surgery to fix deviated septum --- anyone with stories? | INFJ Forum

surgery to fix deviated septum --- anyone with stories?

Apr 15, 2011
776
352
0
MBTI
INFJ
Enneagram
9
so, i'm scheduled for deviated septum surgery (septoplasty) in a few weeks. it's quite a common surgery nowadays.

i dont snore, or have sleep apnea, or anything like that. basically i'm getting it done to hopefully fix some breathing issues i have been having. it's hard to take a full, deep breath thru my nose, and one side (left) feels clogged or blocked almost constantly. plus, post nasal drip and all that [sorry for being gross].

my nose is going to be "packed" the day after, which is horrifically uncomfortable and painful, so my doctor told me. but then it gets removed, and then i have splints in my nostrils for a week. nosebleeds are common, as is swelling, etc etc.


has anyone had this surgery performed on them?? if so, was it successful? painful? great? horrible?
 
Sounds like you have a lot to look forward to. I wish you well.
 
Sounds like you have a lot to look forward to. I wish you well.

lol thanks. not lookin forward to it, but am hoping it will in the long run make my life better!

it has reeked havok on my ability to meditate properly.
 
It was one option that my doctors mentioned for me due to severe allergies, but I've never had it.

Recovery from surgery of any kind is usually a bit painful, though. Especially if it's near the face. :(
 
I've never had that done, but I've had all kinds of surgery. The best advice I can give you is to try to go in to it with as positive an attitude (without being psychotic) as you can. It helps the recovery process. Whatever sort of pain you go through is not permenant, and there's always drugs! Drugs make everything better, as long as you don't get addicted lol.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Blind Bandit
[MENTION=3975]Constant_Overstimulation[/MENTION]

My father just had this done a month or so ago to correct congenital malformation and to improve his breathing. He also snored and had occasional apnea.

Yes, the packing is very uncomfortable. There is swelling and nosebleeds and splints...but it sounds like you already know what you're getting into.

He had to be off work for awhile, as he's head of the maintenance department and they needed to keep him from breathing in dust particles, etc. Wear a mask if you know you're going to be in an environment that exposes you to fine particles.

Dad did really well with it, and it greatly improved his breathing. He's glad he had it done....so is mom, lolz.

Good luck with yours!
 
I'm similar to [MENTION=442]arbygil[/MENTION]. I had severe allergies for whatever reason last year and could not breathe through my nose at all. So basically, I know how badly it could suck. Light headness, hard to talk and breath, dizzyness, menstruating out of my nose. :D :( I also had this odd sinus drip click throughout my nasal passages and it scared the hell out of me. It was like crackle pops throughout my sinuses. I went on antibiotics and it cleared up my passages. :thumb:
 
Sending you positivity and the best of all speedy recoveries @ConstantOverstimulation! :m032:
 
This is pretty much the only thing I know about Deviated Septums. They're not my specialty. I thought I'd link it for your reference though:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrC9qU6D6xY"]YouTube - Adam Sandler - Fatty McGee [Skit][/ame]

Hope that helps!
 
@Constant_Overstimulation

I just had mine done last february. it really wasn't that bad. I had breathing issues - less than 10% on one side, less than 30% on the other. I had a septoplasty and a turbinoplasty at the same time. it was done on an outpatient basis. so I went home the same day. It was not horribly painful, but it was not a cake walk either. Take your meds. They didn't pack my nose - they put in the big rubber splints with the little breathing tubes and a moustach bandage that you have to change constantly at first.

Here is my best advice: Take your meds. Buy a LOT of saline and squirt up up there every time you think of it. Use the basotracin cream a lot. The trick is to keep it moist. If you don't, dry scabs will form and they will hurt like frigging hell when they take the splints out a week later. They will also bleed b/c they get ripped off. So: Saline, saline, saline. The kind you can squirt up your nose like an allergy nasal spray. Like 2-4 times an hour if necessary to keep it moist.
My difficulty was it was winter and dry. Summer will be a bit easier.
Sleep sitting up.
Don't be surprised when you get nose bleeds. I exercised a little too hard about a month after surgery and got a pretty good one. That was the last of them.
Of course everyone will be different. Follow your Dr;s orders to the letter.
The easiest part of the whole thing, for me, was getting the huge things they shoved up there out. It burned a little, but was really the least of it.

