25 Year Old Rhinoplasty - July 2015 - Calgary, AB

Like the majority of you, I've been teased, or felt insecure due to my nose. And although other people's comments were hurtful, I decided to go through with this procedure for myself and to increase my own confidence. I've spent too much of my life feeling anxious or uncomfortable when I'm directly beside someone (driving, just talking, sitting, etc.) and I wanted to change that. I researched different doctors in my area, and found Dr. Zakhary and set up my operation date for July 22. I'm attaching some before pictures of my least favourite angles.

I had about an hour drive to the clinic before my operation, which gave me enough time to start panicking and feeling really nervous about my decision. Fortunately, Dr. Zakhary was very kind and ensured that I felt relaxed and calmed down. I don't remember very much from the entire experience, just falling asleep, waking up, being confused, and getting sick because of the blood I had swallowed during surgery. I waited at the clinic for about three hours, because Dr. Zakhary likes to make sure her patients are doing well before she sends them off. After surgery I had only began to bruise a little bit, which I'm very thankful for. Dr. Zakhary called that night to check up on me, and answer any questions I had. She's fantastic. I've uploaded pictures from the day of the surgery.

Being so stuffed up makes me realize how much I miss being able to breath normally! And being stuck in a hotel is really making me miss being home. The first night was a little rough, slept in hour increments, and overall just had a difficult time getting comfortable. During the day I like to be up and moving. Eating hasn't really been an issue for me, in some reviews I read people lost their sense of taste and could barely move their mouth, I'm lucky that this has not been the case for me. I've been icing a lot, but am finding I'm still bruising a little bit. I've uploaded a picture of the "ice glove" we used that been making a difference. Any time I am feeling discouraged about the slight pain (throbbing) or plugged up feeling, I look at a picture comparing my cast nose, to a before picture. Although it's difficult to see, you can tell that the cast nose is a little bit smaller... so there's one positive thing to hold on to!

I wish I could give you all positive news and let you know that the worst of the swelling and bruising was over... but nope! My eyes swelled up quite a bit throughout the night, and the bruising has continued. The positive side is that sleep is now a little bit easier, and I can make it about 2 hours before waking up. Advice: make sure you bring a water bottle/spray bottle, candies, anything to help keep your mouth moist as this gets very frustrating. Dr. Zakhary called me again this evening to check in, and to remind me that tomorrow I can start to clean my nose with spray (which I'm so looking forward to)! She also called to tell me that tomorrow is typically the worst day for swelling and bruising.. so I'm not super excited to see what tomorrow will be like. I am feeling a little scared because when I go to change my moustache/drip pad, I get the vibe that my nose looks very "piggy." However, Dr. Zakhary told me on day 1 not to pay any attention to my nostrils shape right now because they will change (I'd love to hear other people's success stories if they don't mind sharing)! I've attached more "flattering" photos for everyone to check out. Thanks for reading!

Little delayed on my posts, sorry!

Day 3 and 4 Post-Op:
These days weren't worse for swelling or bruising compared to previous days, so I think I've been very fortunate that way! I did take Arnica spray starting after the surgery, but I'm not sure if that would have helped in any way. My mom has been with me so far every day, so that has been incredibly helpful. I've been getting a little stir crazy! It's hard being cooped up at home! I've had a few weird headaches/pains, in the back of my head, near my neck. I'm not sure if it's due to congestion, or just because I have to sleep in a different way.

Day 5 Post-Op:
Today I woke up feeling so much better! I feel a little bit more like my old self again, a little more energized! I've been trying to sleep a lot, so that might be helping a bit, or it could be because I'm done taking all the medications (minus vitamins). I'm able to breath through my nose (somewhat) if I'm standing up, or walking around. Once I lay down, or sit though, I can't anymore. How long did this last for other people? One of my friends came and visited today which was nice, and then another one left me a surprise gift of magazines and candy in my mailbox! Made my day, since I've been trapped at home! I've finally been able to have breaks from my moustache/drip pad, which is fantastic. Looking forward to not needing it all soon! Basically one more day until I get my cast off on Wednesday! I'm hoping the worst is over and that the first 4 days are the toughest! Thanks for reading!

Well today was the day.. I get to get my cast off! I woke up feeling much better again and had more moments of being able to breath through my nose, which I love! After driving to Calgary I got my cast off and was put into the light tape only cast. I love that Dr. Zakhary is pretty honest about everything and told me that "I wasn't going to be happy with her for the next twenty minutes" because it does hurt to get the cast off and stitches taken out. She asked me if I wanted to take a peak in the mirror before the tape cast is put on, but I was fairly hesitant because everyone said they looked like avatar (and I didn't want to put negative thoughts into my head) ... but Dr. Zakhary reassured me and I could not be happier! I know I'm still swollen, but this new swollen nose already seems much smaller than my old nose. I'm so happy with the results so far. I'm trying to remain optimistic, but realistic as I know complications can still arise. As always, thanks for reading! :)

It's been a while since I updated, but there wasn't much news to share. I went out a lot during the last week, even though tape covered my face. It was a little funny that I was always so worried about my nose and drawing attention to my face, yet I went out in public with tape drawing full attention to my nose.

I got my cast off today, and only have to start taping at night. I currently have mixed feelings. I know it's still really swollen, but when I compare pictures I don't feel like it's that different. I'm also concerned because there is a slight bump on the bridge again.. but I was told it was just swelling, so here's hoping! On a side note, no one really warns you just how gross your skin will be after being taped up for 2 weeks... so keep that in mind! Sorry that I look like a killer in my photos, but smiling still looks really strange. If anyone has any words of encouragement I'd appreciate them! Thanks!

Just thought I'd attach some before and after photos, and some where I look slightly less miserable!

Almost at the three week mark, and I'm still not 100% sold. I'd say 99% of the time I'm happy with my new nose and would say it was worth it. My biggest complaint is the bump that is still on my bridge. It's so small, and I remember reading other reviews and wondering why people even cared that there was a small bump, but it's hard after you pay almost $10000 for a surgery to remove it. I'm hoping it's just internal swelling and will eventually go down (wishful thinking?). I see Dr. Zakhary on Friday though, so I will check in with her then. The swelling in the tip doesn't really bother me because I know it will eventually go away. On a positive note, I can breath through my nose most of the time now, and am feeling basically back to normal. I tape every night, and try to avoid salty foods. I'm not allowed to eat dairy products for one more week, so I'm looking forward to that. That's just a quick and random update. Thanks for reading!

In attempts to be more positive I've uploaded different before/after pictures. This way I can look back and see that although my nose isn't "perfect," it is much better!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read my updates and comment! :)

I'm about 4 days short of being a month post, but I thought I would write a quick update. I saw my doctor on Friday and she talked about the bump with me and reassured me it is "bone swelling." She seemed very confident that within a few months the swelling will disappear! That makes sense because my nose is still slightly tender near the break point. She advised that I just tape as much as I can, and massage it out to help reduce swelling. She also told me that if the bump did not go down (which she said hasn't happened before) that we could just file it down in a year while I was at the office (how pleasant does that sound? haha). All and all it was incredibly reassuring meeting with her, and now it's just a waiting game! I'm definitely getting more used to my nose, which is really nice! I'm a teacher and go back to work on Tuesday, so it should be interesting to see if anyone notices or not. I dyed my hair just to try and distract from it, just in case! On a positive note, I can finally start eating dairy again tomorrow.. yessss!

After a few months, I thought it was time I update my review! To speed things up, I'm going to try and write it in point form! CONS: - I would say that I am just breathing normally (FINALLY!) again! My nose still gets a little plugged when I sleep, but I have seen huge improvements otherwise. It was hard at first because it always seemed to be plugged, and exercising was impossible. - Scabs! Not sure if this was just me, but my nose was often plugged because of scabs. I needed to remove them frequently, and then suddenly I could breath (somewhat) again! - Numbness! My nose is still numb at the tip, with limited feeling! It was also very swollen so it was hard to the touch and couldn't move at all. However, this is still slowly going away! PROS: - Fairly happy with my results As mentioned, I'm fairly happy with my results! There's still a couple concerns I have, (slight bump on nose, and the height of my nose - I'm being picky, I know!!) but I will continue to discuss these with my doctor. Miscellaneous: - I continued to clean my nose with the salt water mixture for approximately 3 months post -op. My doctor recommend this because the inside of my nose was healing slowly and I was going to have to go on steroid spray if it didn't improve. I did have to stop with the salt water spray though because it eventually made my nose get very dry! - Tape it every night! Dr. Zakhary has you sign off saying that you will tape your nose every night! Short update, but hopefully can help some of you out! Thank you for reading and posting comments. I appreciate it! Also, sorry for so many photos, but I just want to show you all the good, bad and in-between angles!