June/July 2015 Surgery Buddies

[snapdresser]

Nozzelnut - Huh. That's encouraging. I wasn't sure how big of a deal the turbinate thing was. I know there are some pretty serious potential side-effects and I don't want none of that. But I have some Eustachian tube dysfunction. Lol yeah, the whole nerve regrowth thing is pretty weird. At least we all seem to be in pretty good shape with respect to permanent numbness! That was one of my bigger concerns.

vaguy79 - Congrats on returning to work! I'm sure you're thrilled It's nice to get back into your routine tho. Helps you move on afterwards. How do your jaw exercises feel? Are they painful? Me and your are pretty close in weight, I was about 150 going in. I'm in the lower 140s now so that's alright. Using it as an excuse to eat whatever I want That's pretty crazy that your bottom lip feels cold sometimes! What a strange effect lol. I'm sure it'll return to normal in time tho.

[Liz192]

Speaking of weight, have y'all been able to gain what you lost very easily? I started off at 108 and am down to 99-100 (depending on the day). I've stayed a consistent 100lbs the past few weeks so I guess staying consistent is better than losing any more weight. I have always been slender and have had a hard time gaining weight. I have been counting my calories to make sure I am taking in a high amount of calories each day. I meet with my oral surgeon tomorrow so I'm hoping he isn't too upset with my lack of weight progress. I'm goin to look into a nutritionalist I think. I would love to start working out doing static excersises like squats and what not but with my lack weight it's probably a bad idea.

[snapdresser]

Liz192 - It's been slowing coming back on, but as long as I don't feel lightheaded or anything it doesn't really bother me. I went for a run a week or so ago and felt fine, so I'm not super concerned. How do you feel?

[Liz192]

Snap- that makes me feel better. I feel alright most of the time. I have had a few moments of light headedness. Some days I am so exhausted and others I feel great. I guess I just need to remind myself that I am still healing and you can't rush progress.

[snapdresser]

Liz192 - Yup, def true. I'm sure it'll come back in time. Just make sure you're staying hydrated in this summer heat, ya know. Light exercise might help increase your appetite if that's a reason why you're not regaining the weight.

[Nozzelnut]

So this weight thing.... I've been a bigger guy my whole life. The day of surgery I got on the scale at the hospital at 293. (before you say anything, that's down 30 lbs from my high. Having hypothyroid (hashimotos) that was undiagnosed for close to a decade will do that.) Good news is my Dr finally figured out the hypo thyroid thing and started me on thyroid drugs.

At my 3 week check up with my surgeon, I got on his scale; 265 I think it said. So close to another 30 lbs. I'm wearing clothes I haven't worn in probably 6 years. I definitely like the weight loss; but wow talk about feeling weak and light headed. I probably lost another 5ish lbs in week 4 and I'm probably within a couple of that now. It was just too much too fast.

If you look at the weight loss as percentages we were probably similar Liz. Eat plenty of fruits and veggies, yogurt, fish.... The good things we all should be eating. Maybe even some red meat to help with the iron deficiency that most young ladies seem to have. (Or you could try cooking in a cast iron skillet too.) If you're having trouble with the eating food thing, make sure you're doing some kind of meal replacement drink like Boost or Ensure; some vitamins and minerals coming from those shakes are better than nothing. Like Snap said; stay hydrated! Really important in warmer weather and makes you feel like crap if you start to dry out.

It seams like there's a big change in recovery between weeks 8 and 9; similar to the change in weeks 2 to 3 for me. Things starting to loosen up some; so it keep getting better.

[gruntled]

Not been around for weeks due to starting a job in London...it's been manic!


Had ortho yesterday who told me that everything is looking great and my braces should be off on the visit after next! WOoooOOOoooOOOOoooo! It's only been five bluddy years!


Weight wise, I was at my all-time high at 187lbs when I went in for surgery - considering I'm 5 ft 2 that is pretty large. Now I'm 170 which is still too much but I'm getting there. Not gonna lie, pretty happy with the weight loss that the surgery has kick started.

[jaime]

Wow gruntled, 5 years?! It's definitely more than time! You must be so excited, I know I would be unable to think about anything but!!

Liz, I've pretty much gained back everything I lost. I lost 12lbs after surgery and I've put about 8 back on. Seeing a nutritionist sounds like a good idea. I also agree with Nozzel that a meal replacement drink would help, too.

Snap, I realize you've left on your trip now but thanks for mentioning Eustachian tube dysfunction. I've always had a vicious time flying in airplanes. Like, on the 1-10 scale of pain, my ears would be an 11. I've long since concluded I must have small ear canals and I wondered if surgery would help...and it did. I didn't have nearly as much of a problem when we went on our honeymoon.

I see my orthodontist today. My left side is still not closed. My molars have excessive wear on them so I'm hoping that my teeth will eventually make contact back there without more surgery. I'm starting to become a bit pessimisstic about it. My midline is still off, too. Been wearing my elastics diligently for 2.5 months now.

[vaguy79]

I can open my mouth more than 2 fingers now. The exercises aren't too bad. Did anyone suffer from diarrhea? I have been going through periods of diarrhea and it affects me more than the surgery. I'm assuming it is diet. It's not helping me with gaining weight either.

[Nozzelnut]

Vaguy, depending on if you were Rx'd antibiotics or not they might have wiped out the good gut bacteria. Or it could be what you're eating. Not chewing things enough, ibuprofen, vitamin or minerals too much or too little, too much sugar, stress...

