5 weeks Post Op!

I saw my surgeon yesterday (July 27th) here's the update!

The beginnings of Eating Normal...

Definitely a challenge! But a little bit at a time right? I gave up after that day and have stuck with the blending and drinking out of a straw. When you're hungry, this takes way too long lol. It's also weird to watch myself speak when my lips and mouth are moving like they normally would.

4 Weeks Post-Op!

I'm finally at the 4 week mark from my surgery day!

How do I feel about this? I think...Thank goodness it's 4 weeks since my surgery and I also think...it's ONLY BEEN 4 weeks! *sigh*
It's nice to know things will just continue to heal but I keep telling myself, I can't wait until next summer!

I went and saw my surgeon today. He said things are looking good. My lower jaw has gone back a tiny bit but he said it shouldn't regress anymore. I could tell that it had shifted a tiny bit because I could feel a little more space between my bottom front teeth and top front teeth. But he said that isn't uncommon and usually happens within the first 2 weeks and shouldn't change anymore. That makes me a little nervous but I'm gonna trust that my surgeon knows what he's talking about.

The downside right now is that since my jaw joints are so poor, I am experiencing a lot of TMJ pain. My right side has always been worse than the left but they both hurt quite a bit. The right side likes to crack and pop in a really big way once in a while. PAIN!! That is one word to use for it haha. This happens when my jaw randomly jerks to the side or something weird like that. Muscle spasms!
 Jaw surgery doesn't help the jaw joints or improve them, but hopefully it helps to prevent further damage to the joints. Another downside for me is that my joints are in such poor condition already, this jaw surgery might make my joints hurt a lot more for the next year. If my joints continue to wear down as they have in the past few years, the worse case scenario would be that I need to get joint replacement surgery. Basically the surgery is similar to a hip replacement. Same basic procedure done like a hip replacement but on the jaw instead. I certainly want to avoid this in every way because I'm so young. If I do end up needing that done, it would mean having joint surgery every so many years throughout my life because the joint replacements only last so long. If I was 70 this wouldn't be that bad of an option, but being 25...well, I don't want to go through any other type of jaw or joint surgery as long as I'm on this earth! That would be very last resort, but I do admit, I am having to spend some time praying about this one as I feel a little worried about that. No sense in worrying when I don't need to! But it's a little concerning. I wouldn't know if something like that was necessary until I completely recover and have my braces off, so I will continue to pray and trust that God is going to heal me in His perfect way and that I will be well on my way in the next couple years to feel good and sing lots!

Because my joints are hurting so much, my surgeon decided I need to take my elastics off during the day time to give my joints a rest. So at this point, I'll be putting them back on around supper each evening and wearing them until the morning. I still can't open my mouth hardly at all. Can't even fit a baby spoon in there. So I'm still drinking my meals. My days are up and down. Some days I feel I have lots of energy and not too much pain. Other days I'm suffering and sit on the couch a lot. Those will hopefully lessen more and more!

Here's a update on my profile! The swelling should go down by the end of August.
Can't believe it's already July 21st!! This summer will be over in no time!

July 21, 2010 - 4 Weeks Post-Op

I still have a little yellow bruising but barely noticeable! I think things are looking good... ; )

Day 23 and the REAL images!

It's been 3 weeks since my surgery! It feels longer but at the same time it doesn't. It's a strange thing. I did pretty good last week, had quite a bit of energy. My Mom had come back to stay with me a bit longer which was so nice. We did some shopping and went for coffee. I enjoyed it quite a bit! The down side was I think I overdid it a bit. This past Sunday I was wiped out and until yesterday I basically didn't do anything. I slept and watched TV. Very boring but didn't have energy to do anything else. Yesterday and today have been much better! I am still trying to remember I need to take it easy. It's hard for me to do sometimes cause I love cleaning and organizing things but I realize if I do too much I'll pay for it later. Not really worth it at this point! 

I've been reading a lot of other jaw surgery blogs. And to be honest, I think I'll take a break from that, it's starting to depress me a little! The updates on these other blogs show just how long this recovery truly is. I'm a little discouraged that I am not able to eat any soft food yet with a spoon. I can open my mouth about half an inch now. Other blogs and videos show that people are able to open their mouths a lot more by 2 weeks after and I feel a little down when I see that. I have to keep reminding myself I am not a common case. The last time I saw my surgeon again he mentioned I am an extreme case. So I will keep that in mind and remember I will heal as I should and there is no specific timeline I need to measure up to.

