Septoplasty and Rhinoplasty experience

I wanted to give a bit of an update because I haven't in a little while. Things are going well! I've had a bit of a cold so my nose has seemed a bit more swollen than normal. I was concerned that I would irritate it because I have been sniffing and blowing my nose so much. It's weird because before surgery I could never really blow my nose. I have no idea why but I just could never do it properly no matter how hard I tried. So now after surgery for whatever reason I am able to blow my nose like a champ! It's something I didn't really give a lot of thought to before hand but it is an unexpected positive outcome.

Other than the people I have told about my surgery no one else has noticed the change. Even some of the people I told forgot about it. My mom's friend said I looked beautiful at a dinner we had and a few people have said that I am looking good but that's it. It's kind of a positive thing because it makes me feel like it looks natural. I did expect that as well because that seems to be the common reaction-people think that you look good but they can't pinpoint what it is. For me the change is really obvious(in a good way)but for others it isn't. A lot of times I think people don't pay attention to things as much as we think they will. Even with my nose beforehand. I felt like everyone was staring or making fun of me but it was me that paid the most attention to it because I was so self conscious. I just wanted to share this because for some people it may be disappointing if others don't notice but take it as a compliment. To me it means that it looks natural. That you still look like you but with a prettier nose:)

I'm posting some pics that I took the other day. Does anyone know what software/ program you would use to create a "collage" of side by side before and after photos? I tried using photoshop but couldn't figure it out.

I met with my doctor on Monday for my follow up appointment. They took the photos which I am really excited to see! The appointment went well. I still had some dissolvable stitches remaining in my left nostril so he took most of those out. I brought up the fact that sometimes I will blow my nose and there will be a few blood specks on the tissue. He said that this was normal.

I spoke with him about how it seems like my left nostril is visible from front view but my right nostril is not. He took a look and kind of studied my nose and said that the apex on one nostril is higher than the other but there was nothing that could be done about that. Which is completely fine with me. I would take this nose over my old nose any day! The doctor did say that this was something that other people would not notice. He said with his rhinoplasty patients they are looking at their noses constantly(then he said he would be doing the same if he had the procedure done) and they notice a lot of little things that they might not notice before or things that no one else would pay attention to. It's interesting because I looked at my before pictures and sure enough it looks like one nostril is higher than the other but I had never noticed. Probably because my nose was so long and big that it covered most of my nostrils.

Lastly, I mentioned that I felt like there was still swelling in the tip. He felt my nose and confirmed that and said that all of the swelling should dissipate within the next year, but he did say that the results will be very gradual and I would likely not notice the subtle changes over that time. I was hoping he would say 6 months but I have repeatedly heard that final results can be seen at one year so I wasn't surprised. Just have to keep being patient. I'm actually a really impatient person so I think this procedure has taught me the art of patience (at least in this case:)

I get to wear sunglasses again so I am excited for that! I missed them. I'm also finding that my breathing is a lot better. For awhile I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to breathe properly out of my left nostril but it has gotten much better. I still worry that I am going to bump or hit my nose-Does that worry ever go away? Sometimes I feel like I am being paranoid.

When I get the photos from the doctors office I will post them on here. For now I just have some front view ones that I took.

Hey everyone! I can't believe that I am close to being 2 months post op. In a way time flies but in another way it seems to stand still while you are waiting for swelling to go down especially. I am very happy with my nose but still hoping that the swelling will go down more from the front view over time. It just seems really wide. I know that it is likely that my nose will likely never be 100% straight which is completely okay. My doctor had discussed this with me. It is such an improvement though. I have my 2 month follow up on August 12th. I will be asking about the swelling on the left side as it seems significantly more swollen than the right.

I have stopped taking as many photos. I think it's really easy to start trying to monitor the swelling and how much it will go down with photos. I got a little overzealous though and was taking photos daily to see if the swelling was better than the previous day. I also tried googling "swelling after 6 weeks" etc to see how others looked at that point. lol It got a little excessive. So I figure for me it's healthy to take pictures weekly for the first 3 months and then monthly after that. I am a bit of an impatient person naturally but this surgery has really taught me that you need to have patience and that it will take time.

I was wanting to know if anyone has had problems with acne and breaking out after surgery? I've never had good skin and have had acne problems on and off since the age of 13. However I went on accutane and things seemed to really improve. I went off it a year ago and my skin has been doing well up until now. It started flaring up about 6 weeks post op and the weird thing is that it's not bad around my nose. It's the rest of my face! I was surprised that my skin was as clear as it was immediately after the surgery and especially after the cast removal but now it seems like it is back with a vengeance. Has anyone had anything similar? I will post updates after my next appointment.