Deviated Septums? UPDATED

[DurocShark]

I go into the hospital for surgery on mine this Wed.

They're going to snip out some of my septum, pull the remaining ends together and stitch them up. While they're doing that they'll be shrinking my turbinates.

This is just freaking me out... MESSING WITH MY FACE!

ugh.


----------------------

Update 6/23

Well, my little surgery turned into some scary sh!t.

I just got home about an hour ago. I smoked my first cig in a couple days and it took a little bit to get over the massive headrush.

The surgery in and of itself seemed to go well. The surgeon was pleased with the results. My septum is straight. My turbinates are shrunk. All is good. I'll find out Monday eaactly what work was done. Whether any bone was mofied, etc.

The problems began later.

In the recovery room, my nose kept bleeding. I drank 6 pints of blood (measured by how much I threw up.) I was weak, kept passing out, and had several panic attacks because I couldn't breathe. It didn't get better. The idiots at the "surgical center" kept replacing my blood with saline. Sorry, but saline != blood! No wonder I couldn't sit up!

I was too weak to get up to go pee. My attempts at using a urinal in bed failed. I finally asked for a catheter. Ugh. The pain was horrendous. I've had surgeries before and had catheters, and never has one hurt like that. I heard someone ask the nurse if she needed the analgesic lubricant and she said, "No, I'm done now." WTF? And to make matters worse, when the nurse at the hospital removed it at my request she said, "Oh my god... Why did they use such a large catheter?" Sigh...

I even asked at one point if I shouldn't be getting blood instead of water. "Well, there is always risk with using blood, so we have decided to let your body make its own blood." But they insisted on keeping me there until the 23 hour limit was up.

Except my body was so flooded with this water now that it didn't realize it needed to make any blood. I had gone into anemic shock. They finally transferred me to a real hospital instead of the stupid surgicenter.

****Don't go to a surgical center if you can avoid it. They milked the insurance for every dime they could. Keeping me that full 23 hours delayed my recovery by at least that long.****

20 minutes after I got to Littleton Adventist Hospital they had me on blood (type A-negative, BTW.) Shortly after that I was feeling much better. I ate a turkey sandwich and kept it down. Got a cup of coffee, went to the bathroom,etc. My stool was jet black from all the blood I'd been drinking. Nasty.

They kept me one more night waiting until it was obvious my body was back on its own making blood. For breakfast I had a Denver omlette and a cinnamon roll. Lunch was a chicken ceaser salad (Lots of greens until my blood is back to 100% normal.)

BTW: I've gotta give props to Littleton hospital. I got a private room, good nursing staff, and a great menu. Here's a sample of my ROOM SERVICE menu (really! That's what they called it!)

Here's a sample:

Breakfast: Belgian Waffle, Denver Omlette, Breakfast quesadilla
Lunch/Dinner: Sirloin Steak, Stir Fry, Baked Salmon, Chicken Bruschetta, Lasagna

In addition to normal stuff like mashed potatoes, oatmeal, etc.

All covered by my insurance! Woot!

---------------------

Update 6/26

Just got home a couple hours ago from the doctor's to get all the scabs scraped off from my nose. The doctor had to tell me to stop screaming. I'm such a little girl when it comes to my nose.

(OUCH!!!!OMG!!!!!OUCH!!!!STOP!!!!!OUCH!!!ARRRGGHHHH!!!!)

I'm told the first time is the worst.

My blood pressure is still flaky, but it's staying over 110 standing or resting, so we're calling that good. Hemoglobin count is at 11. Not perfect, but still ok. No work this week though.

I'm still feeling weak but no more tingling in my fingers and toes. I should be able to drive myself by Wed. (I miss my bus!)

 

[ruffilb]

Is this some oblivion thing?

 

[Jejunum]

i had the surgery your describing done (had my nose broken a couple times!). No biggie. post op sucked though - as i remember the doc pulled out scar tissue 3 or 4 times - very painful!

 

[sao123]

had mine done...

post surgery...
gagging and choking on blood(clots) running down the back of my throat.

