The Night Before

So, this is it... No turning back now. The surgery is booked and I'm sitting here restless and a tad anxious. After reading so many blogs, I thought I might start one of my own. I've also noticed that although rhinoplasties and septoplasties are quite common among men, not many have written about or shared their own experience. I hope this "enlightens" some of you and eases the process. 

And here's the disclaimer... I AM NOT A DOCTOR. ANYTHING I WRITE IS FROM OWN EXPERIENCE. I CAN NOT, WILL NOT, SHOULD NOT, DIAGNOSE YOU OR PROVIDE YOU WITH ANSWERS, SUGGESTIONS, ADVICE REGARDING ANYTHING MEDICAL RELATED. I AM BEYOND THRILLED TO ANSWER ANY BASIC QUESTIONS, BUT FOR ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING ELSE PLEASE CONTACT A/YOUR DOCTOR.

 The reason for the surgery is something that has been putting me in excruciating pain for as long as I can remember-- migraines. After meeting with an ENT specialist (Dr. Jonathan Lipana from Kaiser Woodland Hills, CA), he requested some CT Scans. The scans showed a deviated septum in my right nasal passage. Dr.Lipana believed that the deviated septum is what causes my migraines, or what he later diagnosed as "contact headaches." As the nasal passage enlarged in the left nasal passage, it would contact nerves, which would cause my headaches. (I'm sure it's a bit more complex than this, but that's the gist of it). So, while getting the septoplasty done, I thought-- "Why not get a little rhino as well?" After all, I'm already going to be under anesthesia. Don't want to have to go in again.

When I mentioned this to Dr.Lipana, he referred me to Dr. Kartik Nettar who is supposedly more than capable of performing a septorhinoplasty. I've met with him twice and he is truly knowledgeable, patients (I asked many questions), and highly recommended by much of the staff. The cosmetic aspect of the operation is to mostly shave down the dorsal hump and slightly adjust the tip (so that it does not protrude too far from my face). Looking great is awesome (a boost in self-confidence), but I'm really just hoping to get rid of these migraine headaches. 

Right now it's 12AM and my surgery is at 12:30AM. I'm not supposed to eat and drink anything until then. This is probably going to be the worst part. Everything else seems like it's going to be a breeze. Not having any water kind of really sucks! :-(

Medication wise: I obviously haven't taken any pain medication yet. I'll have my mom pick that and the antibiotics tomorrow. So far, I've been taking Arnica Montana and Bromelain. I started Arnica yesterday (5 tablet balls twice a day). I just took 1 Bromelain today. Hopefully the Arnica and Bromelain will do what they are supposed to-- minimize the swelling and bruising. 

That's all for now. I should get to sleep. A bit excited to see how everything turns out, but also a bit anxious about having to stay in bed for a week.  I'll try to write each day and inform anyone interested as to what the journey of a rhinoseptoplasty is like.