So glad I did it! - Altoona, PA

It is beyond me how no one teased me for my nose growing up, because boy do I sure hate it! I've got my father's nose to a T - skinny bridge, gets a little wider, skinny again, a bulbous tip, hanging columella and a dorsal hump. Also, a BIIG thing for me is that when I raise my eyebrows, my skin tugs and makes an extreme weird triangle shape [picture included]. I've been wanting to have this done for as long as I can remember and I finally have the time and money now! The only obstacle I've run into is that literally everybody I know is arguing against it, so I've just started telling people that it's for medical reasons so they don't give me so much grief over it. I've always hated my nose to the point where I don't let anybody photograph me for anything and I try to keep big smiles at a minimum occurrence.

I'm going to Dr. Robert Louton of Blair Plastic Surgery. I had my initial consultation on Tuesday [yesterday]. He told me that my expectations for a smaller, feminine profile are very realistic. He's going to start it as a closed rhinoplasty but because there is so much tip work to do he may choose to do an open for the remainder of the surgery. He estimated 3 hours. They took a few pictures for their digital imaging so that at my pre-op we can look at some estimated results! I couldn't be more excited. The staff is so friendly and helpful! I feel completely comfortable with them. My pre-op apt is on the 10th at 9am at their Altoona location, and my surgery date is set for the 24th but they don't have an exact time for me yet.

I threw in some before pictures for you. I feel like my nose rarely looks the same in pictures but trust me, it's a honker, especially for my tiny frame! I'll be sure to keep you all posted :)

Something I've always hated about my nose is that often times it looks very different. Sometimes I feel like it's too skinny, other times too wide. Sometimes the bump feels huge and other times it feels small. Also, any time I get any sort of blemish I just feel like I have a classic witch nose with the warts on it :(
Oh well, I'm about to have a super cute nose soon! Here are a couple recent before pictures since my other ones are really old :)

I'm super excited for my pre-op! Dr. Louton and his staff are seriously so kind and amazing. They could tell how excited I was and they were all congratulating me and saying they were excited for me. I'll let you all know how it goes!!

At my original consultation they took my photos for the digital imaging predictions, but weren't able to access the software that day for whatever reason. So today at my pre-op I got to look at what Dr. Louton has dreamed up for me. Mind you, I've looked through his portfolio and it's flawless, but my predicted after from the head-on photo was not by any means what I was expecting. It was extremely short and looked wider than what I have now somehow, and the columella was hanging somethin' fierce. I asked him if he could reduce the columella but it looked worse that way. He assured me that it was just because the picture the nurse took was at the wrong angle and I was looking down more than I was looking face forward. After asking him to tweak it a little bit, no matter what he did, even if it was exactly what I asked, I still hated it. Maybe I dislike my face in general even more than I thought. Also, I didn't help that I was sans lipstick so my lips looked super small. He showed me the side profile and it was gorgeousss and straight and cute. So maybe it was just a bad angle for the head-on after all.

My gut instinct is telling me to go through with this, so I'm still on the schedule for the 24th. I'll also probably be adding in some fillers for my lips. I'll keep you all posted!

WOAAH. This doesn't even feel real right now. I'm scheduled for 9:30am tomorrow. Wish me luck! Here are a couple more before shots :)

My appt was set for 9:30 and they called me back right around 9:25. Let me just say that the staff, including Dr. Louton, are SO FRIENDLY! I felt completely at ease. I spoke with nurses, Louton and the anesthesiologist. They gave me those white knee high stockings to keep my circulation in check. They also wrapped two special warming blanket things around my legs and put a regular blanket over me. My hair was in a surgical net of course. Before I knew it, I was all done and awake!

I have not yet taken any of my percocet and I'm in no pain. Really, it's only slight pressure from the packing in my nose. My mouth is pretty dry but not sore. I've been drinking sprite and got some Halls. I'm not really hungry but I figured it was a good idea to eat some soup anyway since I had to take a dang horse pill for my antibiotic. Even with the cast on I'm already seeing a dramatic difference! Cast removal cannot come soon enough.

I'll keep you all posted!

