[Guest]

Hi all. Haven't made any posts lately but am having surgery on Friday. My question is about post surgery. Anyone have any recommendations as to what to have on hand as far as ice packs, chicken noodle soup, oatmeal, ibuprophen, etc.

How many days should I take off work. How long before I can use Breeze again?

Thanks, Don

I used to log in as Snoremonger but haven't been able to lately.

[Swordz]

I ate mostly pudding and apple sauce for the 4-5 days after surgery. (Keep in mind I'm a wuss!)

I would highly recommend cotton swabs to clean the stuff out of your nose you can't otherwise, as you can't blow your nose for 3 weeks. Also, get a holder that will keep gauze in front of your nose becuase you will ooze alot of blood/mucous mix for probably 3-4 days.

I was on Codene for probably a total of 4-5 days after surgery. I did still have to take ibuprofen for a couple days after. Keep in mind you still have to take out packing and stints a couple days after surgery, both which both hurt in thier own respective ways. I tried to go back to school 3 days after surgerty, but man was I wrong. By Weds (surgery on previous Fri) I was almost 90 %.

I'm 3 1/2 weeks post-op, and I'm still having some scabbing in my nose. I can breathe much better and it was definitely worth it.

[TraceyES]

I read a lot of message boards before my septoplasty/turbinate reduction. They scared me to death...I was on the verge of cancelling the surgery. So now I feel it's my duty to relay my "it's no big deal" experience with others who are equally scared away by some people's bad experiences with septoplasty.

Mine was done a week and a half ago. Rather than general anaesthesia, I chose the "twilight" option where I was extremely mellow and sedated but partially awake. I experienced some pain during surgery and heard some sounds I hope to never hear again emitting from my body, but it was worth it to not have the post-general anaesthesia hangover/disorientation that sometimes happens. It took an hour and ten minutes. My surgery finished at 9:10 am, and I left to go home at noon. I had no intense pain post-surgery...just some soreness and discomfort, like I'd been punched in the nose the day before. I used one-half of a percocet my first night, mostly to help me sleep, and switched to regular Tylenol after that. (Opiate painkillers tend to give me a headache.) My first night, I slept fitfully, because I kept waking up with dry mouth since I couldn't breathe through my nose. Keep water handy on your bedside table...a lot of it. It helped a bit to have a cool air humidifier in the room.

I had no nausea...I asked them to give me an anti-emetic at the hospital, and I had some Phenergan on hand at home in case. I'm very "vomit-phobic". The surgeon told me to keep some regular Coke at home, that if you get any blood in your stomach, the Coke helps neutralize it. Ginger ale, or the even-stronger Jamaican-style ginger beer (non-alcoholic) is fabulous.

The small amount of packing the surgeon used came out the next morning. While I can't say the packing coming out was pleasant, it wasn't painful. I could breathe through my nose IMMEDIATELY. It was amazing. I had no post-surgery nosebleeds (aside from the bit of dripping that happened right after surgery). I still have some mild tenderness, and my face feels a bit different. Q-tips help to periodically GENTLY clean out any snot (pretty, huh?) that accumulates. I have interior stitches, which will dissolve and "fall out" according to my doctor. I still won't be able to blow my nose for another week or two, no working out at the gym for another two weeks, and no skiing for four weeks.

One tip...when you go to kiss your significant other, make him/her hold completely still and allow you to make the approach and the kiss. The "face bumping" potential for kissing is high. Also, have some ice cream or sherbet on hand and eat it slowly. It works to numb the discomfort above the roof of your mouth.

I've already noticed a decrease in that awful "nasal allergy tickling" feeling that used to be part of my everyday life (probably because of the turbinate reduction). I still get a little mild sinus pain occasionally, Tylenol takes care of it.

When I told my doctor I was scared because I'd read other people's bad experiences, he told me, "Those people aren't my patients." I thought it was bravado until the nurses in the recovery room told me that his patients usually heal from septoplasty faster and complain less than other doctors' patients. If you're in Connecticut or Westchester County, his name is Sheldon Greenberg, and his office is in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Hopes this helps. Don't be scared, you'll be fine.

