My Septo-rhinoplasty Journey

I’m a 28 year old, F, and have had an issue with my nose for around half of my life. I have always wanted to straighten out my nose as I had a dorsal hump. Around September 2019 I started to investigate using real self and understand the process before seeing which consultants could help. I read so so many reviews hence I wanted to do one too! At the end of 2019 I decided it wasn’t the right time or price. In May 2020 in the midst of a pandemic with a guarantee of working at home and a free video consultation encouraged me to start the process again as it was always something I wanted to do. I found Dr E quite quickly from reviews and saw he was local to me. He has always been super honest and detailed, running me through information. When I eventually saw him in person he highlighted some functional issues on my left side; I had a deviated septum which meant the left nostril had a really small space for me to breathe. I had vaguely noticed in the past but not thought too much about it. With that information my goal changed and I was concerned with both cosmetic and functional fix which he was able to do with open op (rather than closed which we discussed first).

I had an op booked in September but due to covid it had been delayed so I finally had the op two days ago! I’ll continue sharing updates as I go. 

(The only reason I have put not sure if it’s worth it is because I haven’t had my cast off - that will be in one week! And I’m sure as I’ve read it just gets better from then on!) 

I can’t wait to see it!

I was super nervous going under general but it was absolutely fine. When I woke up the most notable part which confused me was that my THROAT killed. When I asked the nurse why it felt swollen she reassured me it was because I had a tube down it. This was the most pain I had from this op. No nose pain whatsoever. I was able to eat and drink pretty much two hours after the op which I was ecstatic about as had read a lot of reviews about people not being able to. Therefore I’d stocked up on soups (to let cool down), baby food, straws - none of which was essential. My first meal was jacket potato W beans and cheese cut up!! You need the cals the help recover.
The first night was the worst but over the next few days it got a bit easier - it felt like I had an intense cold being so blocked up. I would wake up every few hours as my mouth was as dry as the Sahara!
My cast was booked to come off 8 days after the op so I had NO idea what it looked like which was insane. I was very sleepy and not able to do very much for a week - luckily I had booked off 8 days to recover.
I used Sterima spray for the first 6 days and then moved onto the sinus spray from Neil med. since using this I became a new woman!!! I tasted my first bit of food 6 days after the op as managed to clear my nose out.
Photos from the first week attached!! As you can see I was very lucky and had very little - no black eyes. My side effects were swelling mainly.
The docs secretary called me a few days after to check in and let me know any questions I am free to ask which was a really nice touch letting me know I’m not alone.

Once I got past day 6 I could taste good again and it was so good!! It was using the neilmed solution and bottle up to 10 times per day. When I went to get my cast off I was so nervous I didn’t even open my eyes - it was a weird sensation, like my nose was going to come off (Dr reassured me). He also was very clear that it is swollen and took me through patients of his on their cast removal day shape vs one-three months on, this was such a nice touch. He knows what his patients are thinking and does a great job of reminding about being patient!