Finally

The past six days have been complete hell. I had surgery last week on my sinuses, and since that time have had packing inside them to aid in the healing process. This doesn't sound too bad until you take into account how similar the entire experience is to "waterboarding" torture.

For six days, round-the-clock, it feels as if somebody is holding their hand over your nose, completely shutting off all air. Adding to the sensation of drowning, you feel a constant string of clotting blood and mucus running down your throat from your sinuses. So, not only are you not getting enough air, but you are also choking on fluid. Again - round-the-clock, for six days in a row.

The choking is made worse by the near-vacuum that is created between the back of your tongue and the opening to your sinuses. If you swallow, the tongue area is sucked up toward the sinuses, and the sinuses are sucked toward the tongue. This feels like pure hell, as you struggle to breathe past the line of blood and mucus hanging there.

Adding to the discomfort in a major way, is the fact that you absolutely will not be able to sleep normally. You must breathe through your mouth. This inevitably means that you will wake up every 20 minutes or so in a spasm of choking for air. At that time, you will realize your throat is RAW from being open all night long.

The one saving grace comes to you in the form of two tiny pills delivering a dose of Percocet. Thank God for the power of those pills to dull the razor's edge of pain, the feeling of drowning, and insomnia.

Today, the doctor finally removed the packing material from my sinuses. You can see it in this video. It may not look like much, but let me tell you, it is.

I'm breathing normally again, and the doctor says I have a few months to heal up. I'm just happy I took the steps toward fixing my breathing issues.

I'm also just happy to breathe in the air.

:-)

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• copyright
• septoplasty
• deviated septum
• concha bullosa
• sinus
• sinuses
• nose
• breathing
• surgery
• operation
• medical

[boddleblonde]

For the life of me I wish I hadn't came across this post. Especially your feedback on the recovery process. I'm going in 7 hours to have Concha Bullosa Resection surgery. I've had panic attacks all week worrying about the recovery. This didn't help...(Nervous laugh)

[jim421]

Boddleblonde - Sorry 'bout that! ;-P I hope your surgery and recovery went well!

[benhawk]

What did you have done that required 6 days of packing? I didn't think any ENTs still used packing in basic endoscopic sinus surgery.

[jim421]

benhawk - I've heard they use packing or splints - not sure which is the best method. This worked well. Either way, it would be difficult, but worthwhile, to endure.

[poemdexter]

Ok...so I know the 6 days that you are talking about! I'm day 4 as we speak. I will have the packing removed on day 6 and am scared to death! Really, how bad was it?

[jim421]

How did it go? Isn't it amazing when you feel that rush of air in your sinuses? Such relief!

[gigi1182]

I just had this surgery this week, my ENT did FESS surgery- no packing. He resected my concha bullosa (sp?) and cleared a lot of diseased tissue out. Aside from some nose bleeding for about 6 hours after surgery and some drainage when I sleep... I feel amazing. If you get this surgery done, don't let the ENT give you packing. I started saline rinses 3 days after surgery and sleep with a vaporizer so my mouth doesn't dry out. Best thing ever.

[LostJedi26]

Had my septoplasty yesterday. No packing, no splints. Just a crapload of blood clots, drainage, etc. I could breathe okay yesterday, but today, starting with a bit of saline spray, oh my! Everything got moved around and I can't breathe through my nose. Here's hoping it won't be for too long!

I hope your recovery went well. That goes for any of you who havehad or will have this surgery.

[kcreate]

I'm so jealous I think I'm going to pull my stuff out right now. It's my first night and I can't sleep. I am so annoyed by this thing on my nose!!!!!!

[boddleblonde]

Thanks, went well, glad it's over.