Hey Mike
Thanks for the compliment, I'm pretty pleased with how things have gone also! I'm convinced it was the pre-surgery planning. I made my mind up that I was going to do everything humanely possible to make my surgery went well. I quit drinking coffee and all caffiene 4 weeks before, I started a serious vitamin/suppement regimen 6 weeks before surgery under the advice and monitoring of my doctor, and I exercised daily up until the day of my surgery.
I did not do any of these things for my SARPE and it did not go near as well. I do not believe that there is anything else I could've done to make me more surgery ready. Since surgery, beginning the day afterwards I have religiosly taken my vitamins and supplements, to include Bromelain for swelling and Arnica Montana for bruising. I'm still not drinking any caffeine (and have to admit that I really feel better since I quit, even though I love coffee.) I began exercising, taking short walks within 4 days after surgery, and have been exercising regularly since then. That has pretty much been it. I'm convinced getting in good shape and overall good nutritional health was invaluable though.
I should mention that we pretty much eat organic whenever possible, even down to butter, sugar, flour, and meat we eat. All the foods I ate post sugery were organic too. I only had organic fruits, organic milk, and organic vegetables too. I made extra efforts to get protein into my diet several times a day, via protein powder in smoothies. I ground up meat in the magic bullet and added it to everything like soups, etc. Last night I even had some ground up rib eye steak. It sounds sorta gross but OMG it was sooo good! I'm planning to put together a list of stuff I made and tried. Egg flower soup was really good too as the eggs provide a lot of protein. Your body really needs protein to heal and I think the extra effort I have put into getting it into me has paid off. Even at almost 4 weeks post op I'm still doing all of this.
One thing I didn't do was try and lose weight. I lost about 14 lbs in 7 days pretty much by doing nothing. I ate whenever I wanted and whatever was possible to get into myself. I tried to eat every two hours, and I indulged in things like ice cream which I rarely if ever eat, as well as lots of milk, yogurt etc. I never wanted to get weak or feel fatigued. I got a good container of whey protein and added it to all the smoothies or shakes I drank too. I have been tired the first week or two, but never felt weak or shakey at all. I have had really good energy most days, even if I had to take a short nap in the afternoon.
Sorry for the long answer but I really believe that all of this has contributed to my quick healing. Pre-planning made all the difference for me.
Hope this helps some!
Best wishes Brandy!
Moderator: bbsadmin
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Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Pain?
Hey Brandy!
How would you compare the pain of the BSSO/LeForte I to the pain of the SARPE? My OS said that the BSSO typically is more painful than the LeForte I.
BTW, you're looking great! Hang in there.
Phil
How would you compare the pain of the BSSO/LeForte I to the pain of the SARPE? My OS said that the BSSO typically is more painful than the LeForte I.
BTW, you're looking great! Hang in there.
Phil
Please don't apologize for the long answer. ANY details that might help are appreciated. I'm a bit older than you and still have moments of why am I doing this. I need the reassurance that this will be a good experience (okay that might be a bit strong) and not as one person I know personally referred to it as eight weeks of hell.
Mike
Mike
I wore braces (this time) for 1294 days or 3 years, 6 months and 17 days.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
-
Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Hey Mike,
I answered this and then it just disappeared. Honestly I had been told the same thing as you. That this was worse then SARPE, which partly added to my increased fear with this one. Now with that being said, I personally found it to be about the same, and maybe not even as bad as my SARPE. It has its moments for sure.....I mean not a lot of intense pain (at least not for me) but I will add that I do have a pretty high pain tolerance. To me it was mostly just the ongoing nerve stuff that is maddening, and the numbness. I mean you can take like advil, or Aleve etc, but they don't really touch the prickly nerve sensations.
With that being said, feeling those prickly's is a good sign letting you know that things will probably return to normal at some point.
