After 2 Surgeries Braces Are Now Off!!!

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#31 Post by **katemm06** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:06 pm

So I just lost my other post I was about to send but here is the latest update:

My ortho gave me lighter and less noticeable elastics to wear. Two for each side for a total of four. Two elastics each go on three teeth to form a triangle. The other two are further in the back of my mouth and are responsible for pulling my lower jaw backward as it is trying to go back to its original place. I have to wear them 24/7 except when eating and brushing

I hate them!!! I have not gotten adjusted to them yet and they are extremely difficult to put in. This is by far the biggest frustration for me right now. It will be interesting to see how I handle eating with these things when I return to work next Monday. They are a lot of work and a major inconvenience!!! I know the end result will be wonderful but it is still hard to know I will have to deal with the elastics for a couple months.

The rest of the recovery is going well. My energy has returned so I am able to be more active once again. The pain on the right side of my face is occurring less and less each day

. I can open my mouth fairly wide for someone who is still not that many days postop and I had no problem allowing the tech to work on me in the ortho's office yesterday.

Check out my latest pics. I actually look normal again...hahaha

#32 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:06 pm

Hey Kate,
Glad to see you are progressing so well, your pictures look terrific! Any word from your ortho on how long you will have to stay in your braces for fine tuning?

Brandy

#33 Post by **katemm06** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:40 am

Yeah, I am doing a tons better

It took a good two weeks before I started feeling like myself again. I'm still glad I took the full three weeks off. After going through that experience I needed some time off to relax and get back into my routine!!!

Denise - The elastics are horrible but what I have been doing is taking them out for breakfast and dinner and sometimes lunch. When I don't feel like taking them out I drink shakes with them in (I know this is not good to do but I can't worry about it). Last night I had a milkshake with the elastics in and just used an oral rinse before bed.

Brandy - My ortho said he needs to see me a few more visits before he can make a determination on when the braces come off. He quoted 6 months which I think is the length of time the majority of surgery people wear them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is all over with by the summer.

#34 Post by **katemm06** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:13 am

Thanks Kiwi! Everything is going well

#35 Post by **katemm06** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 9:31 am

Thanks Linda

I agree ~ Those elastics are annoying little suckers!!

I was exhausted yesterday which I assume is from the diet. I really don't eat that much anymore in between meals with the elastics. I know I will probaly have to increase my food intake when I start work next week as my job can be physically draining.

Here's some good news: I went for another checkup with my OS yesterday and he said that the area where my numbness is has gotten smaller

He told me to close my eyes and then pricked different parts of my face with a needle and asked if I felt anything (he didn't tell me what it was until after!!!) It turns out that I could feel the sharpness of the prick below the surface on different areas of my chin including the center! He feels that this is a sign that the nerves are regenerating. He said that when I start to feel a million pins and needles in my lip/chin area, sensation would return a short time later. I felt a little bit of that on my lip Friday night but it did not last long. It is kind of an uncomfortable feeling which he said is normal.

I still have swelling which will last for several more months according to my OS and I have fluid in my ear from the swelling which he said will clear up in time. My ear is sensitive to loud sounds right now. He said that a warm compress could help with this so I will start using one again. My next checkup with him is in two weeks. So that's about it for now!!!

#36 Post by **katemm06** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:06 pm

I am on the mend...except for one pesky problem....Numbness!!!! I feel like it is the one thing reducing my quality of life...I don't want to keep drooling in front of people

Lucky for me I have a job in which everyone can see my drooling up front and close!!!!

Everytime I think I take a step forward I feel like I take a couple back with recovery. Anyone who is considering this surgery take heed: this is not an easy recovery at all...I had no idea how easy my SARPE was. I thought it would be a similar recovery but I was wrong..it is totally different.

Anyway, I am where I am now and can't do anything different but just cope the best I can (not exactly sure how to do that yet). Wine seems the best bet tonight

#37 Post by **katemm06** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 8:59 am

Linda - I'm sure that in years to come I will be so happy that I got this done especially when I don't have to deal with major dentistry problems. I'm just impatient to get the healing process over with so I can move on to other things. I'm nervous that I won't get my feeling back which makes me feel a little down at times. I know this was a risk going into the surgery but it is one thing to be warned about something and another to actually deal with it. I know that all I can do at this point is wait for more time to pass and do my lip exercises! My os sent a letter to my work saying the recovery is 2 months so maybe by then I will see significant progress.

Sorry for all the complaining!

P.S. (The wine was wonderful earlier in the week

I'm happy to know I can still hold my liquor even on a liquid diet throughout the work day

)

#38 Post by **SDFD TSchott** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:00 am

My girlfriend had jaw surgury a year ago and she still doesn't have feeling in her lips and below her lower jaw, so I'm sure the feeling will come back some time in life, shes only 19 and said she can't feel anything but a very faint feeling!

Great progress in your surgury and I'm sure there will be loads more ahead of the road!

