April 2012 buddies!

[Clare85]

Yay AA27! fab news! I'm excited for you. Okay here are my must-haves for surgery!
V-shaped pillow
Lucas pawpaw ointment for lips
Movicoll to keep my guts moving with opiate medication, lack of activity and poor nutrition
Books
My mum
Hemostats for putting on and taking off elastics
soft baby toothbrush with small head that could fit in between my minimally opening jaws
Metoclopramide tablets for nausea
Ice packs on continuous rotation for first 6 days
Salt water rinses
Apple juice, yoghurt, small pasta, risotto, Indian curry
My hairy hound Harry for morale
Sleeping tablets
Face mask to get to sleep in hospital with all the lights

I'm hoping work will be okay may 7. Talking will be super hard due to my elastics being as they are, which will also put a lot of strain on my jaw. Tiredness will be the main issue I believe. Hopefully my nurses don't schedule me too many clients that week if they can help it!!!

[MadAussieGirl]

Hi AA27! Good news about your surgery!
My list would include:
Your Mum (or someone willing to do pretty much everything for you so your only focus is on recovery - ie. Not the dishes piling up on the kitchen sink).
Plenty of ice (a few flexible icepacks on hand and a blender so you can mash it up to get ice chips - great for sucking on in the first day or two to reduce swelling inside your mouth.)
Icecream
Yoghurt, apple juice, jelly
Grab some syringes from the hospital before you leave... These are great for getting juice, water, and even yoghurt into you... (I couldn't use a straw to start with and a teaspoon was messy when I couldn't feel my lips at all.
Really small teaspoons are good too.
Definitely paw paw cream or Vaseline for your lips...
A notepad/paper to record all the medications you have taken - my mum did this for me - it was great keeping track of it all as I was in a fog and it's really easy to miss taking some things, like your antibiotics, or to mix up your pain meds. If someone is writing it down - well it's one less thing for you to have to worry about!
Chocolate mousse
Enough almost liquid food to keep you going the first week, (so you don't need to go to the shops)
Food for your carer
A scarf if you are concerned about the facial bruising, though I got off lucky there and mine wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be!
Plenty of pillows to prop you up in bed.
DVDs
Try and rest up a bit this weekend. The first couple of nights you may find it hard to sleep with nurses waking you up all the time, and you will need as much rest as you can get.
Someone to give you a hug occasionally (mums are also good for this)

[AA27]

Thanks for the suggestions both Spent most of the day buying food/bits and pieces so I'll be ready for my stay at the hospital and when I'm back home. About 9 hours before I have to be at the hospital. Going through some really strange emotions at the moment, one minute I'm quite relaxed about it all and then very nervous at the next Hopefully will be able to update you both in the next couple of days when I get home.

Hope you are all recovering well

[Clare85]

Best of luck AA27, will be thinking of you today. Do give us an update when you can!!!

[Clare85]

AA27 how did your surgery go? How are you feeling? I've been thinking of you!
And how are you Kim?
My induration is nearly gone, I am so pleased. My main concern is now my midline being about 3mm off centre. I really hope my ortho can correct this with elastics as much as possible eventually. I have been told my upper arch is small compared to my lower arch which is why I have this cross bite.
For now I have square configuration elastics going from my upper canine to lower canine and then around to tooth 6 on each side. Boy do they hurt. I'm back to popping Panadol every 6 hours again. In another 3 weeks I get some more serious elastics put on as by then my bones should have nearly healed and can take it.
Back to work on Monday. I'm scared!

[AA27]

Hey clare85

Thanks for asking I haven't really had the strength to post an update until today. I was in hospital until Thursday morning, the op went ok as far as I have been told but I will be wired shut for 4 weeks solid. All liquid diet/meds is starting to take its toll, the first couple of days in hospital was very tough, harder than I ever imagined. My bruising and swelling is fading a tiny bit but still pretty bad. Sorry for sounding so negative but hard to make it sound any different, really glad I'm home though.

Good luck with work on Monday, hope you have a nice easy relaxing first day back

[Clare85]

Sorry to hear you're having a rough time. I can guarantee things will start to improve around day ten. Until then, sleep a lot and keep up your pain meds. I was in bed 23 hours out of 24 for the first 7-10 days! Being wired shut sounds horrendous. How do you get liquids in - via a syringe?
When things got tough I just kept reminding myself that the worst part was now over, and now all I had to do was get through each day on the road to recovery. And time goes quick! I'm already nearly 3 weeks post op and I'm sure when I'm back at work time will go even faster!
My bite is already 1000% better. Although my midline is off, and I hope that gets fixed, I now feel most of my teeth touching all the way around my arch. Prior to surgery only a couple of teeth touched!
Best of luck with getting through those rough days AA27. Vent as much as you like; it definitely helps!!!

