I have wanted a rhinoplasty since middle school,...
I have wanted a rhinoplasty since middle school, when I started working at 16 I knew I would start saving up money for it and here I am now, almost 20. I want a natural but pleasing nose, I hate my hump and my nose in general. But i love my other facial features. I feel if the surgery goes well, I will finally be able to feel beautiful.
I live in Houston and am very exited because I have my first of four consultations for rhinoplasty tomorrow.
I will be seeing Dr. Siegel tomorrow, Dr. Eisemann the next day, Dr. Athre net week, and Dr. Funk the week after (If I don't already choose someone by then) I want my surgery done by mid June. I have done a TON of research and ended up scheduling consultations with Doctors whose Before and Afters I liked.
I was not going to schedule a consultation with Dr. Kridel because honestly, I did not really like his before and after pics, but reading amazing reviews on him, I called and they were booked until July, not only that but the fee of his consultation was $210 and the money doesn't go in to the surgery unless you schedule it that day. They also told me surgery would be $9,000 and they haven't even looked at my nose yet.
I'll see how it goes with these four Doctors and keep updating my rhinoplasty journey and I'll try to add more pictures.
1st Consultation.
I had my first consultation for rhinoplasty today for Dr. Siegel. He is very kind. Not extremely chatty but willing to answer any questions I had and he definitely made sure I knew he goes for a natural look. His staff is wonderful, his patient coordinator, Michelle, had her nose done by Siegel and she looks amazing! I wasn't able to tell until she told me. Dr. Siegel took the pictures himself and took me in to do the imaging as well. Michelle said if i wanted to come in again with my mom I could do it whenever for free. The consultation was $100 and the quote they gave me was $9500 and that included the hospital and anesthesia fee. I have another consultation tomorrow and we'll see how it goes!
2nd Consultation
Saw Dr. Eisemann today. He was very thorough! I did not expect a lot of what he did. He felt my nose and told me what I had and what he was going to do. He took multiple pictures and did the imaging right then and there. He answered many unasked questions and showed me 3 binders worth of before and after pictures. His patient coordinator, Suzanne was very sweet! she's been with him 10+ years and told me he averages 100 rhinos a year (same as Dr. Siegel) It was extremely hard t decide after I had this second consult but I like Siegel's before and after better. I have one last consultation tomorrow with Dr. Kent Davis. I am feeling really good about Siegel right now.
Eisemann's fee
I forgot to add, his consult fee was $60, and he did the same thing Siegel did. The quote for rhino is pretty much the same, around $9,150, however he would be doing IV not anesthesia, if I choose to do anesthesia it would add $2,000
3rd Consultation
I had my 3rd consult today with Dr. Kent Davis. He was very nice, but let me tell you, LONG wait times. I was in there a total of 2 hours and probably spent 30 minutes with Dr. Davis. He was thorough in examining my nose and the consultation was free. The imaging was done by Davis but the pictures were taken bu Debbie, his patient care coordinator. Overall, went well but I really liked Siegel's before and after the best, so right after I left the office I called to schedule an appointment for surgery with Siegel!
HOWEVER, Michelle, the patient care coordinator, who is really nice, said she had June 20th available and I had to pay $900 (which I knew) but I told her I needed to transfer the money into my card so she said she would call back. I didn't hear from her after an hour so I decided to call again, I called 3 times but went to voice mail, then I called again later before they closed and voice mail again /: I hope everything is ok, I also sent her an e-mail so we'll see.
Your favorite?
Just curious, which is your favorite before and after? Mine is the 1st, then the 3rd, then the 2nd. I know that the imaging is not EXACTLY what it will look like, but it shows me the vision the doctors have of what they will be doing.
Decisions...
Im actually in between the 2nd and 3rd before and after. But the 1st is definitely my fave!
Surgery Appointment
Alright! I will be having my surgery Jun 20th, this month, with Dr. Siegel. I am so nervous! I mean I've wanted this for a long time and I am very ready and just exited, but I am also freaking out, I mean I am never going to look like I do right now again, and what if I don't look as pretty as I thought I would with a new nose?! Freaking out, any advise? I will have my pre-op appt Jun 10th.
