MARCH 2011 BUDDIES

[Laundraholic]

I guess I hit the "wall" emotionally yesterday at 10 days post op.

Physically I'm doing great, as I have no issues with eating or drinking enough.
My swelling has gone down SIGNIFICANTLY... my first ortho appointment at 1 week post-op had everyone in the office gasping about how they didn't think I looked swollen at all, especially compared to other surgery patients they've had.

But there is still swelling (i hope) and my lips (esp my upper lip) still feels really huge to me. I feel like I look like a cross between Jar Jar Binks and a bad plastic surgery case (think of those pics of Priscilla Presley where her lips are huge and her face is stretched too tight) and I started panicking that my current look is the "final result".

I guess I prepared myself more for the physical recovery (which turned out MUCH easier for me than I expected *knock on wood*) and not for the emotional recovery.

So I broke down in tears yesterday thinking I had made a huge mistake with the surgery if this was what I was going to look like

I think part of the problem was that I always thought that I had a huge lower jaw, when in fact in turns out that it's actually my upper jaw that is "severely deficient", according to the surgeon. Now when I look at old pics of myself I can immediately see how my upper jaw looks recessed and how that in turn made my lower jaw look prominent.

But with my upper lip still so swollen I panicked that the surgeon made a big mistake by moving my upper jaw forward and not my lower jaw back, because that upper lip area still looks so big.

I feel better now.. but the fact that I was so upset yesterday really caught me off guard.

[freakyteeth]

Laudraholic -

Completely sympathize. How are you doing today? Remember even though there is less outward swelling, things are still changing. My upper lip is still huge as well and I am still drooling.

This is MAJOR surgery on our face and changes so much asthetically. I"m sure you are going to look super when all is said and done. Hang in there, thinking of you!

[I love my teeth]

Laundraholic and Freakyteeth--

Just wanted to reassure you that the swelling and facial changes last a long time! You guys are only 10days out or so--I am hitting the 12 week mark this week-I am just now noticing the internal swelling (in my cheeks) starting to go down--also--I had felt a "hard ball" sort of along my jaw line (lower jaw)--more on the left than right--only in the last few weeks did I finally notice this disipating (probably bone healing and swelling and internal stitches--not sure??) So, while I can definately say been there done that--I was so very frustrated at the 2-6week mark!! you have yet to see the most healing and the best changes to your face.

Best of luck to you both! Hang in there, time will pass and things will improve!

[rtxtavi02]

I think part of the problem was that I always thought that I had a huge lower jaw, when in fact in turns out that it's actually my upper jaw that is "severely deficient", according to the surgeon. Now when I look at old pics of myself I can immediately see how my upper jaw looks recessed and how that in turn made my lower jaw look prominent.

But with my upper lip still so swollen I panicked that the surgeon made a big mistake by moving my upper jaw forward and not my lower jaw back, because that upper lip area still looks so big.

I feel better now.. but the fact that I was so upset yesterday really caught me off guard.

I think we are exactly at the same place right now. I too, am 10 days post op, and it is really my lip that bothers me the most. From reading some of your past posts, it seems like we have very similar cases as far as upper jaw movement. I was also always known as having a strong jaw when in fact it was my upper jaw that was sitting back about 1/4 of an inch. I asked my surgeon about my upper lip and he just assured me that the swelling would come down, but it would take awhile due to the incision and stitching they do in the lip to keep it on center and in place. Hearing that from my surgeon did make me feel a lot better. I asked because I can't comfortably keep my lips closed yet without thinking about it.

I am not sure if you had cheek bone grafting like I did, but this was supposed to keep my face the same, but appears to have given me pretty prominent cheeks bones compared to what I had. My surgeon said this will look more normal once the swelling in my cheeks goes away, but I have had a lot of people saying I look REALLY different (which wasn't my intention and was actually a concern I had). I too, didn't want people to have the perception that I was doing this for cosmetic gains, I just want to be able to eat CORN ON COB, APPLES and SANDWHICHES! I love food by the way so that part of the recovery is just killing me.

I am actually at work (yes, I did return after one week), and I am pretty tired, but things seems to be going well since sitting at home was driving me insane. I am definitely getting double-looks by everyone in the office because of my partially black eye and yellow cheeks, but who cares.

Just remember, we are going through this together!

Rick

[bracedfaced]

I think part of the problem was that I always thought that I had a huge lower jaw, when in fact in turns out that it's actually my upper jaw that is "severely deficient", according to the surgeon. Now when I look at old pics of myself I can immediately see how my upper jaw looks recessed and how that in turn made my lower jaw look prominent.

But with my upper lip still so swollen I panicked that the surgeon made a big mistake by moving my upper jaw forward and not my lower jaw back, because that upper lip area still looks so big.

I feel better now.. but the fact that I was so upset yesterday really caught me off guard.