[Severeena]

I kept ice water on hand at all times.

I also used a child's cup with a sipper lid, this way I did not get my bandages wet, nor did I get bonked in the sore nose with ice.

You will want to sleep setting up because you can get pooling of blood around the eyes(Racoon Eyes).

Been there.

_________________

Machine	Mask

[MaxBlast]

I had the Nose Septoplasty/Turbinate Surgery Friday. Worst problem was recovery from the knockout Rx. No pain, swelling , etc.. I was suprised.. I'd never would have believed it was so painless.

Basically I could not breath during the day through my nose, less along at night. I could not smell anything either.

Using Straws made drinking water easy.

Anyone find that this survery helped with snoring at night, and or Apnea?

Thanks,

[Guest]

I'm not a registered user of the forum, but I wanted to post this since I had such a difficult time finding accurate information prior to my surgery. Below is a summary of my recent surgical experience with septoplasty/turbinate reduction.

First and foremost, the thought of any kind of surgery absolutely scared the crap out of me as I had a version of an anesthesia-awareness episode while having my wisdom teeth extracted. In fact, I was supposed to get this surgery done 5 years ago, but I chickened out and opted to use nasal sprays. That's a whole other story, but suffice it to say, Afrin is what caused me to have to return for the surgery as it finally caused a perforation in my severely deviated septum.

OK, overall on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst experience I have ever had, I would rate it a solid 3. It's just not that bad folks. I guess because I had built it up to be something completely traumatic that once I actually went through it, it wasn't that bad.

I had my surgery on November 30, 2006, so it's still fairly early in my recovery (today is December 3, 2006). I am a 41 year old male and in pretty good health, except for high blood pressure (hereditary). I have had breathing problems all my life, but have fortunately never been plagued with sinus infections... I just couldn't breath through both nostrils at the same time and really don't know what's it like to breath freely through the one nostril that was open. As I said earlier, I decided to have the surgery because I had created a hole in my septum as a result of the years of Afrin, and a Benzedrex inhaler that I used 15-20 times daily just to keep my nose open enough to breathe. They are both vasoconstrictors and if you cut off or reduce the blood supply for long enough, things start to die. There's a reason that the warning labels on those things say don't use for more than three days. Oh well, now I know.

So anyway, after sucking it up and deciding to have the surgery, I went to a doctor at Duke Medical Center in Durham, NC; Dr. Richard Scher, Otoloryngologist, Head and Neck surgeon. He’s a fantastic person and an even better doctor. He took care of me before, during and so far, after. The surgery was uneventful because I opted for general anesthesia. I remember them telling me that they were going to give me something in my IV to make me relax a bit and the next thing I remember was waking up in the recovery room with my wife and a really good looking nurse standing over me and calling my name. I wasn’t sure at first if I was still dreaming and that was a fantasy thing or what, but I went with it and woke up. Surprisingly I wasn’t as groggy as I expected but to prevent any nausea they gave me an anti-emetic and went ahead and gave me a percocet to prevent any pain. Both of those made me pretty sleepy, and although I stayed awake for the 30 minute ride home I quickly went bye-bye once I hit the couch.

I woke up about 2 hours later with the most severe dry mouth and a really bloody pad under my nose. My wife helped me change the pad; I took a Vicoden and returned to the couch. At around 6:00 PM, (my surgery was at 10:30 AM) I woke up feeling not to bad and wanted something to eat. She made me a bowl of cream of chicken soup, some ginger ale and a few saltine crackers. It tasted soooo good!! Although eating the crackers was a little difficult with a completely plugged up nose. The rest of the night went by ok, except for waking up every hour or so needing to drink something for the dry mouth from breathing through my mouth exclusively. Definitely keep something to drink close by with a bendy-straw or other device to keep from putting the glass or cup directly on your lips (it’s a little sore on the upper lip).

