Day 1: Sleepless Nights

The first day was rough, but not because I was pain.

No.

But because I didn't sleep much last night. Maybe a combined 2 hours separated into 20 minute blocks the whole night?

It's hard to sleep because you can't breath through your nose. In addition, because you have to mouth breathe, you end up getting chapped lips and a dry mouth. My tongue even cracked a bit.

I passed time today by watching The Hobbit, followed by The Fellowship of The Ring. 

This is me trying to stay awake at 2PM.

The hours seemed to tick by so slow, but I made it to bedtime without much hassle or pain. I guess the Vicodin did it's job.

Tips for Day 1:

• Keep water or Gatorade by your bed in case you get a dry mouth during the night (you will).
• Try to sleep with your head elevated, as uncomfortable as it feels. Laying down at this point will only clog your nose more!
• Keep a track of your meds. Don't skip a dose, you will pay for it later!
• Keep the tissue box / gauze nearby. You are going to be changing it several times today.

Day 0: The Goddamn Needle

"You have thick skin."

Normally, I'd take the compliment, but today...I cursed the fact.

The nurse, in her late twenties, pulled the needle out.

"Sorry, honey, we will have to try again."

...dammit.

---

Getting prepped is always fun. You get to joke around with the nurses. They are bored, and you are nervous. They ask all the necessary questions, get your height and weight for the anesthesiologist, put the needle in you, and you are wheeled out to the OR. There's nothing special about this part of the surgery.

Yet in my case, we couldn't get the needle in my damn arm. My veins weren't responding, and when we finally did get it in, my skin was stinging like hell from all the attempts. I was a little bit worried about this because it was so damn painful...but I didn't say anything. I've heard it's normal in some cases.

Next, the anesthesiologist came in and we chatted. Nice fellow. Let me know that I was in the highest survival rate category, which sounds morbid, but he was just being real with me. My doctor came in shortly after to assure me I was in good hands and that we were almost ready to go. The main nurse for the operation came out last, and said,

"Let's go."

The old lady waking up from her sedation next to me starts moaning,

"Jesus, just kill me already....I'm ready to come home!"

The nurse smiles at me.

"Ignore her. Let's go."

---

So, they wheeled me into the operating room. There were about 4-5 people there. They asked me right away to hop over on the operating table. I noticed at this point that they must have started something (either the sedation very slowly or something else) to calm me in my IV because I felt a little woozy. I made it alright, though. The anesthesiologist had me prop my neck up on a neck rest, like one you would use if you were sleeping somewhere uncomfortable. Then, they started covering me with blankets and kind of tucking me in.

"Are you warm enough?"

"Yep. Thank you."

I just began to ask the nurse if one of EKG stickers came loose (it did) when I suddenly felt like closing my eyes.

I don't remember anything after that.

---

I think I was moaning when I woke up. I can't really remember. Oh my god, it hurt.

"I need thirty-six Vicodin and change for a dollar!"

That's what my witty sedated self tried to say. But it came out more like...

"Urhhg...drugs!"

Initially, I thought I woke up with a oxygen mask on my face, but I think it may have been this nose mask they give you. It has a elastic type rubber band that goes over your head, while this rectangular cloth part goes over your nose, which has gauze on it. I seemed to remove it from my nose and align it on the top of my head, like some kind of bloody sunglasses.

Like this, but with more blood on my nose!

They got me painkillers. I dozed in and out of consciousness for about a hour before I was well-enough to get dressed and go home. You don't have much, if any, breathing ability through your nose at this point. I was OK with this, since I had been mouth breathing for years by now. But the pain was something fierce, even with painkillers.

I had no visit with my doctor post-surgery. My understanding is that I was still out of it when he came by, and he had more surgeries to do, so off he went. That was fine, I got sent home with a packet with what not to do.

• No sneezing through the nose! Use your mouth!
• There are splints in your nose, don't try to move them, they are sutured into place.
• No blood-thinners.
• Avoid exercise.
• Report to post-op in 7 days.

I went home. I actually felt really good. I was still on the painkillers they had given me, and my nose, while stuffy, wasn't painful. I was bleeding a lot, though. I ended up changing my nose gauze every hour or so for the first few days.

