February 2011 Buddies!!!

[suzanna]

I'm having lower jaw surgery for my overbite on Thursday morning, i'm also having a chin augmentation because moving my jaw would cause my chin to stick out quite a lot. Feeling kind of nervous about the whole thing, mainly about the anaesthetic, all the risks and side effects freak me out a bit.

The risks from anesthesia are very low, they put like 80 or even sometimes 90 year olds out with general anesthesia still. As long as your are generally healthy, you shouldn't have a problem. Have you even had to be put out for anything before? Good luck and we'll be thinking of you Nims!

[Nims]

No, ive never had an anaesthetic. I'm in the hospital now and im extremely nervous. I just feel like my case isnt extreme enough to justify the risks and pain involved. Ive never had a problem with my jaw or the way it looks, when itold my friends i was having surgery they couldnt understand why and i couldnt come up with a good reason either.

[suzanna]

No, ive never had an anaesthetic. I'm in the hospital now and im extremely nervous. I just feel like my case isnt extreme enough to justify the risks and pain involved. Ive never had a problem with my jaw or the way it looks, when itold my friends i was having surgery they couldnt understand why and i couldnt come up with a good reason either.

I'm sure you're just having some cold feet! Once you wake up from the anesthesia, you'll probably spend most of the day/night in and out of sleep. The first 4-5 days are really tough but it was nothing I couldn't get through with support from my family. I'm day 6 now and moving around and feeling a lot more like myself today. I had a shower again and haven't taken any meds since last night (just to help me fall asleep along with my sleeping pills the OS prescribed me). You'll be fine and you always have us here to answer any questions and give you some moral support post-op. I'm sure there was a reason you originally decided to go through all of this and just think back on that reason. It doesn't matter what your friends or family think, you're obviously doing this to improve your life and not theirs. Good luck!!!!!!

[Nathaniel]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in response here, had some things go a bit crazy but things are fine now!

I woke up supposedly RIGHT when they were pulling the breathing tube out, my O.S. said it's called emerging and only 1 of 10 males do it, but that's not really a big deal, the big deal was I freaked out and broke a blood vessel lol. Then they needed to put me right back to sleep to fix that.

I stayed in the hosptial for two nights, they just wanted to keep me to be safe due to the blood vessel thing, if it wasn't for that I probably would have been able to leave the night of or one night after as I just technically had SARPE and 3 wisdom teeth out.

I had ALOT of swelling, like, a lot, but that's probably 70% due to the wisdom teeth rather than the SARPE, because I hear that makes you swell up like crazy.

Now is officially one week, actually, like 7.x days since it's 12:32 am on a Wednesday. I feel pretty good, I started to feel much better on the Sunday, as in not always tired and things. The mornings and days seem much easier than the nights; at night it feels I swell up a bit more or things starting get more tight, and some nights I get a little anxious/ancey, like freaking out "what the heck did I do this for" but then I calm down a little bit after realizing I'm just being over-reactive.

Suzi, glad to hear you got through it all okay and are home! I hope you're healing well; I wish the same to everyone

Gonna start coming back here daily or so now since I'm feeling more up beat

Good to hear from you Nathaniel! I was thinking about you and hoping you were doing well. I agree that I started feeling more like myself on day four, today is day five so hopefully I'll have even more energy. I'm planning on taking a shower again today. Did Dr. C. write you a script for ativan at bedtime? He did for me (I think he does for all jaw patients), and it really helps me relax before I go to bed because I notice the my jaw muscles are really tight/tense by later in the evening.

I might be up for posting some pictures today too. I didn't take one everyday since there wasn't much change in how I looked yesterday anyways.

Hi Suzanna! He did write me up for Ativan, and it really helped me for the first few days out of the hospital! I find myself pretty calm now, so I haven't taken them for two nights so far; I want to ration them in case I get anxious again about everything lol. I started a blog too! Not much there yet, but it's at http://thejawjourney.blogspot.com/ if you want to follow it, though by the time I get to what you had done you'll probably be forgetting you ever had it done!

[Nathaniel]

No, ive never had an anaesthetic. I'm in the hospital now and im extremely nervous. I just feel like my case isnt extreme enough to justify the risks and pain involved. Ive never had a problem with my jaw or the way it looks, when itold my friends i was having surgery they couldnt understand why and i couldnt come up with a good reason either.

I'm sure you're just having some cold feet! Once you wake up from the anesthesia, you'll probably spend most of the day/night in and out of sleep. The first 4-5 days are really tough but it was nothing I couldn't get through with support from my family. I'm day 6 now and moving around and feeling a lot more like myself today. I had a shower again and haven't taken any meds since last night (just to help me fall asleep along with my sleeping pills the OS prescribed me). You'll be fine and you always have us here to answer any questions and give you some moral support post-op. I'm sure there was a reason you originally decided to go through all of this and just think back on that reason. It doesn't matter what your friends or family think, you're obviously doing this to improve your life and not theirs. Good luck!!!!!!

Hey Nims, like Suzanna mentioned it's quite safe! And, there's nothing really to it once you get over the anxiety. I never had it before my SARPE, and I was hyper-ventilating before I had it administered, I was going nuts lol.

