My Nuss Journey

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[nussjourney]

2 YEARS POST OP UPDATE!

Hello there! It’s been a minute. Nothing much has changed. My chest still looks the same and so do my scars. Luckily, I haven’t been experiencing any pain related to the bar. Something new to report is that I’ve been able to sleep comfortably on my chest, which has been a nice change. I’m not sure if that’s bad for my chest or not but it’s not causing me any pain and I don’t do it for longer than 40 minutes.

I’m supposed to have a 2 years post op check up with my doctor but with COVID-19, I don’t feel comfortable going to a hospital for a non-emergency appointment. So I guess I won’t be having one.

I’m really (REALLY) excited to get this bar removed from my chest! And I can’t wait to blog about the post op experience for that.

Onward to year three!

[nussjourney]

1 YEAR POST OP APPOINTMENT

I had my appointment with Dr. Petrosyan this morning. It went well. He just looked at my chest and checked my incisions. He thinks my bar is moving (sideways instead of up and down) within my chest because it’s sticking out a little more on the right side of my body. But I haven’t been in any pain because of it so it’s fine. I also had to get an X-ray of my chest.

I’ll go see him again in a year for another X-ray and then the year after that the bar will be removed!!

[nussjourney]

1 YEAR POST OP UPDATE!

A year ago today I got the Nuss Procedure to correct my Pectus Excavatum. Waking up from surgery was scary and painful as hell but here I am a year later feeling normal. I feel like I’ve completely readjusted to living my life with a steel bar in my chest. I also think I’ve come to terms with the fact that I still have a little bit of a dent in my chest towards my collar bones. One thing I wish I would have known before the surgery was that this little bit of pectus was still going to be with me even after the Nuss Procedure. My expectations for the surgery were managed poorly but on the bright side, my sternum is completely straight now. 

I rarely experience any soreness these days. I sometimes wake up sore if my hips weren’t aligned with my back while sleeping on my back. But this soreness goes away after 4 hours of being up and active on my feet (with no pain medicine). 

Honestly, I gave up on consistently applying Vitamin E oil to my surgery scars. They’re still the same color they were as when they started healing. The only thing I consistently do for them is keeping them covered when I’m in the sun which is an easy task.

Nothing much else to report. If anyone reading this is considering getting the surgery, I’d say do it! And if you have any questions regarding the procedure or the recovery process feel free to message me on here. Two people have contacted me so far to ask me questions about the surgery which is great and I really don’t mind helping people further understand this process. 

On to Year 2!

[nussjourney]

Long Time No Update...~8 Months Post Op??

It’s been a MINUTE since I’ve updated about my bar... so here are some really quick things I’ve experienced recently:

Twice within the past week, I got a shooting pain through my breasts. It just felt painful really quickly and then it ended. Idk, I am not too concerned about it but this is the first and only time it’s happened since my Nuss Procedure. 

I WENT FOR A RUN TODAY!!! It was very brief but at least I finally exercised! I was very aware of the bar as I was running...it didn’t hurt but I could definitely feel it - whereas whenever I’m just walking around or sitting I mostly don’t feel the bar in my chest. 

Breathing while running with a bar in my chest was...interesting. It felt like the bar was in the way of my lungs getting enough air while I was running. This makes sense and it kinda doesn’t. I obviously was getting enough air because this bar has created more room for my lungs to breathe but on the other hand, I was running and it has been a WHILE since I ran regularly so it makes sense that I was really out of breath towards the end of my run. Hopefully, I don’t wake up with a sore chest tomorrow. I will update about this tomorrow when I get home from work! 

Otherwise, I am still feeling good about my recovery and just okay about my not-so-perfect chest.

**UPDATE: no sore chest after running! I feel good.**

[nussjourney]

6 Months Post Op!

1 HALF OF A YEAR DOWN, 2 AND A HALF MORE YEARS TO GOOOO!!!

I finally made it to the 6 month mark! Very cool. I have nothing new to report. 

Sleeping has been challenging lately for some reason. I recently spent the night at my best friend’s house and my chest hurt so badly whenever I woke up that next morning - but I only felt pain when I was laying down on my back, when I sat up I felt fine. I’ve had other instances this month where I felt discomfort when waking up which is annoying. I can’t wait to be able to sleep on my stomach again!

With the new year approaching, I hope to feel motivated to work out so that I can see some type of evening out of my chest. I hope to eventually start going on runs again once the weather gets nice around the end of March. 

See ya at month 7 :)

[nussjourney]

5 Months Post Op!!!!

FIVE WHOLE MONTHS WITH THIS BAR IN MY CHEST. Wild. 

