To those post-surgery... 1st time looking in the mirror??

[bracedfaced]

For those post-surgery, what was it like the first time you looked in the mirror after surgery? Did you faint, laugh, cry? What were your feelings? Was it what you expected?

[chicago29]

"Holy &$*$^ what did I do"!!!

Everybody has a look out of morbid curiosity. You just have to remember it is all very temporary and you'll get a good idea of how things will look at the 3 to 4 week mark. Although, you're still going to have swelling for months.

[mamaneedsanewjaw]

I didn't look until 2 days post op. I looked pretty much how I felt so I suppose it wasn't that shocking!

[sarahorsomeone]

I barely recognised myself the first time I saw myself in the mirror (the day after surgery) my face was so swollen it was kind of hard to see any of my features; although my swelling went down pretty quickly after the first few days, even my surgeon said I was pretty much a "worst case scenario" for initial swelling. I knew it wouldn't stay like that though so I wasn't too upset.

In fact I'd joked with my orthodontist just before surgery that when I came back to see him (9 days later) I'd look so hideously beaten-up, I'd scare all the patients in the waiting room. So he said he was going to put a sign around my neck saying "Mr ____'s patient", sit me outside the orthodontic department and watch as people turned around and drove home so he'd get the day off (I should point out that he didn't really mean it; I've just been seeing the same orthodontist since I was 12 and we sometimes get a tiny bit silly). I was quite dissapointed when I didn't look all that scary by the time my appointment came round, and deliberatly wore a blouse that showed off my bruises!

By the time I was looking more normal I was delighted with the results, although I was quite worried about my nose for a while because it looked a bit odd with all the swelling, but that sorted itself out after two or three weeks. I was expecting to find it a lot harder to adjust to my new appearance than I did, but even though my results were quite dramatic, I found it quite easy in the end.

[bracedfaced]

I barely recognised myself the first time I saw myself in the mirror (the day after surgery) my face was so swollen it was kind of hard to see any of my features; although my swelling went down pretty quickly after the first few days, even my surgeon said I was pretty much a "worst case scenario" for initial swelling. I knew it wouldn't stay like that though so I wasn't too upset.

In fact I'd joked with my orthodontist just before surgery that when I came back to see him (9 days later) I'd look so hideously beaten-up, I'd scare all the patients in the waiting room. So he said he was going to put a sign around my neck saying "Mr ____'s patient", sit me outside the orthodontic department and watch as people turned around and drove home so he'd get the day off (I should point out that he didn't really mean it; I've just been seeing the same orthodontist since I was 12 and we sometimes get a tiny bit silly). I was quite dissapointed when I didn't look all that scary by the time my appointment came round, and deliberatly wore a blouse that showed off my bruises!

By the time I was looking more normal I was delighted with the results, although I was quite worried about my nose for a while because it looked a bit odd with all the swelling, but that sorted itself out after two or three weeks. I was expecting to find it a lot harder to adjust to my new appearance than I did, but even though my results were quite dramatic, I found it quite easy in the end.

Ha! Sarahorsomeone, your morbidity amuses me greatly!! Glad to hear you were able to make light of it. I could see myself doing something like that! Love it!

[bracedfaced]

Thank you all for your responses. I thought it would be an interesting thread to read everyone's initial reaction! Might make mine easier to handle!!

[badbite]

I am about a week post-op and find myself almost mourning an old me. I look really different, but my profile has drastically improved. I am not sure if I like my front view better, it is just different; I still have lots of swelling though. I am not even sure how good my bite is yet.

[bracedfaced]

I am about a week post-op and find myself almost mourning an old me. I look really different, but my profile has drastically improved. I am not sure if I like my front view better, it is just different; I still have lots of swelling though. I am not even sure how good my bite is yet.

Yeah, I feel I might be the same way when it is my turn. My teeth have changed so much already with braces but that is gradual and so you barely notice the changes. With the surgery, you go to sleep and wake up different...not at all gradual! It is great that you like your profile so much. Hopefully you will like your look head-on as much as you did before, if not better. It seems like once you get past the emotions (through time) most end up realizing they do look better post-op. It's just an emotional rollarcoaster. Happy healing badbite, I would love to see some before/after pics once you are healed up a bit and feeling better. Please post when you know how your bite is doing! I know that once all this is done for me, my bite better be dang near perfect! Lol!