Day 2 post surgery, I no longer needed the pad under the nose. I just had to keep a tissue in my hand to absorb the slight draining that ran out. I did take some Tylenol for some slight pain at the incision site and a bit of a headache from the swelling. In lieu of packing, there was some sort of gel-substance that was put in my nose. This was the day to start flushing that stuff out with saline spray and snuffing…. No blowing. If I had to say, the worst part is not being able to blow my nose. Pretty much stayed on the couch all day, but nothing really bad. Ate regular food at regular intervals. The bleeding stopped and the slight draining continued. Nose still plugged up, no air moving through the nostrils whatsoever. Took a hot shower and found that the steam was very helpful. Spent the night on the couch again so I could sit up. Pretty good night’s sleep, if you don’t count the sore back and hips from sleeping on the couch.

Day three post surgery brought some real improvement. Very slight pain, in fact I didn’t take any Tylenol or other painkiller at all. Air was starting to move ever so slightly. The worst part is the dried secretions inside the nose from not being able to remove them all night. Use saline as soon as you wake up to make this go away. Very little wiping now, but I do suggest that you get some Puffs Plus to make the whole experience go better. I walked to the mailbox just to get out and about. That helped my mental status and it opened my nasal passages briefly. Apparently the swelling went down significantly overnight as I could now feel the stitches. Not too bad of a discomfort, but not too special of a feeling either! Spent the night on the couch again, just to be sure.

Day four post surgery went very well. I was actually starting to breathe through my nose a little… still congested, but breathing nonetheless. It was still aggravating to not be able to blow my nose, but I’m not going to mess this thing up by doing something stupid! I was going so stir crazy I had to get out so my wife and I went to Wal-Mart and to a friend’s house for a little while. That did me some good. I also went to a function at church that night and did very well. No real pain to speak of, just some discomfort with the stitches and the whole “want to blow and can’t” thing. I did tire pretty easily that day, but nothing bad. I slept in the bed this night and actually did get a pretty decent night’s rest.

Day five post surgery, I’m back at work. Moving air through the nose better now, but nothing like I’m hoping for. No pain, no headache, but still have some congestion.

I think overall, it will definitely be worth it. One piece of advice….Follow everything that your doctor tells you to do. If you don’t personally have a medical degree and are not currently practicing as an ENT or in Otolorangology, then don’t think that you know better than the doctor does. Next, keep plenty of water or other beverage on hand for the dry mouth. Be prepared to breathe through your mouth exclusively for at least 3-4 days post surgery. Take your antibiotics as prescribed and finish them all. You really don’t want any kind of infection to exacerbate the condition. Get some Puffs Plus or some other kind of lotion infused tissue. Use your saline flushes, but be careful not to rinse TOO vigorously as to wash out any essential stitching before they are ready to release on their own. Don’t use ibuprofen or aspirin for pain during the first few days since they will tend to make you bleed more freely.

Oh, and you might want to consider getting some fiber pills cause general anesthesia can cause post surgical constipation and it ain’t fun. I’m still having a bit of a problem with that now, (personally being able to normally set a clock by my movements) but hopefully the log jam will break free soon and the natural balance will be restored.

Like I said earlier, overall the experience wasn’t God-awful and can be tolerated if you can make it through the first couple of days.

Hope this helps someone!

[Snoredog]

Guest wrote:

I'm not a registered user of the forum, but I wanted to post this since I had such a difficult time finding accurate information prior to my surgery. Below is a summary of my recent surgical experience with septoplasty/turbinate reduction.......

I had that procedure done 25yrs ago, never regretted it one minute. I didn't have the turbinate reduction and glad I didn't but I did have the septoplasty.

You are still early in your recovery, you won't feel the true relief offered by the surgery probably for a year, it can take that long for things to fully heal up and settle with scar tissue etc. but my experience is it will only get better as the months go by.

I had the dreadful packing after the surgery, when they pulled that out it was like they exposed the brain, I could actually breathe for the first time in my life it seemed.

I would suggest gathering up from every bathroom every bottle of Afrin, Sinex or other OTC spray other than saline and toss it in the trash.