I think we are exactly at the same place right now. I too, am 10 days post op, and it is really my lip that bothers me the most. From reading some of your past posts, it seems like we have very similar cases as far as upper jaw movement. I was also always known as having a strong jaw when in fact it was my upper jaw that was sitting back about 1/4 of an inch. I asked my surgeon about my upper lip and he just assured me that the swelling would come down, but it would take awhile due to the incision and stitching they do in the lip to keep it on center and in place. Hearing that from my surgeon did make me feel a lot better. I asked because I can't comfortably keep my lips closed yet without thinking about it.

I am not sure if you had cheek bone grafting like I did, but this was supposed to keep my face the same, but appears to have given me pretty prominent cheeks bones compared to what I had. My surgeon said this will look more normal once the swelling in my cheeks goes away, but I have had a lot of people saying I look REALLY different (which wasn't my intention and was actually a concern I had). I too, didn't want people to have the perception that I was doing this for cosmetic gains, I just want to be able to eat CORN ON COB, APPLES and SANDWHICHES! I love food by the way so that part of the recovery is just killing me.

I am actually at work (yes, I did return after one week), and I am pretty tired, but things seems to be going well since sitting at home was driving me insane. I am definitely getting double-looks by everyone in the office because of my partially black eye and yellow cheeks, but who cares.

Just remember, we are going through this together!

Rick

Great positive attitude, Rick!! I am nervous about going back to work (I haven't even had my surgery yet) so I hope when my time comes I can says "who cares" too!

[Laundraholic]

I just want to be able to eat CORN ON COB, APPLES and SANDWHICHES! I love food by the way so that part of the recovery is just killing me.

I am actually at work (yes, I did return after one week), and I am pretty tired, but things seems to be going well since sitting at home was driving me insane. I am definitely getting double-looks by everyone in the office because of my partially black eye and yellow cheeks, but who cares.

Just remember, we are going through this together!

Rick

awww... i was thinking the same thing!
It was such a coincidence that we had a very similar surgery on the same day, so you DEFINITELY understand what I'm going through.

I can't wait to bite into a burger properly (prior to braces I wasn't able to -- the insides would always squeeze out the back end... and then during braces I couldn't because my underbite and open bite got much worse and i couldn't bite into sandwiches properly). Haven't bitten into an apple for 3 years!

In addition to burgers and apples, I can't wait until these braces are off and I can eat macademia nuts again

So how is work going? I can't imagine going back at this point, even though my energy levels feel managable. How do you deal with all the people asking you what happenned?!

[rtxtavi02]

So how is work going? I can't imagine going back at this point, even though my energy levels feel managable. How do you deal with all the people asking you what happenned?!

Work is going well; I don't normally bring my lunch but I had to bite the bullet (odd pun given the situation), and buy a lunch bag. It was filled with the following:

Pepsi
Strawberry Boost
Chocolate Slimfast
Strawberry Applesauce
Vanilla Pudding
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup-at-Hand

I have been eating on and off all day, but I am still pretty tired and I have been fighting some right jaw pain this afternoon from talking so much.

Oddly, only a few people have asked, but I just tell them straight what I had done. Many people tell me that they never noticed my underbite before, and I just tell them I hide it well. Either they really didn't notice or they are just trying to be nice. To me, the biggest difference with my look is that my jaw looks normal now; I don't look like Jay Leno's son. And they didn't even touch my lower jaw!

[juneyer]

Well it will be three weeks for me on Thursday. I think I have hit a plateau for a while. I am being told that I have to have the splint in for 6 weeks total (3 more) It is getting very depressing as I can't go back to work (I'm in Sales) until it's removed. I talk like I'm a deaf person. So I'm bored as hell, and still not eating much. The splint, and my teeth in general are hard to clean so I don't try to take in anything that's going to be too complicated to clean out. "I Love my Teeth" talked about a hard ball in her chin, and I thnk I have the same thing. It can't just be numbness, its like a mixture of numbness and tightness. I have started taking a lot of vitamins but I am seriously considering going the acupuncture route. I know I shouldn't feel "all better" at 3 weeks, and I am grateful for where I am, but the thought of 3-6 more weeks of a splint and this numbness/tightness is very depressing. Also, all of my swelling looks as though it has gone away, however for some reason I have to purposely close my lips, they don't close naturally, and I'm not sure why. I hope everyone is doing well...I only glanced over some of the entries from all of you, I'll go back and read them now.

[juneyer]

Kel-

Your pictures look great. Let me ask you--did you use anything special for the incision marks on your cheeks? I can't see yours anymore, and I have one that is pretty large. I've been putting Vitamin E (from a capsule) on it, but is there anything else you used?

[I love my teeth]

Juneyer-

I am convinced that the hard ball is part of the healing process-now for me at 12weeks it's barely noticable. But was very noticeable (to me anyway!) until very recently.....that being said--

I went to a transfer records appt at the ortho office today (moving next week!) They did x-rays (first ones I've had since post op day 2), pics and molds...the profile pics from pre-braces and now-were amazing!! And the x-rays too--one thing I noticed from my post op x-ray was how much the space in the lower jaw had filled in with bone--it's not just a dark space on the x-ray--it's more grayish--but not white like "real bone"==that let's me know the bone that has filled in is not completed yet-there has to still be more healing done to "complete" the process so to speak. Further-the ortho happened to mention how great all the before/after pics looked, then added "and you are hardly post op--you are really still in the beginning stages post surgery" wow-really, I thought 3 months was a long time!

