Brendan's Upper/Lower/Chin on April 1st

Message

#16 Post by **Esoteric** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:29 pm

Congrats on being on the other side B. I'm hoping that they take my cath out before I wake up lol..

#17 Post by **Nora Elizabeth** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:44 pm

Hey B-

Hope you are feeling good today and sorry about the sore throat --It must be very trippy actually going through the procedure after preparing so many months for it!

Are you having any of the breathing anxiety Gunson mentions on his purple post-op sheets?

Whats it like drinking with a jaw set-up? Are you managing to stay hydrated?

What is general anesthesia like? Are you like talking one minute and waking up from surgery the next?

I imagine Gunson and his staff are taking good care of you---they seem really on top of things. Congrats on making it to the other side--- looking fwd to your updates--

Cheers--
NE

Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:04 pm

Nora Elizabeth: I noticed that you said you were having surgery in june. I to am having surgery in June, if you wish there a post on this area (Orthognathic surgery) entitled the "June crew". Just putting that out there

Brandan: Glad to hear you made it to the other side, here so a uneventufl recovery!!

#19 Post by **treevernal** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:44 pm

Hey Brendan, I'm the one who posted on your youtube video.

Congratulations on making it to the other side! Must be a relief. I know that when the day comes for me to go under, I'm going to be scared outta my mind.

How are you adjusting to the changes in your face? Can you notice any changes yet underneath the swelling?

I know I already asked this in you tube, but if you don't mind, It'd be interesting to see your Cephalometric Treatment Plan Diagram (the diagram where they overlay the planned changes and your original structures. The numbers in those diagrams are so interesting to me. If you are not able to post it that is no big deal at all!

As funny as it may sound, I am really looking forward to seeing my "CTP" at my consult with Dr. Arnett this summer.

Anyway, congratulations again man. It may be a long recovery, but you'll get through it. I know it will be interesting for all of us to see how you progress.

Later,
Dan

#20 Post by **Vena** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 4:51 am

Hey! Congrats on making it through, hope recovery is swift and look forward to hearing all about it!

#21 Post by **brendan** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:35 pm

Hope you are feeling good today and sorry about the sore throat --It must be very trippy actually going through the procedure after preparing so many months for it!

yes! to be honest i didnt know it was going to be this hard/tough, but as of today it has been getting a bit better

Are you having any of the breathing anxiety Gunson mentions on his purple post-op sheets?

yes. not until about saturday though when my swelling started to peak. what happens is that you are so swollen and also so congested that sometimes you go to breath/or swallow and you just.. cant. it takes a few seconds for your body to figure out how its going to 'get air' and then its all good. but for a couple seconds its a bit scary every now and then.

Whats it like drinking with a jaw set-up? Are you managing to stay hydrated?

yes. i spilled a lot all over me throughout the first couple days. because i have feeling on my upper lip i have now 'mastered' drinking and no longer spill all over myself. the nurses in the hospital said i had an easier time drinking than most.

key thing is that your throat hurts like hell after the surgery and its hard to swallow cus of the pain.

What is general anesthesia like? Are you like talking one minute and waking up from surgery the next?

yeah, they started pumping me with i believe benzo of some sort as soon as i got to the surgery area. then for the next 2-3 minutes your going from that room into the actual surgery room. then next thing i know i was on the other side throwing up blood!

I imagine Gunson and his staff are taking good care of you---they seem really on top of things. Congrats on making it to the other side--- looking fwd to your updates--

yes, they have all been phenomenal. 11/10 ! perfect.

#22 Post by **brendan** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:41 pm

Congratulations on making it to the other side! Must be a relief. I know that when the day comes for me to go under, I'm going to be scared outta my mind.

for sure. they are all great staff and everything and dr. gunson even prescribed me a lorezapam for the night before because i was getting a bit anxious.

How are you adjusting to the changes in your face? Can you notice any changes yet underneath the swelling?

it looks like its gonna be great! but then again, i am ridiculously swollen right now. i'll post a video tomorrow. under my eyes i am all swollen too!

I know I already asked this in you tube, but if you don't mind, It'd be interesting to see your Cephalometric Treatment Plan Diagram (the diagram where they overlay the planned changes and your original structures. The numbers in those diagrams are so interesting to me. If you are not able to post it that is no big deal at all!

i'll tell you what, if you remind me in a couple weeks, i will go out to fedex and scan it and message it to you for sure. i am still kinda in a state where they dont want me driving and whatnot so if you remind me ill definitely send it over

other thoughts from me

Be certain you want to do this! I can already feel the breathing benefits myself, but everyone thats doing this should make sure they are ready for this. It was actually harder than i imagined it would be. I have had a few surgeries already but this one certainly takes the cake. The first couple days are pretty rough

. DEFINITELY have someone to take care of you, if i didnt have my mom making me my liquid food the past week, i woulda been a lot more stressed. Also, be ready to get really irritated at the fact you cant talk and communicate and whatnot

the meds also make you more of an ass, so make sure your caregiver knows haha.

other than that, i highly recomend the VitaMix.. thing works amazing!!! Also, another note, all the Zip N Squeeze stuff i bought was pointless. Gunson/Arnett dont like us using it for various reasons.

Alright. going to go drink some more and watch a movie and then hopefully get some rest. ill post a video for you guys tomorrow !

#23 Post by **treevernal** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:18 pm

Woah man! Throwing up blood?? Jesus, you have me really freaked out lol. I have heard from a lot of people that it is harder than they imagined it would be, unfortunately you are not a exception.

Thank you for the very thorough follow-up! And that is very kind of you to offer to scan the CTP for me, that'd be great! I promise I will wait awhile before I bug you though! You need time to recover and the last thing you need is someone asking you to do stuff. Take your time

)

I haven't had any surgery before, nor have I ever been put under general anesthesia. I think when I finally go under it will be a huge wake-up call/nightmare. Can't say I'm looking forward to the recovery process.