But really, it was so easy. They put a calming sedative in the IV and you just breathe, and you actually just start feeling pretty tired. That's about it, I remember it took about 30 seconds for me because I was trying to fight it off haha. Once you wake up you feel just groggy basically, you just close your eyes and dose off here and there for the first few hours. I remember giving a thumbs up to other people around me because once you're done you are brought into a recovery room prior to being released or brought to your actual room (if you're staying overnight).

Trust me, I was SO PARANOID. But, god bless everything went fine

[suzanna]

No, ive never had an anaesthetic. I'm in the hospital now and im extremely nervous. I just feel like my case isnt extreme enough to justify the risks and pain involved. Ive never had a problem with my jaw or the way it looks, when itold my friends i was having surgery they couldnt understand why and i couldnt come up with a good reason either.

Hey Nims,

Just wanted to say we're all thinking about you on your day of surgery and wishing everything goes smoothly for you. Good luck and talk to you when you're up to posting again.

[Nims]

Thanks suzanna and nathaniel, i had surgery about 12 hours ago now and this the first time ive been fully awake. Im in high spirits and minimal pain, the blood pouring out of my mouth is alot more than i thought it would be. They gave me some pills for my anxiety before the surgery which helped me out alot, i woke up very briefly in the recovery where the surgeon told me everything went great and that they would move me back to the ward. My parents came to visit shortly after and i was able to speak to them withought too much pain i was just extremely tired.
Sorry for the poor spelling/grammar im writing this on my iphone with one hand, i just wanted to thank you very much for your supportive comments and let you kbow everything went well.

[suzanna]

Thanks suzanna and nathaniel, i had surgery about 12 hours ago now and this the first time ive been fully awake. Im in high spirits and minimal pain, the blood pouring out of my mouth is alot more than i thought it would be. They gave me some pills for my anxiety before the surgery which helped me out alot, i woke up very briefly in the recovery where the surgeon told me everything went great and that they would move me back to the ward. My parents came to visit shortly after and i was able to speak to them withought too much pain i was just extremely tired.
Sorry for the poor spelling/grammar im writing this on my iphone with one hand, i just wanted to thank you very much for your supportive comments and let you kbow everything went well.

Aww so glad to hear everything went well! Sorry that you're having a lot of blood loss, that was my biggest fear of the immediate post op period (that and vomitting!!) but thank god neither happened in my case. My nose bled a couple of drops the first time I sat up to go to the bathroom right after surgery but that's it. And like you, I was pretty much out of it for the first 12 hours, which is kind of nice eh!

And don't worry about the poor grammer. I posted on here from the hospital on my iphone too!

Just an update from me,

Today I'm post op day #6. I had my post-op visit with my OS today. An hour ride there (and back!!!) for a 10 minute visit for him to exam my mouth and answer my questions LOL!!! He said everything looks great, minimal swelling, no bruising, that he wants me to start using straws and cups. He also told me to talk and use my jaw as much as possible because it'll help wake up all the nerves and it also helps the swelling go down. He was really happy with how much I could open it (I can stick the tip of my tongue out). Unfortunately he won't be taking out this incredibly strong elastics until he sees me when I'm 2 weeks post-op and then I'll get a looser pair.

He's a great achievement for me today! I totally forgot to grab an ensure or something to eat after my appointment and my sister and I went to the mall so I got a frozen drink from Starbucks and drank it with a spoon!! Then after about 45min of that in the car I realized that if I'm really careful I can take little sips straight from the cup! This is going to make eating soooo much easier for me.

Anyways I've been up and out of the house now for about 10 hours and I'm just about ready to pass out. At least I know I'll sleep really well tonight!!

[DRG]

I am presently counting down the hours until Monday morning. I had been growing quite anxious (as I said earlier in this thread), but after my final pre-op appointment last week, my surgeon really put me at ease. I had a page full of questions for him and his assistants. They were able to give me clear answers as to what I should expect. When I asked if he would be putting a stitch to hold my nose in shape, he replied about how I really had done my homework.

I got surgical hooks installed at my ortho's office yesterday (they just got clamped to my archwire). I also learned that my surgery is set for 11:10 EST on Monday morning, expected to last three hours. We then made all the arrangements with our sitters (mother-in-law + a coworker) to make sure my wife can spend the whole day with me at the hospital, well into the evening if necessary. My wife also has the next week off from work, which is actually why I chose this date for my surgery.

In the meantime, I've been hammering away at foods that will be off limits for the next five weeks (minimum). I think I'm in a good place, as best I can, to stave off some cravings, early on at least. I'm sure I will feel differently soon enough when I am shoving a steak into my blender.

DRG

[Terrishka]

I had a BSSO and genioplasty on Thursday Februay 17. I got discharged on Friday morning and I did have a bunch of swelling but I thought things were going okay. I know today is only my second day out from the hospital but it's much more swollen today and I feel like a freak . I'm wondering if this is normal or if it's possible that I could've done something to aggravate the swelling more... I have been trying to move my lips, tongue, and chin around to try to get more feeling. I feel so down right now...

