Re: How do I get rid of these damn pasties

April 24, 2005

Hello, from the other end of the country..

I haven't had what you described since my surgery, but I believe I

had the same years ago when starting intensive cardio work. I'd

breathe through my mouth too much and dehydrated myself until it

turned " pasty " .

I don't claim to know the cause or solution to your problem, but my

initial conclusion is that you may not be drinking enough liquids

and/or are breathing through your mouth a lot. Since my surgery,

I've had days where I'd drink tons of water and I'd notice my saliva

production increasing shortly after (I tend to dehydrate myself by

nature, as I usually don't drink enough during the day). I'm

betting the tissue repair is using up more water than usual.

Also, if you're having trouble breathing through your nose and it

seems dry or full of crap (for lack of a better term), you might

want to try nose saline. It helped clear my nose, as long as it

wasn't a congestion problem. Congestion was a problem the first few

days and you basically just have to patiently get through each day

knowing it'll improve. Since your surgery was just a few days ago,

you probably have chunks of coagulated blood up there. It's nasty,

but it'll come out one way or another. Plus you're likely forbidden

to blow your nose for 2 weeks since upper surgery involves the nasal

cavity... and probably for other reasons I don't know about.

Yann

>

> Ok, recovery is fine so far, took pain meds for the first time

last night (surgery on the 20th) just to sleep more or less. Eating

sucks, literally because everything has to strain between my teeth

(not even a gap to get a syringe or anything simmilar in) but my

problem now is the pasties. I seriously feel like I am hung over,

you know how your mouth gets all half dry adn chaulkey - liek you

need to rinse it good. I rinse with the saline all the time and the

prescription rinse as prescribed but its still nasty, and in the

night time it makes me cough because hte mucas kinda goes into my

throat..hence cant sleep. Any suggestions for getting rid of this

nasty nasty problem I think Id be golden ifI could breath properly

again!

>

> Thanks,

> K

>

> __________________________________________________

>

April 24, 2005

kEV S wrote:

>Ok, recovery is fine so far, took pain meds for the first time last night

(surgery on the 20th) just to sleep more or less. Eating sucks, literally

because everything has to strain between my teeth (not even a gap to get a

syringe or anything simmilar in) but my problem now is the pasties. I seriously

feel like I am hung over, you know how your mouth gets all half dry adn chaulkey

- liek you need to rinse it good. I rinse with the saline all the time and the

prescription rinse as prescribed but its still nasty, and in the night time it

makes me cough because hte mucas kinda goes into my throat..hence cant sleep.

Any suggestions for getting rid of this nasty nasty problem I think Id be

golden ifI could breath properly again!

>

>> Any suggestions for getting rid of this nasty nasty problem <<

Time.

I experienced the same " drainage " issues you describe. Couldn't kick it

out and couldn't swallow it. Even if I could swallow it, it would cause

other problems.

The first week (had surgery on March 31) I was lucky to get two hours

sleep. 45 minutes was average, mostly due to the very issues you describe.

I can remember one night where there was a nine hour difference between

the time I went to bed and the time I actually fell asleep. That was my

most frustrating night of the whole experience.

But it gets better. The drainage slows down. I got 2.5 hours sleep one

night. Two nights later, 3.5 hours. It was great.

A week later, eight hours a night, almost every night. The point here is

that it does get better, with time.

Best advice I can give -- you're only four days post surgery so you may

not feel up to it yet -- walk, walk, walk. Don't exhaust yourself by any

stretch, just do what you can. For some people, there's a " dizzy " stage

(there was for me) and it started around the fifth day. I didn't do much

walking until this stage had passed. But...get up! If you're standing

erect, the swelling naturally drains. Walking increases circulation,

which helps with the drainage. Walking helps bring out the " discharge " ,

another form of drainage. And it can tire you a bit, helping you sleep!

For you, four days post op, that means just moving around the house if

you can. Perhaps the back yard. But no more. Don't push yourself, but

kinda " nudge " yourself. When you feel up to it (probably in three or

four days), walk around the block. A couple days later, do it twice (not

at the same time, space it apart by several hours). You get the drift.

Pretty soon this feeds upon itself. Walking -> Draining -> Sleep -> Healing.

Not that this is for everyone, but between my day 12 checkup and the day

19 checkup, I had done at least 20 miles of walking on flat surfaces.

You're experiencing why one can get so motivated.

Good luck!

Bill

April 24, 2005

wow, i feel guilty for having it so good. i actually went and hung out with

friends tonight, not for long, just a couple hours but got dropped off adn

watched amovie with them, i cant believe how well im doing compared to what

most epopel describe as an average recovery. And after hearing about your sleep

problems bill i also feel guity, i went to bed aroudn midnight last night adn

slept until laround 11 30 am the next day only waking three times... thats

better than I can do without a major surgery.

Thanks for the reassurance!

Kev

Bill wrote: