Sunday, March 15, 2009

Recovery: 5 Days Post-Op (photos)

Woke up and swelling has improved a lot. Still have chipmunk cheeks but they continue to move lower and lower. Bruising is turning yellow, some red around my eyes but looking much better. The best news of all, is that I finally can breathe out of my nose!!! It's just the tiniest little airway you can imagine, but for me mentally it makes a huge difference. This is the one thing i've been waiting for since surgery day. I've started using saline spray and keep putting lots of vaseline in the nostrils to keep it moist. I'm still major congested, but at least i have a tiny airway that i can breathe through, it makes things much better and probably won't need valium except at night now.

Here I am today, you can see my lower half of my face is still wider than usual and swollen, and i look like i have jaundice from the yellow bruising, but overall not too bad!


Went out in public to the drugstore today for the first time in 6 days. It's weird because i'm still moving kind of slow, and it feels like everyone is going SO fast. But it was good to get some fresh air and get out of the condo.

I obviously can't smell or anything, but my appetite is slowly coming back. Though i know i need to eat more. Staying on the Tylenol, just to help with the very light headache, and so far no valium today. I can see why people like valium though, it makes you feel really really really good. I'm going to try to wait until after dinner to take one so I can sleep well tonight.

I'm really excited right now because tomorrow is my 1 week post-op appt where they remove the nost cast, and i get to see my new "hump-less" nose! I still feel like i have my old nose since I can't see anything but swelling and a white cast. I'm prepared to see a very wide Neanderthal looking swollen nose from the front, but the profile should look pretty good, and the very least straight nose without a big ugly hump. Then i'll know it's for real, i still can't imagine looking in the mirror to see the hump is gone. Now i'm trying to find a good movie to watch tonight.
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6 comments:

  1. AniFebruary 10, 2011 at 1:22 AM

    Hi i just got mine done too and it's day 6/7 for me. 7 just started. Everything you wrote about your nose and how it felt going through it so far is exactly how i feel. I'm 17 by the way.I just got my cast removed yesterday it kinda hurt not really then my doctor put bandage and told me that i should sleep with it and keep it on if i'm home but take it off when i shower. What i'm worried about is i'm scared that it'll hurt everytime i take the bandage off and put it back on again. :/ my mom's going to do it for me but i'm still scared kind of that it might really hurt. I was wondering if it hurt you everytime you put the bandages on?

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  2. MarieFebruary 10, 2011 at 9:47 AM

    Hi Ani -
    Congrats on your surgery! I remember the first couple weeks were the worst, so just know it'll get better very soon.

    For me, it didn't hurt at all to take the bandage off, so don't worry or be scared, you will be just fine! :) But everybody has a slightly different experience, so if for some reason it is painful just call your doc and ask about it. That's the one piece of advice i'd give -- don't be afraid to call the doc for anything at all. My doc (Dr. Naficy) was extremely helpful, i was calling them a lot the first month.

    You will get through this, and honestly after 2 months you'll be totally back to your old self, but with a better nose. :) Best of luck with your recovery!

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  3. AniFebruary 11, 2011 at 1:58 AM

    Thank you Marie :)

    Well today my mom took the bandage off and put it back on for the first time, it didn't hurt like i thought.

    Right now i have 'chipmunk cheeks' and yellowish eyesh. And i'm hoping things go back to normal within two months :)

    Thanks a bunch!!!

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  4. CorrineJanuary 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM

    Hi there! Thank you for sharing your nose job experience with the rest of us. This can really help others in deciding if it is worth it or not.

    _____________________________________________________________
    Rhinoplasty Philippines

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownJune 12, 2017 at 6:19 AM

    HI this is my 5th day and I'm really down about how I look. I am EXTREMELY swollen my nose is too. Is this normal? When will my face look normal again? I am freaking out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarieJune 12, 2017 at 11:19 AM

      Congrats on your decision! Yes I remember it does take a while for swelling to go down. If i recall, I think it was about 2 weeks when I felt comfortable in public. But it will be a couple months before you look like yourself again (but better!) Most of the swelling was gone for me after 3 months (maybe 80%?).... But honestly it takes up to a year for 100% of swelling to go away. Don't worry, it will get better every single day, and in a few months you will be so happy you went though it all, I promise!! I remember after the first week, each day I saw some improvement. Hang in there and try to be patient, distract yourself as much as possible. :) Right now it's probably the worst it will look, so it will only get better. Good luck!

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