ENT Recovery - Day 11

It's been a few days since my last update but I've been a little busy. On Friday, I went to get cleared to return to work through the Occupational Health department. At the time, my nose was still dripping quite frequently. After looking at me and talking to me, the nurse decided to not sign off on my paperwork until Monday. I had a feeling this would happen. It's not really sanitary if I'm holding onto a tissue constantly and rubbing at my leaking nose every 5 seconds. Over the weekend, my draining slowly decreased so that I'm only using a tissue every 20 minutes or so instead of every 5 seconds so that's a great improvement. I'm supposed to call Occupational Health today and if she's satisfied with my answers, then I'll return to work tomorrow.

Nose is feeling a lot better. Since I've been able to blow my nose gently I've felt a lot better. It still feels like I have a cold but it's much more manageable. My nose isn't as sensitive anymore either. It's still sore but I can touch it and sorta move it without intense pain which is great!

After thinking about all the surgeries I've had to date, I can safely say that this one was the hardest. With my jaw surgeries, my jaws and face were numb or partially numb for the most part. I think that made the entire recovery experience easier. This time around, I was in a lot more pain which I was not expecting. Also, this surgery was gross. Blood and snot dripping from my nose and eyes that refused to stop watering made the last 10 days miserable. At least with my jaw surgeries, I could watch tv and relax but this time I couldn't. Most days I could barely wear my glasses. And I was afraid to wear contacts because I wasn't sure if my eyes were watering from pressure from my glasses resting on the bridge of my nose OR if it was the splints inside my nose. If it was the splints (which I'm almost positive it was), then my eyes were going to water whether or not I wore my glasses. The watery eyes made it impossible to watch anything on tv so it was quite a boring and uneventful recovery.

Since the splints came out, I've been much better. My husband and I went and saw Captain America Civil War which was awesome. We also spent some time with my family for mother's day weekend which was nice. We also played some video games with my niece and nephew. All in all, a great couple of days. I'm looking forward to getting back to work and getting back into the swing of things.

ENT Recovery - Day 6 (Post op Appointment)

Today was the big day! Post Op appointment where I say goodbye to my nasal splints. My appointment was at 9:30am. My husband drove me to and from my appointment which I'm glad we did. I was a little nervous so I took a half dose of my pain medication about an hour before the appointment. My splints came out very easily but it definitely wasn't pain free. It wasn't unbearable but it wasn't a "piece of cake" either. I probably could have done without the pain meds but it might have made the experience worse if I hadn't.

What surprised me the most were the nasal splints. HOLY SHIT. They were huge! I couldn't believe that those things had been inside my nose for the past 6 days. No wonder I was uncomfortable. They were about 3 inches long and made of a clear plastic-y substance. They were slightly rounded. Getting them removed felt awful and wonderful at the same time. My nose has been dripping but not really bleeding which is good.

My surgeon cleaned my nose with some weird vacuum thing and that probably felt worse than the splints coming out. Once everything was done and my nostrils were cleaned up, breathing was great! I still feel kind of woozy and my nose is still very tender. I'll be out of work until Monday, May 9th.

Post op instructions from today include:

• May return to work without restrictions on Monday, May 9th. (Not too sure about this but we will see. My job is pretty flexible. If someone helps me with certain tasks, I think I'll be ok.)
• No working out for another 1-2 weeks. Once I do start to work out again, start small.
• No ibuprofen for 1 more week. Start with a low dose at first, if bleeding starts, stop using immediately.
• Slightly elevated sleep for another 1-2 weeks. One extra pillow should do it.
• May gently blow nose but nothing too forceful.
• If I need to sneeze, sneeze with mouth open. Don't hold anything back.
• There are still stitches inside my nostrils. Do not pull at them, they should dissolve on their own (haha, yea right. If they are anything like oral dissolving stitches, I'll believe it when I see it.). If they become too long, you may trim them down. 
• Saline spray 2 squirts in each nostril followed by vaseline around nostrils 3 times a day for 2-3 weeks.
• Finish any remaining antibiotics

It's been a few hours since my post-op appointment and I can already tell that my eyes are much better. My eyes watered like crazy during my appointment, but since then have calmed down significantly. I'm excited to see how I feel in a few days, I'm hoping that swelling will go down and that breathing will get easier. 

