Anxiety

I had a septoplasty a few years ago! It was honestly very painless, even immediately post-surgery. I outright refuse opiate pain management for anything and Tylenol/ibuprofen was sufficient. You'll have a sling holding gauze to your nose for a week+ which kinda sucks and looks goofy but otherwise it was a simple procedure.

When they did my septoplasty they did it under local with sedation. I was awake and semi-conscious the entire time but I didn’t feel a thing nor did I give a shit, thanks fentanyl!

The immediate aftermath wasn’t super fun tbh but I’ve never had a surgery where that’s not true. Like any surgery it hurts after the anesthesia wears off. It’s not unbearable pain and can definitely be managed with narcotics and eventually stuff like Tylenol. It’s not unbearable pain, bad soreness. Keep in mind that generally the worst part pain wise is waking up and then it progressively gets better.

You might act stupid after waking up. No one cares, even if you say like racist stuff. Everyone gets a pass when on anesthesia (the exception is whoever your caretaker is may not feel this way ig, but hospital staff def won’t care).

You almost certainly won’t wake up during surgery if you get general but if you do you probably wont remember it. This is one of the reasons anesthesia typically comes with versed/midazolam which interrupts formations of memories.

Honestly for me the surgery was smooth, the after part was the much rougher bit. But my understanding that this has changed since I got my septoplasty (2013). Back when I got mine after the surgery they packed your nose with this foam thing that basically completely blocked both nostrils. It made sleeping extremely uncomfortable and I scheduled the surgery on a Thursday so the removal was not for 4 days (following Monday). Also, the removal was painful (though after a few moments that pain faded to a nose that finally worked right which was real nice. Plus I saved a Percocet for the removal and was just feeling nice in general).

My understanding though after talking to a few people who have had the surgery more recently and reading online is that there are newer packing materials that are far more comfortable and easy to remove. Some surgeons apparently don’t do packing at all. I also have a very hairy nose so trimming my nose hair prior to surgery would’ve been helpful as the removal pain was basically waxing my nose

Not sure where you're located or who's performing the surgery, but any trained anesthesiologist will ensure you're unconscious and pain free through the whole procedure. I know it's scary putting trust into others in such a way, but I'd share these concerns with your surgeon and nurses the day of your surgery. They deal with fears like this frequently and will be able to put your worries at ease.

I had my septoplasty about a year ago. I was also nervous about the recovery, the pain, and the post nasal drip/blood. You aren't supposed to blow your nose or anything for a few weeks, which is hard for sure, but not as difficult as I thought it would have been. Lots of mouth breathing. Haha

At your first post surgery checkup, they will use a nose vacuum to clear everything out, which is when I felt the best.

My nose was sore for months, but only to the touch (like if I pushed my nose one way or another).

Overall it was not as bad as what I cooked up in my head, AND I don't snore anymore and can breathe significantly better.

I hope this gives you some insight and helps abate your fears!

I’ve woken up during surgery. Surprisingly, it’s not a big deal. There’s groggy but conscious, and then there’s AWAKE. The anesthesiologist won’t let you get AWAKE. I never felt any pain.

Your recovery will depend on a number of personal factors, but a big one is how much is being done during the surgery. How much material removed.

I'm sure you know that stressing about it can't help. Maybe you can help yourself de-stress some by being prepared in case you do find it painful, like buying a bag of frozen peas?

I had septoplasty 3 years ago and they gave me only local anesthesia - meaning I was conscious during the procedure. Well, they also gave me something which made me pretty high to the point that I was actually chatting with the surgeon during the procedure. I know this sounds bad but it was quite okay actually. The staff were all very nice, they talked to me explaining what's happening the entire time which was very calming and creating trust. I didn't feel any pain, just... touch / pressure I guess?

After the procedure they stuffed my nose with tampons made of gauze wrapped in some kind of rubber. I had to keep this for 2 days. This was the worst part because I had to breathe through my mouth and also they stuffed it really deep and tight which made it pretty uncomfortable. I just read books and watched YouTube the whole time to distract myself. It was not fun but definitely manageable.

After they took out the tampons I was released to home and I got 2 weeks of sick leave. Honestly, I would do it again just for those 2 weeks.

I say, don't overthink it. If you expect pain, you will probably feel it. Try to trust the doctors and the process. They really know what they're doing.

There’s an amnesiac in the anesthesia you’ll receive. You won’t remember a thing. And I had a similar surgery a little over a year ago. Septoplasty and FESS as a result of a severely deviated septum (70%) and an antibiotic-resistant chronic maxillary sinus infection.

Recovery took about three days of being on pain meds, then Tylenol afterwards.

The worst part was sleeping upright for a few days, but as far as pain? Pain was not an issue at all. Seriously… I’ve had more painful stubbed toes.

Trust me- when it’s over, toil feel as silly as I did for panicking- and I was half-way out of my entire mind with worry.

It was nothing at all.

Reach out as you draw nearer to the day. I’ll be happy to talk you down.

I've had surgery on my leg twice. The first surgery I apparently kept raising my arms up into the air, and the second surgery they told me I woke up during it. They gave me more gas and I was back down. I don't remember any of it, and it didn't cause any problems.