Recovery from Sinus Surgery

Natalie00

It takes a full week or more to start feeling even a little bit better. You need to take it easy- you have had major surgery, remember that. And you should NOT be blowing your nose- didn't your doctor tell you that?? If you still have packing and tubes in your nose you shouldn't be blowing your nose. You will need to also take it easy for a week or two after you have the packing removed because your body is still recovering and you will still have some minor dicomfort. NO heavy lifting for a month at least.

Natalie00

Also,Did you get "sick" after the surgery?? Did you tell your doctor?? Do you think you might have a cold or an infection? Are you making sure to take your antibiotics??

KerryT

I was told I could blow my nose after 3 days. But I do it gently. I was lucky not to have packing. Yes, I was sick for a month before the surgery with sinusitis and an inner ear infection. Now it seems my sinuses are worse. I've been on Keflex since the surgery. Well I go back to the doctor tomorrow so I'll see what he says.

Natalie00

Kerry-
I'm sorry you are having such a rough time. What kind of work did they do on your sinus'? Did you have a deviated septum? (Probably not if you didn't have packing). Hopefully once your infection goes away you will be able to see if the surgery worked. I am sure it will give you atleast some relief.

twizliz

ooh I shouldn't have read this post.. now I'm scared again lol

Natalie00

Try not to be scared. People have major surgery every day- heart transplants, ect. This is minor surgery, very routine. Are you confident in your surgeon? That is the main thing. Make sure he/she is experienced (I like to go to doctors that have been in practice for atleast 10 years). Experienced ENT surgeons have probably done thousands and thousands of these surgeries every day.

twizliz

Yes, he's very well respected. He has a really good bedside manner, but is also a genious... he was dictating his notes while I was in there with his eyes shut (here's to hoping he doesn't do the surgery that way lol)

I mentioned to my therapist how it is routine and no big deal.. not like a liver transplant and he goes 'well sometimes that makes it even scarier' that reassured me lol... he gave me extra Xanax for the upcoming 2 weeks. Another odd question... I wear acrylic nails, will I have to have them removed prior?

And also, did you guys have to stay over or was it outpatient? Mine is inpatient.

Halls

DO not blow your nose. I can't believe your doctor told you that you can do that after 3 days!! That is crazy! You should irrigate and that is it, not blow!

Also, it takes a good 6 weeks after surgery to really feel normal. If you are still feeling bad 3 days after sinus surgery that is normal, especially if you had major work done like a deviated septum. After I had my deviated septum I felt like crap for days after and had to take pain killers! It was awful.

Quit worrying, relax, quit blowing your nose, and let things heal.

KerryT

In a ct scan they found a malformed bone that, when the sinus is swollen, presses against. This was causing the sinus to not drain properly. They removed the bone formation, removed my adenoids, reamed out the other sinuses, and put tubes in my ear drums. Today I feel a bit better. Ventured out the day before yesterday to buy groceries and it was exhausting. I saw my doc for the follow-up, and he said I was prgressing nicely. I asked him why my ears are still full of fluid, and he said they are completely clear, so is now concerned about possible hearing loss. I go in for another hrearing test next week. Could be caused by my diabetes. He assured me I would feel better soon, and to consider my age (50)--that we don't bounce back after surgery like we used to.

Natalie00

Halls, I was wondering...you said you had 3 sinus surgeries..did you have to have your deviated septum corrected more than once? I had sinus surgery in 2000 (I had some blockage on the sinus X-ray but the main problem was the deviated septum) and am now having problems again. My surgeon told me after the surgery that I "might have to have some more work done on my left side" in the future, and he was right. It is ONLY my left side where my deviated septum was not corrected enough that I am having problems with. I get clogged up every night and am having pain. It really pisses me off that he just didn't correct it completely the first time. You could drive a mack truck through my right nostril, but I can barely get a q-tip through my left.

I really am trying to avoid surgery as I have chronic fatigue syndrom and a lot of other realted problems an am worried that I will somehow react badly to the anesthesia due to my health problems, but I am just miserable.

Halls

No, my second sinus surgery I had a deviated septum fixed and the third sinus surgery was to unblock one frontal sinus/ethmoid sinus that he couldn't get the second surgery. My first sinus surgery was to unblock a maxiallary sinus.

I have been told I may have to have corrections made in the future to the deviated septum, but I don't know when.

I still have sinus problems so I will likely have surgery again at some point. It sucks!