This month was, again, uneventful. Sleeping has been uncomfortable for me lately. I just wish I could sleep on my chest and right side like I used to BB (Before Bar) but I literally can’t do this. It’s TOO uncomfortable. 

I haven’t been lifting weights or even attempting to work out this past month. I’ve been studying (or at least thinking about studying) for the GRE and starting my grad school applications. I know this is bad and that I should be exercising my newfound lung capacity but I am hoping that the new year will inspire me to get back in to lifting weights and to start running like I used to do in high school. 

Wearing a bra with underwire is still impossible for me. The aesthetic of bras is nice but it’s just not worth the discomfort they cause me. I have recently been wearing a sticky bra and that’s been super comfortable. I will need to buy more. I don’t know how my sticky bras will hold up in the summer but for now, they’re working for me. 

I’ve been sick a lot lately (I work with children who don’t wash their hands). Because of my colds, I’ve been sneezing a lot and it still hurts to do so. Coughing is fine though, so that’s good. 

My scars are still super dark (except the stabilizer incision) but that’s nothing new. 

[nussjourney]

4 Months Post Op!!!!

Not much to report at this milestone. I’ve started lifting weights (3 pounds for each arm). I do a series to arm exercises every day (or at least I try to do so every day) for 15 minutes with the goal of eventually increasing the time and adding more exercises to my workout “routine.” 

I am currently sick and sneezing definitely still hurts - but not as much as it did during my first week post op. So that’s good. 

My scars are still pretty dark despite using vitamin E oil every night. I think it will take a long time before I start to see a change. I will say that my stabilizer scar is fading nicely (because it’s not as big or deep as my other two incisions).

My sister went back to college in August so I haven’t been taking pictures of my chest or scars. Hopefully, when I see her next I’ll remember to ask her to take pictures for me as I would like to document this whole process and then maybe upload the pictures on this blog one day. 

Laying on my left side has gotten more comfortable for me which is cool. I do miss sleeping on my stomach though. I tried to lay down on my stomach a few weeks ago and getting up from that position was painful and hard for me. 

Sometimes when I’m laying on my back and I sit up awkwardly, I feel a slight pain in my chest where my little PE hole remains. I try not to think about how I still have some PE even after the surgery (even though it still bothers me).

Also, I can happily say that I haven't had to take any painkillers or muscle relaxers at all in this last month! 

See ya at month 5!  

[nussjourney]

3 Months Post Op!!!

I literally just typed out this whole post but I'm on my iPad so I accidentally touched out of the text box and the whole post is gone. So I'm annoyed. Anyway,

I can't believe I'm finally three months post op! It feels like this last month was the longest.

I am happy to say that I am no longer taking any pain medications. I sometimes experience discomfort upon first waking up but once I'm up for the day I don't experience any pain. I also happy to say that I have managed to figure out how to sleep on my left side. I have to use two pillows under my head and I can't bring my legs over all the way to the left (or else I will put too much pressure on my chest) but I can lay like this for about an hour before I have to switch to laying on my back.

I am no longer practicing my breathing using the spirometer and I have started applying vitamin E oil to my incisions. This is kinda pointless because these incisions will be reopened in three years when the bar comes out but I think that if I begin to fade the scars now with the oil, then in three years I will have an easier time fading them again - if that makes sense.

I can now lift almost anything with ease but I do still find that bending at my waist can be uncomfortable for me. I try to avoid doing that as much as I can. Also still don't like to lift my arms all the way above my head. It doesn't hurt me but I do still worry about the bar shifting so I don't raise my arms up all the way anymore which is fine now - I'm used to it.

I don't really think about my chest as much as I've used to. I think I'm getting accustomed to how it looks and finally starting to come to terms with the fact that my chest still isn't perfect. I still have PE - but I can breathe better and don't get dizzy anymore which is necessary. I do think I need more time to adjust to how my chest looks. I'm not sure that it matters if I adjust to how my chest looks now because when the bar comes out my chest will readjust and look different to me. This means I will also have to mentally readjust how I feel about my appearance. I am simultaneously looking forward to but also dreading the day this bar comes out. It's weird.

That's all for now. I think I'm only going to post every month now and if something major happens.

[nussjourney]

Tuesday, September 11, 2018: 11 Weeks Post Op

I had to take a muscle relaxer today. I’ve been feeling sore every morning when I wake up - in my upper back but especially my neck. I took the muscle relaxer an hour and 15 minutes ago and I feel much better already. Other than that, I haven’t been taking any pain medication for the past 5 days. 