Nearly all of those OTC sprays cause rebound, that is what the 3-day warning is on the bottle. Rebound is where the spray causes turbinate tissue to become inflamed where it engorges with blood reducing the flow of the air. It is normal for the turbinates to become engorged with blood to control temperature and moisture of the incoming air you breathe.

The best thing you can do for your nasal passages is to rinse it out with a saline only rhino rinse. You can use a irrigation syringe or ear aspirator to flush them out holding your head over a sink.

I use:

-8oz. glass of warm distilled water (I nuke it for 30-seconds).
-1/4 teaspoon of uniodized salt.
-pinch of Arm&Hammer baking soda

I use half the solution on one side, the rest on the other. Regular use (2-3 times a week) will reduce allergy symptoms and congestion. Rhino rinse seems to flush out the allergens that cause the congestion.

[Tash]

Under the YMMV category, I had the surgery 16 years ago... as with any surgery I had prior to or after that surgery, I found my worst day was 24-48 hours after the actual surgery, when the good IV drugs wore off. My best piece of advice to anyone having surgery, is to start the pain meds before the IV drugs wear off, and keep your pain monitored. Don't rely on how you feel when the IV drugs are still in your system and let the pain get a hold of you- if 24-48 hours go by and you have taken your pain pills (as prescribed) and you feel great, that's wonderful, cut back as needed. If you don't, at least you're not behind the 8 ball and playing catch up.

Best of luck to you, my hubby just had his sinus surgery today, so it is a current topic at our house

Take care,
Tash

_________________

Mask	Humidifier
Additional Comments: 7 to 12 (APAP)

[curtcurt46]

I had the same surgery this past May.
I had no problems other than what the doctor and nursing staff said to expect.
You will need Qtip so you can gently clean your nostrils and apply hydrogen peroxide and an antibiotic ointment on a regular basis.
You will also need saline spray and I suggest you use it every waking hour for the first few days.
When you first get out of surgery you will have gauge and tape under your nose to stop the flow of blood. I took this off at home and never used it again. I just wiped with a kleenex as my nose leaked. I rested one day and was back at work the next day. No stooping or lifting and definitely no blowing your nose.

I was so glad I had the surgery. I didn't know you could breath so well from you nose. You won't be able to experience the rush of air until the moment they remove the splints.
Good Luck!!!

_________________

Machine: M Series Auto CPAP with A-Flex

Mask: OptiLife Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: M Series Heated Humidifier

Software: Encore Smart Card Reader - USB

[Rabid1]

First, relax.

I had the surgery about seven years ago. I had the "twilight" surgery where I was in & out of awareness. I never experienced any pain during the procedure.

As expected, recovery is a little uncomfortable, but mainly because your nose is plugged up, and you've got a mustache bandage under your beak.

Plan on being off work for at least a week.

_________________

Machine: REMstar BiPAP Auto with Bi-Flex

Mask: Ultra Mirage Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: REMstar Heated Humidifier

Software: Encore Pro Data Management Software 1.8i

[Guest]

I read a number of experiences with respect to surgery and wanted to share mine which was relatively pain free and provided a great result.

I'm a 49 year old male with a deviated septum & collapsed nasal valves. Doctor suggested CPAP treatment would be substantially enhanced with surgery by increasing the airflow through my nose. Procedures performed under general anesthesia included Septoplasty, Submucous Resection of Turbinates, Bilateral Nasal Valve Repair (included removing large bone spur). Overnight stay at the hospital required because of apnea.

Day one - December 1, 2006. Surgery scheduled for 10:30 am. Provided happy juice & was knocked out until 1:30 at which time I awoke with slight pain in nose otherwise just groggy. This was far and away the worst day. There was some bleeding in the nose which dripped into throat. To prevent swallowing the blood which causes vomiting I spit it out continuously filling a large basket in the hospital with kleenex. Unable to sleep due to a very heavy tongue and relaxed throat (apnea sufferers know the feeling). Ate nothing all day except jello.