[ColoradoGirl]

Dude, the first time post-surgery that I looked in the mirror, I was so whacked out (it was my first day home) that all I could focus on, ridiculous as it sounds, was my hair. Which, okay, didn't look great, but was not swollen to 4x its normal size and bruised. Heh.

But let me tell you how I feel now--I look in the mirror and see the person I was when I was 12, before my jaw didn't grow and my joint disintigration set in. I see that same girl, only now, amazingly, an adult. I'm nowhere near dazzlingly beautiful, but I do look in the mirror and feel good about myself. *And* my bite is awesome *and* my breathing tube is 3x its former size.

[bracedfaced]

Dude, the first time post-surgery that I looked in the mirror, I was so whacked out (it was my first day home) that all I could focus on, ridiculous as it sounds, was my hair. Which, okay, didn't look great, but was not swollen to 4x its normal size and bruised. Heh.

But let me tell you how I feel now--I look in the mirror and see the person I was when I was 12, before my jaw didn't grow and my joint disintigration set in. I see that same girl, only now, amazingly, an adult. I'm nowhere near dazzlingly beautiful, but I do look in the mirror and feel good about myself. *And* my bite is awesome *and* my breathing tube is 3x its former size.

Ha ha, you made me laugh! But ColoradoGirl, let me tell you, you look absolutely stunning! I remember a post from you where you supplied a link to your before/after pics and I have it stored in my favorites!!

It's funny how you say you now see the person you were when you were 12, only now an adult version. I keep looking at pictures of me as a child/youth...when I did not have a gummy smile, and my ortho says I will probably end up looking like my old self again post-surgery. I fell as a teenager...on my face...stitches in my chin...I remember my jaw being all out of whack but I didn't say anything...they just stitched me up and sent me on my way. Years later, ta-da...overgrown maxilla...

[sarahorsomeone]

But let me tell you how I feel now--I look in the mirror and see the person I was when I was 12, before my jaw didn't grow and my joint disintigration set in. I see that same girl, only now, amazingly, an adult. I'm nowhere near dazzlingly beautiful, but I do look in the mirror and feel good about myself. *And* my bite is awesome *and* my breathing tube is 3x its former size.

It's interesting you say that. That's similar to how I feel; that I look like an older version of how I did before all my teeth and jaw got messed up (I've probably not looked that way since I was 6 or 7). My Mum said that too. I think it's partly why I haven't found it difficult to adjust to my new appearance; in fact I recognise myself in a mirror far better now than I did pre-surgery.

It sounds strange but I always felt a bit disconnected with my own reflection before surgery because my own mental picture of myself was free from jaw issues, even though I knew that wasn't the reality. I almost used to feel a bit surprised when I saw myself sometimes (as if I hadn't realised there was anything wrong) and photos would reduce me to tears ocassionally. It's lovely to be able to look in the mirror and see "me" again at last. It's taken seven years of work to get here, and by the time I get my braces off I probably will have had them for four years in total, but it's been so worth it.

[Laundraholic]

It's lovely to be able to look in the mirror and see "me" again at last.

Awwww... that sounds so wonderful.
I'm hoping to find "me" again after my surgery in March.

[ColoradoGirl]

Ha ha, you made me laugh! But ColoradoGirl, let me tell you, you look absolutely stunning! I remember a post from you where you supplied a link to your before/after pics and I have it stored in my favorites!!

Awww, thanks ever so!

Sorry to hear about your trauma experience. It's weird how the human body will overcompensate for injury--my upper jaw grew at a totally weird angle to try and make up for my lower jaw not growing at all. Thanks, but no thanks, body.

Sarahorsomeone: I totally understand what you mean about feeling disconnected with your reflection pre-surgery--I felt the same way. And don't lets get started on pictures--ugh! I still reflexively raise a hand to my chin everytime someone pulls out a camera--the dreaded profile shot! On FB! Noooo!--but I find I don't need to any more. Even if I don't really like a picture of myself, I don't feel moved to tears these days.

[Christina28]

Oh Yes... To "recognize" the person that was before and now is "back".

[JawFacee]

The first time I looked in the mirror was on Day 2. I prepared myself... I knew I was going to look like Jabba the Hut on morphine. I was preparing myself for the worst... but it wasn't as bad as I had expected. The one thing I noticed was how tired I looked. The area under my eyes was blueish looking from not being able to sleep very well the first night.

I could already tell at that point that I was going to be super happy with the results.