Just out of curiosity, which post-op day so far has been the most difficult/painful? I've heard from some people that it's actually a couple days after surgery, is this true for you, or was waking up from anesthesia post-op the worst moment? (sorry to ask you to re-live it and tell us!)

We're definitely all cheering you on here. You seem to be doing really well. Rest up and we look forward to your first "post-op" video!

-Dan

#24 Post by **brendan** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:31 pm

Woah man! Throwing up blood?? Jesus, you have me really freaked out lol. I have heard from a lot of people that it is harder than they imagined it would be, unfortunately you are not a exception.

Yeah man! i imagine i must have swallowed A LOT. i rarely get nauseous. It was basically directly after surgery for a few hours i threw up 2-3 times. They had a nurse there to suck it out ASAP though so it wasnt too bad. The worst was when I got home on Thursday, around the evening, i suddenly threw up a lot again. This was following a few excessive nose bleeds [which you should also expect though].

Thank you for the very thorough follow-up! And that is very kind of you to offer to scan the CTP for me, that'd be great! I promise I will wait awhile before I bug you though! You need time to recover and the last thing you need is someone asking you to do stuff. Take your time )

no prob

I haven't had any surgery before, nor have I ever been put under general anesthesia. I think when I finally go under it will be a huge wake-up call/nightmare. Can't say I'm looking forward to the recovery process.

Its not that bad. I have had an oral surgery when i was younger, my wisdom teeth removed, and a tonsilectomy which were all similar in that they were in the mouth. This just happened to be the hardest of the 3 because of the combo of throat pain/throwing up/swelling etc. But either way, its not something to be DREADING. its just not going to be that fun

Just out of curiosity, which post-op day so far has been the most difficult/painful? I've heard from some people that it's actually a couple days after surgery, is this true for you, or was waking up from anesthesia post-op the worst moment? (sorry to ask you to re-live it and tell us!)

The worst was around Friday/Saturday. Swelling was ridiculous and my congestion was brutal. Not only could i not breath through nose, but it was also full of phlemn / blood and other goop. On top of that, i had post nasal drip non stop, and was so swelled i could barely breath through mouth. Also, on Friday, my throat still hurt!

Either way, dont stress off it, its a necesary evil!

Just knowing to expect certain things though will probably make it easier

#25 Post by **chicago29** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:49 am

Brendan,

Glad to see you're on the other side. It sounds like your recovery was rough, but they all are, and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. There is no easy way out with these surgeries!

I think a lot of the recovery has to do with how we react as a patient. I am on the "anxious" side myself, which sucks because I know that can make things worse. Your breathing difficulty is a good example. I felt that way a few times after my SARPE & MSDO, and you just have to calm yourself down and realize you'll be OK. It is so easy to say it, but very difficult when you're experiencing it

I'm looking forward to checking out your vids and keeping updated on your progress. I think it has been about a week now, so I am hoping that things are getting better for you. Take good care, and once again congratulations!!!

#26 Post by **Esoteric** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 8:07 am

I think the throwing up blood part is the only part that bothers me a little bit so hopefully that won't be the case for me. The only bad part about my whole SARPE experience was waking up from the drugs, it took me like over an hour to come to. Well that and the last couple expander cranks lol. After that the it was butter, no throwing up and just a couple of nose bleeds and the swelling.

Hopefully this week will be better for you and you'll be on the upswing.

#27 Post by **chicago29** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 9:09 am

I agree Esoteric...the throwing up blood scares the hell out of me, although this is really just a normal bodily response. See how practical we can be when we are not actually EXPERIENCING the issue

I had a lot of odd bleeding well after my SARPE & MSDO procedures...In fact, I had some minor bleeding down by throat (i.e., in the sinus drainage) for about 4 weeks post surgery. It really had me worked up because it seemed to never go away, but I had my OS and a hematologist tell me it was nothing to worry about and they told me the following piece of useful information.

They said there is no better thing to cause you to vomit than blood in your stomach. So, if there is any decent amount of blood in your stomach your body's reaction is to get rid of it and vomiting is natural and common. They used this to try and calm me down as they said it showed how little I was actually bleeding, because I had no nausea or vomiting. But immediately after surgery, it is something that is common and is almost expected. I **thankfully** didn't vomit blood after my first surgery, but I'm kind of expecting that I may with the second one.

So, if the vomiting happens I am sure it is unnerving and I'd probably freak out myself, but try and think rationally that it is actually your body trying to help you out!

#28 Post by **brendan** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 9:39 am

SUNDAY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXYrfV4x3dk

TODAY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6U7Dh2rgOg

#29 Post by **chicago29** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:24 am

Wow, you are swollen up pretty good. I was pretty much the same as you after my SARPE & MSDO, so I can't imagine what I will be like with my bi-max, which is going to be more invasive. I also had the black eyes, but I think my bruising was much worse than yours. I had it in the cheeks, around the lips, etc. That eventually went down to my neck and chest as gravity took over.

HOWEVER, it seems like you are in good spirits and you're talking really great in my opinion. Those are two positive things...

I bet by this weekend you'll start to see a dramatic decrease in the swelling and you will feel tons better once that happens. I definitely recommend using a heating pad off and on for the swelling, as that helped with mine.

#30 Post by **Esoteric** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:30 am

Looks like the swelling has gone down a bit in the second vid, but man am I not looking forward to this! It would definitely help if you kept making these vids throughout the months during your recovery so we can see the stages. Hopefully you'll post one up sometime before Sept (my surg date) and be pretty much back to normal as far as swelling goes so I don't chicken out on mine lol.

Chicago, I sent you a PM a while back.