Day two - Released from the hospital at 9:30 am. Doctor recommended plenty of moving around during the week to oxygenate the blood. No pain in nose - a pad was needed under the nose for blood dripping which was changed every couple of hours. Only pain was in the throat - they mentioned it was standard practice to place a tube down your throat during surgery for an alternative breathing path. The pain was probably a 2 out of 10. Daytime fatigue was apparent - you'd feel fine for one minute then dose off the next. Doctor said that I could use CPAP as soon as Day 2 - tried to use full face mask but the throat pain was exacerbated so i skipped it. Chicken noodle soup, crackers & jello was the diet. Plenty of water & ginger ale also.

Day three - Good day. Tired, slept a good portion of the day off and on. The night was tough - the anesthesia can wreak havoc with constipation and that made sleeping virtually impossible. Took a laxative that didn't kick in for a day or two. Back to normal diet.

Day four - Sore throat almost gone. Some fatigue but feeling better. Headache started that was quickly relived with Tylenol Sinus.

Day five - General tiredness but otherwise felt fine. Nose still congested but blood almost gone. Regular irrigation - 3 times a day working well to keep out the blood clots. Also, warm air vaporizer highly recommended. Back to CPAP and slept fairly well (didn't wake with the BLAH feeling of non-CPAP sleep).

Day six - Splints removed today. Doctor recommended taking Vicoden prior to appointment. I took one pill (first pain pill taken for entire week) & regret that I did. I thought he was looking up my nose with scope & he actually removed a splint & showed it to me - I did not feel a thing. I'm still congested but with the splints gone I can easily breathe out of my nose now - it feels like a whole new world. I am back to full strength today excpet some numbing of the upper palate and upper lip which will go away eventually. There are restrictions on lifting and working out for another 8 days.


Summary - Breathing is dramatically improved already and there will be more improvement over the next month. I experienced no pain in the nose area except for immediately after the surgery. The worst part of my experience was the after-effects of the anesthesia causing a sore throat and constipation but these things were miminal. For what it's worth, I'd highly recommend this procedure, think it will improve the quality of my life (& especitally sleep) & wish I had done it sooner. Finding a doctor who specializes in these procedures is vitally important. Best wishes

[Guest]

I had both the turbinate reduction and septoplasty 12 years ago for treatment of sleep apnea. I did the twilight surgery in an outpatient clinic, which was very comfortable, and only used the Tylenol with codeine for two days, after which i used just aspirin. Like others reported, I had dry mouth from breathing through my mouth, but the sippy cup by my side made that tolerable. Full recovery took about 6 months,
Turned out that the apnea problem continued because it was largely an excess throat tissue issue causing my throat to frequently close during inhalation while sleeping. Throat surgery was reported to be only aobut 40% success rate, and there was some risk of incomplete throat closure post-surgery if too much tissue would have been inadvertently removed, so I ended up getting a CPAP.
What I like the most is that between the nasal surgery and the CPAP, I have had only two sinus infections in these last 12 years, and maybe 1-2 mild to moderate colds per year, compared to being laid up for a week to ten days every year or two with bad sinus infections. If I'd known my sinuses could get so healthy, I'd have done this years sooner.

[Guest]

hi,

just like to say thanks for everyone's advice. i am young and having septoplasty and turbinate reduction tomorrow, i was quite worried because i have not had surgery before.

Does your voice change, because mine is quite high picted (hypo- something)?

How long do the side effects last? Especially the dripping?

Thankyou

[cillakat]

for any surgery, i recommend pre-op

1)50 mg zinc/day for a few days
2)a low inflammation diet with lots of non starchy veggies at *every* meal......at least 9-10 servings of non starchy veggies per day, some bright/dark fruits, a svg or two of beans (svg is 1/2c cooked), svg nuts (raw or dry roasted), and enough protein to meet your personal needs (8-12 oz per day plus 2 DHA eggs)
3)one 100,000 IU dose of vitamin A (*not* beta carotene....you can find cheap 25,000 IU caps of A at iherb.com or whole foods)


post op
1)first thing 2 tabs of 2,000 GDU 500 mg bromelain tablets or capsules 4x per day on an *empty* stomach. empty is critical. this significantly decreases inflammation. the bromelain crosses the gut wall, enters the blood stream and effectively digests inflammatory proteins that are released when cells are cut or crushed.
2)50-80 mg zinc for a 5 days or so. some have stomach upset from zinc. if so, divide dosages, take with food, or decrease dosages.


