Posts by mellowcobra8

Is it just me, or does the period right before training camp always feel like holding your breath? Every year, it's the same cycle. You get all hyped up about the new roster, the fresh faces, and the potential of the season, and then suddenly the "updates" start trickling in.

It’s such a grind for the fans. You start reading these vague reports and immediately begin wondering if the momentum you were building is just going to hit a wall before the first real game even kicks off. I remember back in my college days, watching a team we were all rooting for lose their star player in the first week of camp, and the whole season just felt deflated after that. It changes the entire energy of the fanbase.

Do you guys think these early-season setbacks are just an inevitable part of the sport, or does it feel like we're getting more "bad news" lately?

Does anyone know anything about Dr. Nino Vidas over at the Medico clinic in Miami?

I don't want to spend all day digging through this forum since there are way too many pages, but from what I've skimmed so far, there’s zero mention of him. Their procedure prices start at $7,000 and go up to $3000, which makes me wonder why people are paying double that elsewhere just to turn around and complain about the results.

Just because a surgeon charges more doesn't mean they're better or that they'll give you a perfect result; everyone makes mistakes, including them.
All that glitters isn't gold.🙂

Has anyone here actually worked with him, or does anyone know another doctor in that price range who won't charge an absolute fortune?

I've got some work ahead of me because my left nostril isn't functioning right—it's broken and basically needs to be reduced by nearly half.😁

Thanks in advance for any info!

Betty Thompson45 said:I honestly don't think there's any point in getting cartilage removed just because of Muay Thai. It's mostly boxers who go through with it since they take direct hits to the nose constantly, whereas in Muay Thai, you're usually absorbing impact with other parts of your body.🙂
I know two guys who actually had it done—both are pro boxers—and their noses look completely flat and wide now.

Alright, then we aren't doing it.😉

Donna Johnson16 said:Go ahead and ask your primary care doctor for a referral to a specialist, then check out these links: or maybe this one:

(You can find phone numbers on those pages to schedule an appointment.)

They’ll tell you exactly what can or can't be done with your nose, under what specific conditions, which parts are covered by Medicare and which aren't, and if there are any out-of-pocket costs. That way, nobody is going to screw you over.

Private practices usually list their prices online, though they tend to be pretty flexible with them. Still, until you actually show up for a consultation, no one can give you a precise quote for the procedure.

...

Thanks!

wanderingnomad13 said:Yeah, I'm clearly rolling in cash if I worked hard enough to fund my own surgery and don't want to gamble on public doctors—even though I pay for supplemental insurance. At the end of the day, it's my health, my face, and my nose on the line.

Look, I work too, but it’s not like you can just scrape that kind of money together overnight. You have to sacrifice a lot because these procedures aren't cheap. Once you settle all the bills, there’s barely anything left over. Honestly, I'm glad you could afford it on your own; I respect that.

If you don't mind sharing, what did the total cost look like? You mentioned paying for supplemental insurance, yet you said you still had to pay out of pocket for the surgery. For instance, back when I was using my supplemental plan for a procedure about two years ago, I didn't have to pay a dime—not for the consultations, the surgery itself, or even the hospital stay.

Betty Thompson45 said:Did it ever cross your mind that people actually work and save up their own money just to pay for surgery? That option probably doesn't sit well with you because it doesn't involve draining the federal healthcare budget, and it requires a decent amount of effort—roughly as much effort as reading the previous pages of this thread or doing some basic Googling...

Doctors rarely perform meniscus repairs on amateur athletes, and honestly, no doctor would recommend it. You have to avoid any impact for six months to a year post-op. You can get back to training in two or three weeks, but it has to be light work—absolutely no sparring. Later on, stick to using a face guard helmet and keep your guard high..

Thanks for the reply. My guard is always up, head down😉 but helmets aren't really common🤣. I work for a living, and yeah, I fully intend to squeeze every last cent out of the government since they bleed me and everyone else dry anyway. But that’s beside the point for this discussion, which—by the way—I’ve read about 90% of, and it has nothing to do with the actual title. Most of these posts feel like I'm watching some old trashy crime drama on TV.🙂

@ Patrick Robinson7

Reading your post actually cleared a lot up for me. I’ve spent years wondering why I burn out way faster than everyone else despite working out more frequently, and I’m starting to realize it’s all about breathing. For instance, I can’t get even 10% of air through the left side of my nose. Once the weather turns cold, I have to breathe through my mouth and slow down my workouts just to avoid catching pneumonia or something similar. Like you said, everything is connected.

