3 Weeks update. Kenalog. - New York, NY

Today was my 3 week follow-up with Dr. Guida, and also my first day off since I went back to work this week. I had to wait a little longer than most to go back to work, because I work as an RN at a busy hospital and run around all day, lifting people. The first day at work was absolutely exhausting. I hit a wall at 11 am, and the rest of the day could not have gone any slower. My nose was huge by the end of my work day!

Over the past few weeks, I have not noticed much of a change in the appearance of my nose, but when I looked the pictures on my phone from day 1, I saw a big difference in the reduction of swelling from the front. Speaking of, I take pictures of my nose constantly! Does anyone else!?

I have definitely calmed down a lot and embraced the imperfections that I was so hung up upon a few days after cast removal. Overall, I'm VERY happy with how my nose turned out. On one hand - I still look like me, on another - it's such a difference from before. Interestingly enough, I went to a family event a week ago, and nobody noticed! No one at work noticed either, aside from the people I told. I know my nose might still appear big to others, and it could be considered worse than some people's "before" noses, but to me - it looks like day and night compared to the old version.

At my 3 week follow up today, my surgeon also pointed out the developed supra tip swelling (though he said I'm healing nicely, and he expected the swelling to be a lot worse). We agreed he would inject some Kenalog (steroid) in two spots to move things along and prevent scar tissue from setting in in places we don't want. The first injection barely hurt at all - it just felt like pressure. The second, however, stung a lot more. Oh, the things we do for beauty... : ) I'm really hoping these will improve the areas I'm not thrilled with.

That aside, the past two weeks have been exhilarating! I didn't feel like I was too self-conscious about my nose before, but this surgery opened up a whole new world for me. A world, where I don't have to think about someone looking at my profile when they are sitting next to me, a world where any angle looks great in pictures, and (my favorite) where I don't have to have my hair and makeup done to look cute! I feel so fortunate that I had the means and was geographically located to have the surgery with Dr. Guida in NYC, and, like many of you, only wish I had done it sooner!

Some of the issues I have encountered since cast removal:
- Inconsistent breathing. One hour, I am breathing great. Another, I am struggling to get any air in at all. From what I understand, this is a result of internal swelling, especially at the incision cites.
- Frequent sneezing. Not sure what that's about. Maybe because I had to hold my sneezes in for the first week, I am now catching up on the ones I missed : )
- Terrible skin! I broke out very badly (like a teenager) all over my forehead and along my jawline.
- Make-up troubles. When I apply my liquid foundation, it does not go on evenly anymore. It flakes and melts within a few hours.
- Struggle with tape residue. It's much better now, but we're still not on first name basis.
- Numbness in the front top tooth. I'm totally used to it by now, and don't even notice it. My surgeon said it will take some time to heal, because of the open approach.
- Tenderness. Also, much better now, but I still have to be gentle around the nasal area.

I will probably post more pictures in another 3 weeks, when the Kenalog results come in.

I've been wearing my compression tape pretty much 24/7, aside from a few hours. Im uploading some pictures to give you an idea of how it has progressed (ignore the mess in the pictures, I was trying to blur my surroundings). I especially love the front view, but looking at myself from the side has been nerve wrecking. I was told to expect swelling, but I think I pictured it being mostly in the tip region, and not so much on the bridge. Have you seen this before and do you think this will resolve with time? I really want the straight bridge I had when I first took the splint off!

Question. So, as happy as I am with the general result, today I did a bit more scrutinizing. Today, my bridge looks quite humpy from the side. You can see it a tiny bit in the last photo I posted in the section titled "Splint is off! Happy but swollen." My concern is that it's going to stay like that. Those pictures were taken 6 hours after cast removal. I don't remember exactly what my nose looked like right after the cast was removed, but I'm pretty sure I saw a little hump when I turned to one side then too. I'm a little confused about the information I've come across regarding swelling. Some sources say - the time immediately after cast removal is not the time for critical evaluation. Others say - the appearance of the nose right after cast removal approximates the final result, because the swelling has not set in yet. Based on your experience, which one is it? I really don't mind the fatness of the nose right now, because it actually kind of suits me, but the little hump I see when I turn to the right is bothering me.

I also have two pink squishy "circles" on each side of the bridge that look like it could be swelling.
I would post a picture, but I taped myself up real good this afternoon and don't think I'll be taking the tape off for a while. By the way, I did get the tape to come off easily in the shower this morning, but tape residual is turning out to be a huge problem! I tried taking the sticky tape residual off with rubbing alcohol, cold cream, baby oil, adhesive remover, and even acetone but it does not budge! My nose is still sticky, so I just put tape on top of the stickiness to look normal. Which brings me to my next question.

How long does the tenderness last? I obviously can't rub too hard to get the residual off, because my nose is still healing and it hurts.