Rhinoplasty: Stories

I was born and raised in Italy and i recently moved to the US. So as you can imagine i was blessed with a nice italian big nose :) Overall i like my appereance, i consider myself a pretty girl but i hate my nose; it's source of imbarassment. To give you a quick example: i never comb my hair and i avoid taking picture.

So after a lifetime thinking of getting a nose job I finally grabbed the bull by the horns and decided to meet with few surgeons for consultations. I visited 3 PS and ultimately decided to chose the one i considered the most suitable to perform my surgery. The first one was simply flawless (too perfect to be true), he' s an ENT with a great portfolio of pictures but i felt he was more interested in selling and marketing himself (huge lcd screen showing pictures of his work in his office, weekly phone calls from his staff ‘’so have you decided what to do?’’ and not much time spent with me); in fact, I went back for a second consultation with him and I felt rushed to the point I asked to see pics similar to my nose and he replied ‘’there are plenty of pics on my website you can look at it’’. On top of that, I will later learn (from another PS) that his post op morph pictures about me are just fake and achievable just with a computer and not in reality. On top of it I didn’t find not even a bad review online and the ones I found looked to me very fake. So I deleted him from the list. The second PS I consulted (another ENT) simply didn’t impressed me with his work and the morph pic , even though I was referred by a friend of a mutual friend. Strange, when she told me she had a nose job I was just What??? Are you serious?? He did this to you? Not a nice work, gotta be honest. A girl from his front staff also got a nose job from him: it was just bad !!!

So at the end I asked my friend’s father that is a great eye surgeon if he knew somebody and he referred me to another doctor that is the one I ended up chosing. He is a professor and head of the plastic surgery division of a very important university; 30 something years of experience and even if he is not an ENT and he performs different type of procedures I felt very comfortable the moment I met him. He took the time (1 hr each consultation) to talk to me and show me what he was going to do, explain to me the shape of my nose and what can be achieved and what cannot be achieved. He then made a strong remark on my skin; it’s very thin and he suggested to use Alloderm during surgery. That was the first time somebody told me that. I met with him other 3 times, he took pictures of me and showed me REAL post op pictures from his patients (like ten pictures). No, he doesn’t have a website where I could go and look at pictures, he is not marketing himself that’s why I felt somehow sure he was the right one. I just felt his approach was very honest, like a father would talk to his daughter. It’s funny cause I asked him: so can I trust you doctor? And he said to me: ‘’ its like we are dating and im proposing and you are asking me to give you happiness for the next 50 years’’ How can I do that? I can tell you I would make your nose look better, I will take the hump off and make everything look proportioned but I m not gonna tell you it will be perfect cause perfection in plastic surgery cant exist. At that point I said to myself : THIS GUY IS STRAIGHT UP HONEST! Cant be worst than the nose I have right now right? And I scheduled my surgery. I basically just went with my gut feelings. I don’t have a post op morph picture of my estimated result, but ive seen real post op pictures of patients with my same nose; I didn’t feel rushed or pushed to buy the product. I was simply educated on the subject and the choice was mine. Now I have my finger crossed eheheheeheh ?

I just realized i posted under my comments instead of updating the review, sorry. Anyway I am 2 weeks pre op and im excited. All i'm hoping for is that i will like the results. I want to be positive :) Yesterday i told few coworkers that i'm getting a rhino...i couldn't hide it, they saw me off on the schedule for two weeks and they started asking me about me going on vacations etc. I told them the truth, whatever, i'm not doing anything wrong after all. I am sure the gossip is gonna spread around but i don't care, it's my life and my body. I feel so much better now that is not a ''secret'' anymore; one thing less to worry about. I can't wait for the day of the surgery; this is something i have always wanted to do to the point i am not even nervous about it but instead it feels like a relief. Any advices on what to eat after the surgery? I read about pineapple juices, soups, yogurts and no salty food. Thank you for listening :)

