How soon did you fly after having sinus surgery?

[disney's daughter]

I take my whole family every February to Disney. A few weeks before we were supposed to leave, we learned that my eldest granddaughter's (13) grades were really slipping. My son, who is a single parent, and my husband and I, together, decided she (and her Dad) would not be able to go....I told her that if her grades improved I would take her to Disney when school let out...Well..her grades improved...and I booked everything for us to arrive there June 8th and to come back June 14th.

When we were flying back from Disney in Febraury, I experienced difficulty with my ears as the plane was coming down...My ears stopped up and never opened up until a month later...I have been on four different antibiotics...and have been miserable with a sinus infection since then (never had one before in my life) After x-rays and a cat scan...It was decided that I am to have the sinus surgery May 18th. My doctor said I would have to post pone my June 8th trip (because of the pressure in the plane)...He kept empasizing post pone..not cancel...and kept referring to "another couple of weeks".... I hate to disappoint my granddaughter...She has really faced a lot of disappointments in her life....but, I can't imagine going in July or August...The heat would just be too much...Hopefully I will still be able to go in June around the 20th or so...Have any of you ever had sinus surgery?

 

[WHIT1]

I know you don't want to hear this but thats what happened to me. Just don't push it and do what the Dr says to do. I was out of work for 2 1/2 wks and couldn't bend over or lift anything over 5 lbs. I also ended up having to still take antibodics for awhile. You may be one of the lucky ones and the surgery will take care of everything,but you also have to think about any allergies you have. This is what triggers my sinus infections now plus includes my ears for a little bonus. The reason I ended up with another surgery is cause he missed a very small area just under my eye that was the cause of all my sinus infections after the 1st surgery. I can say since then I may only get one sinus infection once a year and that at the beginning of the allergy season. Also have you asked other people who had the same surgery? I will tell you that there will be horror stories. In fact I was in such a state that they had to put me out before I got to the OR. It wasn't easy breathing through my mouth all the time but you get use to it and hey there is those great cocktails they give you, where you don't care about nothing. Oh yeah you have to wear this gauze over your nose cause it runs some and it makes you look like a poodle but other than that it was pretty easy. Just keep a positive attitude that you are going to get better fast and still go on this trip at a later date so you can also enjoy it to. So lots of pixie dust and good luck on your surgery. Anymore questions on what you will experience with your surgery just pm me.

 

[jbird327]

I had two sinus surgeries, the first one about 12 years ago and the last was June 2005. The first time required alot of work to open one side (closed since birth) and afterward I had packing and a generally slow recovery - two to three weeks until I could breathe through my nose. This past was much more pleasant. I was nose breathing in the recovery room. It still took about 8 weeks for an almost full recovery. I would not want to travel so soon after the surgery - the sinuses will probably require flushing out and you will need to keep them moist. I was also on an antibiotic for a few weeks and depending on how you handle those, it may add to your unpleasantness. It is major surgery under anesthesia and will require a number of office visits afterwards to check on the healing. One the positive side, it's great being able to breathe through my nose and I did not have much discomfort. The surgeon used a 'guided' system which enabled them to track the tool's location in my head on a computer.

 

[disney's daughter]

Thank you both for your posts...I am so miserable now...I can't remember when I have slept over a half an hour...My nose is stopped up most of the time..with little relief...I feel like crying...but, that has only made it much worse. I can't "think" some of the times, too...which has made it worse for me at work....This has just taken over my life...I have no energy....

I hope I am one of the "lucky ones" and will be able to breathe quickly after my surgery..I get so panicky about that... as it is...I feel so sorry for people who have had this for years...I honestly never had trouble until I had a cold..then flew from Orlando back to Michigan this past February....

Were either of you in a lot of pain afterwards? Did you still feel like your sinuses were plugged up for very long?

 

[jbird327]

I really did not have much pain after either surgery and never took more than some tylenol. There have been advances in sinus surgery since my first one in the late 80s - they had just started with the 'through the nose' techniques instead of going through the bone. The biggest issue immediately after the surgery is dealing with the bleeding - you have to do your best to avoid swallowing the blood which can lead to vomitting. For me the bleeding stopped about 12 hours after I came home, then the process of clearing out the clots (starting to sound disgusting ) with saline washes. I was able to breathe right away which was very nice since my nose was really shut down for almost a year. My trip to WDW in Jan 2005 was a very miserable experience - I could not sleep, my mouth was always dry and nothing I took would help. It was an important trip for me - my friend of almost 40 years had been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and we wanted one last big adventure. We had been to Disneyland in 1972 and felt it would be nice to end up in WDW. Two days before leaving I came down with a sinus infection - on the weekend so I could not get to a doctor before I left. Once home I was on various antibiotics, ect. but nothing was working. I was trying to avoid the surgery because of the packing (when they stuff gauze into your sinus) but the doctor said they rarely do that anymore because they can be much more accurate. I was back to work within a week, on a reduced schedule, and pretty much back to normal after two. The discomfort continued with the healing process for about 6 weeks, but it was really minor. The weekly visits to the doctor for followup were a bit painful when they start probing around, but again, nothing that a few tylenols wouldn't handle. I had been on steroids and antibiotics before the surgery, afterwards I was weened off the steroids and continued for maybe another 10 days on the antibiotic. I am so thankful that they are able to deal with this problem and the advances in the surgery made it a very tolerable and painless experience. I am on Flonase, probably forever, to help with preventing the redevelopment of polyps, and I am very 'allergy aware' - avoiding situations that cause congestion, which means not visiting most of my friends and family because of cats. Good luck with your surgery and let me know how it turns out. Did you decide to postpone your trip?

 

[disney's daughter]

I did cancel my trip....since my doctor advised against it...Maybe I can take my granddaughter in October if her grades continue to improve...I just can't see going in July or August in that heat! Those are the only two months that I haven't been to Disney....My sister, who lives in KY, always joins me on my Disney World trips...She and her husband are flying here to be with me during and after my surgery next week.

How awful for you to experience a dreadful sinus infection...especially since it was such an important time for you and your friend.....I can't imagine what you went through! How on earth did you manage? Was 2005 the last time you were at Disney World?

I am so thankful for the information you have given me...the "bloody" details and all...I need to know what to expect...It isn't going to be a "walk in the park"..I can see that....

The doctor told me that the xrays and cat scan showed that I had a lot of "crud" in my sinues...I don't know if I have polyps or not...Since it seemed to happen all of a sudden...(although I have been having a problem with snoring for the last five or six years)..I really don't know exactly what caused it....

 

[WHIT1]

I know what you mean not being able to think when you have a sinus infection. That is how I can tell I have one coming on plus I have earaches too. The pain after the surgery was not bad. They gave me tordoral which is a great drug that takes care of all pain that may be in your body.I wanted to continue to take this but my ENT said it was an evil drug .As far as bleeding I did not bleed hardly at all. It will depend on how your body reacts to surgery and how much pain you can handle.The thing that scared me was breathing though my mouth cause I am a nose breather. I even practiced closing my nose and breathing though my mouth and it is freaky and thats why I had to be sedated befor surgery. So if you do feel anxiety do tell your Dr so he can give you something for it.But after its done you will be able to tell the diffence especially after they take the packing out(do take some drugs for that,hurts alittle). To me it would feel better just to put a tampon in there,easier to get to. You will be able to breathe so much better. So keep positive thoughts that this will work and you will be much better having it done.

 

[disney's daughter]

I will definitely tell the Dr. about my being "panicky" when it comes to not breathing out of my nose....Thank you for that information...!!!