My SARPE was worse because it involved the expansion process which seemed never ending for awhile. Swelling etc this time was actually better then when I had the palate expansion. Day two was my worst and it went right down from there. With my SARPE, it took about 15 days for me to totally get rid of all my swelling. The first few days you mostly sleep a lot, and are just working at getting food into yourself. Plus you have the medicine to take if you need to take it. Today is day 26, and things are so much better. I'm off of pain meds (for 3 days now) swelling is coming down gradually on my left side and inside my mouth, and my tongue is getting much better. Truthfully I have not read about a lot of people who had the tongue numbness to the degree I had it. I can tell you that it is/was the thing that absolutely bothered me the most and made me crazy. It really, however, it has been short lived. I mean I can pretty much live through anything for 3 weeks to a month, its after that that things get rough.
I don't think age is so much a matter as your physical health. I had apnea so it made it really hard to get good sleep and be physcially healthy. I did everything I could aside from the issues that I could do nothing about. Afterwards my sleep greatly improved so the good restful sleep has helped me recover faster and make me stronger. If you don't have this as an issue then you have an advantage over me for sure.
I won't lie to you and tell you it has been a piece of cake, it has had its moments, and while I did not hit a wall as others have, there were days I was worried about feeling these feelings permanently, and looking for the day I would finally get some serious relief. Something I also did, that I think helped a bit was not rely on one pain reliever. I would alternate between Advil, Aleve, and Tylenol. Some days Advil wouldn't work well, but Aleve would work great. Other days Aleve woudn't do anything but Tylenol helped. I think it was useful in helping my body avoid building up a tolerance against one medicine. Also, staying hydrated was really important. I noticed that when I became dehydrated I would start hurting more. Vitamin C helped me feel much better too! I would drink the Emergen C packets 3 times a day. I'm sure all of this is a lot to digest and may even sound a bit overwhelming, but it really was not that big of a deal. I got all my vitamins etc in capsule form so I could add them to smoothies pretty painlessly. I didn't taste them, but did get the benefit of them. I think they were particularly important the first week when eating was most difficult.
Now I have a very progressive doctor and was not banded shut, so I had that advantage over many. I mean I could open my mouth far enough to get a baby spoon in right after surgery. I mean before I was released from the hospital I ate some yogurt and cream of wheat off a spoon. Then used the zip and squeeze for most of the first week due to ease of use and tired muscles. Mental attitude is very important. If you prepare, and make the decision that you can do this and get through it you will be fine. Check out the links on my blog under the MMA survivors. MMA is basically upper, lower, and genio. There are several guys on there that you can check out and read their blogs too. Might make you feel better to see how some guys handled it, rather then all women.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask. I'm happy to help, and will continue to post to my blog how things continue to progress.
When is your surgery?
Brandy
I answered this and then it just disappeared. Honestly I had been told the same thing as you. That this was worse then SARPE, which partly added to my increased fear with this one. Now with that being said, I personally found it to be about the same, and maybe not even as bad as my SARPE. It has its moments for sure.....I mean not a lot of intense pain (at least not for me) but I will add that I do have a pretty high pain tolerance. To me it was mostly just the ongoing nerve stuff that is maddening, and the numbness. I mean you can take like advil, or Aleve etc, but they don't really touch the prickly nerve sensations.
With that being said, feeling those prickly's is a good sign letting you know that things will probably return to normal at some point.
My SARPE was worse because it involved the expansion process which seemed never ending for awhile. Swelling etc this time was actually better then when I had the palate expansion. Day two was my worst and it went right down from there. With my SARPE, it took about 15 days for me to totally get rid of all my swelling. The first few days you mostly sleep a lot, and are just working at getting food into yourself. Plus you have the medicine to take if you need to take it. Today is day 26, and things are so much better. I'm off of pain meds (for 3 days now) swelling is coming down gradually on my left side and inside my mouth, and my tongue is getting much better. Truthfully I have not read about a lot of people who had the tongue numbness to the degree I had it. I can tell you that it is/was the thing that absolutely bothered me the most and made me crazy. It really, however, it has been short lived. I mean I can pretty much live through anything for 3 weeks to a month, its after that that things get rough.
