Rhinoplasty: Stories

Hi Real Self!
I am 20 years old and I am more then ready to have a rhinoplasty. I've always hated the way my nose looks and I never really considered doing anything about it because before I could never imagine getting plastic surgery on my face. I just didn't want a michael jackson nose or something. Now that I am older and I know better and that I have options. I can afford the surgery and I know with a realiable doctor, I can change the way I feel about myself and my nose. Its not that I think I am ugly or anything, It was just always something in the back of my mind. Reading all these reviews makes me feel so much better that I'm definitely not alone in this and there are so many other people that feel the exact same way. By reading everyone elses stories, couldn't make me more sure of my decision. So I am asking for some help. I've done a lot of research online and now its time to start going to some consultations and I've read online what to expect, but now i want some real life perspectives and If anyone has any recommendations that would be amazing.
Some doctors I'm considering are Dr. Charles Boyd, Dr. Pramit Malhotra, Dr. Michael Fozo.
If anyone knows anyone or has had a more personal experience with these doctors other then what you could find out online, I'd love to hear about it.
Also, Some of these dr.'s have a fee for a consultation and I have no problem paying it, because I want a doctor that is good enough to charge a fee just to consult with them, but is that normal? Is it a good thing that I have to pay a fee or is it a rip off? I don't know I'd just like some other peoples opinions.

Thanks!
Michelle

Okay so yesterday I had a consultation with Dr. Malhotra in Ann Arbor and I thought it went really well. I showed up right on schedule and had to fill out a few things so really I was only waiting maybe 10 minutes in the waiting room and maybe another 10-15 in his office. He first came in and gave me the whole run down of how he runs his practice and that people come to him because hes a ENT and plastic sugeon. He speciallizes in Rhinoplasties so that was a plus. He made me feel like I had his full attention and he was really listening to everything I said. He made some suggestions and talked me through some of the things that he'd be doing. He said it would be an open procedure and he would be the only one operating which made me feel better because my mom has warned me that some doctors will let students operate as a learning experience and It made me feel better to know that I wasn't. I brought pictures and he took a look at them after he showed me some before and after pictures of his own and one thing that I loved was that he showed me a few that weren't perfect and it made me feel like he was more honest. Everything that I wanted to change, he had a solution for. Then he took some pictures and examined my nose checking for thick or thin skin and checking if I had a deviated septum, which apparently I do. Then Kellee who I was emailing to schedule the appointment and was adorable and very helpful came in and gave us a couple quotes. Overall I was very pleased and impressed, I know this is only my first consultation but I felt so comfortable and excited. Maybe its just because its all becoming real.

I think I have choose a doctor and I am probably going to set a surgery date for sometime in August inbetween my summer and fall semester of school. I am super excited.

I have scheduled my surgery for August 7th. I am in the process of making sure I have time off work to recover and what not. I still need to schedule my appointment to sign all the consent forms, pay for the surgery and talk to the doctor about what's going to happen during the surgery from start to finish. I am soooooo excited :)

I am addicted to this site!!! Everyones stories are getting me really pumped for my surgery. I can't stop thinking about it and I am so excited!
the count down begins- 6 weeks :)
What should I be doing to prepare or is it too early to do anything yet?
I need someone to talk to because not many people know that I am having the surgery and the ones that do are either afriad to ask about it or are sick of hear about it lol.

Hellooo
I went to the doctors today to sign the consent forms and pay for the surgery. Today made me more excited than ever for the surgery. I've been waiting for this for so long and now its real, I still can't believe it.

Two weeks until the big day!!! I really don't even know how to explain how I feel. I don't feel anything I don't even feel like this is really happening because nothing has changed. I'm still working everyday like usual and only a handful of people even know I'm getting the surgery so I'm not talking about it on a daily basis. I've been trying to drink a lot of water because I was told the more hydrated I am the faster my body will be able to bounce back after surgery.

I've been trying to think of things I want to say to my PS right before the surgery so he has it in his mind exactly what I want, I also want to hear his suggestions because he's the expert.
I'd love to hear everyone's suggestions

Okay so I have exactly 8 days until the surgery, not counting today. I am getting really excited now. I've been watching all these rhinoplasty blogs on youtube seeing peoples changes, opinions, concerns, tips and what not. Sometimes it makes me more excited and calms my nerves a little bit about the surgery and other times it makes me a little more anxious because I am really putting the future of my face in someone elses hands. There are so many people that come out of the surgery hating their new noses and completely regreting it. I am really trying to stay positive, because I feel like at this point anything the doctor does will be an improvement. I can't help thinking back to my consultation and I just keep reevaluating, did I say enough? Did I describe to him exactly what I wanted? Does he know what I want? What if what he thinks looks good isn't what I think will look good. What if I go through all this, spending all this money and it looks like he didn't change anything.
ahh I know I am just freaking out a little because its becoming more and more real as the days go on. Thank god I've been working a lot because I know I'd be going stir crazy at home with all this.