I see a significant decrease in healing time post op with the aforementioned routine. I have additional protocols for surgeries that have visible incisions ito wound healing and scar reduction.


k

[Guest]

I'm not a registered user of the forum, but I wanted to post this since I had such a difficult time finding accurate information prior to my surgery. Below is a summary of my recent surgical experience with septoplasty/turbinate reduction.

First and foremost, the thought of any kind of surgery absolutely scared the crap out of me as I had a version of an anesthesia-awareness episode while having my wisdom teeth extracted. In fact, I was supposed to get this surgery done 5 years ago, but I chickened out and opted to use nasal sprays. That's a whole other story, but suffice it to say, Afrin is what caused me to have to return for the surgery as it finally caused a perforation in my severely deviated septum.

OK, overall on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst experience I have ever had, I would rate it a solid 3. It's just not that bad folks. I guess because I had built it up to be something completely traumatic that once I actually went through it, it wasn't that bad.

I had my surgery on November 30, 2006, so it's still fairly early in my recovery (today is December 3, 2006). I am a 41 year old male and in pretty good health, except for high blood pressure (hereditary). I have had breathing problems all my life, but have fortunately never been plagued with sinus infections... I just couldn't breath through both nostrils at the same time and really don't know what's it like to breath freely through the one nostril that was open. As I said earlier, I decided to have the surgery because I had created a hole in my septum as a result of the years of Afrin, and a Benzedrex inhaler that I used 15-20 times daily just to keep my nose open enough to breathe. They are both vasoconstrictors and if you cut off or reduce the blood supply for long enough, things start to die. There's a reason that the warning labels on those things say don't use for more than three days. Oh well, now I know.

So anyway, after sucking it up and deciding to have the surgery, I went to a doctor at Duke Medical Center in Durham, NC; Dr. Richard Scher, Otoloryngologist, Head and Neck surgeon. He’s a fantastic person and an even better doctor. He took care of me before, during and so far, after. The surgery was uneventful because I opted for general anesthesia. I remember them telling me that they were going to give me something in my IV to make me relax a bit and the next thing I remember was waking up in the recovery room with my wife and a really good looking nurse standing over me and calling my name. I wasn’t sure at first if I was still dreaming and that was a fantasy thing or what, but I went with it and woke up. Surprisingly I wasn’t as groggy as I expected but to prevent any nausea they gave me an anti-emetic and went ahead and gave me a percocet to prevent any pain. Both of those made me pretty sleepy, and although I stayed awake for the 30 minute ride home I quickly went bye-bye once I hit the couch.

I woke up about 2 hours later with the most severe dry mouth and a really bloody pad under my nose. My wife helped me change the pad; I took a Vicoden and returned to the couch. At around 6:00 PM, (my surgery was at 10:30 AM) I woke up feeling not to bad and wanted something to eat. She made me a bowl of cream of chicken soup, some ginger ale and a few saltine crackers. It tasted soooo good!! Although eating the crackers was a little difficult with a completely plugged up nose. The rest of the night went by ok, except for waking up every hour or so needing to drink something for the dry mouth from breathing through my mouth exclusively. Definitely keep something to drink close by with a bendy-straw or other device to keep from putting the glass or cup directly on your lips (it’s a little sore on the upper lip).

Day 2 post surgery, I no longer needed the pad under the nose. I just had to keep a tissue in my hand to absorb the slight draining that ran out. I did take some Tylenol for some slight pain at the incision site and a bit of a headache from the swelling. In lieu of packing, there was some sort of gel-substance that was put in my nose. This was the day to start flushing that stuff out with saline spray and snuffing…. No blowing. If I had to say, the worst part is not being able to blow my nose. Pretty much stayed on the couch all day, but nothing really bad. Ate regular food at regular intervals. The bleeding stopped and the slight draining continued. Nose still plugged up, no air moving through the nostrils whatsoever. Took a hot shower and found that the steam was very helpful. Spent the night on the couch again so I could sit up. Pretty good night’s sleep, if you don’t count the sore back and hips from sleeping on the couch.