FIVE DAYS TO GO: omg I can't believe I will actually make my dream come true! Sounds a little childish but this is really a big deal for me and I cant wait to get rid of my hump ( ahaah I'm so mean with my nose). I filled my fridge with pineapple juice, jello, soups. Got my straws, gauzes, q-tip, oxygen peroxide, got my frozen peas and gloves. Speaking of peas how you girls put them on the face? You just throw them in the gloves and you tide a knot? I'm curios..,, anyway , been taking arnica 200 ck for the past 2 days and vitamin c. Got myself a pretty hat so I won't burn my art sculpture under the sun since I'm in Cali and now I'm just counting the hours. People seem so grossed out about the surgery, oh boy I'm so ready I could perform it myself lol. Everybody at home (Italy) is a little worried but very supportive; I live here by myself and couple of girlfriends and my wonderful boyfriend will take care of me. I really envy those of you that have your family taking care of you during recovery ( to me the only comfort will be a Skype conversation with mum and dad) :( can't wait for this. 2 things I'm hoping for: great results and please please God no nausea !!!! It's gonna be great . You see it when you believe it

Been taking Arnica Montana 200ck 3 times a day (5 pellets each time as recommended on the label )for the past 3 days and boy! it makes me soooo sleepy. Ive been noticing its a little tough to wake up in the morning and Ive been feeling tired throughout the day; I googled it and i found out is often recommended for insomnia; hopefully it will help not just for the bruising but also to make me sleep during recovery. 4 days to go, not really much I can do besides counting down the hours. Kinda want this done soon since I'm being impatient. As far as being ready with supplies and after care instructions I have to give a big thanks to the Reals Self community and the Internet in general. My doc seems skilled and I trust him but in terms of information his secretary just plain suck, sorry! She gave me just a piece of paper that said : sleep elevated, no eating or drinking after midnite the morning previous surgery , wear comfortable clothes, no makeup and take these pills after surgery. All I know such as how to clean my nose, ice compresses and what to expect after surgery I found it online. I would say good consultations and time spent with me but very poor secretary job when it's up to inform the patient about the after care. Again, thank god for Internet! Can you imaging me asking my friend or my bf to run to the pharmacy to pick up saline solution at the last minute? Or the look of my face finding out I should have bought straws? I'm just hoping I wouldn't need to talk to him after surgey since his staff is very vague....sorry for the long update but you can tell I'm kinda boring here waiting ( I got some extra time off from work). Ttyl

Here we are that's it. Tomorrow at 7am im gonna finally get what I dreamed for a lifetime. Everybody here is very supportive and im sure that this positive energy will bring good karma. I have everything ready, cleaned my house, did some groceries and laundry ( I really want my recovery to be as smooth as possible). My doctor called me today to ask if I had some last questions and to tell me to relax; I liked that, you know to take a minute on a Sunday to call your patient....keep me in your prayers tomorrow and I will be here to tell you all about it

DAY OF THE SURGERY
Ok so today was the big day. Barely slept the night before cause my stomach was hurting, I think it was a mix feeling of me being anxious and the fact I had an early dinner and last thing I ate was a banana at 8 pm so my stomach was also hungry. Anyway I woke up picked up my friend and drove to the clinic just so I would feel I was going to the mall. Filled the papers, met with the anesthesiologist and the whole crew; everybody was super nice and once in the operating room they put me to sleep. In terms of overall experience today has been GREAT. Besides the first hour after I woke in which I felt so tired I did great. NO feeling of nausea at all that btw was my big concern, I guess being on a good regimen and had almost nothing to eat the day before worked out pretty well. Felt dizzy, got home and laid down. The shocking thing is that I kept asking myself if the doctor actually did something on my nose, I've been feeling great all day. Minor bruising, no pain just an headache that went away with the pain medication and my troath is sored. At this point I'm a little worried... Is the pain gonna hit me hard tomorrow? It sounds to good to be true. I have an appointment with my doctor in 2 days where he is gonna remove some stitches and the gauze under my nostrils (I guess that's gonna hurt because the little blood coming out has glued the gauze to my skin and yes it's gonna hurt). So for 2 days I won't be permorming any cleaning with qtips and stuff. Another thing my doctor is against is icing. He said he doesn't want any pressure to be put on my nose. I still iced but very carefully. So for now it's been a breeze. I started taking little sips of apple juice and I ate couple of yogurts, very slowly. Nothing hurt , I hope this will last it sounds to good to be true. Arnica Montana I guess is doing an awesome job btw. I will post pics soon since I'm not able to do it through my iPhone. Im going to bed now hoping tomorrow I will feel as good as today. Bye bye

