28yo Rhinoplasty - Mexico

So after many consultations with different doctors I chose Dr. Fuentes. I really loved his portfolio and that his noses looked extremely natural. They didn't all look like the same one-size-fits-all typical plastic surgery nose some doctors like to do on every patient. I finally booked my appointment for November and I couldn't be more excited. I am very optimistic.

As far as support goes. I have received mixed opinions from family and friends. I still haven't told some family because I don't know how they will react. Some of my friends are happy for me because they know I really want it. Some of my family and friends continuously try and talk me out of it saying " you don't need it and your nose fits your face, you wouldn't be you without your nose" What if I don't want a big nose? I know they genuinely love me the way I am and I appreciate it. I still would like them to just support me 100% since its my decision. I have the best husband in the world and he loves me the way I am but he is completely supportive because he knows this is something I have to do for myself.

I highly suggest anyone wanting to do plastic surgery think twice before confiding in others about it. Just because you're super excited and know this is the right decision for you doesn't mean everyone will agree with it or support you. People can be extremely judgmental. Plastic surgery is still controversial.

I decided Im going to be completely upfront with it and do a full in depth review. I am proud of finally biting the bullet and doing something Ive wanted since I was 13.

I am staying in a hotel by Cosmed they have on site stay but it is costly per night. I think it is worth it if it fits in your budget and probably more appealing to women traveling alone. It includes food and a night nurse checking up on you. I think it is $200 a night.

So I received my test results and sent them to Dr Fuentes he said my results were normal and I am cleared for surgery. I also put my 20% deposit down via account transfer.

I am so excited my surgery is around the corner but I'm also incredibly nervous. I keep getting cold feet where I am second guessing doing it. I think I'm just scared because I've never had surgery or been put under anesthesia. I have been wanting a rhinoplasty my entire life so that is really my motivation to get through the nerves.

Dr Fuentes has been very quick at responding via email when I ask questions. Looking at his work and reading his answers to question on this board in the rhinoplasty sections also help put me at ease. I feel like he really knows his stuff.

I'm hoping my nose comes out natural and I just hope I love it. Will do another update upon arriving to Mexico and meeting with my doctor in person.

I flew to Las Vegas to meet with my mom. We are renting a car and driving to Chula Vista. Dropping off the rental car and Ubering to the Border Station Parking where the Cosmed driver will pick us up and take us to the clinic. Im not very nervous now even though I am sure that will change the morning of surgery. I need to run to walgreens to pick up some last minute small things to pack for the trip. Like Betadine , gauze and medical tape. Maybe a cool mist humidifier. Im bring a thick memory foam neck pillow and I think this will be my savior for trying to get some good sleep. Will update soon!

I checked out cosmed today and met my surgeon. The clinic was very clean and the staff was so friendly! Dr Fuentes answered all my questions , took photos and had me fill out some paper work. Then I paid the remainder and went to check in my hotel.

My surgery is tomorrow morning. I am getting very nervous. I almost started crying because I am so scared of not waking up from my general anesthesia. I have never been put under before and I would hate to go out over something so superficial that was an elective procedure.

I just keep telling myself I will be fine. I'm relatively healthy and my surgeon is great and board certified. This isn't his or the anesthesiologist first rodeo. They do this every day and for something to wrong would be very very rare.

I'm gonna lay down and try and get some sleep will update tomorrow.

So I arrived at 7:30 and was greeted by a friendly staff member. She took me to a private room where I changed. Met with the doctor and he took some more photos. He marked my nose in certain spots.

He told me the surgery would last about 2 hours. He said I won't leave til about 2 since I will be waking up and recovering from the anesthesia.

My mom is here with me and she said she's going to wait in the front office until it's done. I really wish my husband was here.

Now I'm sitting in the private room waiting for the surgery to start

So they took me in the surgery area after I changed. Laid me on a bed. Yanette was so sweet. She put my IV in. I just kind of hung out for a second.

Met the anesthesiologist he was also very friendly. Told him my concerns. He assured me I'm healthy and it will be fine.

Not too much time passed. Next thing I know they tell me it's time! Dun dun dun.

I go in and lay in the bed. They get me set up and they just got straight to business. My anesthesialogist just said we're gonna put the anesthesia in. I said "right now?!" . He said "yes right now" . Then he put the mask on my face and told me to breathe I took about 2 or 3 breaths and I was out like a light.

Next thing I know they are waking me up in the operating room and all I remember is immediately touching my nose and a nurse gently pulling my arm back and a man saying "no no don't touch your nose"

Then I'm out again. Then when I finally wake up I'm back in the recovery area where they put my IV in. A nurse came and asked how I felt. I told her my nose kinda hurts and if she could give me something cause I needed to throw up. She gave me pain meds through my IV and a little plastic bowl thing. I threw up just a little bit but it wasn't stomach acid looked more like mucus with a little blood in it. I felt great after that absolutely no nausea.

Woke up around 1:30 and stayed til they closed at 5. They were monitoring my heart rate and blood pressure and waiting for the doctor to release me.

I felt pretty good . Some pressure in my nasal area. I could breathe through one nostril and have packing in the other.

