Well, as promised, I went to see my ENT today to find out the results of the CAT Scan of the sinuses that I had back in late November. The theory was that there was something sinus related that has been causing these recurring headaches. The results showed that I have a deviated septum, with the septum touching the turbinates. There also appears to be a small cyst in my left cheek sinus, and some problems with sphenoid sinus drainage. He believes this could be the cause of the headaches.
What’s the answer? Nasal surgery (which scares me). So… I’m writing about it.
This is evidently outpatient surgery. You check in the morning, they knock you out, you wake up (hopefully) two hours later with an incredibly stuffed nose. You’re in recovery for an hour or two. You then go home, keeping the head elevated, for about a week. Nerd that I am, I kept asking if I’d be able to sit at my desk and check my email for short periods. He indicated that the nose would likely bleed more if I did that (but knowing me, I’ll try anyway). They normally do the procedure on Fridays or Mondays. There are multiple doctors visits during this period. What the surgery would involve is fixing the septum cartilage (called septoplasty), and enlarging the drain holes.
Evidently, during recovery, I’ll need to sit reclined, ice pack on face, and breathing through my mouth (which I *hate*). There will be nasal bleeding (some), and pain controled with T3+Codeine. Knowing me, I’ll want to either sit and watch the tube, or sit at my desk and watch the computer.
Sigh. I’m sure I’ll do this once I get up the nerve. It isn’t an emergency. It’s just that I’ve never had surgery (that I recall), and it does frighten me. Would I do better treating this medically—i.e., migraine medicines (which I haven’t used yet), T3+Codeine, Excedrin, Benedryl, Mucinex—vs. the surgical treatment?
P.S. to patgund: Please remember to pick your birthday song: Otherwise, you’ll get the Birthday Cake Polka tomorrow. Update: Thanks for filling it out.
