3 months post-op

Well it has been roughly 3 months since surgery, and I think for the first time in a month, yesterday I looked at the side of my nose in the mirror. It makes me so happy, and it drowns out all the things people say about it that are negative. I have even noticed the swelling has gone down more, I really don't feel any pain, except that it gets sore easier (like if i take a nap with my glasses on and they press into it for a little bit.) The tip is still VERY hard. Almost like bone, so when my nose itches, it's a lot different - I used to just smush my nose all around (yes, smush) but now I have to be very careful! It's my baby :)

Post operation - one week

One week ago today I was miserably laid up in bed, sick from anesthesia.. Today, I feel great! I still have some bruises under my eyes and still have that red rim eyeliner but I feel great. Today was my first official shower, yay! I have gotten to wash my face and have spent a total of about 30 minutes in front of the mirror getting glue off my nose!
Rewind to yesterday, my doctor's appointment. I went in and got the splint removed, which hurt pretty bad. Just a lot of pushing down on very tender bone. Then came the stitch removal. The part I was most nervous about. But wait! This story gets better.
The nurse removed the two stitches from beneath each eye and removed about six from between my nostrils. Some were painful, but for the most part it was tolerable.
Now fast forward to the drive home, where I can see a stitch still in my nose covered with dried blood.. That's right. They had left a stitch in there. Only after getting home and finding another stitch in the other side, same location, that I realized it was either spending $20 in gas to drive back down there the next day (today) or... sadly, have an at home surgery.
Dad helped at the beginning, but of course it was nerve-racking.
So yes, I did pull 2 stitches out of my nose.
And yes, part of one is still lodged in there that we can't find.
Anyway, here are my updated pictures, cast off! The change is enormous!!

Wednesday update

All I can say is, I'm so ready for my check up tomorrow! I am getting claustrophobic under this cast! And I hope I get my stitches out, they are bothering me, especially the ones near my eyes. Every day, I'm able to breathe a little more through each side, but I'm ready to get everything out, get all the blood cleaned out, and be able to breathe! And put on makeup would be nice. A friend's mom told me she couldn't believe I was out yesterday but I have felt so awesome. My eyes are still very sensitive too, they water easily and a lot of sunlight hurts them, but I'm hoping after the face cast is off and the stitches gone, they will start to feel better, too. I'm nervous about the next part - making sure the cuts don't burst back open after the stitches are out! Very nervous about that because I've never had stitches. Above are today's updated pictures - I love my profile view! Especially from the left side, which has always been my best side, but I can already see the difference!

Tuesday update

It has been 4 days since surgery and I'm definitely feeling the healing process coming along. I have pictures from this morning as well as last night. I know I'm looking like a million dollars! Yesterday, the bruising was at its darkest, but I finally stayed up almost the whole day (with a 2 hour nap :) it's recovery!!) I drove and hung out with friends, I'm almost feeling normal (if you would ever have considered me normal.) Yesterday, my little victory was sleeping through the whole night, only waking up once to pee and get water.
My little victory was a little bigger today - I woke up breathing through my nose! My mouth was closed and everything. I was so excited. I actually checked all the stitches up next to my eyes to make sure they hadn't busted open and that's where the air was leaking through. But we're good. I'm feeling a little more stopped up now, I need to ice a little more. My nose is leaking much less today. Every day I'm seeing little improvements - makes me happy!
The picture in the gray sweater is from today - my bruising is a little more green.
I also took a picture from the side yesterday because it already has a noticeable difference! It is still VERY swollen between my eyes but nothing a lot of ice and a little time won't fix.

Day 3

I'll start with a day 2 update.
I woke up yesterday with a horrible headache. I think it's because I felt SO good on Saturday that I was up and about. Bad decision. Should have laid down all day Saturday. Yesterday was mostly me only sleeping and eating. If I wasn't eating or taking my medications, I was asleep. I only took one hydro because they make me feel so crappy. I also took the drip guard off because it got really annoying! I kept tissues around though because I was dripping a little blood/snot combination. Also, I'm starting to feel very itchy underneath, I'm sure from the swelling going up and down.
After watching the Oscars with the family, I went to sleep and I only woke up once during the night!! (And it was only to pee, ever since surgery, I've had a baby's bladder). Of course, it has been so hard for me to sleep because of the mouth breathing, it gives me a dry mouth and sore throat. I'm very happy with my little victories though :)
I'm actually going home today! So I will bathe (finally, gross, I know) and take some day 3 pictures!

another picture from today

I'm feeling so much better! I want to get up and walk around, but Mom said that's why I was prescribed so much Valium and Hydrocodon - to knock me out! Here's my most recent picture. I still have the gauze under my nose but I'm not bleeding near as much and I finally get to clean my nose out a little, so I went ahead and took a picture.
and my nose is NOT crooked, the bandage is crooked. However, the left side is more swollen because they had to chop a little more off that side of the bridge. Happy holidays! Time for more Valium.

Morning after

I am feeling so much better. My head doesn't hardly at all, which makes me think the majority of it was the anesthesia. I have now thrown up blood twice, once right after I woke up from the anesthesia and once before dinner last night. It made me feel better though. I'm about to start on my antibiotics and steroids. My nose hasn't been bleeding as bad, it only gets worse when I walk around or talk a lot.
Here's three pictures, two are from yesterday, me getting ready for surgery and also me passed out on the couch after surgery. The one where I'm in bed is from this morning, my nose wasn't bleeding as bad so I got to keep my little gauze off for a few minutes!

