Rhinoplasty: Stories

I've ALWAYS had a problem with my nose. I was born with a cute, small one, but as time went on it just seemed to get bigger and bigger. I now have a huge hump, bulbous drooping tip, it's a bit crooked, and wide at the bridge (phew if that wasn't enough) I have a deviated septum. Not sure if I should blame genetics, or my dad's elbow hitting my face a few x as a child (on accident!)

I've been made fun of, teased, even by family. I'm getting engaged in a month, and wish I had found Dr. C sooner. I was lucky enough to get in an appointment this week, and an opening next week, giving me a full month to recover/heal.

I think what I am most scared about right now is because my nose is so complicated, that it is harder to fix. I don't want it looking any worse than it does now, and then after surgery. Not being able to breathe through my nose! I already have anxiety, and hope that this just doesn't make it worse.

It's something I've ALWAYS wanted, and I'm glad I'm getting it done. I just want it to be over with already!!

So I'm one day post op and I'm already itching to see what my nose looks like. I was originally SO nervous, and had to stop myself from throwing up. The nurses and staff were so amazingly welcoming and sweet.

I was given some meds to prevent nausea and then some paperwork to sign. The scariest part was anesthesia and even that turned out to be a breeze. I remember trekking the staff "I'm feeling it" and then giggling and knocking out. I was told I walked to the recovery room but don't remember a thing!

I slept for most of the day, in and out. No real pain except for the throat where they out a tube. A little discomfort with the packing but that's about it. I haven't needed any pain meds yet. I took one before sleeping to knock me out, but not really for pain.

I go in tomorrow to get my packing taken out, and can't see much with this mustache gauze on. I'll update tomorrow! Hopefully I'll have some pics as well :)

So I got my cast removed today. What a shocker. I'm still not used to it. I actually feel like I look kind of piggish from the front (which is why I haven't posted pics) and it's extremely swollen. No real shape to it yet. Hoping for the tip to drop just a little bit, and the bridge to thin out. As you can see it is a HUGE change from what I've been used to seeing for the past 26 years, so it will definitely take time getting used to. My cousin didn't even notice anything but the swelling in my face.

Any tips for swelling now that the cast has come off? My face as actually pretty good about swelling and bruising till now. Now I feel that it's starting to swell up (which I know was bound to happen) but I don't know if I'm ready to look in the mirror head on just yet!

So I posted a picture of my front. The area above my lip (cupids bow) is definitely swollen and my nose (the bridge and the top are swollen as well) The tip feels very hard and round so I'm guessing that is as well. I'm hoping that it is in fact swelling and subsides. My original nose i felt wasn't THIS big fron the front, a little slimmer I'd say, so I'm hoping that it'll at least go back down to that. With the swelling the tip to go down a very little bit.

Do you think it looks piggy?

I'm not sure if it's just me freaking out but I'm hoping it's just swelling above my lip and nose that makes it look like my lip is being pulled upwards. When i go to purse my lips it does feel a little tight, but I feel that my top lip just looks tense, pulled up, and not natural. Has anyone else experienced this?

So the pulling of my lip has definitely gone down a bit, but the front just seems so extremely swollen. ESPECIALLY the tip. I don't see any major improvements and it's almost been 3 weeks on Tuesday. Anyone else experience this? I have 13 days till my big engagement party and would appreciate any words of encouragement :) I'm REALLY hoping this tip swelling reduces. My tip right now is very very hard!

I'm adding some pictures...

It's been a while! I just had my huge engagement party last week and so happy with the way I look. The tip is still EXTREMELY swollen. The Dr gave me steroids to take a day before and the day of, but my health wasn't in the best condition, so I decided not to take them. I don't think I will at all - I'll just let nature take it's course! I think once the tip goes completely down I'll be fully satisfied. It's still hard and stiff. It's only been a month and I know it's only going to get better from here :)

It's been a while! I just had my huge engagement party last week and so happy with the way I look. The tip is still EXTREMELY swollen. The Dr gave me steroids to take a day before and the day of, but my health wasn't in the best condition, so I decided not to take them. I don't think I will at all - I'll just let nature take it's course! I think once the tip goes completely down I'll be fully satisfied. It's still hard and stiff. It's only been a month and I know it's only going to get better from here :)

Hey guys,
Just wanted to add a few more pictures! I'm not sure if I'm absolutely in love yet, and I know I've had about 6 months to get used to it. Some days it looks great, and some days not so much. I feel like it's still swollen, and is most noticeable in flash pictures where I feel like the nose completely loses it's definition. I'm a makeup fanatic, so I've been trying to see if I can contour it to make it look thinner. The tip is definitely uneven when I smile. One half droops down a little more than the other, so I'm not sure if that's just the swelling bc it still is pretty stiff. I'm about 3 1/2 months late for my followup and finally have had time to schedule it. So I'll be going in this Monday. I'm going to ask him all of these questions while I'm there. I just haven't had time with wedding planning and such!

Anyways, here's some pictures!

So I FINALLY had my post-op followup 3 months after my scheduled, and it went great. Dr. C had the same opinions and concerns as I did, and wasn't one of those doctors who just said everything looked great to make him sound like he did an amazing job. Don't get me wrong, he did do an amazing job, but I had some small concerns about shape, definition, and swelling, which he did as well. I felt that my tip was still "fat" and so was the rest of my nose. He had assured me that it was still extremely swollen (even months later) and that I would definitely be seeing more definition as time passes. I told him that I liked the way my nose looked when the cast came off, and he told me that that was what I could expect in time.

He also felt that I had some scar tissue forming and gave me an injection to help with that and some of the swelling. I will have to go back in 6-8 weeks to see if I'll need another one. He didn't want to give me too much bc that could lead to permanent dentation. So hopefully this will help and I'll see some changes! I feel like I do already :)