June/July 2015 Surgery Buddies

[jaime]

For those of you that are now 6 months (or close to that) post op:

Do you know what size/strength the rubber bands used to keep your mouth shut were? I had one break last night and I immediately emailed my surgeon who said it would be fine until my next post op appointment on Tuesday. Well, another elastic broke today. In the exact same place and configuration as the one last night. I have a ton of leftover elastics from before surgery, so I've used 3 of them to replace the two heavy surgical ones that broke but I know they're not the right strength. I'm a little panicked as everything is closed for the weekend now but I should be fine as long as I don't open my mouth, right?

Yes, I had 3M "Elliott"s, which are medium/4oz strength, 1/4" in size. I'm a little late to this so hopefully your problem has been resolved.

You should be okay, don't stress too much!

[EWUgal15]

Thanks Jaime! Next post op appointment is Tuesday, so you're not too late. I have 3M Bills in place of the two surgical elastics I broke. They're medium strength but a little larger than what you had. I haven't had any problems that I'm aware of other than I can feel a difference between the two different kinds of elastics. At first I was really concerned that I would move something more than I should because of the different elastics, but that has passed now I'm more annoyed that I wasn't given any extra in case one or two gave out. My surgeon is married to my orthodontist....so you'd think he would know just a little bit about elastics.

[EWUgal15]

I was wrong. The Bills are smaller than the Elliot. Fractions are hard

[jaime]

Thanks Jaime! Next post op appointment is Tuesday, so you're not too late. I have 3M Bills in place of the two surgical elastics I broke. They're medium strength but a little larger than what you had. I haven't had any problems that I'm aware of other than I can feel a difference between the two different kinds of elastics. At first I was really concerned that I would move something more than I should because of the different elastics, but that has passed now I'm more annoyed that I wasn't given any extra in case one or two gave out. My surgeon is married to my orthodontist....so you'd think he would know just a little bit about elastics.

It is strange they didn't give you any extras!

I think since you only have to wait a few days that a different size or strength shouldn't be a big deal.

How are you doing? You're out of the worst part the recovery so far, yay!

[EWUgal15]

It is strange they didn't give you any extras!

I think since you only have to wait a few days that a different size or strength shouldn't be a big deal.

How are you doing? You're out of the worst part the recovery so far, yay!

I'm doing really good. I only had my lower jaw done so recovery has been a bit of a breeze. I didn't have any real sleep issues and the major swelling was mostly gone at 10 days post op. I still have some puffiness but only my family notices it. I've still got the remnants of bruising but it's all yellow which takes the longest to clear up. I'm still icing every day, at night to help me sleep (which is new...and weird) and when I get up in the morning to combat the swelling from sleeping. Still using a wedge pillow but I've developed a habit of scooting off of it and sleeping on my side. I have one spot that is tender to the touch which is really weird because it's closer to my ear than it is to my incision sites. As far as numbness goes, it's all localized to my lower lip and chin in kind of a T pattern. It's pretty weird but I've had sensations in it pretty much non stop since surgery. Especially when I'm driving. The no chewing thing doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would and being down 10 pounds is pretty nice. I go back to work tomorrow but I'm working from home so take that for what it's worth.

I was originally told that I would have follow ups weekly for 6 weeks. I had one at 7 days post op and my next one is at 21 days. I wonder if that is because I only had my lower jaw done or if it's because I haven't had much pain. That was the first thing I was asked about and my surgeon seemed shocked when I told him I'd only had 1-2 doses of pain medication in a week.

The worst part so far is not being able to brush my tongue. It feels so nasty. I hate it right now. I hope the number of elastics I have to wear is reduced on Tuesday. I feel like 6 is pretty extreme. And the doubling up goes against all of the orthodontist rules...

[snapdresser]

EWUgal15 - Lol, I did the same thing with my wedge pillow. After a while it got hard to sleep on my back every single night so I'd scoot off and sleep on my side. I still turned out alright WRT to the elastics, my surgeon told me they were just for training the muscles to go to their new positions. If your jaw isn't pulling in a weird direction, I wouldn't worry about it. It seems more art than science anyways; I think Jaime can attest to that There's a huge variation in how surgeons deal with the elastics, it seems. Having a slightly different size or number of elastics should make zero difference as long as your jaw is being pulled in the correct direction.

Nozzelnut - Ok, I'll keep that in mind when it gets colder

My 6-month appointment is Wednesday! I'm gonna bring up my permanent retainer. I also want to ask her about my son, who is also having difficulty breathing through his nose due to allergies if there's a treatment they do early on to prevent long face syndrome. I've heard there is but I'll ask her. She doesn't deal with pediatrics tho, so she might not know. Finished most of the Christmas cards yesterday! Wooooot!! Hopefully you guys' holiday season is kicking off well!