[AA27]

Thanks clare85. Things are much better now and as each day goes by I feel I am able to deal with the whole recovery process easier. Being able drink, breathe and take my meds without too much of a struggle has helped massively. I was only able to take liquids via 2 straws up until early yesterday which was tough, but now I'm nearly able to drink from a cup with the help of a kitchen sink

Mouth is sore and achey if I try to drink/attempt to mumble too much but nothing too bad. Face is still swollen and my neck/cheeks are a horrible shade yellow. Also feel hungry all the time, when you spend most of your time In bed with the tv on burger king adverts are a million times more appealing than usual.

How was your first day back at work? Did you make it through the whole day without too many problems? Im in no state fit for work but starting to get really bored at home. 3 weeks to go

[Clare85]

Glad things are looking up when I started to cry at my last surgeons appointment (8 days ago) he said 'don't worry, most people start to feel a bit depressed and crap around day 4-5, you've been very stoic to make it to day 15!'. That made me feel a lot better immediately
Haha it's funny you write about burger king, I totally agree in fact, I managed to convince myself 4 days ago that eating macdonalds chips would not be a problem, ha! I was wrong! Had to squish them around in my mouth a bit between my tongue and hard palate then pretty much swallow them whole! But the salty greasiness was so satisfying think I should have tried thicker chips like KFC ones which are usually much softer.
So I've had 3 days back at work now. 11hrs day 1, same day 2, 10 today. Before i went back was worried id have a breakdown on day 1 but havent had one yet my colleagues are nice which really helped, and has been quiet so not too many clients/patients to see. Very tired now but think that has more to with that I stayed up til 1130 watching tv last night...(missing is such an enthralling show!). I have a 1.5-2hr daily commute which has been more taxing than the work itself. I have been trying to take regular Panadol to avoid the discomfort getting too bad but I definitely have a constant headache. Talking obviously
involves opening ones jaw which is the opposite action that the elastics are trying to
perform which makes for a bit of a battle!
So I'm going to tell you what I've been eating to hopefully give you some ideas:
-baked potatos with spicy lentils on top
-spaghetti (with the tiniest pasta shells you can buy)
-home-made quiche (pastry is so fresh that it's soft and melts in your mouth)
-arancini balls
-packet pasta (like Alfredo, macaroni etc)
-risotto
If you try and get some rice or pasta into your diet ASAP the hunger pangs will be a lot less. Carbs are key!!!
I think that's all I've got to say for now but ask me anything you want if there's any questions I can help you out with oh and the fact you're getting bored must be a good sign. Can't say I got bored once on my sick leave- wish it went for longer!
Also, I was yellow (and purple/swollen before that) nearly to my nipples (sorry if that's TMI). And I mean bright, iodine yellow! 3.5 weeks post-op and only a small amount of bruising remains, down low on my chest, and it is super faded. So it will go away! I sent a pic of the bruising to one of my work colleagues and they printed it and put it on the notice board, ha! Lucky my face wasn't in the shot!

[AA27]

On day 11 or 12 now and I'm starting to feel normal again, I have enough energy to watch a film properly and play on the PS3 for a couple of hours a day. Still struggling with the lack of solid food and living on a liquid diet, but seeing how bad things were the first 3-4 days it isn't so bad. The swelling is getting better but cheeks and lips are still pretty puffy, bruising is not so bad on my neck I can see it is starting to fade. How long did it take for you to notice the swelling had gone down enough that you looked 'normal' again? I'm hoping to be presentable in another week or so

So jealous of what you can eat at the moment, I'll definitely give some of your suggestions a go once I'm unwired. I can't believe you do such long hours and have a 2 hour commute especially with the Jaw surgery being done not that long ago! You must be kind of glad that you are back at work? as relaxing as it is to stay at home I do wish I can get back to my normal routine asap. I miss going to the gym, playing Football (Soccer? what do you call it in Australia?) and just generally being out of the house. Nice to hear that your colleagues are taking extra care of you.

The other thing that concerns me is I haven't been back to see the Surgeon/Orthodontist since I was discharged from Hospital, it would be nice to have a date of when I will be unwired, but also for them to check up on me and fingers crossed let me know everything is ok. Will pop an email to them later and see when I'm due in next, being on the NHS I guess this is how things are.

