The Worst is Over

I do believe I've come out the other side.  The surgery is done and I'm feeling somewhat myself again.  I don't have a lot of energy, my nose and face are sore and am I'm congested like I have a cold, but overall I can't complain.  My sinuses were opened up and my deviated septum was straightened.

Monday morning I woke up and was nervous.  I cried and hugged C at home and he told me to "pull it together".   Not really what I wanted to hear, but what I needed to hear.  After that I was all optimism and good spirits.  I even did a little Rocky impersonation before putting on my gown to show I was ready.  The surgery was done in a "surgery center" next to a main hospital so this place moved along pretty quickly since no emergencies went through it.  After being asked about 14 times if I could be pregnant (even though I had a blood test done) and if I had anything to eat or drink, I put on my gown, had a bunch of drugs put into my IV and was on my way to the OR.  They didn't even pause for me to say goodbye to C...I yelled over my shoulder, but he didn't hear me.  Anesthesia is very interesting to me, as they wheeled me to the OR I was asked if I was sleepy yet (no) and then I'm in the OR on another table with people putting something under my arms.  Next thing I know I'm in the recovery room.  I'm so happy they left my glasses on until I was sleeping and put them back on me before I woke up.  I was nauseous and shivering and my nose hurt, which they took care of and then I was put in a reclining chair and wheeled to a recovery area where they brought C to see me.  The last 2 hours of my life didn't exist to me.  From when we left home to being back home was about 4.5 hours.

The recovery process has been a little different each day.  I didn't have an appetite for a couple days and narcotics keep me awake so my eating and sleeping habits have been weird.  My nose bled the first day so I had a stylish piece of gauze taped under my nose.  I felt surprising well when I got home, although I later realized it was from the concoction of drugs put in my IV.  It took some trial and error to get the pain meds right at home.  Nothing totally cut the pain, but kept it mild most of the time.  Once the anesthesia and pain meds worked their way through my system and I switched to just Tylenol, I have felt better.  I don't have a lot of energy and I'm really congested.  I had splints in my nose that made me really congested with nowhere for it to go, and that was miserable, but those splints were taken out today.  They hurt coming out, but they also hurt being inside my nose too.  Dr. asked if I wanted to see them...nope, no thank you.  He said some people want to see them and even take them home.  The sinus part of the surgery doesn't cause too much pain.  The deviated septum is what causes a longer recovery.  The inside of my nose was basically cut apart an then re-sowed together.  Oh and I had to sleep sitting as upright as possible which was hard for me because it's bad for my neck and causes more neck pain and headaches.  I've been sleeping on the couch since I had a ramp of pillows to push me upward.  The Dr. told me today I can try sleeping in a normal position as long as I don't bleed.  All the things I need to do (or not do) is about avoiding bleeding.   No hot showers, no hot foods, no bending/lifting/hanging my head down, no exercise.  Bleeding is bad. 

I didn't have any bruising, but my nose was a bit swollen.  Not so much that it looked weird, but if you knew me, you'd know it was a little big.  It made it hard for me to talk coherently and C could barely understand me.  I had to cut food into little pieces to get it in since it was hard to open my mouth wide.  After getting the splints out to day and my nose cleaned out, this is much better now.

Now I just need to take it easy.  Doc says the first week will be the worst.  I'm not sure how long until I'm deemed "recovered", but Doc tells me to be patient because there is a lot of swelling. 

I'll be happy to sleep in my bed tonite.   THANK YOU to everyone who sent well wishes or gifts...I really appreciate the support, even though I wasn't in the mood to talk in the last few days to tell you myself.