I know what you are thinking, but NO I didn't go around talking smack on American Muscle Cars (actually, you probably know that I am quite on board with GM small blocks lately)
No- I actually have (had) a deviated septum- This ailment is commonly viewed as the excuse all the little rich girls with big noses use to get rhinoplasty, but in my case it was causing some serious snoring issues, along with some apnea-meaning- short pauses in my breathing while I sleep.
The snoring got on Shannon's nerves, but the apnea was downright frightening. I lost a friend last year due to sleep apnea, and while my case is nowhere near as severe as his, it would occasionally wake me with an adrenaline surge as my body would fight to recover- pretty scary when you wake with a shock like that.
So, I commited to getting a surgery called septoplasty- They went into my nose, broke, and then re-set my septum cartilage so that it would open my airway, and allow me to breath more easily. i am pleased to report after my first full night sleep without blockage that it appears to have worked!
The story isn't about the ending though- it is about how I got here.
Friday 9:00am Nanigans and I report to out patient surgery- I sign the documents and shed my street clothes for one of those awesome hospital gowns. The nurse tries to stick my hand for the IV drip- ok my ex-wife was (is?) an RN and she had used me for practice on this more than once. Long story, but we used to trade- I would let her stick me with an IV if she would let me play Gran Turismo for a few hours... So I know that it is better to go for the inside of my elbow when inserting an IV, as I have a big fat vein there that is easy to get to. This lady wants to go for the hand- and as she is sticking me I feel the familier pinch that tells me the vein is rolling, and she is chasing it around under my skin.
It hurts. I calmly look over at her (I was looking away) and suggest she go for the elbow. She relinquishes the chase, and follows my advice to immediate effect.
Once hooked up I was taken into an Operating Room where I was given anesthetic, and then "treated" (they broke my nose). once the break was done, the Docs packed my nose with material to keep all the blood from running out of my head, and I got packaged up and sent out to recovery. About two hours later and they let me go home.
Having a broken nose is unpleasent. First- my eyes would not stop tearing up, second- the packing material is incredibly uncomfortable. It leaves you feeling a bit claustrophobic not being able to breath through your nose, and not being able to clear it in any way.
All day Friday and Saturday I suffered- cleaning excess blood out from around my nose, and changing the dressing on my face. My nose stuffed with packing looked about 4 times as wide as usual- and that made it uncomfortable to wear my glasses, and the constant tearing in my eyes made it difficult to wear my contacts.
Before you pity me too much- you should also know I was under a 1000mg dose of Vicodin every 6 hours- so I wasn't really feeling a lot of pain- or a lot of anything really- just kind of coasting along in a fog through the discomfort.
Sleeping was impossible- the nose dressing was taped to my face, which was uncomfortable- and for some reason even if I did fall asleep I would just wake up an hour later, have to get up and change my dressing. Friday night was aweful, Saturday not as bad as the bleeding had stopped so the exterior dressing wasn't really needed.
Sunday morning I went into the ER to meet my doctor in order to have the packing removed. All went well, except the doctor indicated the pack for my left nostril had "come apart". He was still able to pull it out though- along with the one from the right.
I got my first look at the "packing" and I will say that it didn't look anything like I had assumed. Each pack is about 5 inches long, and basically looked like a giant tampon wrapped in plastic- both were soaked in blood. It was an immense relief to have them out though. I still felt a bit plugged up, but much relieved. After a cursory exam we left the hospital, and i could breath through my nose.
Sort of...
About 3 blocks from the hospital I got a tickle in the back of my throat that caused me to gag- Shannon pulled over and I lea ned out the door and coughed up blood, and mucus- it was pretty gross, but I felt a little better. We continued on home. When we got here I went into the bathroom to clean up the dried blood around my nostrils. While I was doing that I noticed a thin fiber sticking out of my left nostril. I got out some tweezers and gave it a pull ever so gently. When I did, I felt something in the back of my sinuses move. I carefully continued to pull and the fiber became more like material, by this time it is about a half inch out of my nose. I kept pulling, and it kept coming out- longer, thicker, and covered in blood, mucus some kind of nasty geletin.
Here is what I ended up with...
Once this was pulled out- I could breath clearly from both nostrils, and the bleeding stopped. My guess is that this is what remained of the pack that fell apart. Fortunately I was able to fish it out on my own.
Today (Monday) I am feeling much better. I got a great nights sleep last night. My nose is a little tender, but otherwise healing nicely. I kept the piece of the packing to take when I see the doc for a follow up on Thursday. I really think he ought to have taken a closer look after the pack fell apart- fortunately, no harm, so IMO no foul. I like the Doc, I just hope he is more careful in the future.
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