I don't even bother with most of these posts anymore. I scrolled through almost this entire thread and it's mostly just people rambling about women and girlfriends, then getting offended and making a scene when nobody even asked them. They can't answer the actual questions being asked, which is typical...

Just because one person paid out of pocket doesn't mean everyone did. I'm not trying to belittle anyone here; I'm just stating facts. Nobody seems to know how to write a concise "who, what, where, how much" type of post. Instead, they chatter away like they’re grabbing coffee and gossiping. Half these threads should probably be renamed "Tales and Experiences After Rhinoplasty."
Obviously, I want the aesthetic changes since I have to go under the knife anyway, but let's get some actual numbers in here...

I know how it works with health insurance—you have to fill out all those forms for supplemental coverage. I can't do it. I’ve tried a few times, and of course, I always exceed the threshold for what's covered, so none of that works for me.
Maybe the only option is paying monthly and then just stopping once everything is finished.😁

Regarding the cartilage issue, I mentioned this in a couple of other posts. I have a friend who had his nose broken by a stick back when we were in high school😂 and they completely crushed his cartilage. They removed everything during his surgery, and now he can literally squeeze his nose into his face with his finger.😁 However, I haven't heard him complain about breathing issues, and aesthetically, you can't even tell. The only thing is he has a slightly feminine little nose,😂 but it looks fine on him.
Besides, most fighters don't even have cartilage, yet their noses stay on their faces. Maybe they put something else in there, I don't know; I'd really have to talk to doctors about that. I'd actually like to look into that too, because if I get my nose broken again—in Muay Thai you take hits from elbows and knees, so a guard or a helmet won't save you. We don't practice that specific style often, but it happens. Regardless, if I don't need to remove anything, I won't, but I definitely want to fix my breathing and shorten the nose.

I was expecting some concrete information from this thread, not just aimless babble, but oh well.
I expected at least one person to write about the price differences between those who paid out of pocket, but nobody has said a word. What's the lowest price? What's the maximum? Things like that are actually useful.

Respect to anyone who was able to pay for this themselves. I hope I can manage to do the same.

Patrick Robinson7 said:Hey, so my sister mentioned something to me last year while she was working at the local clinic—apparently, they’ve started cutting off supplemental insurance coverage for anyone who's unemployed.
So that means I’m going to be stuck footing the bill after all those paid consultations? On top of that, I still have to deal with whatever follow-ups they've got lined up for me at the local clinic.
Ten anesthesiologists, a dozen nurses, plus some surgeon performing a full operation? Where on earth would I get the budget for all that? It’s ridiculous. To make matters worse, I had a nurse complaining to me about having to pay a co-pay when I wasn't even working. Absolute nonsense. 😢 I've got white health insurance through the unemployment office, and that’s about it.
I’m sitting here like an idiot, staring at the hospital bills and wondering how I can get through months of this without going broke. At this rate, the sheer cost of everything is going to give me a stroke—just like that heart valve surgery.
By the way, I’m heading to the Holy Spirit in March as well. Honestly, I’m right there with ivanjan76—I took a pretty heavy hit straight to the face about four years ago. 😢It looks like I’m going to have to head down to the stock exchange to ask about supplemental insurance rates this year. Honestly, dealing with these providers is enough to make me lose my mind. I can only hope things shift in my favor for once, but I don't know. Everywhere I turn, I hit a brick wall. It’s gotten so bad that I’ve actually started feeling chest pains, and I’m dealing with muscle spasms in the middle of the night. I’ve even been forced to sleep only on my left side, which—if I read correctly—is terrible for you. At this rate, I’m basically doomed. 😢

