I was diagnosed with a sever deviated septum earlier this year. The doctor said that if I had suregery I would probably be out of commission for at least 2 weeks. I didn’t want to loose that time during the season but now that it is off season I was thinking about having it done. I have a hard time breathing through my nose and when I’m biking or running I’m always breathing through the mouth. I can handle the 2 weeks off from runnng and biking if I have to but I read somewhere that you can’t swim for 6 weeks which would change things a bit for me. I have not really had any sinus issues as other with deviated septup have mentioned. For me it is just a breathing issue. If I were going to have this surgery I would need to have it done before the end of the year since my insurance deductible has been met for the year so my out of pocket expenses would be lower. I’m off for 2 weeks during te Christmas/New Year holiday but was planning to be out of town with family for that. How long would I need to be away from the office realistically (I’m in sales so if there is a lot of facial bruising then that might make a difference since my customers re used to my pretty face). For people who have had this surgery, how has it helped your performance? Would breath right strips work nearly as well (I haven’t tried them yet) if I decided to postpone this until next year?
I am interested to see what people have to say as I a pretty similar situation as you. I have been contemplating this surgery for a while now. As far as the breath right strips, they have no physiological effect from a performance stand point. The “gains” that people notice from them are from a placebo effect.
I had this surgery 2 years ago (+ they removed my uvula). My septum was so deviated it was blocking both nostrils.
The deviated septum surgery is not that big a deal. Make sure your doctor does not still believe in packing your face full of gauze. That is the old line treatment and some old school doctors still do it. Dramatically extends the recovery and no clinical evidence it helps. State of the art now is to put in one saline splint in each nostril which makes for a lot less pain and shorter recovery.
I was out of commission for about 3 days. The nose didn’t bother me that much. My missing uvula hurt like hell! I am sure you will be running and biking in less than 2 weeks. I don’t know about the swimming–my doctor didn’t say a word about needing to not swim once the splints were out.
The surgery really, really helped me. For the first time in years I could take a deep breath through my nose. Huge improvement in overall quality of life–instantly quit snoring. I recommend it highly. Using breath right strips isn’t even close–like putting a band aid on a fracture.
If you have any additional questions feel free to PM me.
Phil Combs
Specific answer to your out of the office question: I had the surgery on Tuesday and was back at the office on Friday afternon. Nose splints out on Monday or Tuesday? (that’s my best memory). As soon as splints were out my nose felt 100%. My amputated uvula hurt like hell for about 7-10 days.
One other thing. They told me to use this product called “Simply Saline” to keep the tissues moist. I liked it so much I am still using it 2 years later.
Any facial bruising? I’ll be visiting my girlfriend’s family so I’d like to look and feel my best. How much time do I need to give it to make sure I’m not a lame date?
Also, did you have any noticable performance gains? I’ve always been a very shallow breather during exercise since I’m breathing through the mouth. I expect a fundemental change in my breathing patterns if I can finally breath from my nose.
Until they took the splints out, my nose/cheeks were swollen (when the splints are in they don’t feel that big. When they pull them out your first thought is "that huge frigging thing was stuffed up my nose, you got to be kidding me!!!???). No bruising (at least I can’t remember any and I just asked my wife and she can’t remember me having any either).
I wouldn’t be going on any dates or visiting your GF’s parents until you get the splints out. That’s kind of the watershed moment for the surgery–as soon as they come out you feel fine.
I don’t know if you will have performance gains or not. It is certainly not going to hurt. However, I think you need to realize (IMO) that this is not an athletic issue but an overall quality of life issue. I am really, really am glad I had the surgery. As soon as they took the splints out and I was breathing through my nose I realized that I had not been breathing properly for >decade. It is a huge quality of life improvement to be able to breath–sounds like a dumb statement but you (and me back then) and a lot of other people just can’t/couldn’t breath through our noses. Literally, my first thought when they took the splints out was–I wish I had had this surgery a long time ago.
Yeah, I’m an increadibly light sleeper and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I can’t breath through my nose.
I just had the surgery two weeks ago & to say the least I am raring to go just waiting to heal up 100%. I pretty much could not breathe out of onside of my nose,every time I raced this summer I would get a sinus infection & my eye would swell half shut,this was mainly from inland lakes but I was fine in the ocean. It happened it Portland @ AG nationals so I was fed up to say the least.
Two weeks out & I am getting active again I will start running this week, most importantly I can Breathe through my nose. Perfomance wise we will see I am sure it will help, but the reality is the only thing that really helps is the time you put in training. I have not beeen down as long as I thought and will be back training this week. Post surgery I was laid up in bed for 3 days, Surgery Thursday worked half day Monday.
