Not to derail this thread, but this caught me by surprise. Smoking pot is far worse for fitness than eating ice cream, particularly cardio, is it not?
Glad you're getting your nose fixed up, OP. I'm sure you'll be up-and-running 20 minutes just because in no time.
I had my deviated septum punched out last year, and the sinuses roto-rootered. In hindsight, it was worth it (the time lost, the recovery grossness, the COST) because I can breath much better and I haven't had a major sinus infection since, but it does leave you open for other problems, potentially. My septum took a 90^ turn and almost had the passage closed. 20 minutes? My surgery took almost 2 hours! I was down full-time for about 2 days, but was out making service calls 3 days later, just easing along and not getting stupid.
In my case, I don't get big sinus infections now, something I have been plagued with since I was an infant, but I have had a small infection for the past 6 months... and I'm having a problem communicating the problem with my doctor. Unfortunately, now that I'm off the recovery time, every time I go in, I wind up with a $400 bill after he scopes my snoot, and all he does is give me antibiotics... that don't work.
In the end, I'd still do it, even given my 'trade one problem for another' results. I can breath better.
So.. to get technical, it really depends on what you smoke, how much, and how you do it.
Smoking pot can be harmful, but you can't OD on it, it's not really toxic in any realistic amount, and there's a wide variety of strains that can provide a wide variety of results.
Taking bong rips of a strong Indica will likely give you a sore throat, immediately, and if you do that constantly you'll end up with severe bronchitis. Not good. Not to mention Indica's are the 'motivation killers' that make pot famous for making people lazy.
But if you lightly smoke a sativa, or better yet, vape it, and don't do a lot, it's going to be less harmful to your athleticism than say... pepsi. I can smoke a little bit of a sativa and perform 'better' because it helps me focus but it doesn't dull my senses either. I could smoke a joint of a strong sativa, and still go run a 10k without any measurable impact on my performance. A joint of a strong Indica? I won't find my way out of the house to even get to the 10K.
To that end... the ENT said I had no visible signs in my mouth, nose, or throat that I'm a smoker. I told him I smoked pot, and he said he wouldn't know if I didn't tell him. That's a far cry from what a tobacco smoker deals with. I actually went into the ENT thinking my throat discomfort and breathing problems were from pot, and that's what i told him. The pain I felt in my chest was not from pot, but from acid reflux. He was even able to show me how the base of my tongue was orange and said if my tongue is that orange I will definitely feel discomfort from the acid reflux. I've been on meds for it for the past 2 months and I feel remarkably better.
So yea, I drink too many energy drinks because I'm always tired. Doc said I might be tired because I get bad sleep because of my breathing.
It's all speculation; but now that I'm aware of the deviated septum, a lot of my problems make sense and align with the symptoms of a deviated septum. So I'm really curious to see what results i get.
Well, ok. I guess. I don't smoke pot and never have so I am admittedly "one of those" people. Just seems strange to me that breathing in not-normal-atmosphere on a semi-regular basis would not do some kind of damage that would manifest itself in ways that are more significant than eating a reasonable portion of ice cream at the same frequency. I think it's unquestionable that tobacco would be far worse, as you've agreed above. I would expect the pot to be on the same level as poor air quality, or perhaps marginally less impactful. But in any case, ice cream is calories, fat, sugar. If it is part of a reasonable diet to begin with.... i dunno.
To be clear, I don't mean to say that smoking pot right before a run is any different or the same as eating ice cream before a run. I'm thinking in terms of lifestyle. In any case, it doesn't really matter. Just thinking out loud.
bleeding has stopped. I was able to start doing nasal/sinus flushes with distilled water and saline. It's helped rinse a lot of the crusty blood and crap out.