DAY 2 OF SURGERY

So today is the day after the big day yay! Everything has been great, i coulnt ask for more. Last nite i took a painkiller (even though i'm not in pain but I'd rather take it since i have them) and tried to sleep. Oh gosh, do you think that happened ? Of course not, so far that's my only complaint. I stayed awake THE WHOLE TIME, literally taking a sip of water every 15 minutes because my troath was in pain and very dry, counting the hours for the sun to come out. I really hope i can catch some sleep tonite. I started the antibiotics this morning, 1 pill every 6 hours and i'm a little dizzy but i guess it's normal. I try to stay in bed as much as i can cause i want to recover at a slow pace without messing with blood pressure and because i want my healing to go as smooth as possible. I'm still on apple sauce and yogurt (i have a terrbile fear of nausea) and i guess tomorrow i will eat some mash potatoes as my first solid food. Tomorrow i have also my first appnt with the doctor. He is going to remove the stitches and change the bandages. I havent cleaned my nose since i have a gauze that is on my nostrils and i'm gonna start cleaning from tomorrow on. I had a minor blood coming out the first hours after surgery but that was it. As you can see from the pics i am hardly bruised thanks to Arnica i guess so i am not even icing that much (prolly 3 times a day). I will keep you posted hoping that day 3 will be as great as this past two.
ps: i cant really see the shape of my nose cause i have lots of bandages but i cant wait to ask my doc tomorrow about eveything and what he thinks he will be the outcome.

DAY 3 AFTER SURGERY

Today is day 3 since I got my surgery. I was so happy everything went smooth so far that when I woke up last night at 4 am with a bad nausea I couldn't believe it. My doctor called me personally to check on me in the evening and I told him I was doing good. Took all my medications and went to sleep. All of a sudden I get this nausea around 4am, like I had to much fluids in my stomach; I got up and vomited 2 times. I hated it, I have a particular fear of vomit. Anyway I called my doctor around 7am and he told me if I could swing by the clinic so he could take a look. He said im very swollen but that is normal (in fact my tip is so swollen I can't even tell the shape changed) and that I got sick because of pain medications and the fact Ive been eating fluids such as yogurt and apple sauce and my stomach needed some solid food. He then removed some stitches and told me to go back on Friday so he will start cleaning my nostrils. I'm a little frustrated at this point, I know it's only been 3 days but the whole process is so slow :( i made myself a turkey sandwich and I can tell my stomach is happy now and I won't be taking anymore pain killers since I got a bad reaction. At this point I'm hoping no more nausea and please please for the swelling to go away :)

Still day 3 after surgery. My stomach feels good right now, it's currently 5 pm and I ate some mash potatoes too. Just a little obsessed with the mirror at this point: I keep looking at my tip and it's so red and swollen...most of the pics I've seen on this website on day 3 are pretty normal and you can see already the new shape. But mine it's just so ?????????? I can't see anything, just a red swollen big potato :(