I haven’t had much energy lately because of my job so I haven’t been lifting weights like I said I wanted to. Hopefully, I get motivated to do so soon. I have been moving some furniture around my house with the help of my mom and I don’t feel too uncomfortable when I lift the heavier pieces - so that’s good.

I’ve been sick for the past four days. This is my first cold post op. It was hard because I’ve been sneezing a lot and blowing my nose a lot. Both are painful to do because of the bar. Definitely not as painful as it was during my first week at home right after surgery but it’s still uncomfortable. Luckily, I’m feeling better and haven’t sneezed at all today. 

[nussjourney]

Tuesday, September 4, 2018: 10 Weeks Post Op

For the past four days, I haven’t been taking any painkillers. I went to work today and played with kids all day and didn’t feel any pain so I think I can stop taking them altogether - which is great! I’m also no longer taking the turmeric pills for inflammation because: 1. I ran out of them and 2. I am no longer swollen. I also don’t practice my breathing with the spirometer as consistently anymore. I was using it twice a day for a while but now I only use it once a week. 

Every morning and afternoon at work, I have to lift the chairs up and take them off the desks and put them back up there. I have no difficulty lifting the chairs. Bending at the waist is still somewhat uncomfortable but I do it anyway. I still don’t stretch my arms all the way above my head or twist my torso - so I’m slowly but surely working on doing that with my body to finally be off of all of my restrictions by the time I’m 12 weeks post op. I think I’m gonna start lifting 5 pound weights on both arms so I can introduce working out to my daily routine. The chairs at my job definitely weigh more than 5 pounds so this shouldn’t be a problem for me. 

My opinion of my chest is still the same - some days I don’t like the way it looks and other days I like it. I just try not to think about it at all so I don’t have to deal with my changing opinion of my chest. 

[nussjourney]

Saturday, September 1, 2018: 67 Days Post Op

Today I decided to try doing a yoga class. This was a huge mistake. I could barely keep up, I felt really uncomfortable, and by the end of the class, I felt nauseous. I won’t be trying to work out again anytime soon. Now I’m feeling sad and frustrated. 

[nussjourney]

2 Months Post Op!

It feels like this second month has been really long. I’ll start with today. I woke up with no pain or discomfort. Unfortunately, I fell down the stairs today and hit my right hip, back, and head on the way down. Fortunately, however, I didn’t hit the place on my right side where the bar sticks out. I was really scared, though, that the impact of the fall would cause my bar to flip. I took 1 dosage of Motrin to ensure that I wouldn’t experience any pain in my chest from the fall. It’s night time now and I have no pain in my chest at all. Luckily my biggest problems from the fall were bruises, feeling winded, and feeling slightly nauseous for the rest of the day after the fall. 

Technically, my restrictions were lifted by the 8 week mark but I don’t plan on fully lifting them until I’m three months post op. I have been bending at my waist for quite some time now and it’s no longer painful for me. I still don’t twist my torso or fully extend my arms above my head. I have also been picking up and carrying some heavy objects here and there with minimal discomfort. 

Last weekend I was finally able to wash my hair by myself! Yay for progress. I was also able to shower for a longer period of time and not feel dizzy during or after that shower! I’m really happy about this.

Random, but In the past two months, I have been in two situations where I had to walk through a metal detector and I haven’t set any of them off! My surgeon said that this wouldn’t happen but I didn’t really believe him so I’m glad this won’t be an issue for me over the next 3 years. 

All of my incisions are still healing well and the scars themselves are getting darker in pigmentation. I think I will buy some Vitamin E oil soon so that I can start rubbing that on them to help with the discoloration. 

[nussjourney]

Tuesday, August 21, 2018: 8 Weeks Post Op

I started work yesterday. So far I’ve been sitting all day in training so not too strenuous on my body but by the middle of the day, I feel pain in my back when I take a deep breath in. I’ve been taking 2 Motrin pills to deal with that pain. I’ve also been wearing a bra since I have to go to work and by the middle of the day, I want to take it off. The underwire just adds to the discomfort of the bar, especially in the center of my chest between my boobs. 

Since my last post, I think I was able to go 3 days straight without taking any medicine and not having any pain over a 1/10 on the pain scale. Progress! 

My incisions still look like they’re healing well. I also noticed that I can use my arms to support my self when I’m leaning back on them while lying down. I still try not to do it though because I am only 8 weeks post op. 

Last night I tried laying on my left side while sleeping. I was able to do it with minimal discomfort but decided that I couldn’t stay in that position to actually sleep because I felt a lot of popping in my chest and it scared me a little bit. Hopefully, I will be able to sleep on my left side soon. 