Quite nervous now
I had my pre-op on Monday, everything went well, but for some reason I forgot all o my questions once I saw the Dr. I think I am ready. I am definitely exited but part of me is so nervous! What if something goes wrong? What if I don't look as pretty as I thought I would with a new nose?! I am freaking out. The surgery is next Thursday and as I said, I want it to get here already but at the same time, I am so nervous! I keep thinking, did I choose the right doctor, I mean I wish I could just try different noses on and see what I'd look like!
Does anyone have any advise? What was your worst fear?
As I mentioned, my worst fear is that even with a new nose, I still won't feel pretty.
Today is the Surgery
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20 Jun 2013
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Day of treatment
in 3 hours I will be undergoing surgery. Woah, I am so scared now. Wish me luck!
1 1/2 day post-op
Just got back from getting my nose cleaned, doc says everything looks good, swelling should go down by Sunday and bandages will come off Wednesday. When I woke up from surgery I was really thirsty and when they moved me to a chair I threw up, then when they moved me to the wheelchair I threw up. Then I threw up again when I was moved from the car to the house. That definitely sucked since I just threw up acid and now my throat still hurts from it.
I have not gotten any pain on my nose, honestly my throat is the only thing that hurts and I wear braces so brushing my teeth is even harder.
I ate baby food today and one jar made me full, I haven't eaten much.
It's definitely been pretty rough, oh and I have to pee a lot, weird.
My nostrils look uneven but I know that's just the swelling. Can't wait till next week.
also
I wanted to add, thankfully, it looks like I don't have much bruising, maybe some under my eyes but looks good. I am very exited, I know the worst is over.
3 days post-op
Today the swelling was the worst, I look like a chipmunk. Yawning, laughing, sneezing, is the worst! There is no real pain, only around my nostrils after laughing. I've only taken a total of 4 pills for pain since Thursday, day of surgery. It's a little rough because I'm so bored at home, I can't do much. I am making sure to stay on a low sodium/sugar diet.
My throat actually hurts when I swallow, which is very annoying. Cast off Wednesday. Hmm, what else can I say, its still hard to believe I got a nose job but honestly I already forgot what my old nose looked like!
Cast Off!
I got my cast off today! I heard that it hurts so I did take a pain pill before going. Nothing really hurt except the huge plastic things that were inside my nose!. Brace yourself for that, they were huge!! But u can finally breathe through my nose! I finally feel normal. The stitches did sting, like plucking nose hairs. Everything looks good. I love my profile, I was expecting the swelling but it's still hard to look in the mirror and know what you'll look like so the first thing I said was WOAH! IT'S HUGE! lol. But I'm excited for swelling to decrease since the profile looks very close to the computer imaging so I'm looking forward to the future. ??
13 days post op!
I feel really good now! My confidence has gone up and I'm really happy with the results. However, while you can't really tell one side still is more swollen, although at this point I'm hoping it's not crooked. My profile now has a small bump that I'm hoping is just the swelling. Of course it's a big improvement from my old nose, I already forget what it used to look like.
3 weeks post-op!
So everything is going well. The bump I mentioned last week is still there. Again, hoping it's swelling. I love my nose though! And I bumped it yesterday with my phone /: of course I'm sure it's normal to freak out right? I was and still am a bit sore but nothing looks damaged. Did anyone else experience peeling?
squished my nose):
I am so upset/: I squished my nose today doing yoga, I got the OK but I should have been more careful with the more challenging poses. I squished my nose, it hurt so bad! It bled a little. This happened 4 hours ago I iced it for a while on and off. Swelling went down but still bad. I emailed my surgeons staff, unfortunately they're not open until Monday): I'm so worried it's not gonna look the same! I feel so ugly again and I'm so upset. I honestly didn't know how good my nose looked until now!
4 weeks later
So I went to see my PS just today and he said everything looks good. There's still swelling but it looks like nothing was messed up. I still feel self conscious since I smushed it but I know its a great change.
5 weeks
It's been 5 weeks and I've seriously have forgotten at times that I had my nose done. I just feel so amazing and like I am living my life better! I am no longer insecure or thinking negatively. I am so grateful, definitely recommend it to those who feel their nose does not fit them.
6 weeks post op
Wow. I can't believe it's been 6 weeks. Love my new nose. I accidentally bumped it yesterday when I hugged my boyfriend and it hurt! It's just so easy to forget about it. I feel so blessed and what's more, I feel so pretty. I went to Wyoming last week and the cold cold wind gave me a cold sore/: but funny enough I'm not even that self conscious about it because I'm so comfortable with my looks!
