very little pain at any point along the way. I got VERY ill immediately after the procedure (fever, chills, cold sores on lip, rash in groin. Lots of thin clear mucus for 3 weeks, chgd to thick green mucus for a few days around day 20. Splints removed day 10. Nose only clear for an hour after it got suctioned out. Very little sleep until the past couple of days when I took sudafed. Nose still clogged much of the time, mostly breathing through mouth. Recliner a good idea.

I had a septoplasty and turbinate reduction 2 months ago and the septoplasty recovery has been horrible and I still don't feel right. I septum is still swollen internally. The tip of my nose is numb, the incision side is numb and tight. I feel horrible and pray every day that there is no permanent damage. If you have mildly deviated septum please don't put yourself at risk if you don't have to. I wish I never would have done this and pray I God will heal me. This surgery has been a nightmare.

I'm in the exact position you were when you posted this. Can you tell me how you got on in the next few days please and how long it was before your nose wasn't blocked anymore?
Thanks,
Cat

thank you, good to see a positive post, i hope I have the same results, had mine yesterday and my only issue is not being able to breath through my nose is so uncomfortable and my throat is sore. Fingers crossed the breathing will improve as quick as yours

I am having septoplasty and trimming of the bony growths on the 30th as well as having all four wisdom teeth out. And I am really worried. I am only 16 and while I have a very high pain tolerance it worries me as a singer actress and model that my voice and looks will change. I have 80 percent blockage and asthma right now so it has to be done but I'm constantly worried that something will go terribly wrong with the surgery. How likely are issues how long is recovery for someone my age and will it make my looks and voice worse. I'm a high soprano by the way but I struggle with nasality.

I'm day 10 on mine and my nose is pointing more upward too.

I had septoplasty and sinus surgery Friday June 24th. My ENT Dr. explained everything to me before the surgery and I felt confident enough to move forward with it. I have never been able to breath out of both nostrils, they would switch sides. The side I could breath out of was always congested so whenever I had allergies or a cold it would be hell. The Dr. said I had a messed up deviated septum and the procedure would be a bit more involved, he did not go into any details. The day of my surgery, I went into the procedure room at 8:15 AM that morning. I remember the anesthesia kicking in as you get that drowsy feeling and the next thing I knew I was waking up. I woke up around 12:00 PM. I did not feel any pain, and I was able to slightly breath out of both nostrils. My nose was barely bleeding and the nurses were amazed how well I looked after the surgery, as in there wasn't any blood, or bruising. I was allowed to leave at 1:00. They gave me instructions to make saline spray, and gave me a bulb to use. They wanted me to rinse my nose with the saline spray starting two days after the surgery at least three times a day, and to use my existing Flonase prescription to reduce the swelling in my nose. They provided a Vick's humidifier which was very helpful as the air in my apartment is very dry. They also gave me a sling used to hold gauze under my nose in case of bleeding. My first night home was hell, I will not sugarcoat it. When I got home, my nose started bleeding like crazy. I had to change my gauze out every 15-20 minutes. I leaned back on my recliner which helped the bleeding, but I then realized it was only running down the back of my throat now. I didn't realize how much blood was going down my throat until I was hit by the sudden urge to throw up and out came a mouthful of blood. If you are bleeding a lot, I do not recommend sleeping on your back. What really helped me sleep that night was sleeping on a recliner with a pillow for neck support. I slept on my side, which may sound painful but with the Hydro I did not care. The post nasal drip was almost non-existent sleeping on my side. I only noticed the pain this was causing my hips a few days later. I did not throw up again that night, as I did not dare lay on my back. I woke up almost every hour that night, changing my gauze and drinking tons of water. I must of used the restroom ten times that night. Saturday was more of the same, except I had a massive headache from the anesthesia and my eyes were in a lot of pain from the pressure of the splints and packing. I must of slept 20 hours Saturday. I only got up to eat soup, take my painkillers/antibiotics, change my gauze, drink and use the restroom. Sunday my bleeding slowed down so I only needed to change my gauze out every couple hours. I had more energy to work around the house but I was still very tired and slept a good 12 hours out of the day. That night was when I realized how painful sleeping on the recliner was, my hips were killing me and switching sides did not relieve the pain long. I finally decided to try my bed and I was able to fall asleep with my head propped on two pillows. I forgot to mention during this, but my nose did not hurt at all unless I accidentally touched it and my upper teeth hurt a little bit, but not enough to effect my sleep. Starting Monday I gained more energy each day and I was beginning to feel like myself again, though I could not breath through my nose. Breathing through my mouth was not that bad as I was pumping tons of water into the air with the humidifier. The bleeding stopped and changed over to bloody mucus which started to get on my nerves late week. I began to notice how much the splints were bothering me and the mucus was getting stuck behind the splints so I could not do anything about it. I was able to find some relief by cleaning my nose with a bunch of cotton swabs in the morning. I was able to remove a lot of gooey red clumps and scabs which allowed me to breath a little and helped with the sinus headache's and tooth pain. My post op visit was this Friday, a week after my surgery. My Dr. removed the splints. He had to cut a suture that was holding them in place, it did not hurt until he pulled the splint out of my second nostril. The splint removal did not hurt, but the way he placed his hand on my nose really made my septum hurt. The pain did not last long, and there was a night and day difference after he removed the splints and cleaned out my sinus with a vacuum. I was finally able to breath out of both nostrils, and I was amazed how much air I was able to move through my nose. Never in my life was I able to breath like this, I have to say it was life changing. I then told my Dr. how awesome I thought he was and he awkwardly said "oh no". I'm not really sure why he said this, maybe he misheard me but I plan to send him a thank you gift for his amazing work. Several hours later, while I wrote this post my nose is a little congested, but I am still able to breath better than I ever have before. I did a saline rinse a couple hours after the splint removal and blowed my nose gently. Several bloody gel like pieces came out of my nose which my Dr. told me was from the packing falling apart and it may continue for another week. I am not out of the woods yet, but the difference I felt in one week gives me a lot of hope for the future. If you are on the fence with this procedure I suggest finding an ENT Dr. with a good reputation. I was lucky I had one locally and trusted him as everyone I knew gave him praises. The post op recovery may be pretty crappy, but looking back it wasn't all that bad. The first couple of days is the worst and things should start getting better each day after. I plan on giving an update next Friday, I'm hopeful things will be even better then.