All the staff was extremely friendly and bilingual. I'm Hispanic but my Spanish sucks so it was important for some of the more advanced medical things to be told to me in English and small talk/requests was in Spanish. Could have been in English but I wanted to practice ;) All the nurses were extremely sweet as well as my surgeon and anesthesiologist.

My only complaint was my mom said the receptionist told her I wasn't awake yet when she kept asking about me. When I had been up since 1:30. Wish they would have at least told her I was up and they were monitoring me. My poor mom was extremely worried and waited there for my entire surgery. She also filled my prescription for me which was great. Still wish my husband would have been able to get the time off and come but it's ok.

Can't wait for the swelling to go down and see what my new nose is going to look like. I definitely expected to look a lot worse. I have fat cheeks anyway lol so honestly the only real swelling is around my eyes and my nose/tip.

Sleeping the first night was horrible.

I had packing in one nostril and my other nostril was clogged. I tried sleeping with my mouth open. Oh man was that TOUGH. So dry. I couldn't fall asleep. I read about having a small spray bottle filled with water to spray inside the throat at night. This was a great tip. I definitely used it. Cough drops came in handy too.

My open nostril finally cleared up. I closed my mouth and breathed through my single nostril and actually got a good chunk of sleep in. I don't know how people with packing in both nostrils get ANY sleep breathing through their mouths. That so far was the worst thing about my rhinoplasty so far.

Woke up this morning with more swelling. My eyes are more puffy and one is getting a little bruising. I didn't ice as much as I probably should have but I read it only helps with initial first week swelling not long term so I lost motivation after that.

I met with my doctor at 2 and he removed the packing. It felt weird cause it was so far up. Definitely didn't hurt though. He gave me some saline solution to spray in my nose if it gets too dry and irritated. Will update at my 1 week when I get the cast off. Still nervous for the final results.

My full black eye is here I kinda wish I took icing a little more serious. Hindsight is 20/20.

I have been cleaning my nose with hydrogen peroxide and putting polysporin in. My nose is still super swollen of course it's just 2 days post.

My tip is pretty lifted but I don't want to freak out. I read that having a cast on and having it taped up is common to have more of a piggy nose. Once I get my cast removed I read this should drop some and even more over time as the swelling subsides.

Very nervous for the results and I'm tired of eating yogurt and crackers so today I opted for chicken soup. Will let it cool completely before eating as hot food can increase swelling.

My swelling is going down. My bruised eye is looking good. All my bruising and swelling seem like it reached its peak and may even be reversing.

My antibiotics are making me nauseous I seem to handle them better with a some crackers and tons of water to flush them through. When I took them before eating a full dinner it made me very nauseous and I actually ended up throwing up the antibiotic before going to sleep. Luckily I only have 2 and a half days left on them. Can't wait to be done with them. They have been the most uncomfortable part of recovering for me. I have been breathing through my nose just fine and sleeping ok. Antibiotics have made me nauseous and leave a constant weird taste in my mouth. I looked this up and found out it is very common side effects with Ciproflox.

My Emotional Journey.

I read about the emotional rollercoaster a rhinoplasty procedure is and I honestly didn't think it would happen to me. I didn't like my nose I have been wanting to change it forever. I found a good surgeon and that is that. NOPE. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Getting a rhinoplasty is a REALLY big deal. You are changing your face not your breast size or flattening your stomach. It's a lot to take in. It's so weird to think I'm going to look different now. This cast is going to come off and my nose is going to be new. It could possibly change my entire face even more than I want it too. My husband is going to have to get used to his wife having a different facial feature and in turn different face now. I no longer have my mothers nose and we're twins.

I'm not having any regrets as of right now but I'm just trying to psychologically deal with these new changes. It's really weird. I don't know how to feel right now. I am still excited and anxious to see the results.

Antibiotics are done. Wooooohoooo!

Last day with the cast. Excited to see the results but nervous I might not like it. I like it a lot right now in the cast but I just don't know.

So happy to get out of this hotel and back to my family's house. I love Mexico but I haven't been able to enjoy it so it's kind of pointless being here. Happy to heal up one more week in Las Vegas before flying home and seeing my husband for the first time post surgery.

Nose gets soooo itchy under cast and it drives me insane not being able to scratch ! Will post photo tomorrow after cast comes off.

Didn't hurt one bit. I forgot to take my phone in so I didn't get to snap a profile pic. He put on a soft cast I have to leave on for a week. I left TJ and am finally at my moms house. This trip was exhausting especially today. Will update pics with my soft cast tomorrow after I get some rest.

Took my little tape cast thing off since it has been 7 days and I'm really pleased with the results. My nose looks so cute and in turn makes my entire face looks cuter! My old nose seemed kinda masculine to me so I am very happy with the improvement. I do have some uneven swelling or maybe my nostrils are still uneven. I did have uneven nostrils before surgery so this doesn't really bother me. Can't wait to see what it looks like at 1 month. Worth every penny.

At 2 weeks I still seem to have a lot of swelling in my tip. It is hard as a rock. Can't wait for this to settle.