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What to do if Deviated Septum Surgery Didn't Work?
Have been a mouth breather all my life and the constant swallowing of air has caused (or at least aggravated) my digestive problems. Had Septorhinoplasty/Submucosal Bilateral Turbinate Resection surgery 5 months ago and am not breathing through my nose one bit better. The ENT who did the surgery says it worked just fine, showed me before&after pictures and it does look great in the pictures but I still can hardly breathe at all through my nose, in fact it feels harder than ever to breathe.; earlier today, I tried putting freshly ground black pepper right up to my nose hoping to get a good, helpful sneeze (which has always worked before), but nothing. When I told the ENT that, he just said to come back and see him in 6 months and maybe it'll be better.
There are only 2 other ENTs in this town and they're both in his office and he's the only one that does this surgery.
Wish so much I could breathe through my nose; I'm so tired of swallowing air!
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I would love to hear more about what kind of other specialists you have seen and your timeline of symptoms.
The reason I am asking is because I worked in ophthalmology with 10 specialists, one being a pediatric ophthalmologist. We had a patient present with SEVERE double vision. TRUE double! He had 4 diopters (so a big old chunk of space glasses make up make his eye physically appear straight) So we did all the research, dove into primary care, ran labs, and we were at a loss!! There was no test i could do, nothing came up on MRI, CT you name it, I did it, to figure out where this onset of double vision came from!
So I partnered with multiple people, one at a time.
What it was his sinuses. He had a very elusive, rare type of sinusitis giving him 4 diopters of prism for double vision!!
It wasn’t his brain or eyes, it took effort looking outside our scope of practice.
Looking at everything, after doing diagnostics correctly is important and key. I have a great list of ophthalmologists and ENT I’d be happy to share with you. I’d also love to hear more so I could better assist your health!( I’ve had the same nasal surgery, you went through a lot for worsening results!) so I think it’s time, let me know how I can help!
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1 ReactionThanks so much for your reply. I'm pretty much stuck with my ENT since he's the only one in my town who does this surgery and I'm old and can't travel. And even if I could travel, I'm pretty sure my insurance wouldn't cover any other doctors than him.
I have an appointment with him in April and will tell him I'm still not breathing any better but who knows what he'll do. It's weird: I can smell better but still can't breathe any better, in fact it's worse.
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2 ReactionsOf course I’m really sorry this is happening! You did all the things to fix it too. I’m here for you! If there’s anything I can do count me in. Even if it’s just plain support. I understand 🙂
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1 ReactionI’m incredibly rural also. Montana over here! Hehehe
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1 Reaction@h8bigbiz, I'm also a mouth breather and a few years ago I was considering septoplasty due to having a deviated septum and nasal congestion most of my adult life. After my Mayo ENT discussed the risks associated with the surgery I decided to go with his recommendation of a proprietary Mayo Clinic nasal spray which I used for a couple of months along with twice daily nasal rinse. My ENT thought my problem was due to rhinosinusitis so prescribed the nasal spray. After my second RX ran out, I continued the twice daily nasal rinse and it pretty much took care of my congestion issues with the blocked nasal passage.
The 3 ingredients in the Mayo proprietary nasal spray are Mometasone to reduce inflammation, Ipratropium to reduce nasal drainage and Diphenhydramine which is an antihistamine to help reduce nasal drainage. The product description on my prescription is MOMET 0.033% – IPRA 0.02% – DIPH 0.02%. I think an ENT doctor may be able to write an RX but you may want to talk with your doctor and/or give the Mayo Pharmacy a call for more info.
Since using the proprietary nasal spray along with a twice daily nasal rinse, I've switched to using the SinuSonic Sinus Therapy – https://sinusonic.com/. Each device lasts about 6 months and is about the same as paying for the twice daily nasal rinse supplies. I was surprised at how well it has worked for me. Here's a study that I found on the device prior to buying one. I've used one for a couple of years now and it has pretty much cleared my congestion as long as I use it once or twice a day. I normally just use it before going to bed.
— A novel device combining acoustic vibration with oscillating expiratory pressure for the treatment of nasal congestion:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7317541/
Hope this helps.
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1 ReactionThanks for the most helpful information! I just ordered a SinuSonic; can't wait to try it.
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1 ReactionHoping it works well for you also!
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1 ReactionI really feel for you I had a deviated septum in the 90s and had surgery. The doctor took out too many turbinates. I had another surgery in 2018 and now I have a nasal valve external and internal collapse and there’s days that go by that I can’t sleep because I can’t breathe it all through my nose it feels like there’s 10 tons sitting on it.
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2 ReactionsAbout how long was it before you noticed an improvement using the SinuSonic?
I’m guessing about a week or so of using it 2 to 3 times daily. Now I occasionally use it during the day if my nose seems plugged and use it in the evening before bed. Have used a lot more Kleenex since starting with the SinuSonic. 🙃
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