It's day 2 and I'm pretty surprised that I'm still not in any pain. My left nostril is bleeding a bit [I have to change my gauze pad every couple of hours] but the doctor said that's normal. Sure, there's a little bit of pressure/discomfort but it's really nothing. No nausea, no upset stomach and only a tiny bit of bruising in the corners of my eyes. Not much swelling. My body keeps trying to sneeze though :( Besides that little thing, all is well and I'm pretty stoked!

Oh man, I reaallly started sneezing last night. And when I sneeze it's huuuuge so I've had to try and sneeze via mouth. I'm finally starting to swell and bruise just a tiny bit under my eyes. Still no need for pain meds though! Just some general discomfort and a little soreness. I'm not bleeding as much either. Packing comes out tomorrow!!

My face doesn't look much different in comparison to yesterday. Still no pain, just the same discomfort. I forgot to mention that the day I got my rhino I had been bleeding a bit so my dad called the office [worry wart] and spoke to a nurse who told him we could do a little gauze drip pad for under my nose. She informed us that the amount of bleeding was totally normal. About 10 minutes later Dr. Louton called to check on me personally. I'm still sneezing a crap-ton but it looks like my bleeding is all done. I just can't wait to get the splint taken off! Time is going by so slowly

Packing came out yesterday. It took all of maybe 30 seconds but it felt pretty weird. I was so glad to be able to breathe! Went home, took a nap, then when I woke up my nose was all clogged and I had to breathe through my mouth again :( I think I'm catching some sort of cold. I can breathe through my nose a lot better today though. Throat hurts when I swallow and my lymph nodes feel tender so I'll definitely be calling my Dr tomorrow [I don't have anyone to take me today]. Really no other discomfort. Pretty yellow under my eyes and am bruising a little bit. I've just been on the couch watching Boy Meets World. No more sneezing today! :D

This is the first time my percocet has made me feel all silly. Not too shabby! Haha. My mouth has been extremely unhappy - feels similar to when I had pharyngitis right after Christmas. I took a long bath today and my nose opened back up so I can breathe, thank goodness. I didn't realize it until last night but I've hardly eaten a thing since surgery and had my first bowel movement last night since surgery. I'm also bruising a little more but it's still not bad at all. I feel a little high so I should probably stop typing. bye!

All I can say is ITCCHYY! Oh my goodness I've been going nuts wanting to scratch the crap out of my nose. I've had some weird "electrical" sensations which my doctor told me would happen. It's been pretty smooth sailing, though. Honestly, looking at my nose, I feel like my nostrils are even bigger [length wise] than they were before. I try to keep telling myself that it's just swelling. Can't wait to get the splint off of my nose - Thursday at 3!!

I just have to remember that it's very swollen right now and once the swelling goes down I'll have a better shape. From the side it's looking cute already. From the front and bottom [when I tilt my head back - nostril view], absolutely not. I'm broken out pretty badly where my cast was which I've read was normal, but my skin sucks anyway so it's no big deal. When it's daylight tomorrow I'll try to get some pictures.

So I still think my nose looks a little weird from the front. Unfortunately my camera's quality isn't good enough to capture it. When I run my finger straight down my nose it feels like there's a dent or a piece missing where my slope is - is that how it's supposed to feel?

I'm definitely swollen, and you can really tell from the side view but it's already better than what I had. I just realllly dislike my nostrils because they're so long and thin but if they were any wider my nose would look super wide. I guess time will tell!

Another thing to add is that there's actually space between my upper lip and nose now, even when I smile! That's definitely awesome. I've seen a lot of girls say it takes them a while to be able to smile properly but I've already got it goin full force! If I liked my teeth I'd post a smiley picture but sadly I do not love my teeth too much

Hello friends! My recovery is going super well! I went back to work Weds with no problems :) I did find two stitches in my nose the other day that should have been taken out at my first post-op but I just snipped them off. I'm really not toooo happy about that but with such a great recovery and result so far, I cannot complain too much.