I got another doctor's appointment tomorrow, this time with my PcP. Not sure how happy she'll be that my blood pressure was so high. I may need to switch to a different medication so I guess we'll see about that tomorrow! 

Nose recover day 5

Today was a little bit of a rough day for me. I think I might have pushed it a little too much.

I woke up and felt crummy. My nose hurt and I just generally felt blah. After taking some pain medicine, I got really nauseous. I have some anti-nausea medicating so I took that too.

Next thing I know, I'm waking up and it's almost 6pm. I fell asleep around 10am, btw. Not sure if I just really needed the sleep or the medication just worked too well. When I woke up, I felt just so out of it. Definitely don't think I'll be using those pills again.

Ready to get my splints out tomorrow! It'll probably suck so I'll probably spend most of the day sleeping again. Don is driving me to my appointment so that makes me feel a little better.

Nose recovery day 3

Today is a whole new day. Yesterday was kind of rough. Yesterday, my nose was still bleeding quite steadily. The hardest part for me was sleeping, I think. I never got more than 3-4 hours of continuous sleep so I've felt really tired. My eyes have been watering like crazy and it has left large crusts around my eyes. And because they've been watering so much, my eyes are very dry.

Woke up today and my eyes are still watering like crazy. However, my nose bleeding has slowed down quite a bit. I can feel the splints in my nose and I think that is what is causing my eyes to water so much. They are really irritating. I'm looking forward to getting them removed on Wednesday, that's for sure.

I did go on a walk yesterday around the block. It felt good, I hope I can go on another one today. I took a shower this morning already. I didn't drip blood every where which is a good sign!

My eyes have been bothering me a lot yesterday and today. The shower helped a bit but they are still leaking like crazy. I can sorta breathe out of my nostrils but it feels like I have a really bad head cold. I'm trying not to breathe out of them so that they don't dry out completely. The more moist they are, the faster they'll heal.

ENT surgery recovery day 1

Today was kinda crappy. I knew the 1st 24 hours of recovery would be so I'm not super surprised. This recovery has been different than my previous surgeries which is weird.

My nose has been steadily dripping blood all day. This is normal and extremely gross. One nostril is all but done, the other one is still going strong. I've had to breathe out of my mouth which is so foreign to me. Since all my previous surgeries have had to do with my jaw and mouth, I've been forced to mostly breathe through my nose.

I've spent most of day 1 of recovery either sleeping or watching snippets of TV. My eyes have been a little sensitive. They've been watering constantly. I can't wear my glasses for long amounts of time either because the bridge of my nose is swollen.

Took a shower this afternoon and it felt really good. I have marks on my arm from the blood pressure cuff at the hospital.  And the arm where my IV was is good, no bruising yet.

I plan on trying to go for a walk tomorrow with Don and the puppy.

I had scrambled eggs this morning and they were fantastic! Thanks don for making them and taking care of me!

Last surgery is done!

My last surgery is done! Everything went well and I got sent home around 3pm. I probably would have gotten sent home earlier but my blood pressure was super high. After getting some extra meds and waiting for it to come down, I was finally able to be sent home. The blood pressure thing happened the last two times so I'm not sure if it's a result from the anesthesia.
I have an appointment next week to have my blood pressure rechecked at my primary care office anyway and they seemed happy with that information.

My nose is swollen and sore but it looks good. My throat is constantly dry and sore due to having to breathe out of my mouth.  My nose is still dripping but that's normal.

Was able to drink from a straw and eat a peanut butter sandwich. Looking forward to scrambled eggs tomorrow.

I'm ready to floss like a normal person! 30 days until debanding!

It's only been a few days since my last update instead of a month, haha! Trying to get better at this.

Today is one of my favorite days, marathon monday! I usually work on this day because it's such a fun day to work. The hospital has a pretty low census due to the road restrictions (my work is along the marathon route) so it's usually a pretty chill day. They always have a bbq and there are lots of areas to sit and watch the runners. Unfortunately, I have the day off so I'm here sitting on my couch watching the marathon coverage on tv. Today is going to be a beautiful day so good luck to all the runners out there!