SDFD TSchott

#39 Post by **katemm06** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 1:17 pm

SDFD TSchott- Your girlfriend sounds similar to me with the numbness in my lower lip and chin area. Is eating still a problem for her or has she just adjusted to it?

#40 Post by **SDFD TSchott** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 4:47 pm

Not sure about that, she seems that she eats pretty well meaning she has adjusted to the numbness!

SDFD TSchott

#41 Post by **katemm06** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:02 am

Hi there,

It has now been one month since my surgery

I am glad to have the month of January behind me!

Yesterday I had a postop visit with my OS. He said that everything looked great, that there was still some swelling on my face but that it would go away in its own time. I told him about the numbness I still feel and he seems to think that sensation will return around month 2. He said that numbness could take years to come back but that sensation will be quicker to return, whatever that means

Maybe he means I will start to get a longer sensation of pins and needles than I currently do now?

He also feels that my ortho needs to adjust the elastics again because the back teeth don't seem to be meeting properly even though there are two elastics far in the back. I see the ortho in a week and will mention this to him then.

I didn't think this would ever happen but I have gotten used to putting the elastics in and taking them out. It took a while (as you all probaly know from my posts!

) for me to get the hang of it but I finally did. I just hope my ortho doesn't complicate my newly learned elastics routine next week!!!

My diet has been good too. I have remained eating soft foods (all at home) but ventured out a little bit: Girl scout / bakery cookies (microwaved of course!), cheese puffs (waited as they got soft in my mouth), french fries (did same thing), raviolis, eggplant, rice, chili. Haven't got up the nerve to do this in public yet..I guess all in good time!

#42 Post by **decisionmade** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 12:58 pm

hi kate! you look great I just checked out your pictures!..congratulations!!..I was taken aback at first -there is a definate resemblance between the two of us...wow!...
I'm still thinking of getting my chin worked on after I live without the braces for a bit and see what I think..

Again congratulations you look beautiful!

DM

#43 Post by **katemm06** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 4:21 pm

Thanks so much DM! That's funny that you saw a resemblance, who knows maybe we are even distant relatives

I remember having extended family in New England although I haven't seen them since I was a kid.

Guess you are probaly counting down your debracing now, huh??!! It's almost over for you!! Hopefully by the summer I will be finished too which is something nice to look forward to. If your chin still bothers you then consider getting it fixed down the road. I really love my new chin especially my profile. It was a subtle change that most people in my life don't notice which is fine with me. I like it because it looks so natural.

Tomorrow is my next appt. with the ortho. Hopefully he is happy with what he sees. I would love to get rid of the elastics but somehow I think that won't be happening yet since my teeth are still not meeting in the back.

#44 Post by **katemm06** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:25 pm

Hi Everyone,

Nothing too major to report. My ortho last week told me that he wanted me to keep the elastics in my mouth for another four weeks. It will probaly be more like 5 weeks since I couldn't get an earlier appt. The position of the elastics did not need to be changed he said. He told me that he wants me to eat with them in so that I don't take them out for too long. I thought that was a little weird for him to say but the truth is that I was doing that a lot of the time already! It may not be hygenic but I do notice a big improvement in the positioning of my lower jaw. It's much more pushed back now than it was in the days following my surgery. So that has to be progress!

#45 Post by **katemm06** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 5:22 pm

Hi There,

I know I haven't posted in a really long time so I thought I would give an update: Today is my three month anniversary since having the surgery. Things in my opinion have not gotten worse or better. I am still numb on my lower lip, chin, and lower teeth. I think I may be having a little more sensation coming back on the chin and lower teeth but the lip is at a complete standstill. I'm glad that I had the surgery but the side effects have not been completely easy to deal with. I still drool if I'm not fully concentrating on keeping my lips pursed together. If I'm lucky I will feel the drool run down my chin and be able to quickly wipe it. If I'm not lucky it will stay on my chin the whole time or just right under my lip until I get a chance to look in a mirror!!!! No one says anything but it's still embarrassing. I also constantly get food stuck on my lip and a lot of times people just let me talk with it right there!!!!

The other difficult thing is the elastics. I was told to wear the elastics for another 6 weeks because my midline is still off which was disappointing. I try to wear them when I can but it is difficult to wear them 24/7. When I did wear them all the time my ortho did not even believe me!!!! I'm getting to the point where I just want the braces ripped off my teeth. I know I have come a long way but I feel like I am getting to my breaking point with all of this. While it might sound vain I find the elastics to be extremely unattractive and I don't feel like I have much self-confidence when they are in. They also break and stain so easily and it is not always convenient for me to put them back in. I feel like things have taken a toll on me emotionally.

I'm sorry for complaining but I just feel so unhappy with this whole process. My ortho thinks that sometime in the summer he might have the braces off (which is promising) but he is such a perfectionist that I could see myself wearing them for even longer. I've been in braces for more than 2 years already! Will it ever end?