Reviews you can trust, from real people like you.
How it works
- Our highly-trained Review Moderation team evaluates all reviews before they're published to ensure they're written by people like you and not a member of a doctor's office.
- This multi-step process takes up to 24 hours from review submission to publication.
- Doctors can't pay to have reviews removed or hidden.
- Reviews are only removed at the reviewer's request or if they violate our Terms of Service.
If you have questions or believe we should re-evaluate a published review, let us know.
Sort by:
*Treatment results may vary
I've been reading everyone else's reviews and have...
I've been reading everyone else's reviews and have benefited from them so greatly, so I thought it was time to add some of my own info!
I share a similar story to others-- and recently gained momentum & the courage to actually do something about it! I knew I had a deviated septum, but was surprised just how deviated it was-- that gave me the extra incentive. I also found a doctor I felt really good about. He wanted to help improve my breathing while also pushing the profile back/lessening the over projection, but was very realistic about what he could do without adding any extra risk of secondary complications. This is what I wanted as I didn't want to risk any more complications than I needed to.
I'll update later more on the actual recovery (I'm on day 3 I guess? Surgery was a couple of days ago) but before I forgot I had some tips I wanted to pass along.
- definitely have popsicles ready! My throat was so sore and dry, and I just happened to have popsicles. I now realize that others had recommended that too.
- get those surgical face masks at Walgreens if you're concerned about being self-conscious. The cast is fine but the cast plus drip pad is a little scary, and wearing the mask made me a feel little less self conscious for a few minutes here and there getting in and out of the doctor's.
That's all for now. My nose is really swollen and scary looking, but I guess that's to be expected! Thanks to everyone for your support.
I guess I am on day 5 now (surgery last Thursday)....
I guess I am on day 5 now (surgery last Thursday). I'm less swollen so that is good! But still don't look of course like myself, which is to be expected. I'm trying to keep things low stress and eat an extremely low sodium diet. I recommend soups w/ no-salt-added broth (which is surprisingly hard to find). I've also been sleeping with a neck pillow on top of 2 pillows. I thought sleeping on my back would be hard but generally I've been able to adjust.
I should really adjust it to "worth it" already because I can breathe better than I could before, and it's day 5, and I still have silicone strip things in my nose that don't come out until Friday! But that just goes to show how I had a severe deviated septum (I guess I had gotten used to it over the years).
My sense of smell and taste never went away, so I am lucky with that. Good luck to others!
I will say I fainted for the first time in years when the doctor took my packing out on Friday. He and his assistant were really comforting-- told me this was common and the nose was very sensitive. They helped me put my knees up and lie back, and just reminded me to keep breathing and that I was doing fine. Everything had turned blotchy and gray so and I just focused on breathing. I'm not a fainter, so just something to be prepared for for anyone who has a closed septo/rhino and has to get packing out the next day.
One other note, as I told Angie below, by surgical mask I mean the wide kind that goes over each year, not the band around the neck-- you wouldn't want anything putting pressure on your nose! These are common in my area with people having the flu etc. My cast doesn't have a bottom part under the tip, so it's not too bad.
I revisited my doctor's before/after pics last night and highly recommend others do that too if they get nervous about the swelling. It's just a reminder that it WILL go down and we are only in the first few days. I'm trying to take a break from the nose galleries for now, ha!
I also agree that having a good support system is really important. My mom, boyfriend, and sister have been really supportive and helpful. They're the ones who made me the no-salt-added soup etc. I am making my own sodium-free oatmeal, but I wouldn't have had ability or patience to cut up veggies etc and make soup the first few days.
Good luck to everyone for continued good recoveries!
I should really adjust it to "worth it" already because I can breathe better than I could before, and it's day 5, and I still have silicone strip things in my nose that don't come out until Friday! But that just goes to show how I had a severe deviated septum (I guess I had gotten used to it over the years).
My sense of smell and taste never went away, so I am lucky with that. Good luck to others!
I will say I fainted for the first time in years when the doctor took my packing out on Friday. He and his assistant were really comforting-- told me this was common and the nose was very sensitive. They helped me put my knees up and lie back, and just reminded me to keep breathing and that I was doing fine. Everything had turned blotchy and gray so and I just focused on breathing. I'm not a fainter, so just something to be prepared for for anyone who has a closed septo/rhino and has to get packing out the next day.
One other note, as I told Angie below, by surgical mask I mean the wide kind that goes over each year, not the band around the neck-- you wouldn't want anything putting pressure on your nose! These are common in my area with people having the flu etc. My cast doesn't have a bottom part under the tip, so it's not too bad.
I revisited my doctor's before/after pics last night and highly recommend others do that too if they get nervous about the swelling. It's just a reminder that it WILL go down and we are only in the first few days. I'm trying to take a break from the nose galleries for now, ha!
I also agree that having a good support system is really important. My mom, boyfriend, and sister have been really supportive and helpful. They're the ones who made me the no-salt-added soup etc. I am making my own sodium-free oatmeal, but I wouldn't have had ability or patience to cut up veggies etc and make soup the first few days.
Good luck to everyone for continued good recoveries!
Just a pleasant surprise I wanted to share with...
Just a pleasant surprise I wanted to share with folks. I had been afraid of messing with a family nose/my ethnic heritage, but something funny. Of course my nose is still very swollen, but oddly enough right now the tip looks MUCH more like my father's and my mom's (but especially my dad's) after the procedure!
We had a fun laugh looking at the mirror together (at my expense- laughing hurts, ouch : ) because I guess my septum had twisted so much that I actually didn't have a nose that resembled either of my parents' before. So it's kind of fun to me that we resemble each other more now, a few days in.
Swelling has dropped and like others, I'm enjoying the stay-cation! Headaches aren't that bad; off of even Tylenol. I'm going to stay low-sodium and no alcohol for a while too.
I still have bruising and discoloration especially on one eyelid. My cast is off in about 48 hours.
Best wishes everyone!
We had a fun laugh looking at the mirror together (at my expense- laughing hurts, ouch : ) because I guess my septum had twisted so much that I actually didn't have a nose that resembled either of my parents' before. So it's kind of fun to me that we resemble each other more now, a few days in.
Swelling has dropped and like others, I'm enjoying the stay-cation! Headaches aren't that bad; off of even Tylenol. I'm going to stay low-sodium and no alcohol for a while too.
I still have bruising and discoloration especially on one eyelid. My cast is off in about 48 hours.
Best wishes everyone!