Today I feel like shit, but not really because of the nose.\u00a0 I have those achy bones funny feeling in the back of my throat that seems to always preceed either a cold or sinus infection.\u00a0 And here I am with what I am sure amounts to open wounds up in my sinuses.\u00a0 Insane to think about getting an infection up there so immediately following surgery.\u00a0 But I am on antibiotics, so there\u2019s hope.<\/p>\n
The numbness of my general nose region is starting to wane.\u00a0 Or, at least change.\u00a0 Prior to today, I literally couldn\u2019t feel my nose unless I was touching it.\u00a0 Certainly no pain.\u00a0 But now, I am acutely aware of a few things:<\/p>\n
An increased volume or capacity of airflow.<\/strong> An increase in resonance<\/strong> Stitches<\/strong> Blood in my spit<\/strong> And on that topic, perhaps the most anticipated milestone in this recovery will be the nasal rinse.\u00a0 Dr Rust says starting Saturday (tomorrow), I can resume a twice daily rinse.\u00a0 I have for years been using the NeilMed<\/strong><\/a> mixture packets and the squirt bottle.\u00a0 Even if you\u2019ve got brilliant sinuses, I would recommend this product.\u00a0 Basically, you mix a pH balanced isotonic solution (saltwater, really) with a pint of warm water, then squirt it up one nostril.\u00a0 Well, you best lean clear over a sink, and tilt your head.\u00a0 Because the only place for the salt water solution to go is out the other nostril.\u00a0 Again, strange at first, to voluntarily be exercising that human pass-thru.\u00a0 But what comes out the other side is the crap and debris and hangers-on that typically generate or are byproducts of sinus maladies.\u00a0 I cannot wait for the sinus rinse.\u00a0 I can feel a lot of foreign matter up there, clinging on for dear life.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Overall feeling just about mid-range today.\u00a0 Not too weak, not to ancy.\u00a0 I watched Gonzo: The Life & Work of Dr Hunter S Thompson<\/strong><\/a> this morning with my mom.\u00a0 Then, felt well enough to drive her to the Marin Airporter.\u00a0 Some left-over pasta and a 3 hour nap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today I feel like shit, but not really because of the nose.\u00a0 I have those achy bones funny feeling in the back of my throat that seems to always preceed either a cold or sinus infection.\u00a0 And here I am with what I am sure amounts to open wounds up in my sinuses.\u00a0 Insane to … Continue reading D-DAY +2 :: Friday<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[9,133,146,154,169,177],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nI was told this would be an immediate effect.\u00a0 When you think about how the surgery removed so much foreign matter from the middle sinuses, the pipes are 75% wider.\u00a0 We\u2019re talking bandwidth here.\u00a0 Even though only the right side seems to be free-flowing, overall I can take deeper breaths faster thru the nose then before.<\/p>\n
\nWithout having Dr Rust confirm this specifically, it feels as though there\u2019s more space for my voice to bounce around.\u00a0 It hasn\u2019t changed so much as simply feels like its coming from a larger resonance chamber.\u00a0 When I first noticed it, I was speaking whilst looking closely into a big mirror.\u00a0 So I just assumed it was the echo from that surface I was hearing.\u00a0 But I\u2019m hearing it again & again, at rest and whilst vertical.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nWhen Dr Rust did the septoplasty<\/strong><\/a>, he basically cut into the cartelage separating my nose, removed some of that, realigned the septum true, then stitched the new structure in place.\u00a0 Odd at first, the deviation was to the right, but the stitches are on the left.\u00a0 Makes sense now.\u00a0 As my nose de-numbs, I am totally aware of these stitches.\u00a0 They\u2019re down in the crook of my nose, right above the lip of the left nostril.\u00a0 Which makes anything close to a smile or a wide-mouth some of the first real elements of pain thus far.<\/p>\n
\nAt 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?).\u00a0 We all do this.\u00a0 We get a bit of something, mucus, debris, boogs, and we either swallow or spit.\u00a0 Yes you do.\u00a0 Sometimes, we get more then we expect, or more then we wish to swallow.\u00a0 So, in our own way, we make haste for a trash or toilet or sidewalk and spit.\u00a0 Only now, mine have been somewhat volumous, and dark crimson.\u00a0 This must be more of the same or at least a lingering effect of the tampon removal yesterday.\u00a0 Like bloody stalactites in my sinuses breaking free.<\/p>\n