#chest deformity

[pectusexcavatumfix]

Joaquin Phoenix who played the iconic DC Comics character The Joker, suffers from a deformity called Pectus Excavatum

He is one of the 27 Celebrities that Suffer from Pectus Excavatum. 

There are many actors that you probably didn’t know that suffer from a congenital deformity of the chest.

The deformity isn’t just cosmetic. It can limit a sufferer’s life expectancy because of compression to the heart and lungs.

[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!

[livingwithpectusexcavatum-blog]

Dating with Pectus Excavatum

I’m sure I’m not the only one who was terrified of your date feeling your chest. What will their reaction be? Will they jump back in disgust if they accidentally touch it? The anxiety it would give me. In fact, when my self esteem was low because of my chest I used to think whoever I was dating could do better me. I would always warn my date ahead of time of my chest because I felt like I owed it to them to let them know that I’m “damaged”. It was quite sick.

However, that all changed when the first person I dated was extremely accepting. They asked to see my chest since I previously brought it up and they were literally like, “Oh I don’t care. That’s like nothing.” And in my head I was like, “Okay you’re just being nice.” In fact all of my friends say it’s not noticeable... and I’m like THERE IS A CRATER IN MY CHEST WHAT DO YOU EVEN MEAN.

Anyways, dating has actually helped me become more confident. But one time I was ending things with a guy after dating a few months and he flat out said, “But I accepted you for your chest.” I was shook. Like EXCUSE YOU? I stayed quiet but you best believe that was DEFINITELY over.

The moral of the story is people will love you for you and because they will love you for you they will also love your body. So please don’t let your chest hold you back in fear. It means so much to me when my boyfriend kisses my chest. It was such an insecurity of mine and to have someone love my chest is something that makes you feel so good.

[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]

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.**