wish i never had it done now its my fourth day after setoplasy and turbinate reduction and the pain is unbearable

I can so identify with what you are saying! I had my surgery 3 days ago. My teeth hurt, my upper lip is swollen, my head hurts, my eyes burn and saline spray is not dissolving the crusted mountain in my left nostril. My cheekbones also hurt. I have to breath through my mouth which makes eating difficult. I am hoping all this gets better in the next few days.

The tooth pain comes because neighboring nerves "talk" to each other. The turned-up nose appearance is caused by uneven swelling, and uneven reduction of swelling. Give it more time before you freak out. I have the same situation, and my operation was a month ago. One nostril opening is vertical, the other a little enlarged. Kinda freaks me out too. Doc appt tomorrow, but I can feel the scar tissue under the surface, unevenly distributed, it does concern me. I expect he'll say "Let's keep an eye on it, and probably make another return appt. I trust the surgeon, he's promised to "be with [me] through the whole process, and will make sure [I'm] completely satisfied with the results." Hopefully it's not just talk. He did originally counsel me that it can take 6 months to a year before all returns to "normal." No choice but to trust and stay aware.

Stop freaking out. Stress will help you none. 2 months is not so long, it can take 6 months to a year for the tissues to settle. The things you've described are common and normal. This is NOT an instant process. Current status is not final status. a pretty traumatic procedure for the sdensitive tissues in there. You have scar tissue, probably some scabbing inside, and as swelling slowly eases, the shape will continue to shift back into it's proper alignment. The tip of your nose is numb because it had to be detached from it's anchored spot, pulled all the way back to allow access, and re-stitched back down. Take a breath, be patient, talk with your surgeon often, and make a contingent plan for further followup assessments.

Hi I just had this operation today in Canberra Australia. I'm prob as high as as kite on meds but i would say the throat is what hurts the most. I was fasting from 7am and didn't get operated on until 7 at night. That wasnt fun was ready to eat the chair! Got back to my ward at 11pm so not sure what happened whether there were issues or what. Have packing in tonight they say it will come out tomorrow morning. Will let you know what's happening. I read all 20 pages of comments before going in so here's hoping I recover before Christmas.

Ok so they got rid of the packing this morning. Based on what I read I was worried but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Yes it hurts slightly but it's more of a weird sensation with all the blood gushing out continuously for 20 mins afterwards. Found that having ice pack at the back of the neck helps slow bleeding down. Going home soon where the real recovery will begin...

I've been home and it looks like the swelling has gone down. Bleeding is intermittent - some days I need the gauze, others not so much. The sinus rinse makes you wonder how much blood there can be...it is astonishing! Pain registered as a 5/10 at most, no worse than sinus issues that I had for years previous! Wondering how much longer the nose will bleed for but otherwise it is manageable. Interested to hear stories from others as they seem to have stopped.