DAY 4 AFTER SURGERY

Hello everybody, today it's day 4. Oh I feel so good, after yesterday morning and the nausea episode I can finally say its over no more nausea! :) I completely stopped the pain killers pill that my doc initially prescribed me and switched to Tylenol extra strength (I'm not in strong pain but I still get some headaches through the day). But today I really feel things are going better: woke up, shower without washing my hair (that's sad) , had breakfast and went to the mall with my friend. I still feel I can't stay up for like 3 hours straight but a light walk helps a lot. So we went to Target and I bought few things ( veggies and fruits , stool softener - if you know what I mean, those Meds can cause constipation- , dry shampoo - since I can't wash my hair I figured that might be a good alternative but not really...). People were looking at me funny but not even too much So it was cool. Right now I'm just chilling at my house, on my laptop, putting some frozen peas on my forehead for the headaches and I'll prolly take a nap. For the first time since surgery I slept very good last night, the elevated position is kinda uncomfortable but I made it through. Tomorrow I have another appnt with the doctor where he is gonna clean my nose with the peroxide etc. It seems to me that for him the recovery has to be very slow...I mean people by now are almost without cast and I haven't even started using nasal saline spray? Oh boy, I can see myself with the cast on for a while if thats the pace we are going! He literally performed surgery on monday and is waiting 5 days to do anything on it, even a simple clean up cause he said he doesnt wanna tear any stitches. Anyway I will let you know about my appnt tomorrow. Ciao!

DAY 5 AFTER SURGERY

Hello everybody today it's day 5. I am doing ok, as today no more pain (i just take couples of Tylenol Extra Strenght at night just to make sure i fall asleep), no more bruising (but that never really hit me), just a good day (I even drove my car). Last night it was a little rough though..my stomach was hurting a little bit so i couldnt sleep that well. Today i had my second appointment since surgery because my doctor wanted to remove stitches (the mole stitches and the nostrils stitches). So i went to the clinic, he did his job and I left a little depressed. The reason why i am so down right now is because i can't really see a change in my nose...i mean, i think i should be able by now to see a change in the shape right? Instead my tip is very swollen, and on the profile side it looks like I have a hump still; i know its ridicoulous to say when i still have my cast on but the nose doesnt look smaller as i was hoping. Anyway my doctor became a little ''nervous'' when i mentioned i am stressing out, kinda he felt attacked that he didnt do his job properly and told me to relax, that he shaved the bump completely and to come back in 3 days (Monday) and he will take the cast off! YEah! Omg, why am i stressing this bad? I behaved so good these past days, being positive and all that and know i am already tripping without having seen the nose without the cast. I was with my friend and she said please dont stress about it, give it time. Well, time or not, one thing is for sure, i'd better like the result cause i am not gonna go thru a whole surgery again :(
ps: I posted pictures of my profile, as you can see my nose is still big and looks like it has a bump (i know there are 2-3 splints under the tape but still...Maybe i should have asked for a more ''scooped'' look. :( I guess the reason I am stressing out is because i can see from lots of reviews posted on this website that there are lots of people with great pics after only 1 day of surgery :(

DAY 6 AFTER SURGERY

Today is day 6 and let me tell you it's the best day so far. First of all tonight for the first time i slept 7 hrs straight. I guess i am gettin used to the elevated position; i just lay on the pillows and slightly turn my head so it's comfortable this way. Then i woke up and omg a BIG part of the swelling i was seeing yesterday terribly went down ( i am now thinking that yesterday i had some salty pasta and that might have contribuited for the swell to go up), but anyway now my nose look right even though i still have lot of bandages and i can't tell anything. My friend helped me wash my hair, i did my eyebrows and a gently scrub on my forehead and chin (that tape on my cheeks is annoying) and i feel i am back in WOMANHOOD!!! Getting surgery in your face can really knock your selfesteem down :( I then ate and took a walk (people always stare but i dont care). I found that keeping myself busy like watching a movie or talk on the phone or clean the house distract me from the cast that is clearly getting very itchy; i found out i get some relief from using my blowdrier directly on my nose (i just make sure i press the cold air button and the cool air helps a lot), i guess the more its wet and humid the more it itches. In the meantime I bought Arnica Gel (the same thing as the pill) and i will start putting the gel on my nose for the swell to go down once the cast comes off. The pills really left me with no bruise at all and i figured the gel might help. I feel good, as far the whole experience i am happy cause i was expecting way more discomfort and pain so it turned out a good experiment. Tomorrow it's Easter and since all my family lives in Italy i am not going to celebrate. My bf invited me to his mom's house but do I really wanna go to a family reunion looking like Tutankamon??? No thanks, but it's not a big deal. Well tomorrow it's Easter and Monday it's my Christman and i am gonna be ready to unpack my present :) Yeah