Your nose will be packed with cotton for 4 days. You cant breath, eat or sleep.
The tylenol with codein will make you puke every 4 hours, which will cause you to get more nose bleeds.

then they pull out the cotton packing 4 days later, which hurts like hell. worst pain ever.

Then 2 weeks later they snip the inside of your nose to remove the plastic splints.

Chances are after all is done you'll breath better, but you'll wake up with dry mouth & nose every morning for the rest of your life. you'll sleep with a humidifier, and use saline gel/spray daily forever.

 

[Kyle]

Originally posted by: sao123
had mine done...

post surgery...
gagging and choking on blood(clots) running down the back of my throat.

Your nose will be packed with cotton for 4 days. You cant breath, eat or sleep.
The tylenol with codein will make you puke every 4 hours, which will cause you to get more nose bleeds.

then they pull out the cotton packing 4 days later, which hurts like hell. worst pain ever.

Then 2 weeks later they snip the inside of your nose to remove the plastic splints.

Chances are after all is done you'll breath better, but you'll wake up with dry mouth & nose every morning for the rest of your life. you'll sleep with a humidifier, and use saline gel/spray daily forever.

where do I sign up?

 

[swimscubasteve]

Originally posted by: sao123
had mine done...

post surgery...
gagging and choking on blood(clots) running down the back of my throat.

Your nose will be packed with cotton for 4 days. You cant breath, eat or sleep.
The tylenol with codein will make you puke every 4 hours, which will cause you to get more nose bleeds.

then they pull out the cotton packing 4 days later, which hurts like hell. worst pain ever.

Then 2 weeks later they snip the inside of your nose to remove the plastic splints.

Chances are after all is done you'll breath better, but you'll wake up with dry mouth & nose every morning for the rest of your life. you'll sleep with a humidifier, and use saline gel/spray daily forever.

I had it done and this is a major QFT!

 

[KillerAngel]

Originally posted by: swimscubasteve

Originally posted by: sao123
had mine done...

post surgery...
gagging and choking on blood(clots) running down the back of my throat.

Your nose will be packed with cotton for 4 days. You cant breath, eat or sleep.
The tylenol with codein will make you puke every 4 hours, which will cause you to get more nose bleeds.

then they pull out the cotton packing 4 days later, which hurts like hell. worst pain ever.

Then 2 weeks later they snip the inside of your nose to remove the plastic splints.

Chances are after all is done you'll breath better, but you'll wake up with dry mouth & nose every morning for the rest of your life. you'll sleep with a humidifier, and use saline gel/spray daily forever.

I had it done and this is a major QFT!

Sounds like total hell. Good luck, Duroc

 

[EatSpam]

Originally posted by: sao123
had mine done...

post surgery...
gagging and choking on blood(clots) running down the back of my throat.

Your nose will be packed with cotton for 4 days. You cant breath, eat or sleep.
The tylenol with codein will make you puke every 4 hours, which will cause you to get more nose bleeds.

then they pull out the cotton packing 4 days later, which hurts like hell. worst pain ever.

Then 2 weeks later they snip the inside of your nose to remove the plastic splints.

Chances are after all is done you'll breath better, but you'll wake up with dry mouth & nose every morning for the rest of your life. you'll sleep with a humidifier, and use saline gel/spray daily forever.

How long ago did you have yours done? I had mine done 3 months ago, and it was a lot easier than you described. There wasn't any gauze packing. There was no stitch removal. Very easy. I haven't used nasal spray since a few days after my surgery and never used a humidifier.

The Tylenol w/ codene puking thing varies by person. It didn't bother me that much.

 

[marmasatt]

Yeah, it's pretty freaky. Only surgery I've ever had (knock on wood) so I was really nervous going in. You're probably an athlete who's currently having sinus/allergy problems like the rest of us? Surgery itself is really fast - an hour or so. Your nose is gonna be packed something lovely, but I think post op hits people differently. You'll be out a minimum of a week. I was feeling like 80% after 3 or 4 days and playing basketball in a few weeks (even though I was supposed to wait about 5 IIRC). For me, it was the "scrape out" for lack of a better work for the primary surgery and then fix the deviated septum as a secondary..... You should have disolvable stitches, but you probably will be going back to the Doc for this drainage/evacuation procedure. Keep some hope though, you may not be miserable beyond a couple of days. And, you will have Tylenol w/ Codeine as someone already mentioned. Let us know how you do.

