JUNE BUDDIES!!!

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#76 Post by **mountaingirl** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:50 pm

I wonder if anyone's gonna post pics. I can't tell that my face will be any different, which is what I wanted. I always seemed to have my lower jaw jutting forward to compensate, so to me I look the same. (But still with a bit of swelling and lots of bruising)

#77 Post by **anna1222** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:34 pm

I'll post some pics!! I'm going to wait until the 1 week mark though once the swelling has gone down a bit.

#78 Post by **Chefflaco88** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 3:27 pm

I'm finally feeling up to posting an update on my surgery. My surgeon said the surgery would be at least 5 hours. It ended up taking 8 hours. The surgeon said everything went well. I spent the 1st 24 hours in intensive care unit. I had the NG tube the whole time in intensive care unit. It made my throat sore but at least I didn't have much nausea. I was able to breath through my nose immediately after surgery and have not been very congested. My heart rate was consistently dropping into the forties so the nurses were constantly checking as the alarm was going off. I had a morphine pump so I was pretty comfortable. The steroids they gave me for the swelling caused my blood sugar to go high so I got several insulin injections. I spent the 2nd night in a regular room. They checked my blood sugar just before sending me home and it read 550. I was thinking they were not going to let me go home but the nurse got another machine to check again and it read 150.

My jaws have been banded with no splint so I can open my mouth. I have actually swallowed some meds in pill form. Day 4 was the worst. The hydrocodone made me nauseated so I had a hard time eating. Today is day 5 and has been much better. No nausea, little pain, but my face is huge. I'll try and post pics later. It is good to be on the other side!

#79 Post by **MetalMedic** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 7:34 pm

Chefflaco88 wrote:I'm finally feeling up to posting an update on my surgery. My surgeon said the surgery would be at least 5 hours. It ended up taking 8 hours. The surgeon said everything went well. I spent the 1st 24 hours in intensive care unit. I had the NG tube the whole time in intensive care unit. It made my throat sore but at least I didn't have much nausea. I was able to breath through my nose immediately after surgery and have not been very congested. My heart rate was consistently dropping into the forties so the nurses were constantly checking as the alarm was going off. I had a morphine pump so I was pretty comfortable. The steroids they gave me for the swelling caused my blood sugar to go high so I got several insulin injections. I spent the 2nd night in a regular room. They checked my blood sugar just before sending me home and it read 550. I was thinking they were not going to let me go home but the nurse got another machine to check again and it read 150.

My jaws have been banded with no splint so I can open my mouth. I have actually swallowed some meds in pill form. Day 4 was the worst. The hydrocodone made me nauseated so I had a hard time eating. Today is day 5 and has been much better. No nausea, little pain, but my face is huge. I'll try and post pics later. It is good to be on the other side!

Hi Cheff,

Glad to hear you're on the other side and feeling better. One thing that struck me odd was that your blood sugar jumped so high, so fast while only being on steroids for such a short period of time. Yes its true that steroids make your blood sugar go up, BUT it shouldn't go up that high unless you are #1 Already on steroids for a long time OR #2 Have some kind of underlying diabetic problem to begin with that you don't know about. It's even more strikingly odd that they even had to give you insulin shots for it.

I give steroids all the time, and with my experience is that when someones blood sugar shoots up that high that fast, there's something else going on.

To be safe, I would go and get that checked out with your primary physician to make sure you don't have anything underlying. A simple A1C and/or a glucose tolerance test can figure that out.

Take care and feel better!

#80 Post by **mountaingirl** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 7:55 pm

Wow, glad to hear that's over and done with for you Chefflaco and that you're feeling a bit better now. Thanks for sharing your story. Keep us posted.

#81 Post by **mountaingirl** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 7:57 pm

Something kinda gross...the incision on my palate never healed and I can actually see what looks to be a hole in the skin with bone. The dr hasn't looked on my palate yet because I wasn't able to open well, but he'll have to look at it on Monday cuz this is just gross. The assistant said just to keep it clean with an antimicrobial and stay away from acidic things. I just want a glass of OJ and can't have one!

#82 Post by **Chefflaco88** » Sun Jul 04, 2010 9:25 am

MetalMedic Thanks for the advice. The surgeon said the rise in blood sugar was normal. I have been checking it since I got home and it has returned to normal. I will schedule a physical with my primary care physician and mention it to him as well.

#83 Post by **anna1222** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 2:04 pm

I have some pics! It's been one full week. Wow, time flies, thankfully in this case.

(alt+p)

#84 Post by **mountaingirl** » Mon Jul 05, 2010 9:15 pm

Wow, anna you look AWESOME! You must be thrilled. I'm not sure if geno alone has the same amount of swelling as the mandibular advancement - if so then your swelling has really gone down. I should ask my surgeon if they will give me the before/after shots to see if the difference is noticeable.

#85 Post by **anna1222** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 8:25 am

Thanks mountaingirl

I'm really happy with my results so far. These are pics I've taken on my own (well, my husband took them). My surgeon also took pics but I won't see him again until the 14th. I would like his copies too, I'll ask but who knows.

#86 Post by Jd » Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:20 am

holy huge difference looks real good.

#87 Post by **anna1222** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 12:22 pm

Thanks!!

#88 Post by **mountaingirl** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:32 pm

What is everyone eating these days? I don't know if I'm really supposed to do this, but I am blending stuff up like spaghetti and sauce without pureeing it. I can work it to the back of my mouth and swallow it without chewing, although I'm so tempting to chew things these days because my jaw doesn't have pain anymore. I figure as long as I'm not chewing it should be ok to not liquefy everything.

Also, I still can't open my mouth more than 2 cm. My left joint feels ok, but my right jaw joint feels like it's stuck but I'm too afraid to try to manipulate it. I see the OS for the last time tomorrow, so hopefully he can tell me something or fix it. The right side is just not sliding properly.

How's everyone feeling these days? I'm starving. I keep dreaming about chewing food. I can't wait to eat again.

#89 Post by **bracesat30** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 11:40 am

I'm still stuck on straight up liquids, and I'm going crazy!! You've probably already seen my posts wondering who else is banded shut on here from my frustration! I've been banded shut since June 21st, and hopefully I'll be loosened up next Tues the 20th, at the 4 week mark.

So at this point, I am dreaming of macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs and soft fish - bring on the soft food diet please! I'm pretty sick and tired of liquid diet; that's for sure.

I dread thinking about how my jaws are going to react next week when the bands and splint are removed after being so rigid in place for so long. I already dread the ache and just wondering what they will do, and how they will react.

Other than that, I'm definitely feeling better than I was. I still have pain, I think from this constant pressure of being shut, and still have some swelling, especially in the mornings after sleeping on my sides (I've given up on the elevation on my back at nights). I even decided to venture back to work, just to have a distraction until my next OS appointment. People think I'm crazy for doing this, but I had to.

#90 Post by **mountaingirl** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 11:10 pm

Ugh, I can't imagine being wired shut for 4 weeks! I'd be going crazy. I was SO thankful when my OS unwired me after 6 days. Your muscles will probably be in a bit of shock from being wired for so long.

It is nice being able to eat mashed potatoes and food that's not completed thinned, although the consistency of puree is starting to wear on me. I can't wait to bite into anything! I am thinking about all the foods I'm going to eat when I can...I'll probably gain 30 lbs from making up for lost time.

I still have swelling that makes me look a bit chubby in the face and my face and neck are still numb. My mouth can only open two fingers and my right TMJ clicks/grinds now and it never used to. OS says this should go away. I sure hope so!

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