Okay, it’s not strictly a full week later, more like six and
a half days. In terms of my nose, I feel okay. For the first five days after I
had diathermy to my nasal turbinate, my nose ran a lot. It was like having a
bad cold, but the mucous that was coming out was a weird adobe colour. And the
more physical activity I did, the redder the discharge became. I had a doctor’s
line for a week, so I thought I would take things easy and let my body heal
itself.
Now, my nose has cleared up, and has returned to how it was
before my procedure; that is, I've got a fair amount of air going through the
left nostril, and not much through the right. As far as I understand it, it
might be weeks or even months before I notice any real improvement in my right
nostril. And even then, it might not last long – months, a few years. In
retrospect, if I’d been told my options were to reduce the turbinate, or do nothing,
I might have chosen do nothing. A septoplasty was a far more tantalising and
long-term solution. As it stands, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm doomed to a
lifetime of crap breathing. I spoke to my uncle the other night; he mentioned
that he’s had much the same issues as me with his nose over the decades. Still,
I need to give the diathermy time to do its job before I completely write it
off.
As mentioned before, diathermy of the turbinates attempts to
reduce their size by cauterizing their internal structure. As scar tissue forms
internally, the turbinates shrink. I'm not sure how long this process is
supposed to take and as I've previously mentioned, the mucous lining of my nose
went into overdrive almost immediately after the procedure. I'm going to try
and get an appointment with my GP to ask his advice, as I think I'm still at
least a month away from a follow-up appointment with the ENT consultant.
My sleeping hasn’t improved any. In fact, the last week it’s
been terrible – five hours a night. However, while that’s partly been due to
the mucous build up, it’s mostly been due to back pain. I’ve been having issues
with my back for most of my life, but they've been steadily getting worse over
the last 18 months or so. I had an appointment with a physio last month, and
she suggested that I might have mild scoliosis, which is slightly alarming.
However, in the last few weeks the pain has racked up a few notches – the internet
suggests I'm perhaps having a sciatica attack. It’s not exactly pleasant, and I
think it might be hindering my recovery a little.
So, if you’re considering having diathermy to your
turbinates, and you’re not sure what to expect, I can summarise my experience
below. Everyone’s different after all.
- The actual time spent in theatre was quite short – around half an hour.
- I didn't experience a huge amount of pain. I guess this is because the diathermy tool only leaves small holes in the lining of the nose. I did have a headache for a few days, an intermittent sore throat, and the occasional mild dull pain where the right side of my nose meets the cheek.
- My nose generated a lot of mucous for a week afterwards – mostly this was a very mild pink, though it got more red if I over-exerted or the blood rushed to my head.
- Generally, I felt a bit lethargic for the first few days afterwards. I suppose this is normal, as your body is using energy to heal itself. The recovery period in general felt like having a pretty heavy cold.
- I've not had any other side effects, like dental pain, black eyes etc., although the back of my hand is a bit bruised and tender from the cannula insertion.
- I've had a few days off work, which is probably useful, particularly when you work in a large office with lots of other people, and it’s December…
I’ll blog again when I have my follow up appointment with
the surgeon.
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