I don't think age is so much a matter as your physical health. I had apnea so it made it really hard to get good sleep and be physcially healthy. I did everything I could aside from the issues that I could do nothing about. Afterwards my sleep greatly improved so the good restful sleep has helped me recover faster and make me stronger. If you don't have this as an issue then you have an advantage over me for sure.
I won't lie to you and tell you it has been a piece of cake, it has had its moments, and while I did not hit a wall as others have, there were days I was worried about feeling these feelings permanently, and looking for the day I would finally get some serious relief. Something I also did, that I think helped a bit was not rely on one pain reliever. I would alternate between Advil, Aleve, and Tylenol. Some days Advil wouldn't work well, but Aleve would work great. Other days Aleve woudn't do anything but Tylenol helped. I think it was useful in helping my body avoid building up a tolerance against one medicine. Also, staying hydrated was really important. I noticed that when I became dehydrated I would start hurting more. Vitamin C helped me feel much better too! I would drink the Emergen C packets 3 times a day. I'm sure all of this is a lot to digest and may even sound a bit overwhelming, but it really was not that big of a deal. I got all my vitamins etc in capsule form so I could add them to smoothies pretty painlessly. I didn't taste them, but did get the benefit of them. I think they were particularly important the first week when eating was most difficult.
Now I have a very progressive doctor and was not banded shut, so I had that advantage over many. I mean I could open my mouth far enough to get a baby spoon in right after surgery. I mean before I was released from the hospital I ate some yogurt and cream of wheat off a spoon. Then used the zip and squeeze for most of the first week due to ease of use and tired muscles. Mental attitude is very important. If you prepare, and make the decision that you can do this and get through it you will be fine. Check out the links on my blog under the MMA survivors. MMA is basically upper, lower, and genio. There are several guys on there that you can check out and read their blogs too. Might make you feel better to see how some guys handled it, rather then all women.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask. I'm happy to help, and will continue to post to my blog how things continue to progress.
When is your surgery?
Brandy
Brandy:
I'm early in the process. In April we started expanding the areas where my pre molars were pulled thirty years ago in an effort to broaden my smile. The holes will be filled with either a bridge or implant once my ortho work is completed. My ortho doesn't want me to meet with the OS until the expansion is complete. Realistically I may be ready for surgery next summer although when we started expansion I was told it would be at least six months before the expansion was completed and then and additional six to 12 months until surgery. I do have a few bite issues that need to be dealt with.
MIke
I'm early in the process. In April we started expanding the areas where my pre molars were pulled thirty years ago in an effort to broaden my smile. The holes will be filled with either a bridge or implant once my ortho work is completed. My ortho doesn't want me to meet with the OS until the expansion is complete. Realistically I may be ready for surgery next summer although when we started expansion I was told it would be at least six months before the expansion was completed and then and additional six to 12 months until surgery. I do have a few bite issues that need to be dealt with.
MIke
I wore braces (this time) for 1294 days or 3 years, 6 months and 17 days.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
-
Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Yeah, honestly it took 14 months to get all the feeling back in my teeth from the palate expansion, and i would not have wanted to have my second round of surgery done until that was all back. I was also in braces a total of about 15 months before the second surgery, so we don't have much more to do on my teeth.
I'm wearing rubberbands to make them hug each other a bit better now, and my left canine needs to be rotated slightly, but my ortho said other then that we are getting close to the end. I would be so happy if I could get them off in the next few months. I still have to go in in September and have the implant base placed. Then 8 months later I can have the actual tooth installed in the implant site. Then I will be completely done.
It is good that you are gathering information ahead of time though. It will give you lots of time to get prepared and be confident in the journey itself. Good luck to you!
Brandy
I'm wearing rubberbands to make them hug each other a bit better now, and my left canine needs to be rotated slightly, but my ortho said other then that we are getting close to the end. I would be so happy if I could get them off in the next few months. I still have to go in in September and have the implant base placed. Then 8 months later I can have the actual tooth installed in the implant site. Then I will be completely done.
It is good that you are gathering information ahead of time though. It will give you lots of time to get prepared and be confident in the journey itself. Good luck to you!
Brandy