Hope you have a nice weekend

[Clare85]

Great to hear you're perking up a bit, it took me aggeees to watch a movie which was a shame as I'd stock piled so many I wanted to watch and only watched 3 in 3 weeks!
I guess you'd be more swollen as you had both upper and lower surgery. I'd say it took a good 2.5 weeks for the swelling to reduce significantly - mainly that big swelling under my jaw. I saw my ortho at 2.5 weeks and everyone at his office was so impressed, they said it was already very hard to tell I'd had anything done. I don't think the average person in the street that I would've walked past would've noticed anything amiss by that time.
My bruising is nearly completely gone- I think it will be gone totally by the 4 week mark. Just a tiny patch left on my chest now- facial bruising developed first and thus went away first compared to chest bruising.
There is still some swelling to my left jaw, which gives me a barely noticeable asymmetry to my face. Also, I have some subcutaneous emphysema over that jawline (basically air under the skin- feels crackle like cellophane when you touch it) which I plan to ring and ask my surgeon about on Monday.
I have seen my surgeon 3 times since my surgery; twice in the 1st week after surgery, once in the 2nd week, and a phone call. He sees everyone 1 week post op and then I had to see him more to deal with my induration. I'm seeing him again in about 10 days, and my ortho for the 2nd time then too. I would definitely ring and schedule an appointment if I were you, you want the peace of mind that everything is progressing normally! When do you see your ortho again?
The only thing for me that's good about being back at work is seeing my colleagues and earning a wage- I'm applying to go back to uni next year so I'm really just counting down the months. I would happily have had more sick leave if id have been allowed! I've been in my job over 3 years so should have had over 6 weeks sick leave but the business has been sold and bought a few times in that time so I only had just over 2 .
Yeah we call it soccer here Aussie Rules (AFL) rules so that is our football!

[MadAussieGirl]

Hi everyone, glad to read that you both seem to be well on the way to recovery! I've just hit the 4 week mark now and am so happy all the swelling has seemed to have gone and my face looks normal! Can't quite believe how quickly the time has gone really - going back to work has helped - though I am paranoid about people around me with colds.. The last thing I need right now is something to make me sneeze! Ouch! But anyway, everything is progressing well, my chin is still numb and pins/needles - hanging out for that symptom to disappear! Have actually been having really weird sensations on the lower lip- some days it feels incredibly cold (even if I am holding something warm against it) yet other times it feels like it's hot. It's a bit like my nerves are drunk and confused! Hopefully it means the nerves are starting to wake up! (exciting) The jaw has been getting quite achey as it's harder to rest it now I'm back at work. Also feeling occasional bursts of ache (rather than pain) along the tooth adjacent to implant site. Hoping the implant / bone graft hasn't done something to the tooth... (in addition to the surgery I had a bone graft and dental implants to replace my lower front teeth)
Diet wise I have lost a stack of weight through this process... Am still on mushy foods, though I have added a mince curry to the menu which is quite yummy... (not recommended while your stitches are still in as the mince will easily go into any holes - but once the gum has healed it works quite well. As does rice!)

[Clare85]

Hi everyone!
How are you all going these days? For me, I'm nearly 6 weeks post op, and have been given the go ahead to eat what I like now (not that that's possible...but at least I'm allowed!).
The crackliness, or emphysema, I was mentioning feeling in my jaw last post ended up turning into soft tissue swelling along my left jaw, so I was on two more lots of antibiotics for another week or so as my surgeon thought it was due to infection. Now, things are finally feeling normal on my left side!
My swelling has gone completely, and bruising was gone by the 4.5 week mark (last bits were on my chest). I have no pain except when I yawn. Chewing is difficult but do-able though I haven't tried a steak yet.
I look a tiny bit different but no worse nor better than before, which is fine by me. Already I can feel how much better my teeth bite together, and I've got a long way to go with my elastics and braces yet!

[AA27]

Glad you both sound like you are recovering well. I'm nearly at the 4 week mark and I was expecting to be unwired, but I met with my surgeon last week and he wanted me to be wired shut for 6 weeks in total. It was depressing to hear at first, but hopefully I only have just over 2 weeks to go.

My swelling has come down a fair bit, but not enough for me to see what my final result could be. I'm a bit disappointed it hasn't come down more after 4 weeks but I guess I'm a slow healer. Generally things are ok, once I'm unwired I should return back to work. Also quite surprised I'm not missing food as much as I thought I would.

With all the swelling it is difficult to tell how different I will look. I'm hoping once it subsides any changes are relatively minor. Will update again once I notice any improvements, take care all