I'm seeing an ENT about a deviated septum what should I do?
The symptoms I have are simular to ENS, I'm feeling like I'm suffocating all the time, some times more than others, I can't sleep well at night, I feel like the air entering my nose isn't being humidified properly. I've never had surgery before. I was told by previous doctors that I have a deviated septum and that it is causing my problems. I'm afraid that surgery will make the symptoms worse if it isn't done right. The doctor I'm seeing works directly out of the college hospital and these doctors were recommended by a previous ENT I saw, as far as for surgery. I feel like the issue, pain, problem is located on my septum or nose and not within the turbinates so I don't feel they need to be worked on but if he suggests it what should I do? I want to know what I should do before going ahead with surgery if the doctor recommends it. I would like to get a copy of the CT scan and analyze it myself, is that possible? I would also like to take any other routes other than surgery before I do go through surgery. I don't want the doctor to think I'm going to sue him and get nervous but I want things to be done right. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

If I had it to do all over again, and I was as smart as you about researching all possible outcomes, I would start off with nasal irrigation, allergy -*test*-('")s and medicines, and trying nasal steroid sprays. I still have to use all that stuff AFTER TWO SURGERIES AND two somnoplasties anyway. Do that first. If the deviation is worth correcting because it really narrows your breathing, I would demand that the doctors not to touch my turbinates. If yo go through all this and heal, and are using meds andirrigation twice a day, and still one of the turbinates is too hypertrophied and bothersome, as it usually is (the one on the opposite side of the deviation), then I would look into SAFE ways to deal with it with a very conservative doctor = one who does not pressure you to do surgery on the turbinates off the bat. Get this: my insurance initially only approved my septoplasty and NOT my turbinate resection, but my doctor refused to even do my surgery without both together, and I let him fight my insurance for dual coverage. What an idiot I was. Here I am, five years later, still crying over the results.

It just seems like thats what all doctors diagnose patients with as simple as a "deviated septum" when it really isn't. This was done to me as well... Do you know that most insurance companies are aware of outcomes of turbinectomies and don't even approve of this procedure.. Hate to call it a conspiracy or be cycnical but it seems like I hear it all too much where a lot of ENS patients are told they have deviated septum by their doctors before any procedure... It seems like if you have breathing problems and you never had any previous surgery it means you dont have ENS... ENS is a condition caused by surgery... If you feel congested in your nostrils you probably have enlarged turbinates... Like erika said do everything to avoid surgery... There are several things that cause your turbs to become enlarged, allergies, irritants, endocrine disorders... Seek an allergist, get a skin -*test*-('"), seek alternative medicine such as acupuncture... Get a blood -*test*-('") to see if your thyroids are ok.. I believe the simple blood -*test*-('") is called the "3 T" -*test*-('").... Deviated septum can be caused by enlarged turbs, what the doctors arent telling you is that they are cutting bone and tissue out to straigten your septum out... Ask questions, get 2nd 3rd opinions.. Once they remove any parts of your turbs you will never get them back, they dont regrow or can be regenerated so be careful, alot of the times doctors use these simple terms deviated septum, rhinoplasty, somnoplasty and all that other BS just to get approved....

Saverain, Also, yes of course you should get a cat scan to analyze it... Did your doctors not make you get one already? Cat scan reports will tell you what is wrong.. If it saids "hypertrophied turbinates" that means they are enlarged...

trapped, you wrote: Do you know that most insurance companies are aware of outcomes of turbinectomies and don't even approve of this procedure.. where do you know this information from? If you don't want to discuss this publically, please PM me. I'd love to hear more info on this.

trapped3, I don't understand - turbinates cause the deviated septum? Also, what do you mean they are cutting bone and tissue to straighten the septum? Do you mean that they don't bother to tell you that with septoplasty it is standard practice to resect the turbinates (but they don't bother to tell you that)? TE - from personal experience with my first surgery, my insurance company actually rejected the turbinate resection - separately from the septoplasty - until my doctor spent several months fighting for it as medically necessary. My doctor made the insurance out to be bad, but it was trying to protect me/save itself money!

no Erika, your doctor was trying to get himself more money from your insurance by adding partial turbinectomy as an adjacent procedure, because they probably wanted to pay just for the septoplasty, arguing that partial turbinectomy is considered a by product of septoplasty, just like trapped said. Of course - to you he made it sound like he was saving you money when all that time he was probably trying to get paid twice - once for the septum and once separately again for the turbinates...

