Anyone go through sinus surgery? Updated in OP

This was the absolute worst surgery that I have had, and I have had a lot of open surgeries prior to laproscopic (sp?).

It was day surgery. When I woke up there were 2 tampons stuck up in each nostril. My head hurt from the pressure inside my head. I got home at 7:00pm & had to be back at the hospital at 8:00 the next morning. The doctor changed my nose bandages & inserted more tampons. This was done without pain medication.  I saw the doctor 2 days later & was given smaller firm cotton balls as well as the post nasal drip catcher. This was a finer elastic band that came from over my ears & held gauss & needed to be worn for about 2 weeks. 

The stench  (you think that it is bad now) after the surgery made me vomit, adding to the head pain after surgery. 

You wanted the bad, this was how my surgery went. I didn't have bone work done, simply a cleaning & re opening of my sinuses. 

BEST surgery ever!

Yup.

I said that. I've had many surgeries. This was the best. I had no idea how pain and pressure I was in on a daily basis until I had my sinuses cleaned out. I had several sinuses cleaned, maxillary and sphenoid. Complete white out on CT meaning there was no air passage whatsoever. I also had a septoplasty (moved the nasal septum). Despite the packing, I woke up in the recovery room with LESS pain than I had going in. Even the post op pain was better than what I had before the surgery.. and I truly did not realize the amount of pain I was really in constantly until it was gone. Best thing ever.

My ENT removed the packing before I went home that afternoon. I understand others go home with packing but he does not do that routinely. I think the packing makes a huge difference in recovery- much easier to recover without it.

This was 16 years ago. In the last 16 years, I may have had 2, possibly 3 sinus infections. I obviously had chronic sinusitis (as does the OP) and would have superimposed acute sinusitis very frequently, as in a few times each year. 3 infections in a year would have been a good year and now I've had maybe 3 in 16 years. I do follow the ENT's instructions and use Flonase year round and nasal saline as needed. I stay on top of my allergies as best as I can as well (daily Singulair, with additional meds as needed). I don't ever want to go back to that point.

Totally agree! I have had 2 sinus surgeries. First one I had the nasal tampons, uncomfortable but removed the next day. 10 years later I had another one & felt so much better immediately after surgery. No nasal tampons this time. Headaches, stuffiness, sinus pressure-totally gone!  Plus technology has changed so much, recovery was much easier. I am about 18 months out from the last sinus surgery and still feel great. I never realized just how lousy I felt prior to surgery.  I have suffered from allergies since I was a kid and really work hard to be 1 step ahead, even giving myself weekly allergy injections, daily saline sprays, etc.  Good luck, you will do great!

Can anyone tell me if this could be something to look into for my daughter? She is always stuffed up, but rarely has drainage. Has a hard time breathing through her nose most of the time. Not much in the way of traditional allergy issues, and doesn't have trouble with infections. It's just the stuffiness and difficulty breathing thru the nose - plus a little trouble with enunciation over the years. I've never had her to an ENT. It's always seemed more like a minor annoyance than something to pursue.