I sleep on my left side most of the time too. I had no clue that was supposedly bad for you. I’m also interested in those options through social services, but obviously, everyone posting about that is loaded. They haven't had to give it a second thought because they just ask their dad for the cash and call it a day.
Those of us without those kinds of options should just shut up and take it.
Everyone I talk to keeps insisting that getting an op done through social media is totally free, but honestly, that’s what worries me. I’m concerned the surgeon might cut corners or do a sloppy job because they aren't actually getting paid for it. It's a weird situation—they want to fix it up, but they also want to shorten it by at least half. It just doesn't sit right with me. 😂 He might just end up getting his ribs cracked because of all that boxing.
It feels like nobody here is actually willing to share their real experiences because everyone’s basically bought into some polished, corporate PR version of the truth. If you want to be blunt, just tell us where the cheapest option is and where they’re ripping people off. Also, how long can they legally dodge accountability once the deal is done? 🤣I’m training Muay Thai, though I'm taking a break from it at the moment.

I’m just circling back to the questions from my first post

My main interest is whether there are any free surgeries available. I've heard rumors that you can get everything covered through insurance/social services, especially if you're dealing with serious breathing issues
or, if it isn't fully covered, then the price better not be astronomical
Does anyone here actually know how this works? I could use some real info on the situation

Also, if it is covered by insurance, do I get to choose my own surgeon? Even if I have to pay a bit extra out of pocket to pick someone specific, or does the insurance company just assign whoever they want?

Ideally, I'd want to get everything done in one go so I don't have to keep coming back for multiple procedures like some people I've read about on here

How long does the prep work take before the surgery, and how much downtime am I looking at before I can get back into sports?

And finally, if none of the above is an option, what kind of budget should I realistically set aside for this type of surgery?

Look, if I'm repeating myself, it's because I doubt anyone is actually reading all this anyway

Thanks

wanderingmason86 said:Either you pivot to something minimal right now and deal with the fallout, or you just grit your teeth and endure the grind until you finally burn out. Once you stop fighting the inevitable, that's when you run the full dress rehearsal. 😁

Haha, I definitely need some Ibuprofen soon, but I was actually wondering if I should just deal with it now. If I go ahead and fix everything at once and they end up hitting me a little too hard during recovery, would that cause issues? I’d hate to run into complications just because I don't have any cartilage left to cushion the blow.
I don't know, maybe I've got this wrong, but I have a friend who had his nose absolutely shattered by some stick back in high school. It was ages ago, but the damage was done—he went straight into surgery immediately. They had to go in and reconstruct everything. Now, he can literally squeeze his nose and wiggle it however he wants. 😁 I haven't heard anything about him ever having breathing issues, nor have I heard any talk about him moving around on his own or hanging himself. He actually looks pretty normal to me. He’s a bit smaller than average—leans a little more feminine, I guess—but he's fine.

We'll see what the doctors have to say about this...

And what about the info on these prices and social security benefits? Nobody seems to be saying anything. I’m certainly not dropping $2,000 on that, and honestly, I don't even have it.

Hey everyone

I’m planning on getting nose surgery. I’ve backed out twice already for various reasons, but I’m going to give it another shot.
Basically, my nose is huge and stands out way too much, 😁 and I want to shrink it. But there’s another issue: as big as it is, it’s completely non-functional. I’ve spent most of my life breathing through my mouth, which causes constant problems—especially lately since I’ve started training harder in sports.
I see plenty of you paying private specialists based on who people say is the best surgeon.
Honestly, I don't care about that. I'm not trying to look like a model; I just want to fix my breathing and reduce the size. I might even want them to remove some cartilage (I train Muay Thai, though I'm taking a break right now).
I want the whole package to get it sorted once and for all. 😁

Naturally, I'm only interested in procedures covered by insurance, if those exist. Apparently, you can get everything handled through public health services, especially if you actually have respiratory issues.
If it isn't fully covered, then it shouldn't be overpriced either.
Is anyone familiar with how that works? Can someone give me more details?

Also, if it is covered by insurance, am I allowed to choose my own surgeon? Even if I have to pay a bit extra, or do they just assign whoever they want?

I want everything done in one go so I don't have to keep going back for multiple surgeries like some person I read about here.

How long does the prep work take from start to finish, and how long am I sidelined from sports after the surgery?

And finally, if none of the above is an option, how much money should I realistically set aside for this kind of procedure?

My bad if I'm repeating questions, but who actually reads all this stuff on here anyway? 🙄

Thanks.