hey guys, had my surgery on thursday, haven't really had time to update the march buddies thread; just got released from hospital today, and i've been living in hell!
my main problem is nasal breathing. i have a TON of swelling still (keeps increasing) and i assume that's one of the reasons i cannot get much air through my nasal passages (i hope anyway, considering that should improve with time). any advice on how to breathe through my nose with much more ease?? they have me on otrivin nasal spray but it doesn't seem to working all that well. the other thing i try is putting 2 popsicle sticks in my mouth covered in vaseline to help create more airways through my mouth. but it's not fun at all. i didn't get any sleep last night, and was easily the worst night of my life. very sorry to be such a downer, just looking for any advice, thanks.
I know what you mean! Did they give you a some solution..like a hydrogen peroxide mix? When I was in the hospital, they mixed peroxide and water and told me to clean out my nose with q-tips. I'm also using a nasal spray, Afrin. Try the peroxide mix, sounds like you have dried blood in there. Some, ( I think Suzanna) said she used a humidifier. I took her advice and got one and it helped a lot! Good Luck!
1st consult: 4/28/2009
Top Brace: 6/03/09
Extractions: 06/15/09
bottom braces 1/13/2010
**FAST FORWARD**
March 16, 2011 Upper Jaw Surgery~Lefort I 2-piece, BSSO, Genioplasty ( UNC hospital~Dr. Timothy Turvey)
April 19, 2011~Removed splint!
April 20, 2011~1st ortho appt since surgery...back in ligatures and got elastics
I know what you're going through. I just came back to the board to look for help too. I had surgery on tuesday and have slept a total of 2 hours since. I've been getting no air in the nose and my mouth gets dry and foamy...it's been hell. No sprays or hydrogen peroxide worked for me...but I did get some temporary relief from using a neti pot. You might want to ask your surgeon first if it's ok to try, but I was so desperate for air I just went for it. I got a couple hours of great breathing from it.
I'm really hoping this is just normal post-surgery congestion and not some mistake my os made while putting my face back together.
this is really normal post surgery. My son was able to get just a bit of air through his nose, but he really couldn't breathe through his mouth because it was so foamy. Most people can't breathe through their nose at all. You're both really close to the turning point when it starts to clear up. Are you banded? As soon as your bands are loosened breathing will become a million times easier. Until then and until the swelling goes down a little, just try to relax as much as you can and get through the next little bit.
My nose was so stuffy after surgery... it was massively blocked with blood. I don't know how I ended up breathing for those few nights after surgery :\ It did get a lot better after the surgery because I was finally able to clean it about three or four days after the surgery. After that, I was able to clean my nose with a cotton-tip and salt water.
thanks so very much for all the replies guys. if anything it's good to know that it's more of a common problem and there are others really struggling with the same issue.
so it's good that i made it through another night (3 now since surgery). i really hope the swelling starts to come down today, it's still as bad as it's been, it seems. i have to admit, i was NOT even closed to being mentally prepared for this going into surgery. my pain tolerance is pretty high, and figured i could deal with anything. but when it comes to not being able to breathe well, or straining/working so hard for every breath, it's so physically and emotionally draining. i feel like i've experienced hell on earth! lol. oh well, i guess, hopefully, from this point on things will only get better. the kicker in all of this is b/c of my intense facial swelling, i have no idea how my face will look (can you imagine if i go through all this and realize i wish my surgeon brought my chin/lower jaw farther forward or something?? wow lol).
anyway, last night i was able to get a few hours of sleep, here and there. i worked diligently on cleaning my nostrils with peroxide/saline solution and then luckily the otravin was able to clear enough passageway to allow me to sleep. luckily for me i have my loving family helping me out, otherwise i think i would have given up by now!
It was two or three weeks before I could breathe through my nose! The difficulty was when my mouth was also so swollen that I was struggling to get enough air through my mouth too but that resolved fairly quickly. I found a steam inhaler/humidifier useful to liquify the muck and blood clots in my nose so I could swallow without choking, but I still couldn't breathe through it. My swelling was very bad to start with, but that meant I was put on steroids to bring it down, so overall it cleared up quicker than most people's seem to.
Thankfully I had well over a decade of practise not having any nasal airway due to an inflammatory problem (it's only been solved in the last couple of years since better drugs have come on the market) so it wasn't as traumatic as it could have been!
Yeah, it's surprisingly emotionally draining. My son was in a constant state of panic until he got his bands loosened, even though he was actually getting in enough air (according to the readings). Three days is right around the peak for swelling - it should start getting better after this.
I agree with the sentiment posted (in a different thread I believe) that it wasn't the pain from my surgery that was the problem, it was the discomfort. I went through the very same things, as I was wired with my splint in place I could hardly get any air when my nose was clogged. While I was in the hospital, the O2 alarm kept going off every time I would fall asleep because I just wasn't getting enough air. That beeping became a constant in my life for 24-36 hours.
My first three to four days were the worst. I started to recover, but then overexerted myself (playing with my kids) and had trouble again about six nights in. I had some blockage in my airway that caused me to have apnea-like symptoms. I would awake with the feeling like I was drowning. That was when I took it upon myself to hit the neti-pot the next day which almost entirely solved that problem. I was nervous about that though, because I felt like I was removing blod clots from the sinus cavities and perhaps impeding my healing process. I believe that was just my overactive imagination though, because I felt a million times better at that point.
