Meet & Greet With My Nose

My name is Alexis. I am 27 years old and 3 days away from experiencing a septorhinoplasty. 

It has taken me approximately 10 years to make this decision. Contrary to what my family reassured me of while growing up, I knew from an early age that my nose would be something I would struggle with throughout my life. As a young child, my nose seemed to fit my face, despite it's distinct familial shape that was so kindly passed along by my father's more than generous DNA. 

First Grade

Just as with any relationship, my relationship with my nose ebbed and flowed through periods of peace, love, and war. Up until around the 8th grade, my nose and I got along just fine. I didn't seem to notice it and neither did anyone else. When I turned 12 and entered my last year of junior high, puberty started to wreak havoc. My hair suddenly turned frizzy, but only in the front, I got braces, and was terribly skinny, no matter how many Twix bars I ate. 

It didn't help that I had a tongue like Gene Simmons!

Enter insecurity. With no fashion sense and kids who were my "friends" making fun of my nose, my self confidence pretty much plummeted. I felt like I didn't fit in and would never look like the other girls. Some of the names I was called: Gonzo, Snuffleupagus, La Birdie, Hook-nose, Ramp-nose, big nose, and ski-slope nose (which made no sense). There were more but luckily I don't remember. 

Enter high school. Thankfully, I don't remember being made fun of for my nose in high school, not outwardly anyways. 

Growing my confidence 11th Grade 

Senior Year

After high school, I eventually stopped caring about my nose and started focusing on the way I dressed and the way I carried myself. I began to like my nose and started putting makeup on my eyes to change the focal point of my face. Heck, I even got a lip ring at one point! (that didn't last more than a Summer). 

Several years of college later, I began having terrible allergies. My nose was stuffy to the point that I would wish for it to be runny, just to relieve the pressure. I used nasal sprays, allergy meds, and hot steaming water; I often had to take Advil after Advil to alleviate the debilitating migraines that often settled in my cheeks and nose. 

I remember even the common cold would make me panic because I couldn't breathe. My nose felt as though someone had tipped my head back and poured concrete up my nose, let it harden and sealed it in with apoxy. This is the way I described how I felt every time I was sick or had bad allergies. Also, mouth breathing had a terrible impact on my physical activity. I would (and still) get short winded after running for just one block. 

Since physical activity induces the swelling of nasal tissues, walking would be my main form of exercise if I didn't want to feel as though an elephant were sitting on my chest. 

2006

In 2006, I made an appointment with an ENT doctor as recommended by my PCP. She did a catscan of my sinuses, which came back negative for any pathology. However, she was the first to tell me that my nasal passages were extremely narrow, but I did not have a deviated septum. She prescribed the usual nasal spray and allergy meds and told me that I would benefit from surgery. Oddly enough, I reacted with surprise. I never thought anyone would suggest surgery for anything other than aesthetic reasons. Stunned with this news, I quickly went out of the office and home to research. 

This researching soon dissipated as I thought "I'm not changing my nose for anyone!" "This is me and I am the way I am!" Little did I know that my pride would soon be the least of my worries. 

A few years later, I started waking up in the middle of the night, drooling like a bull dog. I would often wake up gasping with dry mouth and the image of someone holding my nose shut with their fingers, or even a clothespin. 

I consulted with a close family friend, who had experienced having a deviated septum and had surgery to correct it. Her daughter had the same procedure for the same reason. According to them, the surgery was life changing and they highly recommended their plastic surgeon. I made an appointment soon after. 

It cost me $150 to have a plastic surgeon to the stars tell me that no procedure would ever help me breathe, and that I had a big nose that pretty much made my face look ugly. He advised me to have a rhinoplasty and restalyne lip injection. I knew then and there that he was not "The One". 

In 2010, I started a new job at a major Eye & Ear hospital, well known for it's specialists. Since I worked in Ophthalmology, I asked several colleagues if they could provide the names of any ENT specialists since my breathing was not getting any better (and I'm sure they were very tired of hearing me complain!). I was told to see Dr. Stacy Gray. Eventually she examined my nose and again, recommended surgery and that it would in fact help me breathe. 

Dr. Gray then had me set up and appointment with Dr. Jamie DeRosa, whose specialty is facial plastics and reconstructive surgery. Upon meeting her, I instantly knew that she was confident and knew her noses. She explained that my nose was very narrow and that as I age, the "walls" of my nose would collapse even further. She put to me mildly that my nose did not in fact fit my face. The way she explained this did not humiliate me or make me feel defensive about my nose. I just knew that she genuinely wanted to help. Dr. DeRosa proposed that I think about having surgery to help my breathing AND my self confidence. Though I knew my answer, I went home to discuss my prospective procedure with my family...

Present Day