*NEW PICS* Recovering from surgery was harder than expected... but worth it! - Dallas, TX

On the fifth day after receiving the steroid shots I thought that the swelling had gone away from the shots, but today it is swollen again. It isn't swollen by a lot, but I can tell my tip isn't as defined as it was before the shots. I'm wondering if it's because I stopped applying Arnica Gel to my nose the day before I got the shots and I haven't applied it since then. I'll start back with applying the Arnica Gel tonight.

The sides of my bridge have been oddly tender these past three days when I touch it... Weird. I didn't get shots in my bridge so I don't know what that's about. Has anyone who has gotten the shots experienced this tenderness?

I called my surgeon's office today and asked if it was okay to start using my Arnica Gel again. The nurse seemed surprised and told me she hadn't heard of someone using it on their nose this long after surgery (I'm about 6 weeks post-op). I told her that it helped with my swelling throughout the day and she said that was good to know and I can go ahead and start applying it again. I also told her about the tape my doctor and I forgot and she said she is going to send it to me in the mail today. :))) I love the nurse!

I also uploaded pictures of my tip for you guys to see.

Hey everyone! I got the steroid shots.

When my doctor saw me he asked, "Has it been five months already??" I looked at him kind of funny and said, "No, it's just been five weeks." Then he said, "Oh. All I saw here was the five on the paper and when I saw you I thought you were already five months post-op because your nose looks so good. You look as good as some people who are five months post surgery." :D :D :D Yeah, that put me on cloud nine. Lol. :)

So he wiped off the tip of my nose with an alcohol pad and gave me three injections, one on each side of my nose and one on the top of my tip near the bridge. The shot itself hurts. It feels like a small extremely sharp needle is going into your skin, which is exactly what it is! I can't really describe it as a pinch because it hurts more than that. One of the three shots really hurt. It was over in seconds though so no big deal. The nurse told me that my doctor mixes novocaine with the shots to help ease the burning caused by the steroids. I got really mild burning in my tip for about 30 minutes after the shots. I wouldn't call it painful, just unpleasant. I got a bad headache after the shots too. But I was already getting a mild headache when I went into his office so it may have been caused by something else. My headache didn't go away until I went to sleep. One of my injection sites has a small purple bruise on it. It's very small and not really noticeable unless someone is really close to your face and it can be easily concealed by makeup. He was supposed to give me some tape to tape my nose with at night (he told me this would accelerate the healing) but we both forgot about it so I'll have to figure out how to get it soon.

He gave me an exercise to do with my nose because I have more swelling on one side of my bridge than the other, and when he did it he showed me the mirror and he was right, it's just swelling! My nose is straight. I have some flaring on one of my nostrils and he said as the swelling goes down that should work itself out.

He told me the steroid injections should take 6-8 weeks to fully go into effect and that when I see him again for my month 4 appointment he can give me more shots if the swelling is still there. My nose was swollen after he gave me the shots because of the liquid he injected and I'm still slightly swollen a day later. I need to call the office to see if I can resume putting on my Arnica Gel again.

You guys, I really recommend my doctor and his staff. He didn't have an available appointment for another month but since I told them about my wedding they found a way to fit me in as an extra appointment one day and he didn't rush me one bit. I can't ask for more than that. Oh and the shots didn't cost me anything extra because all of his after-care costs are included in the procedure price.

I also have seen swelling go down in my profile too but only in pictures. It looks a lot more defined than it was before. My bridge from the front is still wider than it was before due to swelling.

Well, that's about all for now. I am really happy with my nose and I am so glad that I did this. :)

Okay guys I'm really excited because today, one day away from being 5 weeks post-op, I can say that I see a noticeable decrease in my tip swelling. I mean for the first week after cast removal I noticed my tip going down, but since then I can see a decrease in swelling in pictures but not so much in person. I am happy to say that I can now see a definite decrease in swelling in my tip today and that it is officially smaller than it was before the surgery (only slightly though). Yay! :) And on top of that tomorrow I am getting steroid injections into my nose to decrease some of the swelling. My doctor normally doesn't give his patients steroid injections this early but since my wedding is only a few months away and the shots take six weeks to take effect he's going to give them to me now. :)

I'll let you guys know how the shots go.