Smile's Recovery: "Did you just say TPA?"

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#31 Post by **smile** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:48 pm

Meryaten - thank you for the support dear! You're sucha sweetheart and I love this board for building such a sense of community. =)

anabel - if I remember correctly, you'll be undergoing upper/lower/genio as well right? And just a few days after my own surgery too! Thanks for the good wishes and same goes for your own surgery a few days following mine!

#32 Post by **anabel** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:44 pm

Yep, I believe you'll be passing the torch to me. You'll probably be hitting the wall as I'm just getting started. Wahoo!

#33 Post by **smile** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:52 pm

Lol, it's like the cycle of life ain't it. =D

#34 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:00 pm

Wow! Meryten,
How did I miss that?? Sounds like you are doing incredibly well which is wonderful! You must be so glad that the actual surgery is over huh? I know when I had my SARPE recently the swelling lasted for about 10 days, however, by 2 weeks I was looking pretty normal again. I too am impatient and it was hard to wait for it to go away. I used a ton of ice like Carissa, then switched to the warm packs. I think it helped a lot! Within 4 days most of my swelling was down, mostly it was just those few places that it persisted in for about another week. After 48 hours of ice packs the warm packs felt so nice. They helped a lot with my pain too so perhaps they will prove to be more soothing to you also, even in the warm weather you are having.

I was looking at the changes in your arch and was just floored at how wonderful it looks now! It is amazing how it has been transformed!

Glad to hear you are doing so well, eating, and even opening your mouth a bit! You are like a poster child for orthonathic surgery! LOL...
May I ask what a mandibular osteotomy is? Is that like a SARPE just done during surgery?

I certainly hope I do as well as you and Carissa! You have both been so inspiring! I'm going to take my laptop with me to the hospital too!

Thanks for the updates though it really does help me (and I'm sure others) to feel more confident and relieved about our impending surgerys. Keep up the great healing!

Brandy

#35 Post by **anabel** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:56 am

Meryaten, thank you for the advice! Mostly I'm worried about taking care of and being around my son, who is 2. My hubby and I joke about how he has managed to make things like snuggling and reading into a contact sport. Very sweet but very active. How do you avoid physical contact with a child without upsetting him and wearing hubby out? Fortunately for the first week my son will be staying with my mom. If he can last that long. Or if she can. We'll see!

#36 Post by **smile** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:26 pm

Meryaten - don't worry, I'll be taking it easy. =) Teenagers are good at stuff like that.

Just came back from the cleaning at the new dentist - man, she's good! I'm so firing my regular dentist. My teeth have never looked so white and it didn't hurt like my old dentist! I'm so happy at how good they look. Unfortunately, a bit of my filling has fallen off my molar and I have to go back tomorrow to fill it in. Ah, but that's life I suppose.

I'm psycheed! Two days!

#37 Post by **smile** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 9:30 pm

Thank god for good dentists or what Meryaten? =] I haven't planned anything yet.. I've been eating pretty well this week that I don't know if tomorrow will be extra special

. I'll have to see what I'm in the mood for tomorrow. We're probably going for lunch and dinner tomorrow because no one in the family is big on cooking.

The countdown's really on now.. I'm so excited - I don't think I'll be able to sleep on Thursday. No one in the family understands my excitement.. Hello CHIN!

#38 Post by **nvcarissa** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:12 pm

Let me second Meryaten's advice regarding doing anything major for about two weeks. Like her, I was able to ease back into work and this really has been my first full-on week of meetings, phone calls, traveling, hauling signs, working with my volunteers, etc. My first week post-op I was pretty much off the grid, taking vacation time. The second week was the end of the month and the 4th of July, so that gave me some squosh room to ease back in. Week three (now) finds me with a lot more energy and a pretty positive outlook, the 'no chew' diet is more of a nuisance than anything. I just got back from an evening meeting 35 miles from home where I hooked up with an activist, a county party chair, a volunteer coordinator and arranged for a candidate to speak at another meeting. And driving home I had that usual "wheee, I really love my job and the people I work with" feeling that often comes to me after these sorts of events. A week ago it would have wiped me out to have gone all day and into the night like I did today. Best advice: Pace yourself and listen to your body. When it wants a nap, give it one.

#39 Post by **smile** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:46 pm

The filling went smoothly. I had a great day with lots of great food. Just came back from dinner - I'm stuffed. I can't believe it's MY turn now.. just a few hours now. (8-ish)

Wish me luck.. and I'll see you folks on the other side. =] Expect an update soon!

#40 Post by **nvcarissa** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:26 am

I had a meeting last night or would have wished you luck then. I know you are "there" already and am anxiously awaiting your return. See you on the other side!!

#41 Post by **smile** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 3:47 pm

I am alive! It was not an easy 1st night though. I am back home in one piece (sort of) and feeling much much better now. I would update longer if my keyboard is not acting funky! (It now types extra letters. This took 10 times longer to type than it would normally because I had to go back and fix it.) Ecxpewxcvt an updfsatwe wehwen I xcvan dfinsdf an ewxctera kweyboaresdf lyintera aeroundsf thwe housdwe. (That said: Expect an update when I can find an extra keyboard lying around the house.)