Sleeping was hell. I was put on three different medicines (which I recommend picking up before your surgery, if possible!) including an anti-biotic, an anti-inflammatory and Vicodin. I slept in 20 minutes intervals from around 9pm to 7am.

Which leads us to Day 1.

Calm Before The Storm

I spent the weeks and days before my surgery collecting information, mostly from Google and Blogspot. I saw all kind of experiences! From people claiming it wasn't painful but it made no noticeable difference in their breathing to people saying it was as bad as child birth, but worked!

Here's a list of things you should know before you go in:

* Will my surgeon be using packing and/or Doyle splints?

Packing is generally avoided nowadays. Some surgeons still use it, but as my doctor puts it, it's painful to take out for you...and we don't like to hear you whine about it! See if you can find a doctor who doesn't use packing, the surgery is gruesome enough without it.

Doyle splints are essentially these three inch plastic tubes that not only support the foundation of your nose after surgery so it heals right, but also provides a way to breathe.

Do these things look comfortable? I thought so.

My doctor said that they are typically sutured into place so you don't accidentally asphyxiate on them in the middle of the night.

The sutures are typically disposable, but hurt and tug on your skin. No surprise there, it's doing it's job, right?

These splints and sutures (if not disposable) are removed typically a week after surgery. It hurts a bit, I'm not going to lie. But the sensation of breathing with both nostrils again is amazing, and totally worth the pain and anxiety (Oh yes! I'm getting to that!) that you feel over the next week.

* Do I have someone to take care of me?

This surgery will bring you to your knees, for at least a week. You will be bleeding for three to four days, if not more, and those Doyle splints are no fun either. You need someone that can help you because you also can't carry heavy things for at least two weeks after the surgery. My doctor said basically anything heavier than a milk carton is too heavy!

* Do you have anxiety?

Specifically, does the idea of 2 three inch plastic tubes up your nose freak you out a little bit? That's OK, it scared me too. I had a panic attack around day 2 or 3 and felt like ripping the damn things out. Don't try. They are, as I said above, sutured in place. Speak with your doctor and try to get an earlier appointment if you feel that you can't deal with these things in your nose for that long. They are uncomfortable, there's no doubt about that!

In addition, Vicodin is typically prescribed for this type of surgery. Yes, you will need it. It's strong, and unfortunately, sometimes evokes anxiety in it's users.

Case Study 1: Dr. Gregory House

For me, it brought on terrible nightmares and insomnia along with the anxiety. I would argue to only use it when you really need it, and are not going to get any sleep anyway!

Here's a checklist of things I feel would help someone going through a septoplasty.

• Stertile saline spray/mist (check with your doctor, this helps keeps things clean and moist)
• 2-3 tissue boxes
• Your choice of fluids to keep hydrated (Gatorade, Powerade, Water, etc)
• Petroleum jelly (Can be used in combination with the saline to keep things from drying out, you don't need that much, though!)
• Lots of pillows to sleep upright for 3-5 days
• Collection of movies to pass time (I went for The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series)
• A cellphone with charger nearby (in case of emergency, also keep your doctor's office number handy, either on a paper or in your contact list)

I was told the day before surgery to have no food or drink after midnight, as well as not to use any deodorant. I think this is because they hook you up with different wires that have a hard time adhering if you have this gunk all over your armpits. Either way, just take a shower the night before, and you will be fine.

Introduction

I've created this blog to help archive my healing process through the surgery that is known as a "septoplasty." Through my surgery, I looked at lots of blogs that helped me get through it, so I also hope I can help others.

I made the decision to get a septoplasty after years of dealing with non-existent breathing in my left nostril. It made exercising hard, and sleeping damn near impossible. I would sleep with the window open (for cold air access) and with the ceiling fan on (for moving said air). My right nostril wasn't much better, as I was getting maybe 20% of possible airflow out of it.

Does this look familiar?

I setup a visit with my ENT (who I've known for a while, as I also deal with severe jaw and TMJ) and he confirmed that I would need surgery to correct what he called a "severe deviated septum."

Surgery was booked for the end of May.