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!