Surgery Questions

[Ducky1515]

Well my surgery date was just confirmed for Dec 11. Even though it is still 5 weeks away I'm freaking out a bit.

I have a few questions and hopefully someone will be able to answer them.

1) For those of you who live alone did you find it hard to get around and make meals with no help?

2) I'm having my hooks put on Dec 4 and plan on having a few good hearty meals before my surgery. Will the hooks get in the way?

3) Also, I've put together a smoothie recipe that I plan on living off of. Does this sound like something that will contain all the nutrients one would require after surgery?

Nu profile greens
berry blast
tablespoon fish oil
2 tablespoons flax seed
cup of raw oats
scoop of EAS banana flavoured protein
cup of soy milk
bunch of ice
(add some mango or strawberries if you want)


Thanks!

[Lillers]

Hey Ducky,

And fellow Canuck.

I can totally relate. I just found out about half an hour ago that my surgery is scheduled for December 18, and I wasn't expecting it until mid to late January.

As I haven't had the surgery yet either, I can't address your questions from a place of experience, but I think that smothie sounds great. Also, I have my bottom hooks in already, and they most assuredly do not get in my way of enjoying a hearty meal, so I say "Eat up!"

Good luck, and I'll follow your progress.

[Svensk Tiger]

I have my surgery on Saturday and got my hooks last Friday so I can help with that part at least. They aren't actually stopping me eating as such, which is good because I am making sure that I eat VERY well this week!. However, the lower ones are ripping the inside of my lip to shreds, although I've had problems with the brackets there rubbing for a while anyway. I've tackled it by plastering the whole area with wax and just getting on with things as normal. I am in a lot of pain but that is a general thing, it doesn't get any worse with eating. The only other thing is that if you thought your braces were food traps, well... the amount of food the hooks can capture is something else altogether!

It will all be worth it though. Wishing you lots of luck for when your turn comes around

Katie

[overseasmel]

Hey there Ducky

Firstly, good luck for surgery day!

I had the surgery in April of this year. My expander had already been in place for a couple of weeks before then, but obviously I couldn't turn the screw until after surgery.

I was fortunate enough to have someone around me to help in the first couple of weeks, which was great. Because I was an absolute mess! Sorry, but I actually had a really bad time of it. But then again, everyone has such different experiences. How were you when you had your wisdoms out? I ws also awful after that, so if you weren't, you may be part of that lucky group (which might be the majority, who knows!).

So anyway, I would have lost it without someone there. I needed painkillers every few hours (kept waking all through the night in pain) and needed something to put in my stomach to handle the pills. The bedroom is upstairs so my partner would receive his signal (usually a hit on the arm, I couldn't speak!) and off he would trundle downstairs to get me some mush or goop. It was somewhat like being a newborn....!

Your smoothie recipe looks fine, but seriously, you do get bored. Just wander the supermarket aisles and buy anything runny, soft, mushy etc. Baby food can be okay (love the apple stuff), those proten drinks are good, sports drinks can be okay, soup without chunks for later. My advice is be prepared: you could be fine in 3 days, or it could be much longer. Going shopping feeling like crap isnt great, so stock up.

Hope I haven't freaked you out at all- I just wish someone had told me it was as much fun as it was before I did it myself!

[Wired1]

Congrats on getting your surgery date -- it's scary but wonderful!

I agree with overseasmel about having somebody around for the first few days. I had my maxillary expansion done in an outpatient facility and was home about 2 hours after surgery. I really do not remember a thing from the time they said, "you'll start to feel something cold in your arm" to about 8-9 hours later. And at that, I was pretty groggy. My husband was great monitoring my meds, getting ice packs, taking me to the WC, washing my face and hands and all that stuff. I was up the next day, and took a shower with the door open and a seat in the shower in the afternoon. I was a bit dizzy on and off for the first few days... and it lasted (in small fits) for a number of weeks. So, I would see if you have a friend who could stay with you at least overnight and til the next afternoon... two nights would be even better.

As for food, that looks like a good recipe -- have you tried it out? My physician cautioned me to get 40g of protein a day, 1200 mg of calcium and take a multivitamin. I did alot of yogurt, pudding, jello and such and I got bored fast, especially because most easily available soft food is sweet. I made smoothies and tried pureeing food, but was pretty lazy (and picky) about trying new things It's funny, once I got past the holidays, I went into cruise control and stabilized on Slim Fast High Protein 2-3x/day and 1-2 soft boiled eggs. Some applesauce and V8 provided variety. Gazpacho is pretty fun too, very healthy and tasty, but not what you should do just before going for an ortho appointment!

My caution here: I was trying to lose weight, and was very successful with it. The surgery provided me with an ironclad framework for my effort. My oral surgeon said that most of his patients either gain or lose 30lbs after the surgery, so I opted for losing.

You also need a plan for social times during the healing process, so think about what you can order in a restaurant, or if you're invited to someone's home.

I think Meryaten's advice is right, be prepared, but don't overly stress about this. Your tastes might change, so don't mentally lock yourself into one food or another. It's interesting to just listen to your body; it will tell you what it wants.

All the best!