TE, I read a statement or an article from one of the major insurance companies here in the US, Aetna... It was a while back so I dont have the link but I remember it stated that one of the procedures they did not approve off was turbinectomies.... Erika, Deviated septum can be caused by a few diff things but one of the ways it can be caused as in my case was by Enlarged turbinates. At the time i didn't know, i guess in a way it was my fault because I was young about 20 at the time... But the doctor was so calm and made me believe that this was a common thing to have a deviated septum and said yea we'll jus straigthen you up, minor procedure... They dont ever mention turbinectomy or explained to me in detail that they would cut out bone and tissue to straigten the septum out.... Like i stated many times in the forums before if he wouldve mentioned turbinectomy i wouldve recongnized "nectomy" like appendectomy and did more research... Plus I tell people like Saverain to avoid surgery because had I known what turbinectomy was I would have reconsidered, and what I didn't like about the ent's I have been too, not one of them mentioned or refer me to an allergist or alternative medicine before surgery... They wont say anything like that but will tell you "surgery is the last resort." And Im not definately sure about this but i think i also read once your turbinates do become enlarged it cannot be reversed so you have to ask your self this question.. "The symptoms I have now is bad but since there is limited therapy or no cure to this, is it worth the risk to have a controversial surgery that can cause ENS and have additional symptoms to what I already have?" In my personal experiences, I had congestion before any procedure which was bearable, it got worse when I tried to go to sleep and more in humid weather like in the summer time but it didnt affect my life where I couldnt go to school, work, have a social life. Now after the procedure I have additional symptoms such as dryness, pressure pains above my eye, crusting, PND, odor from nostrils, etc.... And yes i struggle everyday to function as a normal human being... I dropped out of school, cant hold a job down and stay to myself a lot and do not socialize.... So that is the decision you have to make.. Atleast for people like severain your doctor is telling you he wants to reduce your turbinates.. Bad thing about that ENS can be caused by full or partial turbinectomy I dont wish this man made disease on anyone, I much rather have cancer or something of that nature then this disease.. And all for what because one doctor decieded for whatever reason to chop off my turbs... So for people who found this website before their possible procedures, use this as an example and resource to help in making your decision.

Well put trapped.

Nicely put
I agree with everything you said trapped. Having a doctor do this to us makes it worse. They're supposed to help you!

trapped3, If you dont mind me asking do you still have the problem sleeping when it is humid or hot. i have that same problem before my surgery and now i still have that problem my turbinate still swells not that i want anymore cut out but if you found a solution to your problem with the humid turbinate sleeping problem please i would be so GRATEFUL it seems the more surgeries i get i cause myself more problems and still have the same problem as before. thanks opal.

Hey thanks everyone for replying, Its probably not a good ideal for anyone to trust a doctor just because of his degree, expecially when he is going to open you up. Well I think the best thing for me is to listen to the doctor and see what he recommends and then do my own research on it, checking out the CT scan for myself and going over everything, no matter what operation he suggests, even a minor surgery. I've already felt the greed of the doctors, how one says I have a deviated septum and surgery will help while another says that I do have one but it's not that bad at all. I have insurance now and a job soon that will have insurance but before that doctors treated me different like they really didn't want to help me because they can get more money from someone with insurance. Healthcare seems to be a mess, first of all it is so tough to get into medical school but yet a lot of doctors are so bad at what they do. Recently I read that we are low on doctors in the country and that is part of the problem, well if they would allow more doctors in, there wouldn't be a problem, but they probably do this for the elite population so that they can make more money. Then doctors over charge insurance companies causeing everyone to pay more taxes and insurance. This system is not working. I've tryed several nasal sprays, netipots, sinus rinse, singular, breathe right, diet change, allergy -*test*-('")s... All with minimal relief, the thing is I don't have much congestion, it's four things mainly that produce several side effects: I have pain/pressure in the middle of my nose right where the nasal bone and cartiledge meet, on the surface of my nose. I feel like my left nostril is not humidifying the air or anything. My nasal valves close slightly everytime I breathe in, causing some restriction of airway. My right nostril seems congested. All of this is causing fatique and constant annoyance. I believe it's structural and I probably need surgery but I'm still trying new remedies. If my doctor does mention surgery I will ask whether it has anything to do with the turbinates and plead my case about ENS. Thanks again for the replies, great appreciation.

If you are going to have any nasal surgery, do not let them cut up any of you turbinates! Specify this to them when you see them. If you do have a truly deviated septum, that is causing problems then you should remember an incident that caused trauma to the septum. Also, if the septum is causing problems then you should have one nostril blocked at all times. If the blockage switches back and forth, from left to right, then it is probably enlarged turbinates causing the problem. If it's the turbs, do not let them cut any percentage of them out! Do nasal irrigations, and allergy shots before you consider any surgery. If you do surgery only do radio frequency or laser surgery that only reduces some of the tissue.