I think that statement helped me realize, you really have to give it ALOT of time! I was asking my husband if he didn't know I had surgery would he know (ie: do I look funny, talk funny, eat funny, or move my mouth funny) he said no--he assumed I felt "totally normal" ( I guess I am not complaining enough at home ) so, I told him all the things I was still feeling-the tightness, numbness, ect--he was actually quite surprised---so again, we think we should look and feel normal, but when really, it' a seriously long, long healing process....hang in there guys!

[kelhuntley]

Rick - I'm totally with you on that one. I went back to work after a week because I was going nuts sitting at home and I think it was the best thing for me. I included a few walks at lunchtime and started walking to and from work after a few days (half an hour each way). And I think it really helped make me feel "normal" again and certainly helped get my energy levels back up as I eased myself back into it.

Juneyer - I have been using something call Bio Oil - http://www.bio-oil.com/ - I've just been putting it on every night and it seems to have worked a miracle!!

[juneyer]

Thanks for the reply "I love my teeth" I need the encouragement especially during this time while I have this splint and my face feels like I'm wearing a mask. I'm getting tired of explaining to people why I am talking as if I'm deaf. Just need to hear from you guys that are a little further along and hve gone through all this.

Kel I'm going to look for that stuff..hopefully I'll have good luck with it as well

[rtxtavi02]

Rick - I'm totally with you on that one. I went back to work after a week because I was going nuts sitting at home and I think it was the best thing for me. I included a few walks at lunchtime and started walking to and from work after a few days (half an hour each way). And I think it really helped make me feel "normal" again and certainly helped get my energy levels back up as I eased myself back into it.

Yea, it is only my second day back at work, but I can already tell the difference in my energy level and how I feel because I am 'somewhat' back to normal everyday life. Afterall, we are creatures of habit and getting back to normalcy has a way of making one feel better.

[freakyteeth]

Rick,

Wow, impressive! Being back at work in one week - I can't imagine. I know I don't feel up to snuff because I am not a sitter. The fact I need to sit/feel like sitting around makes me realize that I am not ready to go back. It is frustrating about how slowly my recovery has went. Three weeks after my emergency C-section, I was raking the yard! Bending over is still a big no-no for me. It makes my sinuses throb like nothing else. Talking is so draining for me. My mouth flops around on that darn splint and my sinuses ache.

My WORST problem (so glad it is not my sinuses anymore!): Constant drool. I drool through around 12 hand towels every day. Going in public is so embarassing. Does anyone have this problem? My lips are still pretty numb and swollen, although they are starting to feel like novacaine is wearing off. When can I expect this to stop? Will it stop?!?!

Overall you guys, I think I've finally turned the corner towards feeling better - at Day 15. Tomorrow I have my Oral Surgery Check up and I'm going to drive!

[rtxtavi02]

Rick,

Wow, impressive! Being back at work in one week - I can't imagine. I know I don't feel up to snuff because I am not a sitter. The fact I need to sit/feel like sitting around makes me realize that I am not ready to go back. It is frustrating about how slowly my recovery has went. Three weeks after my emergency C-section, I was raking the yard! Bending over is still a big no-no for me. It makes my sinuses throb like nothing else. Talking is so draining for me. My mouth flops around on that darn splint and my sinuses ache.

My WORST problem (so glad it is not my sinuses anymore!): Constant drool. I drool through around 12 hand towels every day. Going in public is so embarassing. Does anyone have this problem? My lips are still pretty numb and swollen, although they are starting to feel like novacaine is wearing off. When can I expect this to stop? Will it stop?!?!

Overall you guys, I think I've finally turned the corner towards feeling better - at Day 15. Tomorrow I have my Oral Surgery Check up and I'm going to drive!

I think trying to compare our two surgeries and recovery times is not a good idea since it is not exactly an apples to apples comparison. I say that because the surgeon only touched my upper jaw and it was moved all in one piece. I am also not in a splint or bands because the surgeon was really satisfied with the placement and my bite post surgery. So the drool and eating thing is definitely A LOT easier for me at 11 days post op than it was for you at 11 days. Perhaps there is someone else from our March Buddies group (or anyone for that matter) that had a 3 piece Lefort 1 that can comment on that.

Being back at work has definitely introduced some tiredness from moving around and jaw pain due to soo much talking. My sinuses also ache. The big thing about being back to work, is I am not sitting around thinking about these things like I would be if I was at home watching TV or just laying around. And I already told my boss that if I started feeling really crappy, I was just going to go home and we was cool with that.

My huge lips are still what are bothering me and some jaw discomfort; I also have some stitches just inside my upper lip that I can feel food getting in and there is some discomfort when brushing my teeth. Can't wait for this to go way! It will be nice when my only worries are swelling and numbness.