Also I was going to bring more pictures of noses I like to the surgery so I could give him some last minute inspiration or examples of noses I like, but when I mentioned that to my mom she thought it was a bad idea because he will already have plans mapped out in his head of the surgery and bringing last minute pictures would be useless because that was what the consultation was for. Maybe I am just overthinking everything.

I really can't believe tomorrow will be the last day I have to deal with this nose. Excited doesn't even come close to describing how I feel. Luckly I got today and tomorrow off work so I had time to run around and get some stuff done before the surgery. I am all packed up ready to head over to my moms house tomorrow night because she will be taking care of me for the first few days. I bought one of those neck pillows that you get for an airplane. Hopefully that will do the trick since I never sleep on my back. I want to pick up some groceries tomorrow and I know a lot of people suggest pineapple, jello, pudding, easy to eat foods. I am also going to get a case of water, some straws that bend and maybe some frozen peas. All my prescriptions are filled and ready to go.

It was funny on my last day of work everyone was asking me why I had so much time off and what I was doing. All I could do is smile and for the people that didn't already know I just told them I'd tell them all about it when I got back. I promise to keep everyone posted on my progress and I'll try to take lots of pictures and maybe even videos because I always love reading the reviews with lots of pictures showing their progress.

The next time you see this face, I'll be a changed woman :)))

My surgery is at 10:45 am. wish me luck :)

Post op Day 1
Went to bed around 10-11ish last night and fell asleep pretty quick, woke up around 12:30, 3:00, 4:15, 5:30, 6:30 and 7 so it was a rough night sleeping which I kinda expected. I got up around 7 and took a shower. I kept having dreams that I got up in the middle of the night and chugged a water and ate chips and they wouldn't let me have the surgery. It was awful, but I felt so silly for thinking like that. My mom drove me to the surgery center are 8 am to arrive at our appointment at 9:45 am. This whole ride there was a breeze, we were talking about other things so it kept me pretty calm. We checked in right at 9:45, the nurse was extremely nice and explained the paperwork and what not and lead us to the waiting room. I waited in the waiting room for about 20 minutes, the Olympics were on so that entertained us for the time being. I got called back and I changed into a gown and had to take a pregnancy test. They took me back to a private room, checked my vitals and put my IV in. I almost passed out getting the IV in, I turned really pale and got really sweaty and if I weren't laying down I would have been on the floor. That was probably the worst part of the entire day. To say that getting the IV put in was the worst part of my day is pretty awesome. The doctor came in and brought in my pictures from my consultation and went over exactly what he was going to change. He was awesome and he really put my nerves to rest because I brought a little piece of paper to remind me of all the little things I wanted to say to him before the surgery. After he left the room they gave me a relaxer to calm my nerves some more and they gave me the good shit because I was feeling pretty awesome after that. I said goodbye to my mom and they wheeled me into the operating room, injected the juice and I was out like a light.
The next thing I remember is waking up in phase 2 of recovery which is where they put you in a chair and start feeding you and get you ready to leave. By that point I ate a few crackers and drank some juice no problem and took some good drugs, I was feeling food. They took out my IV and I was walking out like a champ. All the nurses, plus my mom were in shock how well I was doing. I was up, wide awake talking to everyone. My mom hardly had to help me change into my clothes and I needed little help from the nurses to the car. I was awake the whole ride home texting everyone I was alive and healthy. I called my dad and my close friends and told them I was doing well. One I got home I drank an Ensure and planted in on the couch for the rest of the night. A few hours later I ate some soup and watched Titanic. I am hoping the recovery stays this easy because this is a breeze. For anyone who is worried, I am telling you for me the IV was the worst part and its only because I hate needles. Do not be worried at all.

My PS even gave a call a couple hours after I got home to see how I was doing and I told him I was doing great. My Mom was really impressed that he called me personally because I guess its kinda unusual, usually they have their nurses call.

As of right now, even with the cast and being completely covered up, I am so happy I went through with it.

I will update and take more pictures tomorrow!! Thank you everyone that send me all the positive vibes, it must have really helped because today

Everythings going smooth on day two, I'll post more pictures later :)

Today started out really well.. I felt pretty good this morning even though I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I just laid around a lot today until my brother brought over chili fries, i ate some. baddddd idea. I ended up puking it up and that was extremely painful.

thats really all I have to report.

okayy so today I woke up and felt okay. Definitely a lot of pressure on my nose so I'm trying to keep up on my meds. I woke up to a knock on my door with get well flowers from my work, so that was really nice. I thought I'd be a lot more swollen, but thank god I'm not just small bruising under my eyes. I feel like my pictures make me look like a zombie, but you can see in one of the pictures the difference already in my profile. The little picture in the corner is right before I went into surgery and the bigger picture was taken yesterday. :)) I cant wait to see whats under this cast. My doctor told my mom he spent a lot more time on my deviated septum because it was much more severe then he could see by just peaking up my nose.