DAY 7 AFTER SURGERY

I am so happy today it's my last day with this ugly cast on my face. Tomorrow at 10.30 I'm gonna be cast free. FINALLY! My skin is so oily, can't wait to take a looooong shower, do my hair etc. I have a great feeling for tomorrow, kinda the same I had a week ago on the Sunday before my surgery. I told myself not to rush and jump to conclusions when I will see my new nose and that I did the best in my powers to find a good surgeon and really prepared myself for this. When I decided to get a rhino I kinda set myself for disappointment too. Perfection doesn't exist and I'm ready to accept everything that I will see tomorrow. As far as recovery I just get minor headaches thru the day but that's all. I will post pictures tomorrow. Stay positive !

CHRISTMAS DAY aka the day I finally removed my cast!

Hello everybody Merry Christmas LOL, today I finally unwrap my gift, went to the surgeon and took off the ugly cast! Ok so, the nose is obviously swollen, way bigger than it was before but while I'm looking at it I can image what the outcome will be. From the front view is wider than before but I like my tip and how smaller it is right now, the fact that I don't have an upturned nose ( I read terrifying reviews on that) and my nostrils are even. The profile is smaller but I can see a tiny bump, the doc said its swelling in fact is soft when I touch it ( also he said that most of the swell is where he did most of the work aka where he put the Alloderm tissue on my bridge). I am aware this is just swelling and I'm confident the outcome will be great. He said to take a long hot shower today so the steam will help with the inside cleaning and to forget about my nose for today. Then tomorrow he said to start applying Arnica Gel every day (the pills were a miracle for me so I hope the gel will do the same job). I am so happy right now! That cast became a nightmare the past couple of days. I will post pics once on my laptop cause I don't know why but I can't through my iPhone!

DAY AFTER THE CAST REMOVAL (DAY 9 AFTER SURGERY)

Hi everybody, i uploaded some pics without the cast. So far so good. Yesterday i was very swollen especially from the front view (like an Avatar character) but today when i woke up the swelling went down a little bit (actually i thought i would have swell up even more after the cast removal). My nose is still sore when i touch it. The skin was very oily too: i took a cotton ball with rubbing alchool and i cleaned my face and my nose big time!!! Anyway, i started putting on my nose the miracoulous-best friend- forever lovable ARNICA GEL and at this moment i am just waiting. Next appointment with the doc is on friday. For all of those wondering, i didn't asked for a scooped/sloped profile but a straight nose, with hump removal and narrowing of the tip, so it looks like mission (almost) accomplished :)

2 DAYS AFTER CAST REMOVAL (10 DAYS AFTER SURGERY)

Just wanted to uploaded some pics. From what you can see i didnt swell up days after the cast got removed, instead my nose got bigger. I guess the Arnica Montana gel is doing a great job. Knowing is omeophatic too....even better ;) Looking at these pictures i am so glad i didnt ask my doctor for a slope or a tiny upturned nose: i have big cheeks, big eyes and lips...i guess a tiny nose wouldnt have fitted my face. Bye :)

LOL I made a mess! In the post above i wanted to say '' from what you can see i didn't swell up days after the cast got removed, instead m nose got SMALLER. Sorry.

