Word to the wise, surgery kinda stinks.

So I had surgery 8 days ago. It was a nasal reconstructive procedure (non-cosmetic) that involved 3 separate components. The procedure was to correct turbinates that had increased in size; straighten my deviated septum and also take cartilage from my septum to rebuild a collapsed nasal valve. If that sounds like a lot it is because it is. Many people have surgery just to correct one of those problems but I had all 3, which have caused me a lot of breathing difficulty over the years. I have never (that I can remember) gotten a completely restful nights sleep because I am constantly waking up to readjust myself so I can try to get a little bit of air through my nose. This should correct those issues and hopefully greatly improve my sleep and overall quality of life. Here’s hoping…..

It will be about a month or so until I am healed and can tell if the procedure was a success. According to the Dr. I should see at least  a 50-70% improvement. To me, anything better than what I had before would be a huge improvement!

The process itself was a quick one, I saw the surgeon, made the decision to have surgery and had the procedure done all within 3 weeks. The recovery process has been incredibly hard, harder than I anticipated and I anticipated it being pretty sucky. I still have a ways to go before I feel like myself again but I am getting there and I am really excited to see the final results. And to see my nose back to its old self, right now I still look like someone else because of the swelling.

I did learn a valuable lesson through all of this…cosmetic surgery is not for me. After all of the pain and discomfort I went through to breath better I cannot imagine going through a similar process just for the sake of looking different, or “better”. I know plenty of people who have had work done, on their faces and other places and no disrespect to them, if it makes you happy I say go for it! But for me, I hope this surgery will be one of the only procedures I ever have to experience.

Another thing I learned while recovering….Gatorade is extra delicious when you don’t feel well. I haven’t figured out why yet but trust me. If half of your face is ever bandaged and you have to drink through a straw because your mouth is swollen, drink some fruit punch Gatorade. Delish.

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