October buddies

Message

#151 Post by **Broadway Bill** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 9:20 am

Izzy1979 wrote:hmm gotta try the travel pillow idea. Ive tried to use it to prevent my head from falling over to the side (and waking me up) and it has not worked, didn't think of trying my side. Bill do you not feel a lot of pressure on your side though? I still can't sleep on my back cause of that...

The pressure is still there, but I do the travel pillow thing while still propped up on pillow mountain, so it's nearly the same as being on my back and propped up. Works for me!

#152 Post by **Izzy1979** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 11:57 am

Lol I just have to share this. I ventured into scrambled eggs this morning. made them with a bunch of milk so they were softer. Still can't fit a spoon in my mouth so I had to finger every little piece in, it took me 45min to eat 2 scrambled eggs, and about a third of it ended up on my shirt and chin. I guess I shouldnt go out to eat for quite a bit...
Back to shakes!

#153 Post by **Broadway Bill** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:52 pm

Izzy, it took me 45 minutes to eat a can of baked beans! Worth every second, but I doubt I'll be sticking with it...mostly shakes for me!

Oh, and the nutella/banana smoothie is awesome! Can't recall who suggested it, but it's awesome nonetheless.

#154 Post by **Izzy1979** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 3:07 pm

Bill - that was me. I am addicted to Nutella. Well. More than before:) Isnt it great to have to guilt about throwing all sort of fattening things in your blender and still manage to loose weight?!?!

btw - if you didnt live so far Id go kiss you right now, I just had the BEST nap with the travel pillow technique!

#155 Post by **Broadway Bill** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 4:14 pm

So glad to hear that the travel pillow plan worked well! A night of sleeping on my side was the best thing I'd felt in a while.

#156 Post by **ColoradoGirl** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 8:24 pm

Ooh, the travel pillow thing is a great idea.

I had a Halloween party last night! It was SO fun, though of course a lot of work. I got up at 8:30 and kept going until 1:45 am. Cleaned, ran errands, got in costume, and hostessed--and even had the energy to wash all the dishes afterwards. It was awesome! I'm definitely paying for it today (I've been up a total of 4 hours the whole day) but it was wonderful. Just like being a person again!

Anybody else have numbness increase after sleeping? I must've rolled onto my side earlier, and now my numbness is much worse on my chin. I hope I didn't screw anything up...

Mon Nov 01, 2010 7:53 am

Izzy- I have been using a baby spoon...works like a charm and it is covered with rubber so it doesn't hurt when I bump the spoon on my braces.

I also, am loving the travel pillow idea. I can't stand sleeping on my back and this is such a fab idea! Thanks Bill!!

I am on board with the xanax before bed....I actually take a 1/2 one and then enjoy a good nights sleep which is hard to come by these days!

I was a bit down this weekend about the numbness...I know that this is a process that takes time and I feel like I am doing well overall mentally adjusting to everything but I suppose a down moment every now and then is allowed?!?!?!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

#158 Post by **Broadway Bill** » Mon Nov 01, 2010 8:42 am

Mandy, I hope the pillow works well for you too! It significantly improved my sleep.

And I hear you about the numbness... It sucks that the most frustrating part of this process also happens to be the part that lasts the longest. Glad you're adjusting and doing good otherwise though!

#159 Post by **Izzy1979** » Mon Nov 01, 2010 9:59 am

Mandy - totally get you on the numbness thing. Sometimes I think its a LITTLE better, then it's really not and I think it's just wishful thinking! The only thing that keeps me positive is that my surgeon really felt it should come back based on surgery, but he warned me at my old ripe age of 30 it can take up to 6 months. I really hope it does come back cause I can't imagine living the rest of my life with a numb lower chin/lip! Sooo annoying!

As far as the feeling down thing - I do have days where I really want to fast forward time and be back to normal already! Patience has never been my biggest virtue. Maybe I should take on some yoga or something! I'm sure that also, once I don't have to wear a "jawbra" and have my mouth banded shut to sleep I'll actually get a good night sleep and be more positive!

