A bit of a panic

[hduggan]

So, my son is in a bit of a panic and I'd like to get a sense of how realistic it is.

It's the day after his surgery, and he's home.

He was OK in the hospital (although one of his brackets came off)

On the ride home, he was pretty anxious (about a mixture of feeling like he might throw up and filling totally filled with mucus)

Then he started feeling a very strong pressure in to the sides of his nose.

So, all of that seem pretty OK and what I've heard on the board.

then, I did something retarded - I tried to suction out his mouth with a hard thing and accidentally went near the stitches. We got a little bit of pink from that, but nothing huge,

But, he felt like the suction pulled up something soft in his mouth. I suspect I nicked his scab and got a little bit of that.

But he's thinks it was a piece of rubber from a band, and he thinks that there's band that's broken on the right side. And he also feels like the pressure is building up in such a way that it's breaking bands.

Also, he feels like there's *so* much mucus coming out that he's becoming dehydrated.

So, as you might have guessed, he does tend to suffer from anxiety. But I don't want to dismiss all his symptoms as anxiety-related and miss something important.

At what would be around 36 hours out, did any of you have similar symptoms? I've heard lots of people talk about pressure, but that sounded more like an under the skin swelling kind of thing. He doesn't have a huge amount of swelling - he feels like the pressure is coming from inside. He described it as building and pushing the mucus out.

We've talked to his doctor (but earlier on, when it was less specific, about the pressure around his nose)

Any help, ideas, thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[asmileconnectsus]

I had a lot of pressure post-op. After my doctor's approval I started taking liquid Musinex and it helped quite a bit. I might go in to see the surgeon to check if there is an infection in the area where the scab may have come off. Best of luck to you and your son!

[chicago29]

The pressure/mucus is normal - The OS should have prescribed a combination of Afrin and saline spray. Ask the surgeon about that. It helps...but my nostrils were clogged with blood for 5 days so I couldn't use them

His swelling should peak today or tomorrow as well, so if he can get through the weekend things will get better. The swelling certainly adds to the pressure feeling.

Anyway, I'd call the surgeon just to let him have a look.

Best of luck, and hang in there!

-Chicago29

[hduggan]

Unfortunately, it didn't sort itself out. He started getting naseus and then vomitted regularly for several hours. We ended up taking him to the emergency room because he couldn't clear the vomit/mucus/whatever out of the back of his throat and it was compromising his breathing.

He has something beyond mucus, we think. When he lies down, he's is constantly draining *large* amounts of frothy material out of his mouth. I mean, I could fill a glass after about an hour.

The emergency room doctor has him on antibiotics. We *think* he has pus coming from his sinus that's exiting through his mouth (because his nose is blocked)

Anyway, he's very, very uncomfortable and although he's getting a good amount of oxygen, he's working very hard to get it. Looking forward to this period being over.

[hduggan]

OK, we *think* we're turning the corner. He got anti-naseau meds, so his stomach is settled. And, because of the, we're able to push a ton more fluids.

But, here's the interesting thing, and I post this as a warning to anyone undergoing this surgery who suffers from anxiety as my son does. I think what happened to him is that, in the panic of being afraid he was going to throw up on the ride home from the hospital, he started "face breathing." So, instead of drawing oxygen into his lungs, he was dragging it in through his face. If you do that, and your mouth is closed, it becomes very hard to breath. He got enough air, but he was expending an extraordinary effort to get it, and that was putting a huge amount of pressure on his sinuses. And it also made his breathing very shallow, which made it inefficient, which meant that his heart was working way to hard to get breath in. Which kind of freaked him out, thus starting the cycle all over again.

Anyway, we kind of worked through what he was doing, and now he's trying to concentrate on drawing breath into his lungs. That seems to be helping. We're hoping by tonight he'll be firmly on the mend.

Thanks all for your help and well wishes.

[chicago29]

My God this sounds awful...but I am SO glad to hear things appear to be getting better.

I had the anxiety thing as well...In fact, for surgery #1 I was on anxiety meds and for #2 I tried to go without them. That lasted 1 day post-op and I was begging for them in the hospital. Luckily, I was able to get them but in hindsight I never should have been off them leading up to surgery #2.

