Hi all! I am Kathleen, 32 years old.
I began orthodontic treatment in August 2003 - I started with an expander, then moved to braces in January 2004. I had an overbite, rotated molars, gummy smile, receding chin, and the lower half of my face was too long.
The orginal estimate was that I would be in braces for 15-18 months, then undergo both upper and lower jaw surgery, and continuing with the braces for an additional 6-9 months.
As many of you can attest, original estimates are rarely actual experiences. After 13 months in braces, it was determined that I would need two teeth pulled. This set back the timing of the surgery, which was OK. Otherwise, I'd have been recovering from surgery for my son's first birthday in June. So we thought that I might be ready by August. Not so.
In October 2005, I got the OK from my ortho to schedule surgery. My OS was at that point scheduling no earlier than March (!), which was too long a wait for me.
I had set aside the maximum allowed in my flexible spending account, knowing that I would have surgery in 2005 (for those of you who may not be familar with this, the US government allows money to be set aside tax-free, but the money must be used for eligible medical expenses only, and must be used within the calendar year in which it's saved. If I save $5000, and only spend $2000, too bad - I'm out $3000).
So I did what any desperate person would do - I asked for a referral to a new OS. I met with him, and absolutely loved him. I had scheduled a pre-surgery consult with my former OS, just in case the new guy didn't work out, but I was so thrilled with him. He was able to schedule my surgery for December 29, 2005, so I was able to enjoy Christmas with my family, but also able to use the money set aside for the surgery expenses.
So here I am, nearly 9 weeks after surgery. I will post more about the surgery and my recovery, but this intro post is already quite long. I look forward to reading about others' experiences.
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Kathleen
Surgery survivor
Surgery survivor
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Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Hey Kathleen,
Welcome to the Forum! I can't wait to hear how your surgery went. You sound pretty upbeat so you must be doing well! Do you have pics? I would love to see them if you do. It is so hard to find good pre and post jaw surgery pics.
Brandy
http://brandysjawjourney.blogspot.com/
Welcome to the Forum! I can't wait to hear how your surgery went. You sound pretty upbeat so you must be doing well! Do you have pics? I would love to see them if you do. It is so hard to find good pre and post jaw surgery pics.
Brandy
http://brandysjawjourney.blogspot.com/
I did post some pics in a different thread. I'm really waiting to get back to the orthodontist, because they'll take pictures that really show the difference. I have pictures from before I started the braces, and ones from a couple months before the surgery, and there's a dramatic difference between those. I can't wait to get back and see what they say (I haven't regained much opening, and so my return to the ortho has been delayed. I should be able to go in a couple of weeks).
Kathleen
Surgery survivor
Surgery survivor
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Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Oh...Ok, I did see those pics lower down, Sorry! you look great! Your swelling went down really fast!
Were you banded and splinted? What was it like after surgery? My OS says I will be lightly banded but that I will be able to eat soft foods right away and not have to be on a liquid diet. Just wondering how yours was?
Brandy
Were you banded and splinted? What was it like after surgery? My OS says I will be lightly banded but that I will be able to eat soft foods right away and not have to be on a liquid diet. Just wondering how yours was?
Brandy
Hi Kathleen,
I just had upper and lower law surgery done as well, about 5 weeks ago now. I'm opening a bit slower than I thought I would. Has your orthodontist or surgeon said what kind of timeline your looking at in getting to a back-to-normal opening?
I had my top wire changed on Thursday of last week, so I guess I opened enough for that - but it was challenging. My ortho says everyone opens at a different rate but I'm curious what other dr's are saying.
Anyway, it's not too bad, I'm about to try and eat pizza for the first time post surgery.
Hope all is well,
Kimberley
I just had upper and lower law surgery done as well, about 5 weeks ago now. I'm opening a bit slower than I thought I would. Has your orthodontist or surgeon said what kind of timeline your looking at in getting to a back-to-normal opening?
I had my top wire changed on Thursday of last week, so I guess I opened enough for that - but it was challenging. My ortho says everyone opens at a different rate but I'm curious what other dr's are saying.
Anyway, it's not too bad, I'm about to try and eat pizza for the first time post surgery.