Day 5 after cast removal (Day 12 after surgery)

So today i saw my PS for a check up post cast removal. I have to admit my PS has been called me personally several times before and after surgery to make sure i was doing ok so that makes me feel i am in good hands. Anyway i went to see him today and he is very pleased with the results (like me as well); he said my nose is still very swollen and not to stress about it that he made sure my nose was super straight and small (he said he regret not have taken pictures when he finished the work); so there is not much to say right now. I haven't really went outside i mean in a restaurant or a date with my bf because i am a little uncomfortable leaving the house with no makeup and still bruises. I tried to apply some concelear but my skin went from super oily to super dry and the liquid makeup such as foundation just look bad, like its all crumbled. I tried to do a scrub but it didnt help so for now i am just putting tons of mosturizer; i even stopped the Arnica Gel cause it was making the nose even drier. After all, this is nothing compared to what could have happened during my recovery, i consider myself very lucky that everything went smoothly...people i told about it where expecting to see me with dark eyes and in pain: i would say this is even better than getting a stomach flu, seriously! I have my doc appointment in 1 month so i guess i won't update for a while. But i will keep on reading you ladies! Ttyl :) ps: i posted some new pictures

3 WEEKS POST OP

Today i am 3 weeks post op and i decided to write an update. Well, as far as the way the nose look, it is still very swollen, especially the front, i have a bigger tip now. I really hope it's just swelling otherwise I can't explain how it got bigger after surgery. From the profile view I still have that small bump where my doc put the Alloderm and I guess it will take time for that tissue to melt with my own. The overall appearance of the nose is still big, well i am only 3 weeks post op so I can't say that much but I really hope is going to shrink otherwise i would have rather spent my 7k in a nice LV bag :) I mean, I don't want to sound repetitive but really? I wanted a smaller nose this is why i got a nose job!!!
My friend says my eyes pop up more and this and that. I absolutely see NO difference in my appereance, i guess that's why i am a little disappointed, i mean, aren't we supposed to get a nose job to improve our look? Otherwise I would have bought a car. So I am trying not to obsess that much. Wearing glasses is painful and leaves a dent even if i wear them for 5 mins so I stopped as soon as i noticed the dent OMG! My skin is getting back to normal, right now is only peeling on my nose but i control it with a nice gentle scrub once in a while. I can normally wear makeup and you cant notice the incision anymore since the crust fell. I still clean my nose with qtips and i've noticed some blood once in a while, but very very tiny bit ( i guess it's from the crusts). I posted some pictures, at this moment I am just waiting .....

1 MONTH POST OP!

It's time for pictures guys! I can't believe it's been already a month (till I look at myself in the mirror and I realize the ugly bump is gone). My nose keeps improving day by day. From the front I can tell is getting smaller but there is a loooong way to go still. My tip is still a little numb and that gives me hope that it's still healing. Can't wait to see how my nose will change with months.... :) Ciao!

A FUNNY STORY....

This is something very funny that happened to me yesterday. Me and my boyfriend where at a restaurant and while I was talking to the waiter he asked me where my accent was from and I said I was italian. At that point he stared at me for a while and then said: ''mmmmm italian....i actually thought you were brazilian but now looking at you I can see a little bit of italian nose right there! '' I laughed trying to look cool and amused by what he said and when he left I got very sad, kinda upset. My boyfriend told me : ''don't trip, you look good it's just that your nose looks very natural, not a Michael Jackson type of nose that looks fake.'' He was very sweet trying to comfort me but in my mind I was so upset because I knew what the waiter meant. I tried to ignore that comment and kept enjoying my evening. I would have punched that waiter in the face ahahaha cause I got a flashback of my old days when people where making fun of my nose in school. I told myself that after all I should be happy I kept my italian features and even if my nose is not mini it still looks good on me.

Just wanted to share this with you guys....

