Rhinoplasty: Stories

I'm sure some of you can empathize with the doubt that comes along with considering rhinoplasty. I will never forget the shock And negative feelings I began to feel around the time of 6th grade when I first noticed my nose was a little different than everyone else's! And when I made the transition from glasses to contacts, around 7-8th grade, I remember asking my friend what she thought of my nose and she told me it was kind of big but my glasses made it worse. What a horrible feeling! Since then I've been somewhat preoccupied with it! I have always deep down planned on having a rhinoplasty procedure but have never had the guts to come out and say it or put the plan into action. I have pretty much been in steady relationships and was too insecure to ever even mention it to a significant other, not even close friends. Has anyone else had this experience ? I guess by saying it out loud I am admitting there is something wrong with me, idk... But now I am single, have nothing or no one's petty opinions holding me back, so I have decided to go for it!

I have scheduled my virtual consultation with dr.shah (Chicago) I would have the surgery sooner but I have to wait until this semester of college is over because I can't miss. I've spent a great deal of time (like most of you!) online looking up doctors and browsing hundreds of before and afters buy dr shah just appeals to me! It's almost like I am compelled to choose him for my rhino! I absolutely loveee each and every one of his before/After pics, plus after seeing some of his work on here I think he is perfect!

My main problem with my nose is that I have a TERRIBLE bump. A true "Roman" nose. My nose is not too wide, and I'm not sure if my tip sticks out longer than it should or not, I can't decide. My nose is perfectly centered and straight, my bump is just terrible. I have the ugliest profile ever! I'm hoping my case will be somewhat simple since I primarily only need my bump filed down. My only concern is the tip.. It seems like a lot of doctors leave tips alone and therefore they stick out too far once bumps are filed down. So far I have been pleased with how dr shah seems to do for tips though.

I guess this is all for now, ill keep you all updated on my journey through rhinoplasty! All feedback and support is very welcome!

Impatience is getting the best of me, so I have decided to fly to Chicago next week during my spring break. My consultation is Thursday! Hopefully I will love dr.shah in person as much as I love his work and reviews. Wish me luck! Also, since I am worried about my tip post surgery.. I posted two after photos I made using an app, the one on the left is with a shortened tip.. The right is bridge work only. Which is better??

So my surgery date is almost here. The nerves are definitely settling in. I will be flying in to Chicago to meet with Dr. Shah Wednesday, and then my surgery will be Thursday morning. So so soooo nervous!! I'm scared of going under the anesthesia, and waking up in a lot of pain. Even more than that though, I'm afraid of having a bad result. I really like all of Dr. Shah's after photos, and I finally feel that we're definitely on the same page regarding what I want out of this. So hopefully everything goes according to plan.

Any advice for Pre/Post op supplies/instructions?? I am open to all. :) I also put some photos back up, and will probably leave them until after the surgery.. I am a pretty private person so this makes me nervous. haha.. Let me know what you think of my nose though.. can't wait to say goodbye to it later this week!!! =)

Oh, and sorry for the extreme changes in hair color. I've just feeling some change lately I guess. :) Haha

Okay, so today reality set in and I realized I'm having surgery in two days. I had a major rush of anxiety and ended up in a crying fit. Anyone else have a close surgery date and experience something similar? I keep telling myself that everything will go smoothly & my results will be fine but you never know! So tonight I'm trying to relax a little and let go of these nerves!! Still anxious for thursday to get here, even though I'm terrified...

Surgery tomorrow! I have to be there at 7:30.. Then surgery at 8:30, and they'll keep me for about an hour or two after to recover. Wish me luck! Ill post pics as soon as soon as I am semi-decent looking!

So today was the big day! My surgery was scheduled for 8:30 but I didn't get to go back until about 10.. Dr. Shah spoke with me this morning and he was so confident and reassuring.. he really made me feel so much better. We also reviewed all my morphs again and he told me what he planned on doing, which I was completely happy with! My surgery was finished at 12:10, But I wasn't fully awake until around 2! My worst discomfort was definitely my throat as soon as I woke. I had read about it on here but didn't expect it to be so bad! Luckily a little water soothed it pretty quickly. My pain has only been bad from as soon as I woke up until I arrived at the hotel I'm staying at and took my first Vicodin. I did have a few crying spells during that time.. I also cried as soon as I woke up from the anesthesia.. Im such a baby! haha. I wouldnt say the pain was horrible though.. just extremely uncomfortable and I was feeling a little overwhelmed with the situation in general. Ever since I got situated in the motel I've been pretty comfortable all day! Not bad at all. My only regret of the day so far was not bringing gauze pads and tape with me to the hospital. I probably bled through my "mustache" dressing three or four times before I left the hospital and it was really getting saturated after I left. So please be sure to bring those with you for surgery!

