The Big Reveal! I LOVE my new nose! - Houston, TX

Whoa Nellie! Lots to talk about now that I am one day post-op. Headed down to surgery center in Houston at 5am. I was first to arrive at 6am. Paid $$$$ (and I love how they tell you if Dr goes over 3 hr surgery time by more than 16 minutes you will be asked to pay the difference before discharge - great, no pressure!), took my contacts out and they took me up to pre-op room. Urine sample done and then got naked into the robe. They brought a hot blanket which took some of the chill away. My mom was called up so I could talk to her more. IV started (dread this part - I've had it done before and this time was virtually painless.) Anesthesiologist came to talk to me. Checked my teeth (for nothing loose) and had about 3-4 different people ask me same questions of when I ate last, what I was having done, etc. All for good measure. Dr came in to talk to me and then anesthesiologist gave me some of the good stuff. She said she wouldn't give me too much yet because I'd have to get onto the operating table from my current bed. Well, I remember rolling down the hall into a pretty large room and then laying next to that bed "I was supposed to crawl on" and that's it.. They got me there somehow but it wasn't with my help. I was out!

Woke up with tube down my throat. I could feel it giving me oxygen. I made some gag noises and post-op nurse was right there. She was very comforting. Most annoying parts of post-op?? Blood pressure pump going off and on on my right arm - constantly taking it or at least that's what it felt like. She kept telling me I needed to breathe deeper or she was going to need to give me more oxygen. I naturally have low blood pressure and was breathing pretty shallow. Then she had gauze dipped in ice water over my eyes so I couldn't see anything. All the prodding and talking without being able to see really wasn't fun. Now, I've read these reviews on here and maybe it's just my positive attitude but I didn't really get the sense that there was a lot of pain involved. Well, I've done natural childbirth by choice and in general have a high pain tolerance but this was a whole different kind of pain. I'm a sissy when it comes to headaches mainly because I never get them.... well this was the world's worst. Pressure on my forehead, bottom of my nose hurt from the stitches and the worst part was I was so hot. She would put the ice gauze on my head and my eyes and within minutes there were lukewarm and I was burning up. I told her I felt like I had a fever and she said I did not it was just from the pressure and headache. I told her I was in pain and by the end of it she had given the maximum of 4 doses of narcotics - call me a whimp!! The other difference was I was freezing in pre-op and burning up in post-op. I was light-headed getting up at first to be wheeled out so they let me rest a little longer and 5 minutes later I was wheeled out. Drive back from Houston was looonng. I'm sure I scared plenty of people on I-45 especially when we sat in traffic for about 30 minutes. I did not care....

Well, time for some good news.... once I rested the anesthesia off more I was beginning to feel much better. I literally drank yoo-hoos and ate instant mashed potatoes yesterday but it worked. Took my first pain pill - I've been halving them just so it's easier to swallow and felt better after that as well. No nausea to speak of but in general I've always had a strong stomach. Today I've had english muffin, cereal and coffee. My head feels close to normal again. When it feels hot I ice it down and it feels much better. I set up camp in my big chair with ottoman in my living room. The whole bed with propped up pillows was not going to work for me. My mom brought a neck pillow and that was a tremendous help in keeping my head in one position. I also bought a body pillow that I just laid across my legs and put my arms on. All in all, I slept well last night. Woke up 2x and ate some cereal and took 1/2 pain pill. I have two pretty black eyes but in general I don't feel swollen to the brink. I really think sleeping up in the chair has done wonders.

I can already see a big difference in my nose. Pictures are hard to tell in but my profile has definitely been brought in. My tip does not look rotated up at all even though I know that can happen with how they tape it. My stitches are quite ugly so I'm hoping that does not leave any major marks. I can breathe now for the first time through my right nostril. It was an amazing feeling!

Well, I'm going to leave it there. Overall, worth it and I'm sure I'll be even happier as time goes on. I'm not going to neglect the fact that it stinkin' hurt in post-op and the first day in general. For those going through it, just know that it will get better if you have the same pain. I did not expect so much pressure, heat and pain.... Posting some pics below... so ugly but I've gotten over it!

I guess today is day 2 post-op. I think my bruising has peaked but it is ugly as ever. My cheeks started throbbing yesterday but felt better when I iced them. I can tell I am pretty swollen in the cheeks, upper lip and eyes. Feels really weird not being able to move my upper lip so much. I seem to sleep well at night but I haven't woken up feeling like "oh, my nose feels better!" I think that will come with time. This is still the beginning of recovery. Starting to get a little stir crazy but I'll get over it. Amazingly, I can still breathe through my nose. I was pretty sure it would get clogged as I recovered. I have not enjoyed putting saline up my nose. I always feel like it sits in the back of my throat and then feels like I have a sore throat, yuck. Something I forgot to mention before was that I had a lot of drainage day of surgery and post-op day 1. From the front where the drip pad goes but also down the back of my throat. Thankfully, that has all subsided. If I can get some better lighting maybe I'll take a pic today - maybe!