Post-Op

A few months ago, I mentioned I had a CT scan on my sinuses because of all the horrific sinus infections I’ve been having. I had a consultation with a surgeon on the phone when I got the results back and then I had an in-person consultation/second opinion with another surgeon in December to talk more about a potential surgery. I was kind of on the fence and kept going back and forth on whether or not to do the surgery.

Then mid-December I got a cold and it turned into a sinus infection (of course) and it never really went away. It kept coming back. I decided to do the surgery. (The sinus infection came back at Christmas, then again after my birthday in January and then for Valentine’s Day and then finally I went back to the doctor at the end of February because I was super freaked out about my upcoming surgery and they gave me super duper antibiotics that probably killed everything in my body……..) Since December I basically got 2-3 week breaks where I wasn’t sick or on antibiotics and the rest of the time I was sick with a sinus infection. UGH!

I wasn’t really looking forward to surgery. No surgery is great. (I’ve had two previously surgeries for other things.) But I couldn’t really get a good idea on what the recovery was going to be like. Everyone that had sinus surgery had a different experience–some had super easy, great experiences with not a lot of pain or bad experiences post-op. Some had horrific pain and horrible after experiences. So I guess it was like childbirth. Everyone was different and everyone had a different experience.

My surgery was scheduled for Monday, March 25th. I was really hoping the surgery would be first thing in the morning, since I was fasting for it, but unfortunately I had to arrive for check in at 11am! Boo!!! I set my alarm for 2:30am so I could eat (8 hours before arrival time) and I’m glad I did. I had a protein shake, some leftover pizza from Logan’s birthday party and strawberries.

That morning, Logan went to daycare and Michael went to work for a half-day. My parents were in town to help. My dad took me to the hospital and then Michael met us there.

I don’t handle pain pills or anesthesia well (historically I get really really sick and throw up). So they brought out all the big guns. They gave me every anti-nausea medication known to man (I’m not even kidding) plus a patch to wear for a few days.

I got checked in to pre-op and had bloodwork done, got the I.V., met the two anesthesiologists, a nurse that would be with me the whole time and my surgeon. Then Michael and my Dad came back for a few minutes before it was time to go back.

It was weird…I’ve had surgery twice before and I remember them getting me set up in the operating room and then putting a mask on me and telling me to count backwards then I’d fall asleep. This time I was awake and aware of everything and then all of a sudden I was waking up in post-op! It was crazy! My surgery was 2 hours I guess.

So I tried to warn them that I have a hard time recovering from anesthesia and everyone was like “yeah yeah everyone does” but then they actually got a taste of it! The recovery process was supposed to take an hour, but it was more like 3 for me. We didn’t actually leave the hospital until almost 7pm and they had to give me a shot of ephedrine (I think?) because I was having such a hard time waking up. My heart rate and pulse would drop too low. (I told you so!!)

That part was not fun.

We got home and I was famished. Diet be dammed this week. I had half a bagel with cream cheese, a piece of pizza, some strawberries, tons of water and a protein bar. Then I got ready for bed.

I wasn’t in a ton of pain, so that was good. It was mostly just really uncomfortable and gross. I will have the gauze on my face for a little bit while I bleed. I’m supposed to do the sinus rinse three times a day, take it easy, and then next week I go back to the doctor and get the splints taken out.