 

[LegendKiller]

I have had 2 as I was growing up, need another. My nasal canals are all screwed up. I remember that they suck and aren't fun at all.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: EatSpam

Originally posted by: sao123
had mine done...

post surgery...
gagging and choking on blood(clots) running down the back of my throat.

Your nose will be packed with cotton for 4 days. You cant breath, eat or sleep.
The tylenol with codein will make you puke every 4 hours, which will cause you to get more nose bleeds.

then they pull out the cotton packing 4 days later, which hurts like hell. worst pain ever.

Then 2 weeks later they snip the inside of your nose to remove the plastic splints.

Chances are after all is done you'll breath better, but you'll wake up with dry mouth & nose every morning for the rest of your life. you'll sleep with a humidifier, and use saline gel/spray daily forever.

How long ago did you have yours done? I had mine done 3 months ago, and it was a lot easier than you described. There wasn't any gauze packing. There was no stitch removal. Very easy. I haven't used nasal spray since a few days after my surgery and never used a humidifier.

The Tylenol w/ codene puking thing varies by person. It didn't bother me that much.

I had mine done 7 months ago.

If you had no packing, then he didnt have to chisel out part of your septum and turbinates, my nose was 60% blocked on both sides.

 

[Journer]

i had this done at the same time i had my sinuses cleared up (chronic sinus infection disease thing..) i have to say it wasnt too bad at all...i had giant ass stints up my nose and when he pulled them out...it felt kind of cool instead oif hurting...go figure...nothing to worry about your face...i doubt anything could happen to make it look bad...you will notice a HUGE differene from the surgery though...i sleep a lot better and dont get sick so often (well...mine was due to chronic sinus, not septum)

 

[Captante]

I had this done also, about 10 years ago & with local anesthesia as a bonus ... I can still remember the doctor breaking my nose with somthing that looked & felt like a chisel... it made a sound like pulling a wing off a chicken!

The worst part by far was having the cotton packing removed as others have said, it was an orgasmic rush of pain! Long-term results have been pretty good, I don't need steroid nasel spray year-round just to breath & I don't get dry mouth every morning, also no more chronic sinus infections which was the original reason I went for the surgery.

 

[DurocShark]

No Tylenol 3 crap for me... The Dr has already written me the prescription for Percocet. She asked me if I wanted Percocet or Vicodin.

I do have to go back once a week for a month for the scar scrapes though. Ugh.

Thanks for the comments!

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: DurocShark
No Tylenol 3 crap for me... The Dr has already written me the prescription for Percocet. She asked me if I wanted Percocet or Vicodin.

I do have to go back once a week for a month for the scar scrapes though. Ugh.

Thanks for the comments!

Uhhh... Percocet & Vicodin & Tylenol Codein are all brand names for the same thing

They are all a mixture of Acetaminophen & Oxycodone hydrochloride (a form of Codein)

Patients undergoing surgery must have Acetaminophen for pain relief because Ibuproefin and Aspirin both thin your blood, which makes you bleed easier. This would be bad for your post surgical recovery.

 

[Rob_63]

I had mine done in my mid 20's and remember it to this day, they gave me Versed to relax me and a local of coke sticks. Then the doctor hammered away with a chisel and mallet, when he sheared off the excess piece he pulled it out to show it to me.

I remember the first few minutes in the recovery room I could breath like I hadn't been able to in years, but that was short lived due to the swelling setting in.

My only regret was that I didn't do it years before.

You'll be fine, no need to agonize over it,

best of luck to you!

 

[Descartes]

For those that have a deviated septum, was your breathing obstructed at all times? I'm going to the doctor in a week because I can't breathe out of my damn right nostril 90% of the time. The only time I can breathe is when I take the steroid spray usually.

Also, did you develop the deviated septum as a result of an injury or something else, or have you always had it?

 

[harrkev]

I had it done about two years ago. I guess that it all depends on the doctor, as I had very little pain. The worst part was having your nose feel like it is full of snot and having to follow the instructions "Don't Blow Your Nose!"