[suzanna]

I had a BSSO and genioplasty on Thursday Februay 17. I got discharged on Friday morning and I did have a bunch of swelling but I thought things were going okay. I know today is only my second day out from the hospital but it's much more swollen today and I feel like a freak . I'm wondering if this is normal or if it's possible that I could've done something to aggravate the swelling more... I have been trying to move my lips, tongue, and chin around to try to get more feeling. I feel so down right now...

Hey it's completely normal!! I had my surgery on the 11th (upper and lower jaw) and on day 4/5 I my face was looked awful! Everyone on here says that their surgeons tell them the swelling increased and is at its worst by day 4 or 5 and then starts to go down. I'm day 8 and I think I look so much better already than just those few days ago. Hang in there! The first 5 days really were the hardest! It's probably the worst thing I've ever gone through so far in live. But once those few days are over, it's seriously gets so much easier! I spent most of days 6 and 7 out and about with my sister, at my post-op appt, at the mall shopping, seeing a movie with friends, hanging out at a friends house. Congratulations on having your surgery done though!

[Terrishka]

Thanks Suzanna! I'm hanging in there. I'm really trying to stay positive. Having chubby cheeks and a double-chin on my skinny frame is still taking some getting used to (though I hope, for not too long!).

Tomorrow I am off the clear liquids diet which is going to be great, since I haven't been very good about drinking or eating much these past few days.

I asked my mom to to buy me a tube of Traumeel, and I'm going to start applying that 2-3 times a day to see if that helps with the swelling. I don't have any bruising so far but you never know!

[Nathaniel]

Thanks Suzanna! I'm hanging in there. I'm really trying to stay positive. Having chubby cheeks and a double-chin on my skinny frame is still taking some getting used to (though I hope, for not too long!).

Tomorrow I am off the clear liquids diet which is going to be great, since I haven't been very good about drinking or eating much these past few days.

I asked my mom to to buy me a tube of Traumeel, and I'm going to start applying that 2-3 times a day to see if that helps with the swelling. I don't have any bruising so far but you never know!

Hi Terrishka, like Suzanna said my swelling too was worse a few days after the surgery rather than the day of. It's completely normal. My bruising started appearing after the swelling started to go down, but now that too is almost gone.

All is normal, best of luck on your recovery and congratulations on getting through it, you'll be much happier as the days go by and will never look back after it's all done I'm sure

[suzanna]

Thanks Suzanna! I'm hanging in there. I'm really trying to stay positive. Having chubby cheeks and a double-chin on my skinny frame is still taking some getting used to (though I hope, for not too long!).

Tomorrow I am off the clear liquids diet which is going to be great, since I haven't been very good about drinking or eating much these past few days.

I asked my mom to to buy me a tube of Traumeel, and I'm going to start applying that 2-3 times a day to see if that helps with the swelling. I don't have any bruising so far but you never know!

Thankfully I didn't get any bruising at all. Guess we're some of the lucky ones!!! The swelling is going down veryyyyy slowly! I've been using heat on and off a lot today in order to try and give it a boost. I'm still sleeping sitting propped up about 30-45 degrees in the living room. The bonus is I can watch tv till I fall asleep. At least my couch is really comfy!

I've been on full fluids for a few days now. I started off slowly with ensure (chocolate and vanilla are the ones I tried, I prefer chocolate) because my throat was still hurting until about day 6 or so.

So far I've tried things like:
- Soups (butternut squash, tomato, split pea, cauliflower, italian egg drop soup that my friends mom made me!)
- Cream of wheat
- Blended ice cream with milk

I'm going to try doing a fruit smoothie tomorrow for breakfast to change it up from my regular chocolate ensure. I've lost a total of 13lbs (but I could stand to lose some more even though I know now is not a good time to try and lose weight). I'm eating as much as I can and I'm really surprised that I'm not starving all the time because I really am eating way less than I normally would.

Pain isn't really a problem. I've been having kind of like an ear ache on my right side. It started on Friday a bit and was bothering me last night and this morning but I haven't really noticed it for a few hours. It's like a sharp stabbing pain right at the front of my ear. I've been trying to open my mouth as much as I can the last few days so maybe that's what caused it. I notice my jaw is really stiff by the end of the day compared to the morning too from all the talking and opening exercises I've been doing. I can't quite stick a pinky in between yet but I don't know if that's just because of how strong the elastics are or I just have to keep working on it.

I can't wait till my next appointment (2 week post op) so I can get looser elastics and starting eating REAL food!

[Terrishka]

Thanks for the support guys!

It's Day 4 for me and as always I woke up super early (around 5 am). A lot of it is because of discomfort from sleeping upright and instead of one long sleep at the end of the night I end up sleeping for a few hours at a time throughout the day.

Swelling has gone down a tad bit. My left side continues to be much more swollen and tender than my right and I'm wondering if maybe I sleep on it when I nap or if it was harder to operate on during surgery, etc. No sign of bruising yet. I'm going to try rounds of ice packs and heating.

I had a bottle of liquid yogurt today and that was glorious .