By 10.30 am on day two, I had already eaten two breakfasts and four glasses of water. I was famished and so thirsty!
I slept the whole night, from about 11.30pm to 7am. The nurse recommended sleeping almost upright, propped up on pillows, which I thought would be uncomfortable, but it wasn't so bad. Although to be fair, I rarely wake up at 7am and if I do, it's very reluctantly. Maybe this is an unexpected side effect of my new nose? Oh dear.
Last night, I noticed that my nose and surrounding area had started to swell. My splint and plasters were very tight. It was painless - just uncomfortable. I had also avoided bruises, although the inner corners of my eye sockets felt a little tender if I put pressure on them. The plasters were uncomfortable too: I was very aware of them on my face and hated to think what my skin looked like underneath. However this was all entirely superficial. I experienced minimal pain and I'm so surprised and grateful for this. Check out my blog post on how to minimise bruising after a nose job.
The light bleeding from my nose stopped so I removed the gauze covering my nostrils. You can get quite a good idea of the shape and I like what I see so far, but I'm still nervous about seeing the results. My biggest concern is that the doctor removed 4mm of cartilage on either side of the tip of my nose. I hope it doesn't look too pinched or piggy.
After many years of wanting to change my nose, I booked in for surgery a little over two months after my initial consultation. This gave me extra time to research the procedure and make sure I was making the right decision. By the time the surgery came round I had no doubt that I was doing the right thing for me. The only worries I had were about the shape of my 'new' nose, bruising and - most of all - the general anaesthetic.
The night before surgery, I started to worry. I read a few articles on a discussion board and there were mixed reports on Rhinoplasty. Some people loved the work while others had some difficulties afterwards. A common theme was that some people noticed the appearance of a bump some time after surgery. I expect that this is to do with scar tissue, or perhaps the bone trying to replace itself, so I am preparing for it.
You are advised not to eat or drink six hours before the surgery. I had a final meal at 7pm the night before and a glass of water at 10pm.
I arrived at the clinic at 7.30am and had a consultation with the nurse, who has been at the surgery for five years. She gave me a general health check, asked about previous operations and health problems, checked my blood pressure and weighed me. My blood pressure was higher than usual, with a diastolic reading (the lower number) in the 90s. I was feeling quite stressed that morning, so that was to be expected.
I then met with the anaesthetist, who talked me through his role. He gave me dissolvable pain killers - paracetamol, Co-codomal and something else - then the nurse took me into the changing room to put on my gown. Not too flattering, those things, are they?
We then went into the operating room, where the anaesthetist took my blood pressure and inserted a cannula into the back of my right hand. He told me that his daughter had a similar procedure with the same doctor and loved the work, which put me at ease. Once everyone was in the operating room, the anaesthetist started putting some liquid into the cannula. He told me that it was just to relax me, but next thing I knew, I was waking up in the recovery room.
I felt very little pain - it feels like I have a cold or rubbed my nose too often with tissues. Bear in mind, though, that the procedure will affect people in different ways.
I felt tired and queasy for the first hour. The nurse brought me tea and toast and called my friend to come and collect me. I walked about for a bit and after an hour and fifteen minutes, I was feeling well enough to go home. The nurse sent me home with co-codamol, to be taken every four to six hours and Voltarol - a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory - to be taken three times daily.
My friend arrived to collect me at noon - only four and a half hours after arriving - and after checking that I was well, laughed at me because I looked like Hannibal Lector with my splint. So I got my hat and scarf on, then sneaked out the side door to the car for the journey home.
Back at home, I still feel fine. From what I've read, I expect to have more swelling, bruising and a bit of pain on day two or three. Surprisingly, I can't see any bruising so far, but I took some preventative action: have a look at my blog post on how to minimise bruising after cosmetic surgery.
Shortly after returning home I was well enough to eat and had some tomato soup and two rounds of bread. I have some gauze below my nose, which got covered in tomato soup, which wasn't a good look! So I changed the gauze, which is only there until the light bleeding stops, and had a first look at the tip of my nose. It's a little bloody, and still bleeding lightly (it didn't require any packing), but from what I can see, it looks nice - smaller, neater and not too much nostril, which I was concerned about. I won't see the full result until 1st April when I have my splint removed.
I'm surprised at how easy it's been so far. I can even breathe through my nose. The only problem has been a little queasiness but it's nothing worse than the feeling you would have the morning after a couple of glasses of wine.
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