Rhinoplasty/Septoplasty Recovery

[aikiweezie]

Apparently (don't remember when - I was a naughty child - always breaking something) I broke my nose and ended up with a nasty deviated septum/obstruction. I had surgery on March 31st (8 days ago). Not a pleasant experience. I train in aikikutsu. Dr. says NO CONTACT SPORTS for 10 weeks! Of course there are still things I can do, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience or words of wisdom about recovering from this type of surgery.

Right now I look like I got punched in the face, my nose is numb on the outside and like raw hamburger meat on the inside.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Louise Czuba

[JimGould]

Any advice Yeah, don't get punched in the head :D

[Chuck.Gordon]

My advice: Do what your doctor says.

Did the doc tell you when you could engage in physical activities safely (not just the no-contact-sports thing, when you could run or go to the gym)?

When the doc says you can be active, engage in class activities that will not threaten your injury.

Take good care of yourself. Self-maintenance is an important part of budo training. I learned this too late and the hard way.

Budo will still be there when you're ready to rock and roll again.

Chuck

[bruceb]

About three years ago they put my nose back together as it was becoming blocked from swelled nasal passages creating a real danger of oxygen deprivation. I was told it looked like pancake layers that had been crushed and folded over for having been broken and healed over the years.

Keep it wet.

Lots of tissues.

Ponaris ... a nasal emolient made from all herbal ingredienants, been around since 1931. Might be behind the counter in your pharmacy or you can ask the phamacist to order it. About $12.

Give you body time to heal, as I did Aikido but no falls, or rolls for a couple of weeks. I think I watched more than participated, as that seemed to bring to mind a host of mistakes, or corrections I didn't see when physically practicing.

There is something else ... what is it ...pay attention to any excessive bleeding as you can die from loss of blood from a bloody nose, believe it or not, so gauze or cotton should be handy to fend off the scabs being released if this occurs.

Maybe a bit more vitamin E, and Vitamin B, with more fluids if you are not one to keep up with fluids, but I remember scabs coming off for nearly three months.

Oh well.... that is all I can remember for now, except resting a lot more in the first two weeks to get the pain undercontrol, and get recovered.

It probably didn't help going back to work in the boat factory one month after surgery, but you gotta do what you gotta do to pay the bills and feed the kids.

Look at this time as an opportunity to watch class for a bit, take notes, and catch up on reading and rest.

They put me on oxygen for sleep aphinia while I slept, so keeping the nasal passages lubricated became very important.

Once you try Ponaris, if you are not allergic to any of the ingrediants, the rest of the so called nasal emmolients will seem useless. It has been two and half years, six months after surgery, since I learned about Ponaris, and it still makes a big difference.

Hope you feel better, and this helps.

I know I feel better after surgery, I haven't had but one bloody nose in three years, and it is great to breath through nasal passages again. Now, if I could learn to not snoar when asleep, I could ditch the oxygen machine for sleep aphnia too.

[noura]

I had a septoplasty (https://sleep-land.com/deviated-septum-and-sleep-apnea-cause-septoplasty/) done in 2017. The pain during surgery was a 0, since I was under a general anesthetic. Recovery will vary from person to person, but I don't recall any pain, only a discomfort that was more of an annoyance than anything. They do provide pain medication when you go home, and I was off of that within 2 days.
For prep, the hospital will give you a list of what to do, mainly no food 12 hours prior to surgery.
Part of my recovery included some plastic pieces shoved up my nose. They werent painful but they were certainly not comfortable. The worst part of recovery was having them removed. Basically, they are held in place with a stitch, which gets removed, then the plastic bits are removed from your nostril. A very odd sensation having what seemed to be a 6" piece of plastic pulled out of your nose.
During recovery, I also had a nose bleed that wouldn't stop for ten minutes.
Did it help? Well, sort of. Initially my breathing was fantastic. I never knew you were supposed to breathe from both nostrils, a pretty amazing feeling to be sure. Unfortunately, I also have other issues restricting my breathing. I'd have to go back in to get that fixed, and simply haven't prioritized that.