And the result? Not over the top awesome, but certainly MUCH better. i can actually sleep now. I had a sleep study and they recorded me waking up 40 + times in a 6hr period. i was exhausted. This has been huge, and got me off anxiety and depression med, since I could actually sleep.

GOOD LUCK!
 
[MENTION=452]enigma[/MENTION]

that pretty much sums exactly what my doctor has told me!! thanks so much for sharing your story...
my doc says the packing is actually coming up the morning right after the surgery...the splints will be in there for a week.

he claims after the splints come out, it will feel great, but then it may get a bit "congested" right after, due to swelling i think??

how long after the surgery did you feel 100%?? i'm hoping after one month, i am in tip top shape!! : ]


and [MENTION=4015]purplecrayons[/MENTION], thank you darlin'!! though i didnt get your mention because you forgot the little underscore thingie seperating the constant and the stimulation! [i got the kiss though]

:kiss:
 
Aww, shucks... Tee-hee-hee... :m052:
 
i have all of the problems listed...Im fricken scared to go get it fixed. but [MENTION=452]enigma[/MENTION] your story may just have convinced me. I would LOVE to get off all those damned meds and sleep well for once.
 
@enigma

that pretty much sums exactly what my doctor has told me!! thanks so much for sharing your story...
my doc says the packing is actually coming up the morning right after the surgery...the splints will be in there for a week.

he claims after the splints come out, it will feel great, but then it may get a bit "congested" right after, due to swelling i think??

how long after the surgery did you feel 100%?? i'm hoping after one month, i am in tip top shape!! : ]

Your Welcome!
I think it was about a month before I really felt 100% normal. I had a lot of congestion, but I also got a cold during the week i was home... from my kids. Even so, I could breathe. Once the cold was gone and I had some time to heal it was great! Pulling out those splint is going to cause some irritation and swelling. It was definately worth it and worth the surgery!
 
i have all of the problems listed...Im fricken scared to go get it fixed. but @enigma your story may just have convinced me. I would LOVE to get off all those damned meds and sleep well for once.

[MENTION=86]Entyqua[/MENTION]
You know, I was actually scared of this surgery too. I have had a few surgeries (2 c-sections, appendectomy, gall bladder, and surgery on my hand after my horse broke it) but for some reason i was really nervous about this one. I think it was b/c it was my face. I like my nose, I didn't want anything to change there (it didn't) but there is just something about having your face operated on.

It is SOOOO... ***SO*** worth it to be able to sleep. Poor sleep seriously messes you up. I got to the point where I actually had memory loss from momentary blackouts due to poor sleep. The worst - it happened while driving. I was just driving along and then Boom. I had no idea where I was - literally - not the road, the town, the state. That was seriously scary.

After the surgery my depression, anxiety, anger, mood shifts - gone. I'm not Pollyanna, but I'm no longer miserable.
I would get it done if you ENT thinks you should. It is not a pain free procedure, but it is not that bad at all.
 
and [MENTION=4015]purplecrayons[/MENTION], thank you darlin'!! though i didnt get your mention because you forgot the little underscore thingie seperating the constant and the stimulation! [i got the kiss though]

:kiss:[/QUOTE]

[MENTION=3975]Constant_Overstimulation[/MENTION] Ummm... you forgot the Over... :mhula:
 
AHA! [MENTION=3975]Constant_Overstimulation[/MENTION]... You concede DEFEAT!!!
 
[MENTION=452]enigma[/MENTION]

you mean this kind of saline spray, right?? (and not one of those "saline rinses" as they are called, such as a nettie pot)

Ocean-Nasal-Spray.jpg
 
gosh, i'd make a horrible doctor.

i read the thread title and thought this was going to be about cleft lips.