I'll update more later or tomorrow.

Just been pretty sluggish today. Woke up around 5am with a lot of pressure on my nose so I got up and ate something light so I could take some meds. Went back to sleep and woke up again around 10ish and felt a lot better.. I've been trying to keep hydrated. I scheduled my appointment to get my cast off on Monday, August 13th so yay thats exciting. I know a lot of people complained about how itchy their noses were under their casts but I've seemed to be pretty lucky because I haven't had to deal with that (knock on wood) I probably just jinxed myself.
hopefully my pictures are showing some sort of progress because I don't really see it yet.

I hardly remember making any of these updates so sorry if they sound a little off like im not totally with it. Truth is I am usually half asleep when I remember to update this so thats why. I meant to mention earlier that I've been icing my nose on and off through out the day and I've been cleaning my stitches with hydrogen peroxide and Qtip. My face feels pretty swollen and even though the tip of my nose is smaller then it was originally, it still looks swollen to me. I can't wait to see what my nose will look like once this cast comes off

Also I took a bath earlier and that was probably the best feeling in the world. I havent taken a bath in years...

Today was the first day I ventured out into the world. My mom had to run out to the dry cleaner so I went out with her. I stayed in car, but it was the first day I left the house. I felt pretty good most of today. I can tell the tip of my nose is getting more and more swollen and I am assuming when I get this cast off it will swell up even more. My cast is already basically falling off.

today is the big dayyyy. I get my cast off today im so excited

okay other stories say that getting the cast off isn't that bad and it really isn't because my cast actually fell off a few hours before my appointment today. No one really warns you about getting your stints or the stitches out.. oh my god I'm cringing even things about it. Come to think of it, getting the stints out was probably the most painful part of this whole process. I got there a little early today and they took me right back. I explained how my cast had already fallen off, but they said it wasnt a big deal. He took a look at my nose and said it was healing nicely and got right to work on those stitches. I started to get a little light headed and really pale so he stopped and gave me a few minutes before he started again. He took a few more out and again I felt light headed and got pale so we stopped again. I think that happened about 3 times before he made his way to the stints and he was not gentle. He ripped those babies out like nobodies business and it hurt like hell. Even my friend cringed when he ripped them out and they were covered in boogers. Overall, it sucked but I'm glad its over and I never have to go through that again. I am really swollen right now, but he fixed everything that we went over which I am happy about. Its really weird to look in the mirror its such a small difference but its definitely a difference. I dont know. What do you all think?!

I felt pretty good today, my nose feels really numb and weird so I am getting used to that. I tried putting some make up on to see what I look like without the bruising and what not and putting make up on my nose was a little bit of a challenge. Also my nose has been really runny and my PS said I could blow my nose I just couldn't move it around a lot. Regardless I am still nervous to blow my nose plus I have little dissolvable stitches still at the end of my nose so I try to avoid touching those too much. All in all everything is good I'm slowly getting back to normal, but when I do too much I can definitely feel pressure in my nose and I have a hard time being on my feet for a long time. I start to get light headed and dizzy and I don't really know what thats from.

Aside from that everything is good I am on the right track and all of your comments make me feel so much better because I do like my nose now but I don't know if I love it yet. Everytime I look in the mirror I kinda give myself a long stare and its still hard to believe I actually did it. I said I was going to do it and I went for it. Its still very surreal for me.

Everythings good. My nose is obviously still very sensitive. Everyone that has seen it has been just so sweet, Everyone says it looks very natural and look like I haven't even gone through surgery so thats a good thing. I have this one lingering bruise under one of my eyes its slowlyyyyy going away, but it seems like its taking forever. I am still pretty nervous to blow my nose, but I've done it once or twice. I ice my nose here and there or whenever I think about it, my mom said even now that will help with the swelling. Just wanted to do a quick update. I'll post a picture in a few days because I'm pretty sure it looks exactly the same since I last posted one. Hope everyones doing well :)

Like I've told a few people on here, I think I'm going through that "depressed" phase or whatever, but it doesn't feel like I am sad or anything I just don't feel like I am jumping for joy about my nose. I know this is temporary and I definitely don't regret getting the surgery. I know it its weird. I really do like my profile, its 100% better. I find that my nose is very runny and I am hoping thats temporary too.
all in all nothing new, just want to keep you guys up to date as possible

haha I'm tired of keeping track of the days after surgery soo I just titled his life after rhinoplasty.