I had reluctantly it done a few years back. What difference it made. My doctor used the “tampon” rather than the old style gauze stuffing. Little to no bruising and back pretty much to normal in a few days. Each person will vary on recovery. The first 24 hours is no peach; but I have been through worse. All in all…very worth it. No breath right or anything else can produce the result of the surgery. Good Luck!
nah, i deviated mine playing rugby about 8yrs ago and have had no problems with it being that way
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I had it done last year after IMFL. Wasn’t a huge deal. They put the septal splints in me for a week. I don’t think, it helped performance much. You can work out pretty soon afterwards. The splints are pretty damn annoying though. My nostril doesn’t collapse if I breathe in hard. Otherwise, can’t tell a huge difference. I also had the turbinate reduction w/ it.
This is what the splints look like.
http://3skimo.com/network_medical/_images/ent_products/Network_Nasal_Splint_(gen).jpg
Contador is going for it… from todays cycling news…
Alberto Contador will undergo surgery Monday in Madrid on his nose and vocal cords. The surgery will delay the Team Astana rider’s training for the upcoming season for a few weeks.
The operation will correct a deviated septum and remove a polyp from his vocal cords. He said that at some point this year he crashed and his glasses hit him hard on the nose. “Although I did not think that the bruise it caused was important, I have noticed certain breathing problems since then,” he told marca.com.
The 25-year-old also said that for more than a year he has had problems with his voice and larynx. The doctors have found a polyp on his vocal cords which will be removed.
After the surgery, Contador must give his throat absolute rest and not speak for a number of days. “It will be uncomfortable and will also prevent me from training properly on Tenerife,” he said. Team Astana is holding its first training camp on the island in early December.
Contador did not believe the surgery will hurt his preparations for the coming season. “It will perhaps delay me a couple of weeks but that is not important.” He expects to have time to be well-prepared for his first race, presumably the Vuelta a Valencia.
Bottom line - do it! Don’t even think about the “performance gains” aspect of it, consider the quality of life improvements. I had mine done about 13 months ago, along with a turbinate reduction. My surgery was on a Thursday, I was back at work on Monday, no bruising and had the splints out on Tuesday. The only down sides are as follows: While the splints are in, you’ll be a “mouth breather”, and your nose will bleed/drain for the first week, which is a little freaky looking in the morning, but not that big of a deal.
I was great for about a month after the surgery, but then developed a cold and one of my turbinates “relaxed” to it’s old position and got stuck, blocking the air flow. I went back in and they vacuumed the crap out, curing the problem.
I ran in a 5k 4 weeks later and kind of regret that because my time was awful. I was advised to not train heavily since the disturbed tissue would be more senstive to bleeding with blood pressure increases. I also remember being told to stay out of the pool for a month because of the acidity of the water on the soft tissue. If training is really the only thing you live for, look at it as an opportunity to do more base training on your trainer.
The stents can’t come out soon enough, and when they do, you’re going to be amazed at the size of them (the picture does not do them justice).
If you have any questions, pm me.
d
I needed the same surgery for years - twice broken nose playing softball ( no, I’m not that clumsy, but I’m short, so I have been a catcher since I was 10 years old, so lots of home plate collisions), and finally did it 10 years ago. Hurt like H___, but the best thing I ever did! After years of being an obligatory mouth breather, I could breathe through my nose after surgery EVEN WITH THE SPLINTS STILL IN!! What a difference - you will feel so much more energy when you train and race, I bet you feel 10 years younger after the recovery.
JUST DO IT!! Good luck… ( ps - my husband was delighted I quit snoring)
It’s interesting that the responses are all so positive. I talked with my GP a little while ago about surgery for my deviated septum. He strongly advises against it except in the case of severe breathing problems.
Did he say why?
Talk to an ENT guy not a GP. A good ENT will explain this is a low risk procedure with very little down side. Kind of like asking a tire guy about carburator performance!
Can you tell me EXACTLY what the recovery was like? I have been thinking of doing this for years but I’ve been scared about it. I was born with a deviated septum made worse by a field hockey ball and a lacrosse stick. I don’t know what it is like to breathe through my nose. Thanks
What’s the recovery like? Well, they give you some pain pills for the first couple of days, so I don’t remember it hurting too much. I do remember needing to change my pillow case every morning for the first week because of “drainage”. I also remember the stints being annoying - kind of like an itch that you can’t scratch. My stints plugged up with “drainage” by the end of the first day, so I was a mouth breather until they came out. When they did come out 4 days later, it was like I was in a new world - I could smell little things that I had never smelled before, I could breath freely, etc. You have to be cautious in how aggressively you blow your nose for the first few weeks, but other than that, it’s all positive.
d