Day three post surgery brought some real improvement. Very slight pain, in fact I didn’t take any Tylenol or other painkiller at all. Air was starting to move ever so slightly. The worst part is the dried secretions inside the nose from not being able to remove them all night. Use saline as soon as you wake up to make this go away. Very little wiping now, but I do suggest that you get some Puffs Plus to make the whole experience go better. I walked to the mailbox just to get out and about. That helped my mental status and it opened my nasal passages briefly. Apparently the swelling went down significantly overnight as I could now feel the stitches. Not too bad of a discomfort, but not too special of a feeling either! Spent the night on the couch again, just to be sure.

Day four post surgery went very well. I was actually starting to breathe through my nose a little… still congested, but breathing nonetheless. It was still aggravating to not be able to blow my nose, but I’m not going to mess this thing up by doing something stupid! I was going so stir crazy I had to get out so my wife and I went to Wal-Mart and to a friend’s house for a little while. That did me some good. I also went to a function at church that night and did very well. No real pain to speak of, just some discomfort with the stitches and the whole “want to blow and can’t” thing. I did tire pretty easily that day, but nothing bad. I slept in the bed this night and actually did get a pretty decent night’s rest.

Day five post surgery, I’m back at work. Moving air through the nose better now, but nothing like I’m hoping for. No pain, no headache, but still have some congestion.

I think overall, it will definitely be worth it. One piece of advice….Follow everything that your doctor tells you to do. If you don’t personally have a medical degree and are not currently practicing as an ENT or in Otolorangology, then don’t think that you know better than the doctor does. Next, keep plenty of water or other beverage on hand for the dry mouth. Be prepared to breathe through your mouth exclusively for at least 3-4 days post surgery. Take your antibiotics as prescribed and finish them all. You really don’t want any kind of infection to exacerbate the condition. Get some Puffs Plus or some other kind of lotion infused tissue. Use your saline flushes, but be careful not to rinse TOO vigorously as to wash out any essential stitching before they are ready to release on their own. Don’t use ibuprofen or aspirin for pain during the first few days since they will tend to make you bleed more freely.

Oh, and you might want to consider getting some fiber pills cause general anesthesia can cause post surgical constipation and it ain’t fun. I’m still having a bit of a problem with that now, (personally being able to normally set a clock by my movements) but hopefully the log jam will break free soon and the natural balance will be restored.

Like I said earlier, overall the experience wasn’t God-awful and can be tolerated if you can make it through the first couple of days.

Hope this helps someone!

Sorry for the long quote, but wanted to make sure everyone knew who was posting since I'm not registered. This is a follow-up to my surgery 2 weeks ago (described above).

I had my 2-week post-op follow-up today. (12/15/06) Doc says everything is looking very good. The perforation is healing nicely and the new air passage he created is looking good. Still some swelling, but hey, it's only been 2 weeks. He did pull some pretty disgusting dried mucus from my septum and removed some remaining stitches which instantly freed my airway even more. Recovery has been pretty good except for the congestion that lingers. The good thing is that he released me to start blowing my nose so I'm sure there are plenty of disgusting tissue-fulls coming up! I actually slept in the bed the past two nights, as opposed to propped up on the sofa, and got a fairly decent night's sleep. My turbinates still swell somewhat at night, but nothing compared to the first few days post-surgery. I found that a half-dose of a cold tablet like Alka-Seltzer Plus or Nyquil helps keep the congestion in check enough to survive without having to use a decongestant spray. Doc did say that I could use a prescription steriod spray like Nasacort once daily to aid in reducing the congestion. Maybe I'll start sleeping well and the bags under my eyes will go away!

Good luck to those of you who posted that you have just been through it. Again, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst experience I've ever had, I'd rate it a solid 3 for the pain and maybe a 4.5 for the aggravation factor. It's not that bad to go through and I really think the end result is gonna be worth it!!