Possible (but not all that likely,) you might have picked up a GI bug in the hospital; or recently somewhere else. There are some nasty ones that need meds to be killed off, so if it continues please let your Dr's know and remind them of your time in the hospital. In the mean time eat plenty of live culture yogurt to help replace the good bacteria.

*My medical advice is worth every penny you've paid for it; so if you have any questions speak with your Dr.*

The not so good news is I've been getting my sleep apnea symptoms starting a couple weeks ago. I tried sleeping with my APAP machine and I did have some flow limitations during REM sleep. So I guess my next step is to talk with my ortho about getting some extra tongue space if at all possible; seeing how this surgery was mainly to treat my OSA. I wish they had given me as much room as they could because there's pretty much no way I'd go through this again. Who knows maybe the bones are soft enough an expander might work (I know the palate is fused but I can hope it would be a simple fix)... I really wanted to get rid of the machine after this was all done... #pissedoff #frustrated

[vaguy79]

Fortunately, the diarrhea has stopped. I am down to about 135lbs. Yesterday, I was rear ended and my jaw immediately in pain. I went to my doctor after the accident and they took x-rays. Fortunately, nothing moved but the side of my face is sore along with my neck and back. While there, he noticed an infection and has given me another round of antibiotics. I will see him again next week.

[Liz192]

Vaguy- I'm glad you're jaw is ok. I hope your start feeling better soon. I'm glad they caught the infection as well.

I met with my orthodontist for the first time today since surgery. They took the surgical hooks off but added a few hooks to a few of my bottom brackets. I have to wear rubber bands in a triangle pattern on both the left and the right around my canine area. They told me it is to close my teeth together on the left because I have a slight open bite. I only have 2 days of work left till I move to Oklahoma. Eek!!

[jaime]

Hey everyone,

Yesterday was 11 weeks since surgery for me. Things are going pretty well. The numb spot on my chin continues to shrink, and part of my palate and upper gums are coming back as well. My lower gums at the front are numb but normal at the sides. I can feel 100% of my lips which is a huge relief.

Chewing has gotten a lot easier the past few weeks, too.

Life is pretty much normal at this point except that I can't eat everything I want yet.

Still wearing my midline elastic 24hrs a day but it seems like it's improved even in the past week so that's good. Left side molars still don't touch but seem to be getting closer.

Liz, good luck on your move to Oklahoma!

Vaguy, glad to hear you're okay and that the accident didn't do any damage. That would be super scary.

[Liz192]

Jaime-thanks! I move next Friday. I read your latest blog. I love seeing all of our progress. Gives me hope that I won't be numb forever lol

Well, I ended up back at the orthodontist yesterday. I am officially off rubber bands again. The one on the right left a huge ulcer/sore. Because my lip is numb I couldn't feel it. It showed up after wearing the rubber bands for only a few hours. We don't know if it was the bands or the hooks they put in. They left the hooks which keep getting caught on the sore. That side of my lip is swollen more now which is annoying. Before you ask, no I don't have a latex allergy. I think the rubber band was either pinching or rubbing my lip raw. Sounds fun huh? Haha

[snapdresser]

Soooo I'm back from London! The trip went great! I used Afrin before take-off and landing each time and the only issue I had was descending on the return flight when my ears didn't pop on their own so I had to valsalva. It worked just fine tho! In the past I've sometimes been unable to successfully valsalva, which has caused a ruptured ear drum and a pinched nerve before (both in cases when I forgot my Afrin). Anyways, the trip was pretty sweet and I took a ton of selfies with my new face It's funny, I had literally maybe a dozen or two pictures on my FB from the 10+ years I've had my account before my surgery and now I have probably two or three times that many in just the last few weeks So it's time to get caught up on the posts I missed!

Nozzelnut - Wow, sounds like this surgery is having positive effects for your body! That's great! Except for the sleep apnea, I suppose. Remind me of the movements you got? Did they pull your chin forward? They did that for me in an attempt to bring the base of the tongue forward and releave the sleep apnea. My wife heard me snore quietly once but that's been it since the surgery, so that's a pretty big improvement. Still, my left nostril feels constricted so I might end up going in for a turbinate reduction. Maybe nosejob at the same time? See my comment to jaime Have they done the endoscope thing/xray where they determine where your airway is constricted? Cuz there's several places and the treatment is different for each.

gruntled - How's your new job? Congrats on the news about getting your braces off!!! Jaime's right, 5 years sounds like an insanely long amount of time to be wearing braces When are you supposed to go in for that visit?

Jaime - I haven't gotten to check out your new blog post yet I'm excited to hear you made a new one tho! I'm sorry to hear the left side of your bite hasn't closed yet, but that's really good to hear that you've been seeing some recent progress. What did your orthodontist have to say? You know, I met with my surgeon just last Friday (I don't meet with her again until Christmas now) and she said my chin was still eeeever so slightly off from my midline. She asked if I was happy with it tho and I said yes. Frankly, I wish she wouldn't have mentioned it lol. She also said my nose was a little off and asked if I had broken it before Now she's got me thinking about getting more stuff done, but I think it's probably a good idea to stop Too much potential to mess up my face chasing after minute imperfections. Soooo midline still isn't perfect for me either, if that's any consolation

vaguy79 - Congrats on the opening! Maybe now that you can open wider your diet will regain some normality and your digestive issues will be better, tho it sounds like maybe it was just a bug anyways. That's really scary to hear about your getting rear ended! And the immediate pain?! I would have flipped out... That's REALLY good to hear nothing moved!!

Liz192 - That sucks about the elastics! I'm not sure if you're still having pain from those sores, but maybe you could try using some wax? Good luck with your move!!