September 2011 Buddies!!!!

[Kristyar0]

Minerva- thanks for the well wishes, I think they worked!

[boatsink]

Marian - sorry for the whole ordeal - how stressful. Looks like today is the day! You'll be fine. Keep us posted.

Kristy - looks like you made it to the other side. Glad you've been discharged and sounds like you are doing well! You think you are swollen now, just wait a few days =).

Jo - looks like your day is coming up soon too! Eep.

[underbiter]

Oh Marian im so sorry i cant imagine how you must be feeling, cancellation was my worst nightmare, im really sorry that its happened to you hope it gets rescheduled for as soon as possible i need my surgery buddy xxx

Jo

[underbiter]

todays the day!! Just had my last drink of water, why is it that the minute you know you cant have it it becomes all you can think about! Leaving for the hospital in half an hour, so ive got half an hour to kill, would have stayed in bed but was wide awake!

Marian i hope everything got sorted for you and your surgery went ahead xx

see you on the other side guys!
Jo xx

ps: everything did get sorted with my surgeon and he confirmed i am having the upper and lower jaw surgery as i thought i was thank goodness!

[boatsink]

Hey Jo! I'm glad everything worked out for you in the end. See you on the otherside! Let us know how things are.

Marian - I haven't heard from you so I'm assuming everything worked out and you are currently recovering?

[Kristyar0]

Boatsink, you were so right! I'm 48 hours post surgery now and more swollen and bruised than ever! But your pics are making me optimistic for recovery. 12 days post op you're looking great.
Keep us updated girls, I can't wait to hear how you guys went!

[Marian]

Guess who's back out of hospital!!

What a nightmare before the op - they were practically at the point of saying please go home - we cannot do the op. The next available date will be sometime in November. I was very emotional and couldn't believe what was happening.

Then in the space of 10 minutes my consultant came in and said we've got you a bed (I asked if I could kiss him!!), they whipped me into a side room, got me into my surgical gown and slippers and off we went down to the theatre. The aenesthesist (?) put a needle in my hand, i remember saying "I feel like I've had three glasses of wine" and then I woke up in recovery.

As expected lots of swelling, and my mouth is very sore - god knows how wide they stretched my mouth. I've managed a yoghurt and some soup so far.

Any advise anyone can give me on sleeping would be very much appreciated. For my night in hospital I didn't sleep at all because I was spitting out blood/saliva and was worried about swallowing it. Last night was my first night at home and I only slept 2 hours and kept getting very sweaty. I read for most of the night and watched tv from 3am.

Isn't it wonderful to get home and update your buddies on archwired.

Marian

xx

[Kristyar0]

Marian, I'm so happy for you that it all went ahead! You poor thing going through all that stress! I didn't sleep in hospital either and was so hot and sweaty! I didn't sleep well at all my first night home. I have always slept on my side, which was just not practical! But yesterday I got out of bed early and stayed up late to tucker myself out. Then I took an end one (painkiller) and went to bed. I got about 6 hours sleep! I was so happy. I slept on my side and today that side of my face is very bruised while the other side is fine. I'm not sure if it's just a coincidence or a result of squashing the swelling on that side if my face.
The thing I am hating is not being able to brush my teeth. I am only banded together, but I am not allowed to remove these before my 1 week follow up appointment. I use my waterpik and rinse with savcol after each time I eat, but it just doesn't feel totally clean!

[Minerva]

Congratulations, Marian.

[Marian]

Had bad ear ache this afternoon. Ice cubes in a plastic bag and wrapped with a flannel was pure heaven and made the pain disappear.

I was getting a little ocean earlier, saying to my husband that I had no bruising - within half an hour of this stupid statement a large bruise has appeared at the bottom of my throat. If the neighbours see me they're going to wonder what hubby has been up to!!

My speech has seriously deteriorated - this morning I could speak, now hubby is looking blankly at me when I make a noise.

Mum and dad are coming round tonight to drop our dog off, god knows what they are going to think!!

Going to bed late is a very handy hint - and one that I will try tonight.

Hubby is drinking a glass of wine - I wonder if that would help with the sleeping situation...

Marian

xx

[gothpenguin]

I thought this would be a good first place to post. My name is Jeff, I'm 35 living in Oxford England. This past Monday I had lower jaw surgery to correct an overbite(9mm apparently) and a genioplasty on top of it(5mm).

So I'm 3 days post-op, swelling is incredible and the worst pain is a killer toothache if I don't stick to my med schedule. Still numb in most places although one portion of my lip has had feeling since I came out of surgery.

My biggest problem right now is that I have removable elastics to "eat". I cut them off but have no idea how to get them back on!! Anyone have these on their front teeth and know how to get them back on?

