So worth it!- Dallas, TX

I've been coming to this site for months now and finally decided to stop lurking and share my own story since hearing everyone elses has helped me so much. I've wanted a nose job since I was old enough to be vain. I've always felt very self concious about my nose. I graduated college and saved up some money then had my consult about 16 months ago. I almost scheduled a surgery date then had a panic attack and cancelled. Suddenly I was so afraid that I would completely mess up my face, get an infection, develop a breathing problem (its a perfectly functional nose just big) it wasnt just a fantasy anymore I was faced with the reality of actually going under the knife. So I pulled out and decided to try wear more make up, work out more and took a trip to Europe. The trip was fantastic but when I got home and returned to my regular everyday, I really regreted not getting the surgery. I took another 6 months to really think about what I wanted and decided to go through with surgery. More than anything I just want to stop thinking about my dang nose all the time- feeling like its the first thing people notice about me, trying to angle my face in pictures so it doesn't dominate my face ect.

I had my pre-op appt today and got my blood drawn then payed my bill (YIKES can't believe I'm spending so much money on myself!!) Next week is so busy with the holidays and then its my surgery date! I can't believe how close it is! I'm starting to think about all the things I need to buy before the 3rd. The lists on the website have been so helpful.

Thank you guys so much for all the comments! Its such a relief to talk to people about this! I feel like when I tell my friends they act really judgemental and ironically most of them want a breast aug. : / So I've stopped telling people I'm getting it done, if they notice and ask I'll be honest with them but I'm not offering up the info anymore. Surgery is one week away! I've started gathering my supplies: H2O2, polysporin, q-tips, and lots of chapstick (thanks for the heads up guys!) and renewing my netflix account. I also asked my surgeon about scuba diving and he told me I get a green light to dive after about 3 months, for anyone else out there that dives. Well now I'm just doing the waiting game and trying to stay healthy and avoid the cold thats been going around work. I'll probably update again in a week!

I can't believe it but surgery is tomorrow!! Time has flown by. I'm crazy nervous but really excited too. I've been thinking about doing this for over 10 years and its actually happening! Surgery is at 7a.m. Eeek!! Everyone is telling me to get a good nights sleep... yeah right! Hopefully I'll feel well enough tomorrow to update you all on how it went :)

I did it! I hardly slept last night then had to be at the surgery center at 5:30 so it was kind of an early morning. The nursing staff at utsouthwestern outpatient were amazing I cant say enough good things about them the made me feel like a VIP. I felt again like the doctor was very rushed which made me pretty nervous but so long as he didnt leave the OR before it was as good as its going to be I'm a happy camper. Surgery took 1 hour and I was in recovery about 30 minutes. I was very dizzy/woozy and in pretty bad pain for about an hour and a half but after I took my lortab I felt a million times better. My fiance has to keep reminding me to take it easy and get back in bed lol! I'm not trying to be stoic and tsking these meds on schedule- theyre there for a reason afterall, so keep ahead of the pain. So far I've got one black eye and the space between my eyes is swollen. My CRNA was awesome so I dont have a sore throat, got really lucky that way!
I cant wait to see my results; now I just gotta rest up and wait for the big reveal!!

Well I'm 5 days post op now! Just been lazing around the house- its starting to drive me nuts actually, there are only so many shows and books a girl enjoy. Also, its been giving me way too much time to think about how swollen my nose is! I didn't have swelling or bruising so bad on my face but my nose looks like gonzo's. It is SO wide! I'm thankful for this site because I know that this is all temporary. Plus you can tell my skin is stretched like a balloon on the tip so I know in time it'll be shrinking. I had an open rhinoplasty with osteotomies so swelling is to be expected. Day by day it gets a little better. My doctor said he wanted to be there for the big reveal so my cast removal got pushed back a day, glad he'll be there but I'm ready to get this thing off and clean my face! It itches like crazy some times! I finally got some pictures off my phone that I can share. I'm kind of embarrassed to put them up but hopefully I'll be able to document how drastic swelling changes though time and help ease somebody elses fears down the road ;)

Today was the big day! Cast is off and I couldn't be happier!!! It was so worth it! I still have a lot of swelling going on but its a huge improvement even now!
I kept my stitches really clean so they were a breeze coming out. But apparently my skin was a grease factory under the splint (no wonder it was getting itchy and uncomfortable) so my PS scrapped it off- OUCH! And sadly I got taped up again to help with the swelling :( I was so looking forward to exfoliating and washing my face! Ah well this experience has definitely been a lesson in patience!!
The swelling is interesting, it soft and squishy on my bridge but the tip is hard. He said its totally normal though. I'm interested to see if anyone notices. I love it so far it has really softened my face, the old nose tended to make me look stern.

So I wasnt going to post again until my 3 month milestone but I'm having a small pity party for myself today. I've been happy with my results but today the surgeon's tape fell off in the shower and I noticed a hump on the top of the bridge of my nose. I emailed him and he told me to continue to tape the area and massage it... no idea how you message a nose bump? Guess I'll look for something on youtube. I retaped the area and you cant really see it when its all taped up so I'm hoping its just swelling but it feels hard like bone. I'm bummed about the tape too. I'm back to work tomorrow and I guess the seceret is going to be out its like wearing a "hi, I just had a nose job" sign on your face lol. Ah well theres worse things in life. I also realized that I never posted a picture of my before surgery profile, I guess I delete most pictures of myself from that angle so I put up my preop for a little comparison.