Deviated septum. This is what has been causing my persistent runny nose for the past 6 months. How did I get this deviated septum? No clue. Why did it only start to bother me last July? No clue.
My first thought when the ENT told me was "Great. Now everyone is going to think I'm a coke addict." Obviously, anyone that knows me knows that I have never touched the stuff and wouldn't even consider touching it with a 10 foot pole in a million, billion years. But still, you can't help but let your mind go there when you hear "deviated septum". Just the other night, I watched "The Heartbreak Kid", and if you've seen the movie, you can understand why I am particularly sensitive about it right now.
But, after I got over the initial shock, reality started to sink in. I may need to have surgery to fix this. Nothing is set in stone yet...I still have to go for a cat scan and try the nasal spray that the doc prescribed (not Rhinocort, thank God, but another spray for non-allergy rhinitis, which is what they call a runny nose not caused by allergies). He said that the spray may help, and if it does, it is up to me whether or not I want to have surgery. He did say that the whole runny nose thing will get MUCH worse when I get pregnant...pregnancy-induced rhinitis...so I may want to think about having it surgically corrected before heading to baby-land.
This is all so much to think about. Obviously I don't want to have a runny nose for the rest of my life, I don't want to be dependent on a nasal spray to feel OK, and I don't want to have miserable pregnancies, so all signs are pointing to surgery. But, on the other hand, I don't want to have surgery on my nose! It's all very close to eyes, ears, brains, etc... What if, God forbid, something went wrong? Ugh! I don't even want to think those thoughts! But, I need to remember that we are still a little ways from that. I think I just need to wait and see what the cat scan shows and what the doc thinks is the best option for me. Stay tuned!
In other very exciting news, I finally joined this millennium and got a wireless router for home! As we speak, I am lounging in my living room, feet up on the ottoman, with the hubbs on his own laptop across the room. LOVES IT!
And finally, how the heck did I end up with a deviated septum?!? I know, I know, I can't stop talking about it, but I can't for the life of me figure out how it happened. It was seriously the last thing I expected to hear. I thought maybe food allergies, or sinus polyps, or even a brain tumor, but not deviated septum. All day I've been trying to remember getting whacked in the nose. Apparently trauma/injury is the most common cause of deviated septums, so I'm trying to think of when something happened to me...but I cannot think of anything! All I can picture is Marcia Brady getting whacked by the football...have you ever seen that episode?
Today I am thankful for finally getting an answer to my nasal mystery! Although it is not over yet, I feel a lot of relief knowing what I do and knowing that it isn't something more serious.