I too was not mentally prepared for the recovery. I expected it to be more of a vacation, but that just wasn't the case. It was brutal and exhausting. Not to mention all the work it took just to consume calories or keep myself hydrated. I didn't want to be around people (because they would want to talk) and I also hated being alone. My favorite tv shows and movies weren't entertaining even. And I was terribly impatient to get better, it felt like the healing process just wasn't happening at times. The whole experience was much tougher than I expected. However, looking back, I'd say the point where I could breathe easily was a key turning point in the process.
Good luck to each of you, it does get better quickly (even if it doesn't seem like it right now),
DRG
Braces: 1986-1988
Open bite was not resolved
Braces again (at age 35): 15 APRIL 2010
Lefort I & IVRO: 21 FEB 2011
Unwired! 25 MAR 2011
Braces removed revealing my perfect bite: 4 JAN 2012
hmm i wish they put me on some sort of O2 alarm; my nurse just told me not to worry and that my body would not let me sufficate in my sleep (right or wrong, i wasn't content with this risk and didn't allow myself to dose off).
and i can totally relate to the marathon it seems to be just to get down a few calories. i've basically been restricted to water and apple juice (one time had some blended jell-o) these 4 days, and it's so much damn work just getting the liquids down. i feel like i've ran a mile for every ounce of water i squeeze in. i think this is mostly b/c i'm finding it hard to breathe through my nose, so its pretty tough to drink when you can't breathe!
and ur so right about the 'i didn't want to be around ppl, but didn't want to be alone'. my dad can be entirely frustrating sometimes, and at times i've just left the room and went upstairs b/c it was too exhausting. i would do some charades for him to stop talking to me lol (cut neck, as in stop, used the universal hand gesture for 'talking a lot', u know the one) and he still couldn't comprehend and asked me to write it down. i just left lol. i mean i'm so blessed and love that my family is supporting me, helping me at every opportunity, but sometimes it's overwhelming and i don't have the energy to deal. like at times i know things they don't, and they are suggesting certain things and it's like please leave me alone u don't know what ur talking about! ha. ah well.
anyway like i said before somewhere, i'll be a much stronger person coming out of this, and i feel these memories will forever help me through future stressful situations.
If you can't take doing charades any longer, but aren't ready to talk either...I would highly recommend getting yourself a white board. I found one at Target along with a magnetic eraser. Or as others have posted here (in the pre-op supply list thread) the dry erase markers that have erasers built in to the cap are very handy. I found myself able to have entire conversations with my wife, sometimes heated conversations even (I was hungry and tired after all), thanks to that white board.
DRG
Braces: 1986-1988
Open bite was not resolved
Braces again (at age 35): 15 APRIL 2010
Lefort I & IVRO: 21 FEB 2011
Unwired! 25 MAR 2011
Braces removed revealing my perfect bite: 4 JAN 2012
Ugh...Just reading these stories brings back horrible flash backs for me. I had the EXACT same issues with the breathing, and the first 5 days post-op were probably the worst days of my life. I had both nostrils completely blocked with blood, and I was so swollen and banded shut it was even difficult to breathe out of my mouth. I know exactly what you're going through and all I can do is offer the following advice:
1) Try not to panic. This made things exponentially worse for me. I do not handle medical situations well, and I did not handle the fact that I could barely breathe. If you don't think you can keep calm, talk to your primary care doctor about getting something to calm you down (Ativan or Xanax). Honestly, if I hadn't have had those drugs, I probably would have worked myself into a heart attack
2) DO NOT (and I repeat DO NOT) use hydrogen peroxide in your nose or mouth. This breaks up blood clots, and most surgeons want those clots to fully form for 5 to 7 days. Yes, it sucks. But if they break and you start gushing blood, you're going to end up in even worse shape. Only use peroxide if your surgeon has explicitly said for you to do so
3) Your OS should have prescribed some sort of Afrin type product. The issue I had is my nostrils were plugged with blood so I couldn't even use it. If you aren't totally blocked, you can use this for up to 3 days post-op. Don't use it longer than that as it can actually work against you after 72 hours of use
4) Try as best you can to sleep. I know it is hard and I wouldn't fall asleep the first 3 days out of fear I was going to suffocate. Your body won't let you suffocate, and being exhausted only makes things worse
5) Use a humidifier if you have one...Unfortunately they don't help nearly as much as the oxygen mask in the hospital, but it helps some
Keep your head up and remember you WILL GET THROUGH THIS. This is the worst part and once your OS sees you and clears out your nostrils, you're going to feel 100 times better.
Can I say how FABULOUS you all are on here? I am day 3 and having read your advice I knew what to go through and not to panic. I was totally unprepared for the flow of blood and mucus out of my nose however. The sinus pressure and swelling is awful. What is the peak day for swelling? 4-5 I though.
I think a humidifier is crucial. I also used Vicks plug in waterless vaporizer scent pads. It helped clear my nose (slightly but ever little bit counts after surgery).
Be sure you are sleeping elevated. The more elevated the better. I slept in a recliner for a month. It SUCKED but I actually could breathe much better in the recliner therefore slept much better.
Hang in there everyone, soon this will be a distant memory! Promise!
I am totally one of those people who cannot stand being unable to breathe so this surgery has been driving me nuts.
I am 3 days post op from a Lefort 1 and I gotta say the best stuff I've had has been a humidifier and a baby nose aspirator(it's wonderful to get all the gunk out when you can't blow your nose!!). I'm just trying to stay hydrated as possible and I line my lips and nostrils with vaseline every few hours to help keep them moist. It's the little things, haha. =]
