Metal Mouth Message Board

WOW!!!! i never thought how wierd it was going to be to see how others react when they see me for the first time after double jaw surgery....
i am 2.5 weeks post op still have some face swelling, my lips are still swollen and still dont have complete control of them, and today was the first day i took my girls to school since before surgery. The reaction i had from people was different,,,, some asked if i had plastic surgery, some you could just see the shock on their face, it is an odd feeling, i dont look scary anymore(or i woldnt have went out yet) but i also lost 14 pounds so my face looks skinny, the OS moved my bottom jaw forward 1 cm so i no longer have a double chin and actually have a chin now....and tipping up my upper jaw as caused my nose to change for the better
how do you react to other peoples reactions?

I'm supposed to be getting double-jaw surgery to correct an underbite.
Those close to me (including some co-workers know exactly what's going on -- so there will be no surprise when I come back).

This may sound a little weird, but I had been planning to get a haircut anyways, so I'm just growing my hair out until the surgery date and then will get the hair cut during my time off work.

So I'll be going from really long one-length hair to a much shorter hair cut with severely blunt-cut bangs (which I had wanted for a long time, but thought it would accentuated my very prominent jawline).
So I'm sure some people (who I don't know very well) will realize I look different, but won't know if its just because of my hair or because of some other reason

Hold your head high and laugh at them. Honestly, since the healing process took awhile and I was so concerned about talking and eating normally again, it turned out that I didn't care about people's reactions as much as I thought I would.

I also had changed my hair. It had been bleached blonde which I kept because it took away from my horrible face pre-surg. After surgery, I went back to my natural dark hair. I looked so different that I would often walk right past someone I knew who did not recognize me which I found very amusing. Some people would notice the hair color change but not the different face(go figure?) and others said my face looked tight like I had plastic surgery. It didn't bother me though. The only times I felt awkward was when I was trying to communicate something and could not speak very well....or trying to eat in front of others.

At the end of the day, although healing and sometimes feeling physically/mentally/emotionally exhausted, I knew I had done the right thing for me and it was something I had wanted and prepared for years. I trusted that in the end, everything would fall into place. I realized that whatever other people think about how I look is really none of my business and focused all my energy on myself and healing. If others are going to make judgments based on little info....just flash them a smile with your new mouth!

Blessings on your recovery.

thanks for your words of encouragement Ozzysmom!!!
i know i didnt the right thing and only after 2 weeks post op i can already see the new me and so far i like it....
i have had someone ask me if i had plastic surgery too funny

i look forward to being able to talk normal....
i see the shock on peoples face,people that knew what i was doing and why and it makes me smile ( well not really still have control of my lips) thinking to myself what did you expect i had bone removed and my jaw moved forward 1 cm....one of my very good friends husband stopped in last night and said i look so much younger that was awesome!!!!

i meant i did the right thing

Have to echo OzzysMom's post by getting yourself through the healing process and thinking nothing of peoples reactions will make this alot easier.

We all react in similar ways. When people have a surprised look and stare at my chipmunk face, i let them do just that - it was expected. I've been shopping, went to the barbers on Saturday explaining to him i had surgery
was interesting being banded shut so had conversations with gritted teeth.

I am also at 2.5 weeks but i'd gone into the Orthognathic process prepared, knowing and accepting the complications and discomforts along the way nothing surprised me since i read numerous Orthognathic blogs,viewed youtube videos and the posts on this forum which made me less unsettled for the surgery. We are experiencing the same as previous members so i felt that's a good sign so no complaints from me and take each day as it comes.