My appointment on Friday went well. I had scrubs on because I had to go to work after my appointment and Dr. Klein was so surprised. She said she knew I worked at the hospital but had never seen me wear scrubs before! The appointment was super quick, they didn't even switch out my wire, just changed out my A-chains. My next and last braces appointment is probably going to be long. Debanding, photos, models and retainers all can take some time. We talked a bit about what happens after my braces come off. I'll be seen after 6 months and then after that I'll be seen yearly on my surgical anniversary. If I have issues with my retainers, I can go any time to have them looked at but for the most part, I'll be on my own. She also mentioned seeing a prosthodontist and potentially about getting veneers. I nodded and listened but honestly, I'm just ready to get on with my life. I know my teeth are important but I just need a few months where I'm not hemorrhaging money on my teeth. I don't think it'll destroy my teeth if I wait on veneers for awhile.

I just want to bask in the glory of being able to floss my teeth like a normal person!

Something that slightly annoyed me is how many people commented on how I need to get my teeth cleaned. Dr Klein asked if I had already made an appointment for a teeth cleaning. I told her I was waiting until after my braces came off and she said that was perfect. But every single technician made a comment about how I should "think about" getting my teeth cleaned within the next couple weeks. Why would I get my teeth cleaned if my braces are coming off in less than 4 weeks? I'm sure if I spoke to my dental hygienist she would recommend that I wait so that way she can do the most thorough cleaning she could. If I got a cleaning now, all it would do would cost me more money since I'd have to go back after my braces were off and get another cleaning anyway. Ugh, it just irritated me because I felt like I was repeating myself constantly.

I'm about 10 days out from my next surgery and I'm actually ok. I haven't been sleeping well recently and I think it's due to my deviated septum and the uptick in environmental allergies going on. I've been waking up in the middle of the night because I can't really breathe. I'm a stomach sleeper so I usually find myself waking up on the side with the deviated septum. I'm looking forward to getting that fixed and being able to get a better night's sleep.

Not sure if I'll have time to post again before my surgery but I'll have some free time once I get out of surgery... again, hahaha.

Home stretch! Almost there!

So guys, I'm sorry. I'm such a slacker and a bit of a liar. After my last post, I promised to update everyone with my orthodontist visit (which was a month ago, btw). I'm the worst. But seriously, I've just been super busy. My hubby and I went on a road trip together (From Massachusetts to Florida and back) and we had a blast. Then, when I came back, I immediately went into crazy work mode since my hospital transitioned to a new patient care/electric record system. I had a lot of overtime last week and this week is just as much, if not more. At this point I'm so overtired that I can't sleep (the thought of this conundrum makes me laugh hysterically) so I thought I'd finally get to updating everyone with all the things that have happened recently.

My last orthodontist appointment was good. I can't remember much about it cause it was so long ago. I do remember one thing though, Dr. Klein told me that it's time for my braces to come off!!!!!!!! I know this day has been coming for a long time and I'm super excited but it definitely feels surreal. She originally told me that I could take them off at my next appointment but I told her that I didn't feel comfortable taking them off before my final surgery. My next (and hopefully this time, final) surgery is officially Thursday April 28th at Mass Eye & Ear in Boston.

Since this surgery is dealing with my nasal cavity and my nose, I'll be forced to have a tube down my throat when I go in for this surgery. This is not a big deal until you factor in that you can't have anything loose in your mouth when they do this. When I get my braces off, I'll still need to wear a retainer 24/7. Since retainers are not permanent, they can potentially get dislodged during surgery and cause a patient to asphyxiate. That's not good which is why they don't allow it.

Dr. Klein was not comfortable with me not being able to wear my retainer for upwards of 4+ hours weeks after getting my braces taken off. I've worked too hard and invested too much time and money into my smile to compromise it now. So after a quick discussion, we ultimately decided that waiting a few extra weeks with braces was worth it.

Friday, May 20th is my debanding day and I can't wait!

My next appointment is tomorrow. It is also my last appointment before the braces come off! WHAA?! This is so crazy, I can't wrap my head around the concept.

