Hello there, Real Self friends!
So over the past...
Hello there, Real Self friends!
So over the past 14+ years, I have been super self conscious about my nose. I was born with a cleft lip and palate, and I think I am pretty fortunate in that my surgeons as a child were very skilled and they did a great job repairing my lip and palate. The thing that I notice, though, is my nose. I have hated it ever since I can remember. The cartilage is crooked and droops. I don't take pictures on my left side, I get nervous when people are on my left side, I get anxious meeting new people and feel I have to prove myself since they may just judge me on my nose. Of course everyone I know is cool and says they don't notice it. But I notice it, and it is in my daily thoughts. I have had 3 total consultations for my nose over the last 10 years. This year, I finally hit my breaking point and decided I was ready to get it done. I met with a new doctor to the area who specializes in plastic surgery and is our new lead of the Cleft Team in my city. She is the first doctor that actually did a thorough exam--she felt my face, felt my nose, stuck a thing up it to view my septum--and was the first doctor to tell me I have a deviated septum. I never knew that! Of course now that she mentioned it, that's all I notice! She was very up front with me about what she could do, and I decided to move forward. I was not expecting perfection, but any change for the better would be amazing! Another amazing thing--I was afraid that since I am 24 that it was too late for me to get done, and that insurance would not pay anything. My doctor must have really advocated for me, because it was approved and covered!! My only out of pocket was $1200 (which will definitely vary from person to person). I was so amazed by this, and did a happy dance the day I got this news!! So I scheduled surgery for December 29th, 2017. I am so excited I FINALLY got this done! It was the best Christmas/New Year present I could ever ask for. Thankfully I have an incredibly supportive husband, who was off work for my recovery with me. I had stocked up on Arnica and Tylenol Extra Strength, Biotene, gauze, paper tape, hydrogen peroxide, saline spray, and q-tips. I couldn't live without my u-shaped travel neck pillow too! I watched what seems like every single YouTube video out there of other people's experiences, and I may try and post one myself, because it was nearly impossible to find anyone else with the same experience as me--adult having their nose done b/c of a cleft. I had my pre-op appointment two weeks before surgery, and they got me set up with a prescription for anxiety and one for nausea (thank goodness). I think the worst part was the anticipation, because I already have bad anxiety and preparing for surgery is definitely stressful. One thing to mention, I told a few people, and it took me some time to work up to telling them. It is a very personal decision, and I didn't want anyone's opinions. But since I have told my family, every one of them has been supportive, because they know this is something I have wanted to do for basically my entire life. In the end, it does not matter what anyone else says--if you want to do something for yourself that you feel will improve your quality of life, just do your research and do it! Recovery was harder than I thought, but in no way unmanageable. It was just very uncomfortable rather than painful. My surgery ended up taking a couple hours longer than we thought, because my septum was super messed up, more than anticipated. It took a few days for me to get out of the anesthesia haze, and by day 5 I was feeling much better. Day 7, I got my splints taken out (hurt much more than I expected) and my stitches out. I had the type of cast that would come off on its own, and it did on day 8! I cried tears of joy seeing my new nose. It was very swollen, but so much better than before. Now, it has been 24 days since my surgery and I am SO happy. I never thought it would look this good. It is so amazing, and TOTALLY worth it! Dr. Biskup is a fantastic surgeon and I am so glad I waited until finding her to have my surgery. It is amazing how much more confident and happy I feel. It is definitely weird to get used to at first, but now the swelling is going down a lot and I feel so happy about my nose and my decision. Good luck to you all, and I hope this has helped!
