24 Year Old, Rhinoplasty, Septoplasty. Beachwood, OH

Let me start by saying I have talked about getting a rhinoplasty since I was about 14. When I graduated college, I finally decided to take the plunge! The pain has been extremely manageable, and a lot less than I would have expected.

My main issue with my nose was I felt it was too big for my face. I have relatively small eyes and lips, and felt like my nose needed to match. I was also concerned with a small bump that was visible from one side, as well as how far it projected out from my face.

After consulting with my doctor and talking about my goals, we decided that a rhinoplasty, in addition to a cosmetic septoplasty and turbinate reduction would be my best course of action to achieve my goals, and also increase my ability to breathe.

I'm two days post surgery and hope to help others by detailing my journey, but so far, so good!

The day I got my surgery I had minimal bruising and swell, even I was surprised! There was a minimal amount of pain that was completely manageable with the pain meds I was prescribed. I ended up taking 1/2 pain pill every 4 hours, and that seemed to work just fine for me.

I laid low most of the day, trying to get up and walk around (with assistance) every few hours. I ate semi soft foods, so that I didn't have to open my mouth up too wide. I made sure to drink a lot of water, and I iced my face 20 minutes off, 20 minutes on for the rest of the night.

There was quite a bit of drainage from my nose, which Dr. G informed me was more from the septoplasty than the rhinoplasty. I changed the bandage on my nose ever 2 or so hours just to keep the area clean.

Sleeping upright proved to be a little bigger of a challenge, so I didn't get a great night sleep that night. Hindsight I probably should have taken the entire pain pill so that I didn't have to get up in the middle of the night to take another 1/2. Still, all considered, a better experience than I had anticipated.

A lot more swelling this day! Though i've avoided heavily bruising for the most part, my swelling seems to be concentrated around my inner eyes, and draining though my cheeks. The pain was still manageable, and I stayed on my 1/2 pill every 4 hours regimen.

I slept a lot throughout this day, but still made sure to get up and walk around quite a lot. I was able to walk around a lot on my own this day, but made sure I took it slow. I was lucky enough to come home to Cleveland for the surgery, and stay with my parents which has been amazing! My mom has really helped out tremendously! I don't think this recovery process would have been as easy without her. We've had a cool humidifier going in any room i'm in, and I ate foods that supposedly help out with swelling and bruising -- blueberries, tomatoes, spinach, & pineapple.