You know italians talk with their hands... And yesterday while I was talking I bumped my nose... I know pretty stupid, really? That hurt very bad! Not to mention that when I put makeup on with a brush I can feel the broken bones. That explain why it hasn't shrunk that much...after one month I still have a looooooonng way to go :)

YES IT'S WORTH IT!

It took me a while in order to decide to check the ''worth it'' box or not. In fact, it took me more than a month. Today I am 1 month and 2 days post op but I couldn't be happier. Maybe it's not exactly what I imagined but my nose looks 100 times better than it was before and it looks very natural. It keeps on shrinking day by day. I put together a collage of images I took during this month. When I look at them I can't help but smiling! I am so happy, my nose is getting more and more refined every day; I know it's gonna take time especially for the graft my doc put on the bridge, but it's amazing how pretty is becoming. This is for all you that just got surgery and are stressing out because of the swelling: GIVE IT TIME!!! I looked like an Avatar for the first few weeks but it was just temporary :) STAY POSITIVE!

2 MONTHS POST OP

I am (almost) 2 months post op, actually I am 1 month and 3 weeks post op but I decided to write the update today otherwise I will forget. I went to see my doc yesterday for my scheduled appointment and I feel much more relieved and not that worried. Let me first tell you that I am very pleased with the results: I like my nose and I am so happy I did this.

From the front: my nose looks great, I have a small tip now. The tip is very very hard and stiff, I can touch it but definetely I cant squeeze it or play with it because it hurts. Still a little numb. DIAGNOSIS: The doc said clearly: it's definetely veeeeery swollen and the fact that when I touch it it feels hard and hurts a little is because it's still healing. He also told me that he removed 80% (wow 80??? ) of cartilage in the tip, that's why it will take a long time to heal, up to a year.

The profile: I like the profile, the bump is not there anymore. The one thing that bothers me it's the swelling on both sides where he put the Alloderm graf. It creates such an optical illusion that when i look at myself 3/4 at the mirror it seems I still have a small bump. But it's not the case and the doc (and everyone else) told me I don't have a bump, it's just the swelling.

I was happy when I walked in his office and he told me: '' So this is the moment when you will start complaining for the next 6 months because the swelling is not going down right? '' And I laughed. I thought it was going to tell me: you look great! Instead, he found the nose very swollen still and told me it will shrink even more. The tip is very stiff and hard, it's obviously a sign there is swelling. Another sign of swelling and nose in the early stage of healing process is dry skin. Oh wow, my poor nose keeps pealing , it's terrible and I can't control it. So Yeah!! I was so happy to hear that is going to go down even more because don't get me wrong, I like the results, my nose looks 10.000 times better than before, but I would like it smaller in proportion.

Things he said I can do: I can wear glasses (even if i am a little paranoid because i don't want to mess it up so I wear them only for short period of time), I can tan (as long as I protect my nose with a non-comedogenic cream that could avoid clogging pores), I can blow my nose (i tried but my nose it's so hard I cant do it properly so I am sticking to q-tips).

He told me: at this point since you are still swollen there is the steroids shot option. But I usually don't recommend it since it can give some side effects such as atrophy of the tissue etc. Like my doc, I am a little scelptical about steroids too, at least at this early stage of healing, so I agree with him on waiting and see what's up. If in 6 months the swelling hasn't improved that much then I might give it a try. For now, we both think to let the nose heal at its pace (clearly I am a slow healer) and just wait.