Hope all is well,
Kimberley
Kimberley,
I have actually started physical therapy to help with the opening. Apparently normal is 40-45 millimeters, and I started PT four weeks ago at 18 mm. Now I am opening at close to 30. The OS and PT think that I should be progressing by 5 mm each week, but I haven't done quite that. I have 4 more weeks of PT, so we'll see how it goes. The focus now is more on lateral movement, as I've got pretty much nothing.
I ate pizza for the Super Bowl, which was 4.5 weeks after surgery - it took me an hour to eat one piece, and I couldn't chew the pepperoni, due to my lack of lateral movement. I am now eating pizza on a regular basis, but I still can't do pepperoni.
I have actually started physical therapy to help with the opening. Apparently normal is 40-45 millimeters, and I started PT four weeks ago at 18 mm. Now I am opening at close to 30. The OS and PT think that I should be progressing by 5 mm each week, but I haven't done quite that. I have 4 more weeks of PT, so we'll see how it goes. The focus now is more on lateral movement, as I've got pretty much nothing.
I ate pizza for the Super Bowl, which was 4.5 weeks after surgery - it took me an hour to eat one piece, and I couldn't chew the pepperoni, due to my lack of lateral movement. I am now eating pizza on a regular basis, but I still can't do pepperoni.
Kathleen
Surgery survivor
Surgery survivor
Hi Kathleen,
With the measurements you gave, I decided to check and I'm opening close to 30 mm now after 5 weeks. I guess that's means I'm on track. I know I could do be doing better if I did the exercises that the surgeon told me to do more. I think I just got content with being able to eat that I got lazy.
What kinds of things does the PT do during a session? My surgeon told me just to put a heat on my jaw, both sides, for about 4 minutes each & then massage it a bit and then try to stretch it as much as I can. He used way more pressure in the office than I'm prepared to do at home but it gets a little better every day. How long did you wait before you decided it was time to see a PT? I really hadn't expected it to take this long to open more. The surgeon said most people would be ready to go back to work after 4 weeks, but I'm thinking you'd have to have a pretty laid back job for that. Just talking on the phone for say 45 minutes makes my jaw tired.
The pizza eating went okay. I was able to chew the pepperoni, though it was a bit challenging. I think I ate like 1 piece to my husband's 4. No wonder I've lost so much weight these past few weeks. He's promised to take me out to dinner at our favourite restaurant once I'm up to it, so I'm really looking forward to that.
Kimberley
With the measurements you gave, I decided to check and I'm opening close to 30 mm now after 5 weeks. I guess that's means I'm on track. I know I could do be doing better if I did the exercises that the surgeon told me to do more. I think I just got content with being able to eat that I got lazy.
What kinds of things does the PT do during a session? My surgeon told me just to put a heat on my jaw, both sides, for about 4 minutes each & then massage it a bit and then try to stretch it as much as I can. He used way more pressure in the office than I'm prepared to do at home but it gets a little better every day. How long did you wait before you decided it was time to see a PT? I really hadn't expected it to take this long to open more. The surgeon said most people would be ready to go back to work after 4 weeks, but I'm thinking you'd have to have a pretty laid back job for that. Just talking on the phone for say 45 minutes makes my jaw tired.
The pizza eating went okay. I was able to chew the pepperoni, though it was a bit challenging. I think I ate like 1 piece to my husband's 4. No wonder I've lost so much weight these past few weeks. He's promised to take me out to dinner at our favourite restaurant once I'm up to it, so I'm really looking forward to that.
Kimberley
My surgeon is the one who recommended the PT - it had never occured to me. I started that about 5 weeks after surgery. My surgeon wanted me to exercise, but he never gave me specific instructions as how to do it. So I know that I wasn't getting enough of the proper exercises.
At PT, I have heat on the neck and jaw for 15 minutes; then about 10-15 minutes of neck massage and stretching; then he does pulls on the jaw inside the mouth; then we work on loosening the jaw for lateral movement. It sounds like you're getting the same kind of thing, just from your surgeon. I can do most of the exercises at home, but my husband won't give me neck massages as often as I'd like.
