Post Sinus Surgery

Six days ago I had sinus surgery in the hope that I could get a handle on all the sinus infections and colds and allergies that have taken over my life. It had gotten so bad for me that I had to take pain pills just to try and make it through the day because my head hurt so bad. I ended up spending more time sick than healthy and after four different attempts to take care of the situation via antibiotics and steroids I finally decided I had enough and opted for surgery. I ended up going to the same surgeon who had taken out my tonsils and adenoids so I trusted his abilities...just didn't make it any easier of an idea to deal with.

Mom took this when I got moved to recovery. Shortly afterwards, lots of blood came out.

The first two days were the worst, couldn't breathe, couldn't sleep, can't smell or taste...but pain took on a new meaning when I accidentally grazed the bridge of my nose with my finger and spent the next ten minutes screaming my lungs out and hysterically sobbing. Mom said she has never heard me scream in pain like that before and really doesn't ever want to hear it again.

With a little bit of numbing agent in my nose, the surgeon pulled out the pictures you see below. The brick looking things are what was stuffed in my back sinus'. The plastic looking things were the splints that held my nose in place. All of that came out of my nose...imagine an oblong shaped marble the size of a quarter in diameter being pulled out of your nose...yeah. Wrap your head around that. It hurt like nothing I have ever experienced before. And honestly, I don't ever want to experience again.

The brick looking things were the packing in my sinus'. The plastic things were the splints that supported my nose. All of that came out of my nose while being totally awake. Painful, painful, painful.

The surgeon seemed very pleased with his work and made several comments that things looked great and this should solve the problems I had been having. I have a second post-op visit on the 27th and I am hoping that by then I will have made significant progress. My head, ears, throat, nose and eyes are still hurting and I worry that I will be like this for the rest of my life, but I need to keep reminding myself that I am only six days out of surgery.