Unfortunately right now I think it's allergies that are killing me. Mid-day I'm fine, but at night when I'm trying to sleep and for the first hour or two of being awake my nose is so stuffed up and gross that I have to breathe through my mouth. I'm also doing A LOT of sneezing. I know I'm not technically supposed to blow my nose but oh man, sometimes I just have to. Does this sound like allergies to you or is it common after a rhino? Also, the spontaneous dripping [it's clear] is driving me up a wall - I've always got to have tissues on me.

For those who are pre-rhinoplasty or haven't gotten their cast off yet and are curious about skin care and makeup - I have no problems washing my face or applying my foundation. For the first few days it feels a little bit weird. Now at 22days post it still feels weird here and there but nothing major.

Kissing is something I never felt too comfortable doing because my big ole nose would always smush against a man's face and my makeup would get all over him and totally rub off of me. Of course we are being super careful not to muff up my nose but I've got a good feeling!

As far as updated pictures go, I've been sooo busy with work it's insane! I'll try to get some to you this week :)

My side profile is so much cuter. That's about it. I hatehatehate the hanging columella he gave me :( I try to just remember that Natalie Portman and Kate Hudson have them too and they're beautiful!
Also It's not too symmetrical right now - on the left side the nostril indents in a good bit and on the right side it bulges out. My nostrils aren't even either. It looks crooked, but is mostly apparent only in pictures. I guess it was crooked before so I can't complain too much. I'm just being patient for the swelling to go down.

Overall, I do like this nose way better than my old one. I've actually taken pictures of myself and not deleted them! Woo!

I am so glad to say that my friends, family and coworkers have been extremely supportive of me through all of is. A couple days after I returned to work, as I was passing by one of my coworkers he hollered "Who's that girl with the cute nose?!"

I've been getting nothing but positive feedback! Whenever I go to put my foundation on in the morning, almost every morning "It's so little!" goes through my mind. No longer do I fear the dreaded side-view. Often times when I turn to the side I get that feeling of dread for just a second until I realize that my nose is so much smaller and cuter :D

Also, in my opinion, my "bad side" that I always hated is now my "good side" !!! And my old good side isn't too bad either :p

So I had my post op appt today. They took some more pictures and basically the doctor just asked if my breathing was ok and if I had any problems. It took about 2 minutes. He also told me how cute I look! :D

I still don't take lots of pictures of myself but here you go ha

Luckily I was late to the draw and didn't see the negative comments. Oh trolls!

I know you all have said my nose doesn't look asymmetrical, so maybe I'm just too hard on myself? i feel like the one side bulges out a bit and my nostrils are still asym in width, I also feel like it's starting to droop :( The photo of me with the faded greeeen hair is the only time I've taken a picture of it looking "droopy." Really, the main things I asked him to do were to remove my hump and create space between my nose and lip, which he did. Still too soon to tell I guess.

July 21st, better profile shots

Not much to report. I'm almost exactly 6 months post op! I've gotten used to my nose and it rarely feels super tiny anymore, which I expected to happen. My nostrils are still uneven, I still notice a little bump on one side and there's a lot of swelling to go down still, especially in the tip. I'm meeting up with my PS on the 30th to discuss a breast augmentation & lip injections and we'll also go over my nose. Here are some updated pictures - haven't noticed change. I'm just really glad that my bump on the bridge is gone and there is space btwn my nose and lip!

I'm pretty sure I'll always be self-conscious, no matter what I do to my body. I usually contour my nose when applying makeup, not toooo heavily. I still hate my nostrils - uneven and long and thin, but if they were a normal width my nose would be crazy wide probably due to my thick skin.

Every time I feel like my nose is still too big, and sometimes it feels like it's getting bigger, I look back at my old nose.

Here is where the honest opinions come in. People who have known me with both noses say the difference is only subtle. I know you all only have pictures to go on, but what do you think? Is it really not that noticeable? Then again I doubt anyone was really staring at my nose all of the time.

I still touch it 24/7

Hey friends! It's been almost exactly 9 months since my rhinoplasty. There are things I don't like about my new nose - hanging columella, looks a little crooked, and one side bulges out a tiny bit. My tip still feels rather swollen to be honest. I have my pre-op for my BA in 5 days so I'll ask my surgeon about in then. Overall, though, what an improvement!! I am so glad I went through with this. Also bought that dress at Burlington for only $25!