Things are good.
I took some pictures today and I still look super swollen which I completely expected because I am.. I'm like uhh 12? days post op or something like that.
Things are looking up though, I know I'll love it down the line. But for now we have kinda love hate relationship.

I keep having these night mares that I'll wake up and this whole experience was a dream I didn't actually go through with the surgery lol
then i have other dreams where i did somethign stupid like hit my face or something and all that was for nothing. I've been supersuper careful about my nose and not let anyone come too close i dont know. im weird.

take a look at my progress :)

my mom and i have talked about it a few times and i already love my profile. to me it is perfect its from the front that bothers me, I'm trying to hard not to focus on what it looks like right now because its still got a lot of changing to do.
the skin on my nose is always super dry and looks like im always peeling its so annoying.
plus under my nose where they cut me open is all still very numb, but everywhere else i can feel everything just fine.

still trying to stay positive..
almost 3 week post op

Well everytime I come on here to update I want so bad to hit that worth it button, but before I do I want to actually believe that the whole experience was 100% worth it. I'm totally back to my everyday life, I took an extra week off of work just to be on the safe side. So I took 3 weeks total off. My job is pretty physically demanding and I'm constantly reaching for things above my head so I have stuff fall on me all the time and in my eyes it wasn't worth the risk. Plussss I never get that much time off so I was just enjoying the summer while I could. I still have a lot of numbness on the tip of my nose and I feel like I can smile, but its not my normal smile. The little piece of skin inbetween my nostriles.. whatever its called, yeah thats still totally numb. Also for whatever reason my skin has been breaking out a lot lately and I have no idea why I've been washing it daily and trying hard to keep up on it, my mom said it might be like my bodies way to dealing with the surgery, i dont know but i dont like it. I've never really had bad acne and this is over the top..
I've noticed my nose is really runny too and I wouldn't say my breathing is 100% but im hoping all in time these things will resolve themselves.
appearance wise I love my profile and I'm still a little iffy about the front, but i know I will love it in time and even my mom and some of my friends have mentioned that it is starting to look a little more defined so thats nice that even other people are kinda noticing the little things..
I'll try to post most, with school and work started back up at the same time I've been a busy bee

:)

breathing is getting better but my nose is kinda runny.
everydays getting better :)

okay I didnt have a lot of time earlier and I wanted to make sure I put something up here because its been a few days.
First things first, I feel like my nose is always runny. Its driving me nuts and the one other person I've talked to about it and has had the surgery says they still get a runny nose all the time and they got theirs done 15 years ago.. I mean I guess thats the trade off to have a better looking nose. whatever I'll take it.
Breathing is getting better as I mentioned before. I still feel pretty swollen as I should. The under part of my nose is still completely numb.
uhh i think thats about it, nothing new or exciting. I've started running again so it feels good to be completely back into my old routine.

I'll keep everyone posted.
I posted some newer pictures, let me know what you guys think.
I personally think its looking better everyday, I hardly think about it anymore :)))

I am still dying to press that worth it button. Nose is still runny. I've actually bumped it a few times and ouchhhhhhh its like my whole body just freezes up because it hurts so bad. My 1 month check up is on Friday, so I'll be sure to post about that even though I'm sure I'm going to walk in hes going to look at it and say looks good and then it will be over.. yay for driving 45 minutes.
Everyone constantly asks me how its going and I am since its such a slow process im repeatedly saying well its still really swollen and everyones like.. really?! it looks good but i keep forgetting it has so much more changing to do.
With school and work started up I've been really busy but I've been trying to post more.

Went to see my doctor last friday, I drove 45 minutes away for a not even 5 minute chitchat with my doctor. I could literally sum up the whole visit for you.
walk in. sit down. doctor comes in, hi you look good still swollen I see. Let me take a peek. okay everything looks good see you in 2 months.
..I doubt I'll go back for the 2 month check up unless something is wrong or whatever and in that case I'll probably just call or look up what I should do.
My mom and I were talking about how once the surgery is over and down with and they have your money, a lot of doctors just kinda stop caring because they got what they wanted and they are trying to focus more on the next patient or supply of income which makes me really sad to hear, but my mom works with doctors on a daily basis and i guess that is the reality of it.
all in all, im good. Nose is still runny and my doctor suggested a spray or whatever to help clean it out so I might look into that.
Sorry I've been taking forever between updates.

I believe right now I'm 8 months post op. I can't say I'm 100% happy with my results. My profile I think is perfect but straight on I still feel like my nose is very wide and bulbous. I didn't want my nose to change so drastically that I wouldn't look like myself but I did want it to change enough that I would notice a significant difference. Not much new to report, the tip of my nose is still kinda numb.