Everything looks good, I will upload some pic next week. Now it's just a waiting game :))
Bye

So my nose is still very swollen especially from the front. The tip is way too swollen; I remember my doc telling me about cortisone/steroids injection in fact we scheduled an appointment for mid August .... The thing is that I'm 2.5 months post op now and to be honest I haven't seen any improvement in the past month so I called my doc and ask to anticipate the appointment and get the injections ASAP. I'm going to the office this Wednesday and get the shots. It's So swollen it even looks I have a small bump, it's a little frustrating and I want some answers. My nose is definitely not like some of the ones I've seen on this website; as soon I took the cast off it was So huge ( see pictures). Why is that mine was So huge since the beginning? Also I'm going back to my country to visit my family in September and I wanna look good. Its a little embarrassing to tell people you had a nose job and it still looks like the nose it's big... I was on Skype w my mum the other day and when I turned the webcam on she was just "oh" like she couldn't see a difference :( so yes, I want these shots ASAP

I just got back from my PS office and I am a little meah :( Well, I thought I was going to receive shots today but he instead opted for a steroid cream that I will have to put on my nose twice a day for a month (BORIIIINGGGGG!!!!!) He said to go back in a month and at that point we will see if the shots are still necessary...As far as the swollen bridge he assured me that he put the alloderm only in the middle of the bridge and not on the side and that the bumps I have on both sides of the bridge is just swelling and will resolve with time. So nothing...I am just going to put the cream and we will see....

3 MONTHS AFTER SURGERY

Tomorrow will be my third month post surgery. I have to say that so far the results are beautiful and I am really pleased with the way my nose looks. Of course, from the front I wish my tip could look smaller especially when I smile, but I know that it's normal to have swelling in that area and it will decrease with time. As I said previously i was looking to get some cortisone/steroid shots from my doctor but he said it's too early so he prescribed me a cream to put twice a day (see pic); It's been almost 2 weeks now since I started putting the cream and it seems my nose got a little smaller. As you can see my profile look pretty good, THE ONLY THING THAT BOTHERS ME (see pic) it's the 3/4 view. So basically i have both sides of my bridge very swollen (i hope it's not bone) and it seems I have a small bump from certain angles. My doc told me that he filed that part so it should be smaller and not bigger and to wait and see. I really hope it's just swelling and not bone. But what if he filed it but not enough?????? Next appointment in on the 25th. If the swelling will go down with the cream then I won't need the shots, but he said to wait and see..in case the swelling persists then he'll give me couples. :)

Hello everyone, just wanted to tell you that today I got the steroids shots!! YEsssss I am so happy, hopefully my nose will shrink like I was expecting. I got 5 of them, 3 in the tip and 2 on my bridge where I have the the small bump. I will keep you posted! Ciao!

4 MONTHS POST OP

After 4 months i can say Yesss :) I really like the results. Definitely I big improvement after the shots my doc gave me last week. Nose is more refined and the idea that it will keep on shrinking even more makes be great. I uploaded couple of pics so you can see the 4 months results :)

6 MONTHS POST OP
Hello everyone!
It has been a while since the last time I wrote here. I just got back from my usually 3 weeks vacation to visit my family in Italy. I was excited as I was going to see my friends and family for the first time with the new nose. Well, no one noticed anything :( My parents came pick me up at the airport and after like an hour we were home talking I popped up the questions: so what do you all think about the nose? And everyone said ''oh my God, it's true we forgot! The nose!!!'' No one noticed anything, I was so bummed out as I was hoping to get some compliments. Basically they told me that I had no reason to do it and that I look like before. Seriously! :( They can't see a difference unless i show pictures. I felt so embarrassed I've decided not to tell anyone of my friends: I look stupid if I say I spent all that money for nothing. I tried to stay positive since the beginning but the truth is my doctor did not shave enough bone and I am still left with a tiny bump. Plus, the overall size of the nose is too big. I wish he would have brought the bridge down a more, instead my nose starts from my forehead; it looks so big that seems like a natural imperfect nose. I have an appointment with him on the 17th and I am curious to hear his conclusions even though I know that he is super proud of his work. I have a bulky nose with no femininity. I thought I was happy but I changed my mind. I am dealing with it but I could have used my money in a better way. Way too expensive for such a minor change. Unless a miracle happens in the next 6 months the verdict is : not worth it.