Mandy I'll try the baby spoon idea. I was using a plastic spoon but still too big to fit in

#160 Post by **Izzy1979** » Tue Nov 02, 2010 9:11 am

To all you Xanax users... I finally cracked and took something to help sleep last night, but took Trazodone. I had it burried in my cabinet from a bad overnight stretch at work last year where I couldn't sleep and my Dr prescribed this. It was GREAT! I may need a refill by the end of the month!:) It gave me this nice, full of dreams sleep!

Off to my 2 weeks appointment with the surgeon!

#161 Post by **Izzy1979** » Tue Nov 02, 2010 12:45 pm

2 weeks appointment report - all is well. He took the sutures out of my mouth which was NOT pleasant, especially the ones on my lower lip, those drew a few tears!

#162 Post by **ennazusie** » Tue Nov 02, 2010 1:40 pm

Question: I've been feeling kinda light-headed when I stand up for too long, so I haven't been doing much exercise. Before surgery, I was very active--biking at least 2 miles a day, walking a ton, dancing a ton. I'm wondering if being lightheaded is actually a result of not exercising at all, or if walking around the house and to/from the car is about the level of physical activity I should expect from myself at this point (one week post-op).

Tue Nov 02, 2010 2:40 pm

At one week post-op I passed out when taking a shower....yes a normal occurance to be light headed. I still have to hold my head when I am washing my hair and wash with the other. When I bend over the blood rushes to my head and isn't pleasant either. This is gradually getting better.

I too, can't wait to start taking "hot yoga" but I don't think my body will be totally ready for something like that until the start of the new year.

Veggie Beef Stew
Recipe to die for: Cubed steak, 4 cans stewed tomatoes (regular not italian), large bag of mixed veggies, two cubed potatoes, four teaspoons of beef bullion granules, water to taste

Put in large crockpot for the day...I put it on hight for 3 hours than switch to low. ...stuck it in the blender and it is heaven!

#164 Post by **Broadway Bill** » Tue Nov 02, 2010 9:20 pm

Hey guys!

A few things here...

Mandy: Is that recipe safe for soft-chew dieters? BECAUSE JUST READING IT IS MAKING ME HUNGRY and I should hopefully be switching from liquids to soft chew this week!

Izzy: at your 2 week appt., did you get any changes to diet restrictions? Had you been on strict liquids? I go for my 2 weeker on Friday and I am really hoping for some good news, dietwise!

Ennazusie: Yeah, you should not be trying to exercise much right now, or be expecting to be able to. I generally ride about 80 miles a week on my bike, plus ride my motorcycles a lot, plus work out, and I have not so much as touched a two wheeled device or a pull-up bar in 2 weeks. My surgeon said expect a month or so without routine workouts, and he suggested I leave my bikes behind until I am completely healed, because what would normally be a simple accident could have some serious consequences to a not healed jaw. I feel your pain though; I would KILL to ride my bike right now!

Last bit: I have all the feeling back inside my mouth now (except a small area of my upper palette, right behind my teeth), and when I let my tongue start exploring around, I noticed that there are two spots on the inside of my cheeks that just feel shredded. They are right near the jaw joint, on each side. They feel like they have just been mangled. Sort of what you would expect a cheek to feel like if it got bitten REALLY badly and was healing. There is no pain, and it seems that the area is not even one that I could have bitten while numb. Anyone else got that? I think it may be related to my being one of the few with some external cuts made during surgery? It is not bothering me, just kind of weird!!

#165 Post by **Broadway Bill** » Tue Nov 02, 2010 9:27 pm

OH! One more thing I forgot:

Being on the liquids diet has been killing me, but I found a way to cheat!

Once a day, I have been eating beans. Black beans. I do not even the chew the damn things, I just swallow them. It feels almost like something that is almost food!

I swear, that and egg nog (which I hate) have been keeping me alive. Egg nog has the benefit of a ton of calories and fat, ease of use, and convenience. Too bad it tastes like a cross between the blood of an evil grandmother and vanilla Ensure.

I still like it better than Ensure though

!!!