Showing posts with label Surgery. Show all posts
Sunday, April 9, 2017

Living with AERD: Sinus Surgery Day

Wednesday, the day before my surgery was a very busy day.  I went to work to finish up last minute tasks, clear out my email, and make sure things were squared away for the time I would be out.  My father came down from New Jersey to help out with me and around the house which was such a blessing. Per doctor's orders, I couldn't eat or drink after midnight which was actually difficult for me.  I usually sleep with water next to the bed thanks to the fact I can't breathe thru my nose and I wake up throughout the night with a wicked dry mouth.   I ended up barely sleeping the night before because I just couldn't get my mind to shut off.  I have never had surgery of any sort so I really didn't know what to expect.  
Post-Op...about 5 hours after my surgery
Thursday, surgery day.  My dad drove me to the surgery center for my 6 am check in.  The women in the office were so nice and reassuring.  I really couldn't ask for anything better.  They put my mind at ease while I waited to be called back to be prepped.  Once they called me back, it was like a whirlwind.  Between answering the same questions multiple times, changing into a gown, getting an IV, getting multiple meds for nausea***, time seemed to just fly by.  Soon my dad was sitting with me while I waited for the to wheel me back to the operating room.  
About 10 minutes after my ENT came over to speak with me and my father, I was wheeled back.  From here on I don't remember much.  The anesthesiologist told me she was going to put the medicine in my IV and I would feel it pretty quick.  The next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room!  I wasn't in there that long.  I came out of the anesthesia pretty quickly so the put gauze under my nose, gave my father instructions and off we went.  The best thing about it was that I CAN BREATHE!!

Later I would find out that what was originally going to be an hour surgery ended up being 2.5 hours.  My ENT had to do more than he anticipated.  It turns out my upper sinuses have never been opened.  NEVER!  and my deviated septum was worse off as well.  It wasn't from a break like we thought it was, it has been like that since childhood.  

***Meds given to me:
in my IV: something to calm me & an antibiotic
Nausea: a pill ( don't remember the name), a patch behind my ear, and a pressure point wristband


A recovery post will be posted soon.   



Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Living with AERD: CT Scan and Surgery

The last of my appointments were a CT Scan and a follow up with my dr afterwards.  I wish I had a copy of my results, though I will be asking for them in the future.  The CT scan was a quick process.  I think it took me longer to drive out to the office then it did to wait and have the test done!   
Once I came out of the imaging center we went right across the hall to my doctor's office.  We went over my symptoms again now that I finished a cycle of Prednisone and Augmentin.  Which while I did feel better for the short time on them, as soon as I went off the Prednisone I was right back to square one.   I really enjoyed being able to breathe, sleep and smell again!  
At that time we were able to take a look at my CT Scan results.  My goodness they were scary.  It was very obvious that I had no ability to breathe.  Both sides are inflamed and blocking the nasal cavity.  The left side, the polyps are so bad they are actually OUTSIDE of my nasal cavity.  After seeing this, there was no question in my mind what had to be done.   My dr did discuss the options with me.  
1) go on living like I am now and just stay away from Aspirin & NSAIDS.  Eventually when I'm in my 70s this will/should go away.
2) Start taking Prednisone daily to reduce the size of the polyps and swelling.  As good as that may sound, Prednisone has many risks and I don't want to create more health problems in the future.  
3) Surgery.  

 I opted for Surgery.  I know that these polyps may come back but that is a risk I am willing to take.  Once my sinuses are cleared out we can begin treatment to hopefully keep them at bay for a long time if not forever.  My surgery is scheduled for 2 weeks from the appointment!

 I wanted to blog about this to get my thoughts out, track my progress and possibly help others as well.  There isn't much about AERD on the web and what is out there is mostly medical sources, not much in terms of first hand accounts.  I hope I am able to help fellow AERD patients.

 If you have any questions feel free to ask!  I'm happy to talk about my life with AERD and all that comes with it!

New to AERD?  check out my links
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)