I also had a "turbinectomy" where they did a massive weight-loss program on my turbinates. Now I can breathe much better! If I had to do it all over again, I would still do it. The results were worth it in my case.

 

[dullard]

I've got a question. How do they really test for a deviated septum? On TV, I always see them holding up a mirror, having the patient breath out through the nose onto the mirror, and one side has more condensation. Well duh, one side of the nose is always more congested than the other, so that will always happen. That mirror test proves nothing. So how do they really test for it?

 

[NuclearNed]

Yikes - my nose has been broken, and I always kind of thought that one day I might get it fixed. After reading this thread, I'm thinking that I can live with it.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Originally posted by: sao123
Uhhh... Percocet & Vicodin & Tylenol Codein are all brand names for the same thing

They are all a mixture of Acetaminophen & Oxycodone hydrochloride (a form of Codein)

Patients undergoing surgery must have Acetaminophen for pain relief because Ibuproefin and Aspirin both thin your blood, which makes you bleed easier. This would be bad for your post surgical recovery.

They're not "the same thing", just because some of the narcotics are derived from codeine.

Codeine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone are not the same medications, so saying they're different names for the same thing is inaccurate.

I found that Vicodin and percodan tended to make me nauseous, while Tylenol3 doesn't.

I was told I have a mild deviated septum, after seeing all this, I don't think I'll ever be likely to try and have anything done about it. As far as I know, it's not causing any major problems for me.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Originally posted by: dullard
I've got a question. How do they really test for a deviated septum? On TV, I always see them holding up a mirror, having the patient breath out through the nose onto the mirror, and one side has more condensation. Well duh, one side of the nose is always more congested than the other, so that will always happen. That mirror test proves nothing. So how do they really test for it?

I was looking at a website that talked about the two halves of your brain and how one side is always the "active" or dominant side, and that it switches back and forth during the day, and that you can tell which side is active based on which nostril you're breathing out of. Up to that point, I'd always been pissed off noticing that it switched back and forth and not knowing why; now I'm pissed off but I know why.

I was told I have a mild deviated septum, when I went to have a hearing test, and all they did was look up my nose with a scope.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: Lord Evermore

Originally posted by: sao123
Uhhh... Percocet & Vicodin & Tylenol Codein are all brand names for the same thing

They are all a mixture of Acetaminophen & Oxycodone hydrochloride (a form of Codein)

Patients undergoing surgery must have Acetaminophen for pain relief because Ibuproefin and Aspirin both thin your blood, which makes you bleed easier. This would be bad for your post surgical recovery.

They're not "the same thing", just because some of the narcotics are derived from codeine.

Codeine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone are not the same medications, so saying they're different names for the same thing is inaccurate.

I found that Vicodin and percodan tended to make me nauseous, while Tylenol3 doesn't.

I was told I have a mild deviated septum, after seeing all this, I don't think I'll ever be likely to try and have anything done about it. As far as I know, it's not causing any major problems for me.

regardless of the form of the codein... the point was...
they are all (Acetaminophen), being sold under a different name.
He is still taking a generic tylenol equivolent with insert choice of codein ingredient here ___________.

 

[Soubriquet]

So many people with allergic rhinitis, I am thinking there must be something new we are living with which is effecting people, either a plastic or a chemical of some sort.

The organophosphate pesticides for example were originally developed as nerve agents by the Nazis. I dont think we should be using them, its just profit driven, you know what I mean ?

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: Soubriquet
So many people with allergic rhinitis, I am thinking there must be something new we are living with which is effecting people, either a plastic or a chemical of some sort.

No, it's just one of those things we as humans lived with. The doctors just figured out a good way to address these issues, as well as the fact that most of us have insurance that covers it, unlike just a few decades ago.

My septum is Z shaped. It blocks both sides. No injury or anything. I never really had problems with it until my turbinates started swelling as well when I moved to the desert 10 years ago. The combination of the two was the killer. And living up here in Denver isn't helping.

Turbinates are supposed to swell alternately. The problem is when both swell at the same time and dont shrink enough when their turn is over.