I am a stay-at-home mom (to the most adorable 20-month old son), so I haven't had to worry about returning to work. I'm glad, too, because up until about a week ago, I spent nap-time napping myself. I've not been able to do a lot of housework, just because I get so tired so easily.
I have lost about 15 pounds because the effort it takes to eat uses up the calories I'm consuming. It's so time-consuming to eat, too, that I just don't eat as much or as often.
At PT, I have heat on the neck and jaw for 15 minutes; then about 10-15 minutes of neck massage and stretching; then he does pulls on the jaw inside the mouth; then we work on loosening the jaw for lateral movement. It sounds like you're getting the same kind of thing, just from your surgeon. I can do most of the exercises at home, but my husband won't give me neck massages as often as I'd like.
I am a stay-at-home mom (to the most adorable 20-month old son), so I haven't had to worry about returning to work. I'm glad, too, because up until about a week ago, I spent nap-time napping myself. I've not been able to do a lot of housework, just because I get so tired so easily.
I have lost about 15 pounds because the effort it takes to eat uses up the calories I'm consuming. It's so time-consuming to eat, too, that I just don't eat as much or as often.
Kathleen
Surgery survivor
Surgery survivor
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SuzieQberg
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:58 pm
Splint
Did either of you have a splint on the top? I am geting surgery for upper and lower on 22 March. I did a really bad thing by going to see a neighbor who just had it done 22 Feb.....lots of swelling....I almost cried when I saw him. Also how much weight was lost after surgery?
Hi Kathleen & Suzie,
Kathleen, it does sound like your PT does exactly what I do at home - just longer andsans neck massage. (Maybe I can convince my hubby to commence on that treatment...)
Luckily, I do not have work I need to return to either. After the company I was working for went belly up, I decided not to look for work until after the surgery & now that I'm used to not working I may not go back at all. I'm enjoying being a "kept woman" LOL Seriously though, I'm thinking that we may start a family soon & I've always known if we had children I would stay at home with them.
Kudos to you though for looking after a 20 month old after surgery. Until the last week or so I couldn't even imagine having the energy for that. No wonder you haven't gotten muich housework done! I agree that with the limited amount of calories you can take in that it takes awhile to get your energy up. I've lost like 13 lbs since the surgery and even though I'm eating more now & I thought the lbs would come jumping back on board, they have not. I guess it takes a lot of energy to heal.
So, Suzie, the count is 13 lbs at the 5 week mark. I wouldn't let your friend's swelling and bruising scare you though. Everyone heals a bit differently. I had very little to no bruising and I would say only moderate swelling. Also, I didn't have a splint, I'm not sure why some people get splints and others do not? I was wired shut for two weeks though, which was challenging but by no means horrible. If you have any questions about my surgery, just private message me (also look at my past posts because I talked quite a bit about my experiences)
Talk to you later,
Kimberley
Kathleen, it does sound like your PT does exactly what I do at home - just longer andsans neck massage. (Maybe I can convince my hubby to commence on that treatment...)
Luckily, I do not have work I need to return to either. After the company I was working for went belly up, I decided not to look for work until after the surgery & now that I'm used to not working I may not go back at all. I'm enjoying being a "kept woman" LOL Seriously though, I'm thinking that we may start a family soon & I've always known if we had children I would stay at home with them.
Kudos to you though for looking after a 20 month old after surgery. Until the last week or so I couldn't even imagine having the energy for that. No wonder you haven't gotten muich housework done! I agree that with the limited amount of calories you can take in that it takes awhile to get your energy up. I've lost like 13 lbs since the surgery and even though I'm eating more now & I thought the lbs would come jumping back on board, they have not. I guess it takes a lot of energy to heal.
So, Suzie, the count is 13 lbs at the 5 week mark. I wouldn't let your friend's swelling and bruising scare you though. Everyone heals a bit differently. I had very little to no bruising and I would say only moderate swelling. Also, I didn't have a splint, I'm not sure why some people get splints and others do not? I was wired shut for two weeks though, which was challenging but by no means horrible. If you have any questions about my surgery, just private message me (also look at my past posts because I talked quite a bit about my experiences)
Talk to you later,
Kimberley