10 Weeks Post-Op

Hi Everyone!

It's been a couple weeks or so since I've updated. There isn't a whole lot to say but I am back at work now. It's really nice to be back althought tiring to talk and I still have these issues with my joints popping in and out (at least it feels like that) and that hurts quite a bit.

I saw my orthodontist for the first time since my surgery on August 20th. He instructed me to wear these super tight elastics as much as possible. They keep my teeth shut together. The purpose of them is to bring my upper and lower teeth together on the sides and fill in any small gaps. It's so annoying to talk when wearing them. And it also hurts my joints a bit as well. My sister is in the office this week working with me so I can avoid talking as much as possible. 

I'm on to eating more pasta now. Kind of nice to be able to fit more food into my mouth at a time, but still taking it super easy. I can sort of chew pasta gently, I gotta say, just the act of being able to move my jaw up and down and attempt to chew something is quite satisfying! If I have been talking (and not wearing my elastics...) I find by lunch I can hardly fit the baby spoon in my mouth again or open at all, but once I stretch it out a little, it starts to loosen up again. So it's still slow going but it's going!!


I see my orthodontist again on Sept 22/10. I'm hoping that visit will give me an idea of how much longer I need to wear my braces. I believe I'm getting a new wire put in that day. I was reminded the last time I was there that the pain and discomfort of all this is far from over. I had a little moment of feeling sorry for myself but got over it pretty quickly. It's of course easier to let it go when I'm not in a ton of pain. Thankfully, the past couple weeks I have not experienced any painful throbbing. A bit of achiness, but nothing serious! I have noticed cold weather definitely doesn't help with the joints. My jaw tenses immediately with any cold air and starts to ache pretty quickly but I guess that'll just give me more excuses to drive to work rather than walk, and to stay warm at home once the weather gets worse!

I'm not happy it's September and getting colder but I am happy I'm already this far along in recovery! I look forward to the winter because of how much better I should and will hopefully be feeling! That will be an amazing thing to experience!

Here's an update of my 'new' face and profile. Still experiencing some swelling on the cheeks but the swelling in my nose has come down quite a bit and hopefully in a few weeks it'll all be gone!