Cheers

Jeff

[underbiter]

Hey i made it! got home this afternoon after spending one night in hospital, which was not good for sleeping, everytime i drifted off a nurse would come back shine a light in my face and check my vitals so annoying! My journey was pretty good in hospital, got there at 7.15 waited half an hour before getting asked the last minute questions with the anaethetist, i was told id need to have a tube down my nose into my throat instead of in my mouth as they didnt want anything hitting my jaw.

got called for surgery at 9.20 yesterday morning which was pretty quick, i was nervous as hell that last journey from the entrance into the anaesthetic room, my mum came into the anesthetic room i had asked for a sedative which im glad i had, they found my vein quick, added the sedative, then i said bye to me mum n pretty soon after that the sedative kicked in and they began spraying the back of my throat with local anaethetic to numb it, and i had to gargle some stuff as well as swallow it, then they put the tube down my nose, it was ok up until it got to the back of my mouth then i coughed a bit so it was a bit of a struggle getting it down me but i think they increased the sedative because then i must i have been unconscious as i dont remember anything else. it was pretty uncomfortable from what i remember but that was pretty much the worst part.

then i remember coming round in recovery, it was 10 to 3 yesterday afternoon they suctioned a load of blood out my mouth several times, and my nose was bleeding constantly. i was down in recovery for 2 hours as they wanted to sort me out a PCA machine (Patient Controlled Analgesia) a system which meant id press a button and tiny bit of morphine would be administered. at 5pm i was took back to the ward and shuffled onto a bed in a semi private room where there was going to be another person coming in from theatre. and that was about it, i drove the nurses mad asking for juice water and a commode as i insisted i wasnt using a bedpan. im an awkward patient me! the pain didnt kick in for half an hour then i started clicking the morphine.

that was about it til 8pm when my parents went home (my dad had already fell asleep in the chair next to me bed!) didnt get to sleep til about 1am as i was weirdly wide awake. i have a vague recollection of my surgeon coming to see me when i was in recovery to tell me that he couldnt move the top as far as he would have liked (only 3 milimetres) but the bottom jaw had gone back 7 mm so my teeth meet! it seems to have worked but he hasnt put anything on to hold my jaw in place which im concerned about relapse, but i am having elastics put on on tuesday so hopefully that should prevent relapse.

Marian i am so pleased you managed to get a bed and have your surgery cant tell you how worried i was! have you got anything holding you in place on your jaws? xxx


my swelling came out immediately, im wonderin if its because i took the websites advice about pre surgery vitamins and that, this morning the bruising came out and i look like im a distant relation of the elephant man! Everyone has been so surprised how awake i was, but i take steroids for a medical condition and i wonder if theyve helped to stop me being groggy. the weirdest part was my bum was so numb that bothered me more than my face for the first 2 hours, n had to get my mum to rub me bum to get some circulation back lol the nurse walked in and the look on her face nearly had me choking but i darent laugh!

[Marian]

Jo, it's so good to hear from you. I was thinking about you all day on Wednesday, and yesterday.

Here is Friday - we all made it and we're all home!!!!

I don't like the sound of the tube that they inserted in your nose before surgery - they did mine when I was out of it - I am very grateful for that.

I do have elastics from top to bottom - one on each side. The corners of my mouth are quite damaged so it was quite sore when the ortho put the elastics in. I am supposed to change them, but there is no way that I can do that because of the swelling so she has said just to leave them.

Had scrambled eggs last night - yummy. Also had Cow and Gate Spag Bol baby food - also yummy. Will try blended spaghetti hoops today.

I know i sound miserable but I wish it wasn't so hot - I have a cupboard full of soup but it's just not very appealing in this heat. Just had a creme caramel for breakfast - highly recommended!!!!

Off for a shower now - have a great day everyone.

Marian

xx

[underbiter]

Marian, i know what u mean about the heat its horrible, in the hospital they had the heatin on i asked em to bring me a fan but they didnt have one for health and safety reasons(!) the tube going down my nose wasnt pleasant but i only remember a little bit about it and after that i was out for the count so they did there best. managed to get a decent sleep last night, went to bed at 10 and got up at 10 this morning so ive had 12 hours in between waking up for the toilet and having painkillers. i think ive gone through a whole new evolutionary stage these last few days, yesterday i was toad like today im more duck like lol! xxx
the elastics sound fun, ive got to have them put on on tuesday and my ortho is not the most gentle of people so thatll be a bit scary.

[Marian]

So, what have the September buddies had for tea tonight?

I've just had the most delicious jacket potato on earth with an obscene amount of butter. (I had to microwave the life out of it to make it mushy, but with lots of salt it was the best!!!)

Also have (don't tell the hospital) a glass of wine (purely medicinal to help me sleep tonight).

I thought if we all put on here what we were eating (and enjoying) it might give us all some ideas.

Might have to have another jacket potato later on

Marian

xx