May 2010 Buddies

Message

#1 Post by **charlsie142** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 11:05 am

I see March and April surgery threads, so I thought I'd start a May surgery buddies thread. Anyone else out there?

I'm scheduled for May 11th to have upper (Lefort I) and lower (BSSO) surgery. Not sure on a lot of the details, but it's all to fix a gummy smile and retrognathic lower jaw (among other things). I have my pre-op appointment on April 29th, so I will hopefully know a lot more then.

Hopefully there are others out there so we can keep updated on each others' progress during our recoveries.

#2 Post by **marycotter5678** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 5:46 pm

Hi there! I'm scheduled for May 4th but not 100% yet..

#3 Post by **charlsie142** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:02 pm

Mary,

I knew there had to be someone else...I was feeling very unloved.

What are you supposed to have done?

For some reason, I'm really starting to get anxious about the surgery. For the last 18 months, I've felt like it couldn't come fast enough and I was just ready to get on with my life. Now..I still want it done, but the reality is setting in that this is really happening to me. I'm sure this is normal. Hopefully.

#4 Post by **marycotter5678** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:45 am

I just came back from the OS now.. confirmed for May 4th.

I have an underbite with slight open bite and asymmetry. I'm supposed to have a Lefort I and BSSO. They are planning on bringing my top jaw about 3-4mm forward and bottom jaw about 5mm back.

I can definitely relate to feeling anxious. I have been waiting for this procedure for so long and couldn't wait to get it over with but now that it's approaching I am anxious.. excited but also nervous and a little worried, especially about losing weight because in the past few months I unexpectedly lost weight and now I'm underweight =/

#5 Post by **blindboarder2008** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 5:17 pm

best of luck may surgery buddies! i remember how anxious I was when i was getting ready for surgery and the days leading up to surgery!!!!! take good care of yourself!!!

#6 Post by **revolutionary** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:47 pm

Hey Mary -

I had the same issue as you - an underbite with a crossbite and slight open bite, and I had my upper/lower jaw surgery on 3/18. There's a link to my before/after pictures at the end of the March 2010 buddies thread if you want to see!

I was also a bit underweight before my surgery - I was about 5'8" and 115 lbs, and after 3 weeks of liquid diet I'm barely hovering above 100 today - and I still have another week to go! It is really not a pretty sight for me to be barely 100 lbs - and I am 6 inches taller than you!

I also had anxiety issues which kept me from digesting properly - everything also pretty much just "runs through me" without stopping - and on top of that I'm a finicky eater. So the diet has been tough, but not impossible... And I am determined to pig out and gaining the weight back as soon as I start even soft foods next week.

So yeah - I am a bit weak and tired being so thin now, and the diet sucks. But the happiness and confidence and self-respect I feel now that I am not ashamed and disgusted by my own face is worth every minute of it. Don't stress too hard. It is a big surgery, but if you feel anything like the way I did before I had it, then it will all be worth it.

#7 Post by **nineeyes** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 11:22 pm

I lost about 12 pounds in the first 3 days, but was able to gain about 5 of that back over the next 5 days. I just started adding ice cream to most of my meals and drinking sugary drinks whenever I was thirsty.

#8 Post by **marycotter5678** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:00 pm

Revolutionary, I was following your story under the March 2010 thread. Your after shots look amazing! I hope my results are as great as yours, since we had the same type of bite issues.
Regarding the weight, I have seen a naturopath a couple days ago and she gave me some digestive enzymes and also some stuff for anxiety. Hopefully this will help me gain a couple lbs before the big day. I am just trying to stay positive because I know that is key to having a good experience with this process.

#9 Post by **BracketRacket** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 2:47 pm

I guess I'm officially joining the club -- SARPE and wisdom teeth removal on May 27.

#10 Post by **charlsie142** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:47 pm

Welcome to the May club, BracketRacket!

Can't speak for SARPE, but my wisdom teeth extractions were pretty easy to deal with. I had to be anesthetized just for them to be removed since mine were impacted and one was even growing around my jaw bone so they had to take a piece of that out. I know there are lots of people who've had SARPE on these boards as well.

Blindboarder--thanks for the warm wishes!

I'm two weeks away from surgery as of tomorrow, and the nerves are definitely kicking in much more than before. Luckily, I have lots to keep me busy these days (I'm in graduate school), so that helps some.

Mary--you're just over a week out- how are you hanging in there? My hospital and OS pre-op appointments are this week, so I think things will seem even more "real" after that. Hope you're doing okay!!

Yay for May!

#11 Post by **marycotter5678** » Sun May 02, 2010 3:20 pm

My turn on Tuesday =) I will update as soon as I am able to. Wish me luck !!!

#12 Post by **BracketRacket** » Sun May 02, 2010 3:37 pm

Lots of good thoughts coming your way! ((((hugs!))))

#13 Post by **charlsie142** » Sun May 02, 2010 7:01 pm

Good luck marycotter! Definitely let us know how you're doing when you can! Hope you're able to relax and have some good "last" meals in the mean time!

Mon May 03, 2010 6:52 pm

best of luck mary!!! see you on the other side!!!!!

#15 Post by **marycotter5678** » Wed May 05, 2010 12:20 pm

Hey guys. I just got home like 2 hours ago. My surgery started at 8am yesterday and lasted 4 hours. Everything went well according to the doctors. I woke up around 12:30, feeling no pain and overall much better than I expected. Although my arm was killing me, probably from the position it was layin gin during surgery. I was taken to recovery and stayed there until 8pm! Mostly because they didnt have a room available. I was in a good mood yesterday with no pain and some congestion. I was making jokes and trying to laugh and everyon ethought I was doing great. When I was taken to my room for the night however, I started getting more swollen and my congestion got really bad - I felt like I couldnt breathe so the nurse did all sorts of things to make it better but I still didnt get any sleep at all. In the morning they took x-rays, took off my bandages and took out the cheek blood drains. They also cleaned me out a little bit which made me feel better. I left the hospital between 12-1pm. Right now, I am not having pain but am really swollen and congested and it is difficult to swallow. Yesterday I didnt eat anything. Today I had broth in the morning and a protein water drink just now. I am hoping to get some sleep since I havent got any but I am not really sleepy so dont know if I will fall asleep. My lips and corners of mouth are very irritated with little bumps on them and they hurt. I am numb in my chin and bottom lip but everywhere else I have feeling.
Inside my mouth, I have a splint which is extremelly annoying and probably the worst part about this besides the congestion. It makes it really hard to swallow and my tongue keeps getting stuck to it. Its supposed to come out in 3-4 weeks!
Anyway, just wanted to post a quick update. All in all, I expected worse.
I will post pictures at a later date.