Some days I like the way my chest looks and other days I don’t. Today I do not like how my chest looks - especially in the middle where my ribs are more prominent on my left side but there’s a small sunken indent across from it on my right side. I just can’t wait to see what my chest looks like in three years. 

[nussjourney]

Tuesday, August 14, 2018: 7 Weeks Post Op

I went for a long drive today and I felt comfortable the entire time. It’s still awkward for me to sit down in and get out of the car but at least driving isn’t difficult for me. 

In terms of pain, I took 2 Motrin pills this morning and was able to remain pain free all day until 8:30pm. Now I just have slight pain when taking deep breaths in, probably a 2/10 on the pain scale. 

[nussjourney]

Monday, August 13, 2018: 48 Days Post Op

Yesterday I was on my feet a lot because I had to help my sister move into her college dorm. I was lifting a few things and it felt fine - definitely didn’t lift anything heavy but I was still able to be helpful. Last night I felt a sharp pain on the left side of my chest whenever I took a deep breath in. I took a dose of Tylenol and was finally comfortable enough to fall asleep. 

Today I woke up with pain all over my chest - 4/10 on the pain scale. This is pretty discouraging because I’ve been waking up pain free for a while up until now. I took 2 Motrin pills and was able to be pain free for a while, but unfortunately, the pain returned later on in the day. It’s 11:19pm and I’ve been in pain since 7pm. I just took a Tylenol so hopefully, that helps. 

In other news, I still am using the spirometer to practice deep breathing. I do deep breaths 10 times in a row every morning and every night. It has definitely gotten easier for me to do and I feel more comfortable breathing. 

Tomorrow I’m going for a long drive so I hope that goes well for me and feels good. I’ve driven twice since my surgery but those have been really quick trips around the block. 

[nussjourney]

Saturday, August 11, 2018: 46 Days Post Op

I’ve been pretty active for the past three days. I’ve been away from my house all day at events or out shopping. All three days have required me to be on my feet, walking for a long time. It’s been okay - my upper back usually gets sore and I feel tired very quickly but I haven’t experienced a lot of pain in my chest. I imagine the back pain I’ve been feeling could be relieved with muscle relaxers but I’ve been trying not to take a lot of medication lately. I think I’ve only had one dose of Motrin in the past 3 days during the day and one dose of Tylenol at night to help with my upper back pain.

In other news, all my Steri Strips are finally gone. My scars look like they’re healing correctly and I’m no longer keeping my stabilizer incision covered.

Mentally, I’ve been feeling a lot happier. Probably because I’ve been busy and distracted for the past few days. Either way, I find myself actually wanting to leave the house more which is nice because for most of this recovery I haven’t felt like doing much.

[nussjourney]

Tuesday, August 7, 2018: 6 Weeks Post Op

I drove a car today for the first time since before my surgery. It went well - I didn’t feel stiff or awkward. I did have to use two hands to push the gear shift down to get in to reverse but I think that will get easier with time. 

In terms of pain, I find that I now wake up pain free most days and really only take one dose of Motrin to help with lower back pain from being stiff (like when I’m sitting or laying down in a position for too long). Really happy about this!

I’m still taking pictures of my chest and incisions every other week just so I can document any changes. I would say that my left breast is officially no longer swollen! Although, I am still a little numb on my sides and on my back where the bar sticks out. The incision on my left side still has the Steri Strips on it but they have finally started to curl up at the top so that means they will fall off soon. I’m still keeping my stabilizer incision covered with a band-aid until it fully scabs over like my surgeon told me to do. I took a picture of it tonight so that I could inspect more closely and it looks like it’s starting to scab a little in the middle so I’m not concerned about it anymore. I still have those patches of little bumps on my sides and back around the bar - sometimes they itch and sometimes they don’t. I’m still using the hydrocortisone cream to see what happens. 

I’m still taking my vitamins every morning and abiding by my restrictions. Overall, I’ve been feeling good about my recovery journey - which puts me at ease because I start working in a week and a half. I was really worried about pain management during the school day but I don’t think that will be an issue for me now!

Mentally, things fluctuate for me. Some days I feel really good and positive about my body and other days I feel negative about myself. Every day I’m slowly but surely trying to accept my body but other days are hard. I don’t know what it is but sometimes I just wonder when enough will be enough for me. I had this surgery to fix my chest but it didn’t turn out the way I imagined it would. I just have to get over it I guess. At least I can now use the full capacity of my lungs.