Here are the real images that show exactly what's been done with my jaw. They look a little creepy! My lower jaw was moved forward 12mm. The most my surgeon has ever done is 14mm. I'm in the top 3% of how extreme my case is and how much it needed to be moved forward. I'm also trying to keep that in mind that a lot of other people who have this done only have their lower jaw moved forward between 3 to 5 mm. The only other higher one I've seen online is 8mm. So it's only normal that I may take longer to recover with my muscles being pulled that much more! 

                   

Here's the side view BEFORE: My back molars are barely touching. Those are the only two teeth I had to chew with. It was very difficult!

Here's the side view AFTER: I have a plate in the lower jaw on each side with the three screws holding it in place. And there are also screws in my upper jaw as well. My teeth line up very nicely now! It was so strange to feel my front lower teeth matching up right behind my front upper teeth.It's been a few years since I felt that.

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Front view BEFORE: As you can see, I had quite a big gap between my upper and lower teeth. Amazing how this just starting shifting in 2006. Before that I had a regular bite and could chew normally.

 Front view AFTER: Here's the beauty picture. All the screws in place and bite is nice and closed. The screws and plates are titanium so I won't beep through the metal detector. It'll just look interesting (or freaky) to the security at the airport haha.

Here's an updated picture. Face is still very numb, still have swelling in my nose and cheek but I look a little more normal. It'll take a couple months for the swelling to disappear.

  

This one was taken last week on Thursday July 8, 2010.My Mom and I.

I'll add more updates more often (at least I will attempt to!) 

Day 14!

Well I saw my surgeon today and things are looking good! At this point I will have my elastics on until sometime early August. I'm supposed to try to open my mouth a little bit with the elastics off but that sounds a little scary to me. Things are soooo tight and it feels like I can't open my mouth ever again. Of course I'll get over that soon enough...we'll see how much it hurts to try that! Not much more to add for now but here's a couple new pictures taken today!

I feel happier than I look in this one haha

It's gonna take a bit of getting used to my new profile but I feel like I'm looking more and more like myself!! Similar to how I used to look a few years ago before this happened. My face is still swollen of course. I'm excited to see how it'll look in a couple months!

Still Alive!

Well, it's been almost two weeks since my jaw surgery. 

Since my surgery day, I've been exhausted which is normal. Been sleeping a lot, trying to drink as much juice, smoothies, veggie juices etc as possible. Here's a little update on what my recovery has been so far!

My surgery took 2 1/2 hours under general anesthetic. I was in the hospital for two nights. The first 24 hours were pretty rough. My face was so swollen and numb, but I ended up having a lot of nausea and vomited a few times. THAT was rough!! It's bad enough when you can open your mouth normally, but when you can't move your jaw, well, it's just not fun. Once that was over, the second day in the hospital was a lot better. The staff there was so nice, I always appreciate that.

Here's my first picture out of surgery:

Once I got home, I figured out how to drink through a straw. It's a little tiring since I can only get so much through a thin straw. But it works. This is how I was taking my medicine - through a saringe. Since I can't open my mouth, my wonderful Dad crushed all my medications for me and mixed them with my orange slurpee. It's a bit annoying having to crush and mix but you do what you have to do! I'm still crushing but am using a straw now, a bit quicker!

 

The pain I've had since surgery hasn't been fun. The first week I was basically drugged up on Tylenol 3's and Ibuprofen. I had ice packs on 24/7 for the first five days. Thank you to my parents and sister for switching them out for me. And thanks to my husband! He didn't get much sleep those first five days after. He slept on a mattress on the floor beside the couch so he could be right ready to get my medication and icepacks when needed. I felt bad for him but felt worse for myself lol. He was amazing in the wee hours of the morning as I tapped him with my foot to wake him up. Thank you Hun!!

Once the first five days passed, I started feeling intense muscle pain. All my neck and facial muscles have been traumatized from the surgery. Because my lower jaw was moved so much forward, my neck muscles are also tight and sore. It's amazing how tight everything is. I am completely numb from just below my eyes to my chin. This will slowly disappear in the next 6 to 12 months but some of it may be permanent. The good thing is the numbess will not affect how I look or my mobility. The muscle pain is one of the worst because it doesn't really go away easily. I'd love to be able to go for some accupuncture to take it away but that isn't a good idea right now. I've been applying moist heat regularly and that has helped to relax the muscles a little.

I'm at the two week mark this Wednesday! I go to see my surgeon tomorrow for my two week post-op. We'll see what he has to say. I will have the elastics on for 6 weeks from my surgery. Thankfully I did not have to be wired but I feel like I have been. I can't move my teeth or jaw at all.

Here's a few more pictures of the past few days. I'll update with my x-rays soon, it's interesting to see how my upper and lower jaw have been aligned. I'll do that another day.

Thanks again to everyone for praying for me and all your support!! I know things have been going well because of all the prayer for me. I appreciate it so much!