Today I feel like shit, but not really because of the nose. I have those achy bones funny feeling in the back of my throat that seems to always preceed either a cold or sinus infection. And here I am with what I am sure amounts to open wounds up in my sinuses. Insane to think about getting an infection up there so immediately following surgery. But I am on antibiotics, so there’s hope.
The numbness of my general nose region is starting to wane. Or, at least change. Prior to today, I literally couldn’t feel my nose unless I was touching it. Certainly no pain. But now, I am acutely aware of a few things:
An increased volume or capacity of airflow.
I was told this would be an immediate effect. When you think about how the surgery removed so much foreign matter from the middle sinuses, the pipes are 75% wider. We’re talking bandwidth here. Even though only the right side seems to be free-flowing, overall I can take deeper breaths faster thru the nose then before.
An increase in resonance
Without having Dr Rust confirm this specifically, it feels as though there’s more space for my voice to bounce around. It hasn’t changed so much as simply feels like its coming from a larger resonance chamber. When I first noticed it, I was speaking whilst looking closely into a big mirror. So I just assumed it was the echo from that surface I was hearing. But I’m hearing it again & again, at rest and whilst vertical.
Stitches
When Dr Rust did the septoplasty, he basically cut into the cartelage separating my nose, removed some of that, realigned the septum true, then stitched the new structure in place. Odd at first, the deviation was to the right, but the stitches are on the left. Makes sense now. As my nose de-numbs, I am totally aware of these stitches. They’re down in the crook of my nose, right above the lip of the left nostril. Which makes anything close to a smile or a wide-mouth some of the first real elements of pain thus far.
Blood in my spit
At will I can tounge-scrape the back of my throat and spit a half-and-half mix of saliva & blood. Sometimes, this will occur when I involuntarily do a swift nose inhale (sniffle?). We all do this. We get a bit of something, mucus, debris, boogs, and we either swallow or spit. Yes you do. Sometimes, we get more then we expect, or more then we wish to swallow. So, in our own way, we make haste for a trash or toilet or sidewalk and spit. Only now, mine have been somewhat volumous, and dark crimson. This must be more of the same or at least a lingering effect of the tampon removal yesterday. Like bloody stalactites in my sinuses breaking free.
And on that topic, perhaps the most anticipated milestone in this recovery will be the nasal rinse. Dr Rust says starting Saturday (tomorrow), I can resume a twice daily rinse. I have for years been using the NeilMed mixture packets and the squirt bottle. Even if you’ve got brilliant sinuses, I would recommend this product. Basically, you mix a pH balanced isotonic solution (saltwater, really) with a pint of warm water, then squirt it up one nostril. Well, you best lean clear over a sink, and tilt your head. Because the only place for the salt water solution to go is out the other nostril. Again, strange at first, to voluntarily be exercising that human pass-thru. But what comes out the other side is the crap and debris and hangers-on that typically generate or are byproducts of sinus maladies. I cannot wait for the sinus rinse. I can feel a lot of foreign matter up there, clinging on for dear life.
Overall feeling just about mid-range today. Not too weak, not to ancy. I watched Gonzo: The Life & Work of Dr Hunter S Thompson this morning with my mom. Then, felt well enough to drive her to the Marin Airporter. Some left-over pasta and a 3 hour nap.