Wellll that was brutal

It has been about 8 hours since surgery.. Wow. It's painful. I won't type much now, I will post a few pictures from today... You can see the progression getting worse!
What hurts the most have been my eyes - they have just gotten better in the last hour or so. They would NOT quit watering. Even when I was sleeping (and I've been asleep a lot.) My nose has started hurting again, but I just took some pain medication. The pictures are in backward order, I believe. The one with me in the bed is RIGHT after I woke up, so that's the first one. In the last one, you can see the stitches - I didn't even know I was getting stitches there! Gotta go

This is it!

I will be at the doctor's office in 45 minutes! I'm nervous, of course, who wouldn't be? But I think I'm more nervous about my body and how it will feel after surgery - like if I throw up, or if I have a sore throat. Because I'm pretty excited about the nose part! I'm ready to breathe like a normal person and just be happier altogether!
The last two weeks, which I thought sounded so long two weeks ago, have flown by and now it's the big day. I haven't eaten since dinner last night and I had about a half a glass of water before bed. My stomach is in protest because, let's face it, I NEVER go without breakfast!
Everything is ready for my return here at Mom's, and I can't wait to see Carrie tonight! I really do have some serious support behind me :) (that's what she said)
I will try to update later - unfortunately, I left my camera cord at home so I might be able to post some phone pictures, and I will post the camera pictures when I get home Monday or Tuesday!
xoxoxo :)

Before pictures!

Omg I'm horrible at blogging. I have tried to edit this post over and over and yep, I still suck at it. So just look. Enjoy. Realize how much pain I'm in. :)

prescriptions

So 2 days ago, I went and filled my prescriptions and expected to pay A LOT, but they were only $5 each! (I must have some pretty ballin' insurance.) So I got home and did some calculations, it looks like I'll be taking 14 pills the day after surgery, not including pain medication, nausea medication, or muscle relaxers. That's a lot.
However, well worth it. Every night before I fall asleep, I totally have these visions of me on the table. I'm also very interested to know what I'm going to do when I wake up from the anesthesia.
It's only eight days away, and I'm so ready! The things that I worry about the most don't even have to do with my face - I'm worried about getting sick from the medications, having to get a catheter put in during surgery, that kind of stuff. However, it will all be so worth it in the end!!

surgery. scheduled. :)

So I was wondering, what will it feel like to pick my nose? Different than how it feels now? Will my nose feel different or my finger? Will my finger fit in there?? SO MANY QUESTIONS.
In other news, my surgery is scheduled for February 25! My pre-op appointment is Monday, February 14. I'm not really sure what they'll do, because we did A LOT during the consultation. This is probably the most life-changing thing I'll ever go through, and I'm so excited! Commence the countdown. 13 days!

Soon to schedule surgery

Well due to the horrible weather, it was only Tuesday when I got the full cost of the surgery so now it's waiting for the financing to go through and we can set the date for the surgery! I just have to share this quote I found by Alexa Ray Joel that I think very much applies to my situation.

“I was thinking about getting this for years. [My nose] always bothered me a little bit. I was self-conscious of pictures taken from the side. To some people that’s vain, but at the end of the day, we all want to feel pretty.

“Would I do anything else to my body? No. It’s not ten procedures like Heidi Montag. For me, that’s a little extreme, but to each her own.”

So if that makes you think of my nose job any better, there ya go :)

Consultation day

Today was the first of many days at the doctor's office. :)

Even though the weather was horrible, I braved the ice and snow and surprised everyone when I showed up. I signed in, and the surprised receptionist asked me if they could reschedule. I pretty much gave a sob story that I live out of town so they let me have my consultation (except the only two people there were the receptionist and the doctor.) The only thing I couldn't consult about was the insurance/payment options, but they said I could go back tomorrow to get that figured out (because let's face it, I'm stuck in Dallas until then.)

So after the receptionist (posing as a nurse, I presume) talked to me and took down some notes, I watched a movie about rhinoplasty. Imagine the "Becoming a Woman" video in junior high, what with the cartoon images of people and lots of bullet points.

Then came the pictures. That was really fun! Pictures under harsh lights (with flash, also) that show every flaw on your face. Luckily, I'm not broke out but still! While the receptionist called the lady who usually does the images in order to get the pictures on the computer, the doctor not only stuck prongs up my nostrils and finally diagnosed me with a deviated septum and a swollen turbinate (concha, if you are googling it) on the right side, both parts stopping me from being fully able to breathe out of that side. I'm just pretty excited about being diagnosed with the deviated septum!

However, that means that in addition to rhinoplasty, I am getting septoplasty, and luckily insurance usually will help cover septoplasty (woohoo!)

Also in the room, I stood in front of a mirror and pointed out what I don't like about my nose. Such harsh self-judgment.

On to the fun part, I finally got to look at the pictures. From the front view, he could only show me everything he would change, and for the profile views, he actually warped my nose. I wish he could have emailed me the pictures to show, but it looks so much better! I'm so excited! Tomorrow, I go to talk to the woman about insurance to find out about the financial part and also to (cross your fingers) schedule the surgery. So excited!

Will update soon!