I know I was hyperventilating a lot...I couldn't breath at all the first 5 days. My nostrils were completely packed with blood, and I was banded shut. I had to breathe through my mouth and it was very hard. It always felt like my heart was racing and that I couldn't get a deep breath. It was definitely the worst part of the recovery. It is difficult to breath in this situation anyway, but add anxiety to it and you're asking for a disaster...

In your situation, the "foam" sounds like some sort of infection. I'm glad he's on antibiotics now, but you should see the surgeon ASAP. If there is an intra-oral infection, he needs to see it as it can compromise healing.

So, tell your son he's not alone and that others have experienced the same thing. I don't know what his stance on anxiety meds is, but let me tell you they worked for me. I wouldn't have gotten through the recovery without them. This isn't a time to be a hero.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

Regards
Chicago29

[hduggan]

Yeah, if I'd realized it would have triggered his anxiety, I'd have planned better for it. He has a history of anxiety, but it's been so much better recently, and hadn't flared up during any other recent surgeries (for tonsils and wisdom teeth) that I didn't address it going in.

He's doing much, much better today. His doctor suggested an anti-histamine for the fluids, and that seems to be working. And he's starting to get some food down.

So, I think your estimate of his being much better by Monday is right on target.

Thanks again for all your help. It's really made a tough time much easier.

[mamaneedsanewjaw]

So sorry to hear that your son was having so much trouble. I remember writing on my dry erase board " I can't breathe" time after time and they just kept telling my my oxygen rates were fine. It was so so rough...the first week was really pure h*ll for me! I kept telling my husband why did I do this? But then the evening of day seven it was all ok and everything got better and very tolerable quickly.

Tell him to hang in there!!!

[hduggan]

Thanks so much, Mandy. Yeah, his oxygen is always fine - it's the struggling for it that worried us.

He is *much* better today. The last prescription he got was for an anti-histamine to slow down the mucus flow a bit and (way too much info here ), I worked on the big blood blocks in his nose last night with a mixture of peroxide and warm water, and that's helped alot. Before that, he was really sounding like Darth Vadar.

So, with oxygen and food, he's resting pretty comfortably. Now, he's stressing about a cover letter for a job he's applying to out of college. It's always something

[chicago29]

hduggan,

I'm glad your son is doing better. My surgeon told me to NEVER touch the nose blood clots and that he would clean them out 5 to 7 days post-op. I know they are the ultimate pain, but you should leave them until he sees his surgeon. Perhaps he gave you clearance to try and clean them out, and in that case you'd be OK.

Also, peroxide dissolves blood clots so again you shouldn't use that. I did the same thing (peroxide and water) and my OS scolded me He said use only a damp Q-Tip to clean things out...

Good luck with the rest of the recovery...and that cover letter

-Chicago29

[hduggan]

We didn't ask

These weren't at all scab like - (and, again, about to give way too much info here) they were huge, solid chunks of blood, about 1/4 inch think, which completely filled the "flare" in the lower part of his nose. With them there, absolutely no air came through his nose for one day, and his mucus was so bad that he sort of drowned when he breathed in through his mouth.

I also worried that I might disturb a scab, but oxygen just seemed so much more important.

[badbite]

My surgeon told my that i could blow my nose right way, i just need to be gentle.

That being said, today I inhaled through my nose; it felt like an ice pick! OUCH!

[chicago29]

Yeah, I know what you mean by a true clog. I was the exact same way. I will remember the day my OS cleared out my nostrils as long as I live...Breathing was impossible but he told me I had to leave them alone or risk breaking a clot and bleeding at a time when I couldn't afford it (I lost a good amount of blood in surgery).

Anyway, what's done is done and he didn't bleed and he can breathe better...that's what's important right now!

Best of luck on a quiet recovery here on out...

-Chicago29

[caschill]

Okay Chicago....

Now I am freaking out a bit!

[hduggan]

The good news about the whole "feeling like you can't breathe" thing is that it's mainly a feeling. My son's oxygen never dropped below 90% on room air, even though he *felt* like he wasn't getting enough air.

Having just gone through it, I'd check with your surgeon's on clearing your nose. Ours said a q-tip with peroxide and water was fine, and I wish I'd figured that out on day one instead of day three and saved my son alot of grief. If you can keep your nose clear(ish), you should be in OK shape. It's just the total blockage that got us.