My bruising and swelling doesn't seem too bad so far, but it is only the first day. I'm starting to get a bruise under my left eye.. That's the only one so far. I've heard several times that Dr.Shah is a gentle surgeon so hopefully it stays this way! I've eaten pretty well. So expected a little more discomfort with food but its been fine. I ate some bread with peanut butter and banana as soon as I got back to the motel and a while ago I had a little Mac & cheese, mashed potatoes and baked beans. Not the healthiest but it was tasty and went down well. =)

As far as my nose goes I'm feeling pretty positive right now.. Judging by my splint I like the size of it. My mom actually got to see a picture Dr. shah took in the OR. I called to see if they would send it earlier but I haven't gotten it yet. Maybe I can get it tomorrow if he hasn't deleted it! My mom was really excited about the pic though, she said she felt much better after seeing it & that Dr. shah seemed really excited about it! Yay!! As for now my only concern is the contour of my bridge.. Straight vs curved vs too curved in.. I would like a nice compromise! Lol. As of now I have a lot of faith in Dr. Shah though so we shall see! I guess that's all for now, hoping tomorrow is a pretty smooth day as today has went pretty well. I'll post some pictures now!

Today has been a little rougher than yesterday.. I guess I've just been recovering from the anesthesia, I've felt very "blah." Still having lots of bleeding on my mustache dressing but I think it may be starting to slow. BTW, icing is soooo annoying! I know it's for the best but its really starting to drive me crazy haha. Not really many changes today but I'll put up a new pic or two, I think my bruising is a little worse.. I'm already so anxious about seeing my new nose, I can't wait for Wednesday to get here. Or at least I'd like to feel well enough to get out of the motel! :D

Not sure if today is technically day 3 or day 4! So confusing lol. I had my surgery Thursday and today is Sunday. Cast off Wednesday! Feeling much better today, I finally got up and washed my hair & I'm going to attempt to go out for lunch today. :) My nasal dripping/bleeding has slowed a lot and I'm not wearing my dressing there anymore. My nose is totally blocked and I can't taste food at all which is no good but my appetite has been pretty great somehow.. Lol. My nose seems less numb today, almost like I can feel a little more pressure!

I'm happy with my nose so far, what I can tell from it anyways.. My tip doesn't seem to stick out too far and it looks proportional as far as I can tell. So anxious to see the contour of my bridge though! I'm dying to know how straight vs sloped it is and if it will look right! Bruising and swelling seems all right today.. Ill update later when I have more changes. Thanks so much to all of you! I couldn't do it without realself!!

Sooo, today was the big day! I've been feeling a lot of emotions today, not sure where to start. I have to say that overall, as of right now, I am satisfied with my nose. My large hump is gone, the tip is not too lifted (it may end up drooping a slight bit later on) and my nose is not overprotected from my face, those were some of my biggest fears so I'm happy about that! I really couldn't believe how incredibly SWOLLEN my nose was when the cast was removed.. Of course we all hear about it on here but seeing it on your own face is a completely different story! It was swollen all the way up to between my eyebrows. My bridge looks very wide and swollen right now, I'm much happier with my profile view than the front but hopefully that will work itself out as swelling goes down. My whole bridge just seems kind of bulbous and shapeless but I'm assuming that's swelling too. I also seem to have the slightest bit of hump retention.. Not sure really though because it looks different in almost every picture. I have heard about the skin retaining the hump for a while though..

Now that I'm through with all that process, I have to worry about going home today & dealing with my friends that don't know. Boo :( I may stay hidden for another week or two, lol...

So for now, just trying to stay calm & positive and wait this swelling out! I'm just happy I didn't leave the office in tears or totally freaking out.. Could have been much worse! So far everything is okay. =) when did any of you began to notice significant decreases in swelling?

So today is the day after my cast removal and so far I am very happy! I put some makeup on for the first time today to truly see how my results look and I can't complain! I had my nose taped all night and most of today. They instructed me to tape only at night but I like how it looks with the tape so much I can't help it!! Lol. It really cuts the swelling down. My only concern is how bulbous my tip is and that my nose may eventually droop a little again, but at one week postop it's too early to really complain! My whole nose is swollen as well, my tip just sticks out worse! I posted some new pics.. It's so nice to discover you can take angled photos without a horrible nose profile!! Made me so excited =)