#42 Post by **anabel** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 4:01 pm

Yay, you're back! When you can, you'll have to give all the gory details about the first night. Until then, take care!!

#43 Post by **nahky** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 5:12 pm

Glad your well Smile

Look forward to your updates

#44 Post by **smile** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 6:58 pm

Ah, found myself a working keyboard, albeit very old. My thoughts may be very disorientated and long-winded but feel free to read on anyway.

When I got to the hospital, I was asked to change into hospital gowns around 6:50-ish. I was in a room (the pre-surgical room?) where they put the IV in me and gave me a few pills. I was told the surgery would start 7:45 and end around 9:45. I'd be in the recovery room until 12, then I'd move to my hospital room. So around 7:45, I was wheeled to the OR. I don't remember too much about it. The room was really cold and metall-y. I remember my surgeon asking if I was excited and that they'd take good care of me. I also recall the anesthesiologist joking that the nose drops he's going to be giving me would be the worst part of the surgery becasue they taste bitter. This is the last thing I remember before waking in the recovery room.
I have no idea if my surgeon talked to me after the surgery because I have no recollection of it. In the recovery room, I remember pain. I recognized the people who were waiting in the pre-surgical room were in the recovery now as well. Someone soon came over to give me something for my pain. I had this really hard ice-y pack around me that was very uncomfortable. They took it off. A bit later I remember blood - but I didn't know where from. My nose? My mouth? I think it was my mouth - either way, someone helped me into a new gown because I had gotten blood all over it. Soon it was time to be wheeled into my hospital room. My room had 2 beds and 2 recliners. No one shared the room with me that night though (which I'm happy about). My parents took over the recliners. The hospital bed I didn't find to be all that comfortable. Because I kept bleeding through my stitches (I think I'm a bit of a bleeder) they gave me this dentist-like-suction to suck all the blood from my mouth. I bled for a while - I think I stopped the next morning. I've alawys thought that I was a slow clotter but doctors never confirmed it so I thought I was fine? But I guess not.
I had drains on me and big BIG bandages over them. The bandages were very princess leia-like, so definitely no MP3 player for me. No ice either - isn't that odd? I couldn't feel anything below my eyes right after surgery. But feeling regained in my lower lip and tongue shortly. I can drink out a cup and a spoon now, although I could only use a syringe at the hospital. I coudln't really talk after surgery - my throat felt tired and it took too much effort. I wrote everything down. I could talk in the morning though, although it still takes a bit of effort to understand me. My lips are huge by the way! It's unreal. I did a lot of saline rinses at the hospital as well.
I think the nurses at the hospital I was at don't see too many orthognathic patients - they seemed unsure what to do with me most of the time. I didn't need them much though - only to head off to the washroom which was hard to do with my IV and my drain.
I didn't have too much difficult breathing - the sinus drops helped a lot. The only thing that worried me a lot yesterday was all the bleeding. I slept pretty well even though the nurses came in every few hours to give me more morphine and check my vitals. My blood pressure was really low during the night - it was a tad worrying. It was slightly low in the morning - 100/60 or so. But not as low as the night. I never felt any nausea - never felt sick walking to the washroom. My parents apparently spent the night suctioning blood out of my mouth but I slept through most of it. Bless their lil hearts.
I woke up in the morning and left around 12. The morning had a few things in store for me - such as removing my bandages and drains. Removing drains smart! I have stitches with bandages over them right now where they used to be. The thing about the drains is that they hurt in two ways - removing them and also because I'm a slow clotter. After they removed them they had to apply pressure to it and especially hard pressure on me! Ouch. My poor jaws. The bandages weren't fun either - they had caught a bit of my hair. Oh, and after removing the IV they had to put a bit of extra pressure on my arm as well so that wasn't fun either. I also had a shot in my thigh/hip that apparently helps swelling in the morning.
So now I'm home - mostly drinking water, broth, and gatorade (ensure is a bit thick - am I the only one that thinks that?) watching TV, icing, and taking my pills. I can't meet my molars together because of the swelling.

And what else sucks? The fact I can't open my mouth wide enough to see how they placed my elastics - the stitches are too raw still so I'm waiting them out a little bit. And my teeth on the upper arch look less straight now? Expanding the arch has left them a little differnt I guess. The tylenol 3's I've been given has been taking care of the pain. I don't feel very lethargic so I assume I'll be walking starting tomorrow. (I'm just feeling rather lazy today.) I should start working on my jaws but I'm scared to hurt the stitches to be honest.
All in all, I'm glad to be home. I like running to the washroom without worrying about tubes and having stuff to do like post on archwired. I'm glad it's all over. I'm just glad..

Hopefully I don't look too swollen for too long.

If you got through my long and whiny post, I commend you!

#45 Post by **anabel** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 5:47 am

Oh, you really have been through a lot, wow. You did a great job of painting the picture of what it was/is like for you. I bet you're wanting to throttle the anesthesiologist for saying the nose drops would be the worst part. I hope today goes well for you!