I'm so exhausted from work these past couple weeks that I make no promises regarding an update for tomorrow. I may get to one on saturday so look for something (maybe) then!

Almost time to say goodbye to my bling...

Had another appointment, this time with Dr. Klein.

I just realized that all of my doctors have last names that begin with the letter 'K.' What's weird is that I just noticed it after 2 years..... 

My appointment was at 10:50am. It was my day off from work and since the weather was supposed to be semi-crappy (not snow-crappy, just general rain-crappy), I gambled and took my chances on the T. Thankfully, the D line on the green line is fairly reliable so I had no issues. Since I was taking the T, I made sure I left with plenty of time. If I take the train into the city, it normally takes me just under an hour. I grabbed something to eat and then got to my appointment a little early.

Normally, I just drive in because I usually book my appointments to be before my shift at work. I don't really have much time to take the train when I have to be at work right after. And rush hour traffic into Boston, isn't always fun so I normally arrive for my appointment right on time. In the past, when I've gone to the office in Boston, I usually have to wait 10-15 minutes after when my appointment is supposed to start.

This appointment was so different! I walked in about 10 minutes early and was taken into the office IMMEDIATELY. This has never happened to me before! Anyway, I walked in and had a great appointment. Dr, Klein looked at my teeth and told me that my teeth are almost ready to be free from the braces! Like, within 2-3 appointments ready. It's so strange trying to imagine what things will be like without them on. They are part of who I am at this point.

There are a few tweeks that she'd like me to do before she'll take them off and so I'm back into wearing elastics all the time again. These elastics aren't as tight as the ones before, thank god. They are a lot more manageable. She also placed power chains on the upper teeth and double power chains on my lower teeth. When I went home that night, my teeth were so sore, I could barely eat anything. I'm glad I took ibuprofen cause I was very uncomfortable. When I woke up the next day though, almost all of the spaces in between my teeth were gone. They were gone in under 24 hours which is totally amazing! The top teeth aren't as bad but the bottom teeth had large gaps. I went back to a normal diet on Friday, so I was only uncomfortable for a few days.

We talked about my teeth a little bit. I'll need to get a deep cleaning done after the braces come off. One tooth is sorta funky and she's said that she wants to shape it so that it's a little more natural. I chipped my front tooth when I was a kid on my aunt's pool. When they fixed it, they built it up a little bit because my other tooth hadn't grown in all the way and they weren't sure how big it was going to be. Thankfully, since it's not real, they just have to file it down a bit to make it even. Dr. Klein said that I've invested so much time and money into my smile that I deserve to have a "smokin' smile." I laughed and gave her permission to go full perfectionist with my teeth.


I did tell Dr. Klein about the deviated septum thing and after really considering my options, I've just decided to get it over with sooner rather than later. My husband and I talked about the pros and cons and we both agreed that getting it done now would save us headaches down the road. Since this winter has been fairly mild, I haven't gotten sick which is such a blessing. However, I'm not sure I'm comfortable hoping that I won't get sick between now and when I decide to have the surgery. Knowing my luck, I'd get sick and then have to suffer with a cold until I scheduled the surgery.

I've tentatively scheduled my surgery for April 21st. Dr. Kieff only performs surgery on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month. However, he occassionally does surgery on his off weeks if Mass Eye and Ear has the operating room space for him. I'll see Dr. Kieff tomorrow for a hearing test and a follow-up and hopefully he'll tell me about my chances for getting that 3rd Thursday. If not, my surgery will be scheduled for April 28th. At my follow-up, he'll give me more details regarding dos and don'ts for surgery (although, at this point, I'm pretty sure I know what they are) and what I need to have done beforehand. I'm actually excited and interested for the hearing test appointment since I've always had issues with my ears.

My next appointment with Dr. Klein is in 3 weeks so I'll go back and see her at the Danvers office. I forgot to ask her about surgery since it's a possibility that I'll get my braces off before my surgery. Not sure how my retainer will work with surgery but I have a feeling I won't be able to wear it when I'm under general anesthesia. I'll have to ask her about that when I go back for my next appointment.

I'll post an update tomorrow after my appointments with Dr. Kieff. Hopefully, he'll be able to shed some light onto my ENT issues!