[Nozzelnut]

After my ortho appt today; I still have this freaking expander! And now elastics again; triangle on the left and box/trapazoid on the right.

We talked about the tipping molars and he said how much they're tipping at my next appointment will determine what he uses to hold the expansion while trying to have them move more upright.

So, yay! This was getting old a couple months ago.......

[snapdresser]

Nozzelnut - What did he say were the options for holding the expansion? Just curious.


So my 6-month post-op went well! She said she could tell a difference in how I look from my 3 month post-op, tho I'm sure it's pretty slight. I mentioned that I could still feel where the scars are and she examined them and said they're small lines and look good and that feeling may never go away I'm thinking that over time my mind will just get so used to it that I don't think about it anymore. For now, I think about it several times a day, unless I'm busy with something or eating. It's pretty annoying. She looked at where that cement on my permanent retainer came off and she recommended that I have my regular dentist add some cement to it. She said it's just regular filling material and they should have that on-hand. Apparently she didn't, or she just didn't feel like doing it, or who knows. Also, I told her that my nose is still getting stuffy a lot and she said I should take Zyrtec every day, which I have in the past but I haven't been good about it since at least the surgery. Anyways, she said that's it for me!!! That was my last post-op!!! Now I'm free and clear from anything surgery-related unless I have an issue come up, which seems unlikely at this point.

[Nozzelnut]

One thing I've noticed about the scar tissue... I use smokeless tobacco. The side where I put it in, the scar tissue is virtually gone or flat. The other side still has a bit of the line. Maybe some kind of appliance that would put pressure on the scar would help it flatten out. Like a lip bumper or something...

Snap; he didn't really say... So I'm not sure.

Maybe TPA, lingual arch... Hawley retainer/removable expander so it puts pressure against the teeth at the gum line and the teeth would be able to rotate/tip back to their upright position without collapsing in. Of course I'm not a Dr... I just don't want any steps back right now. One of my biggest concerns going into this was a solid, stable bite; when everything is done. And, having tipped teeth that will always want to return to their upright position, isn't really stable; to me. SARPE isn't completely off the table yet either; that would help with my nasal airway too. It's still not great. I've also read some studies about bonded expanders being used in adults with decent results. I wish my surgeon had expanded my upper when everything was being moved around. I'd probably have my braces off if he did...

[snapdresser]

Or I could pick up smokeless tobacco? Interesting that you've seen that improvement. If anything, I would have thought it'd make the scars worse! Something tells me there's a dearth of info on how to flatten out scars by your gums too. Well, think of it this way, you're giving Jaime some welcome company!

[jaime]

Congrats on being done your appointments, Snap! I didn't have a 6 month post-op but I have a 10 or 11 month one.

Happy 6 months post-op to me today! Crazy it's been half a year, doesn't feel like it at all.

Nozzel, sorry to hear you still don't really have a clear plan of where you're headed in your treatment. That's frustrating. I do appreciate having some braces company, though!!

Not much new from me. Still in class II triangle elastics but apparently things look good. Sounds like all that's left is to close the left side. My ortho still sounds optimistic about it but as you know, I am decidedly paranoid about it.

Still have a lot of tightness in my chin. I'm always trying to "fight" it but it doesn't loosen up any.

I did a video again last night so that's on my YouTube channel if anyone is interested.

I wonder how Kayla is doing???

[jaime]

Interesting development in my treatment!

A few months ago, I had a cleaning at my dentist and the hygienist said my TPA seemed to be embedded in my tissue a bit. I didn't think much of it because it wasn't bothering me, until today when the wire really made itself known. I called my ortho and I was able to get in this afternoon. Ortho took out the wire and said we'll just leave it out for the time being. I'm so friggin thrilled, I want to celebrate with spinach and stringy mozzarella!

I also don't need the class II elastics anymore, I'm back to the one trying to pull my molar down. I'M FREEEEEEEEEEEE. Never thought that "just" having braces and one elastic would feel so amazing.

[Nozzelnut]

Congrats Jaime! That's fantastic news. I hope to be in the same boat soon; my next appointment is January 4th. (at least minus the expander...)

[snapdresser]

Wooooo!!!! That's awesome, Jaime!!

[jaime]

Thanks, guys!!! It's nice to have people to share my joy with, since I know you guys get it.

Hope everyone has a nice Christmas or had a nice Hanukkah or whatever you celebrate, if anything.