First time I tried cocaine was 3 years ago. At first I would do it on occasion with friends but then I went on a binge that lasted about 6 months where I would sometimes use every day and sometimes take a few days, week or weeks off for recovery. After that binge I quit for a year and led a healthy active lifestyle. A very tiny dent on my right nostril is what caused me to quit. It probably wasn’t noticeable to anybody but myself.
About 6 months ago I relapsed and started using again. I would feel fine after every session so I felt like my nose and nasal cavity was fully recovered from my initial binge. This stint lasted about 4 months and towards the end my nose would hurt for a day or few days every time I used that caused me to quit again - this time for good.
It’s been a month and a half since I last used and when I quit first thing I did was make sure I’m eating healthy and hitting the gym to get back to feeling “right” again and hopefully speed up the process of my nose healing so it doesn’t feel dry all the time.
Since I quit, I noticed that my nose appears to be shedding skin on the exterior and this is only happening on my nose not any other part of my face. It would shed even more excessively when I exercise.
This has been happening for a few weeks now and my nose looks a lot thinner than it did a month ago. I’m extremely worried I may have done some serious damage so I decided to go see a doctor and told him exactly what I’d been up to. He used a scope to look up my nostrils and said that the nose and nasal usually have hair and some other stuff that all plays a part but mine is just completely stripped clean and very red and inflamed
He also noted that my septum doesn’t appear to have any holes in it but that I should definitely never use again and begin immediate treatment.
He recommended netipot saline nasal wash daily to clean the sinuses and promote healing as well as a steroid nasal spray (Nasonex) once a day to help bring down the inflammation.
I’ve been doing this for a few days and I can say my nasal and sinuses feel better, more moist and but at the same time it’s hard to tell because I got a cold around the same time which I’m fighting and I don’t know if it’s the cold that’s causing my nose to be so runny over the past few days or if it’s a sign of the treatment brining my sinuses “back to life”.
What terrifies me is that my nose is still shedding and visibly thinner “to me” than it used to be. The dent that was on the right side is now bigger and spread down to where my nose tip meets my right nostril opening so when I smile at someone it’s quite visible.
I don’t know why the shedding is happening and whether it’s going to continue and get worse and if so, at what point it will stop? I’m terrified and worried and can barely focus at work and have been avoiding social situations because I’m embarassed someone may notice.
The doctor scheduled me to see an ENT but that’s not till Mid-February. Please if anyone knows or has had a similar experience please share.
Also, if you’ve been a heavy use and quite for 1+ years, etc, please share how your nose has recovered since then. Has it regained some of it’s fullness and/or it’s original texture?
- So worried
P.s. I’m also rubbing Vitamin E oil on the inside and outside of my nose once a day, read that somewhere and the doctor agreed that could be helpful. I’m also eating a very clean healthy diet and supplementing with vitamins, turmeric (anti-inflammatory) and avoiding any sort of inflammatory foods. I haven’t been exercising for the past week because I’m afraid my nose will shed at a faster rate or shed-away... Help please