12 hours to BSSO ..

Message

#1 Post by **Pablo** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:18 pm

And all of a sudden it's nearly time ... not fully nervous yet but definately feeling a little strange all of a sudden ..

Have been braced for 23 months and the time has just vanished. Having surgery for an overjet and overbite .. Not crazy about posting on boards alot but over the past 2 years this one has helped so much in preparing me that I feel i owe it to future surgery patients to let everyone know how my experience was ..

So the past two weeks i've spent basically eating !!! I feel full !! Think I'll enjoy that while I can .. I've been drinking gallons of water as everyone on here has suggested ( I'm addicted to water anyway ).. Also been taking arnica 30c for the past week as per my surgeon .. Supposed to help with bleeding and swelling but we shall see .. My swelling was quite bad for my wisdom extractions two years ago .. Swelling is temporary so I'm not too bothered about that .. Other than that i have my blender ,, have plenty of supplements stocked .. milkshake type drinks a dissolvable vitamin types .. Also have my zip n squeeze bags ready ( selection of ) and the ZnS jaw raps ..

So thats about it .. Time to sleep .. On the road early enough .. In Ireland lower surgery is two nights in hospital minimum , possibly three.. Doc suggests four weeks off work maybe returning after three .. think I'll take the four !!

#2 Post by **chrisk** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:50 pm

Good luck Pablo. It sounds like you're well organized. It seems like you have a positive attitude towards this, which will really help in your recovery. Try and keep this positive attitude, the surgery and recovery really isn't so bad. Within 10 days most of the major swelling and bruising is gone and you will be ready to face the world again.

#3 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:30 pm

Hey Pablo!
Great to hear your prepared and ready to go. I will send some good surgery vibes for you tomorrow! AND I will definitetly be following your story/progress so be sure and keep us updated ok!

Best of wishes to you!

Brandy

#4 Post by **Daveyboy** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 1:59 am

Good luck Pablo,

It sounds like you're very well prepared so i'm sure you'll sail through!

Dave

#5 Post by **maryjay** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:57 pm

GOOD LUCK Pablo!
you sound very organized and positive, hope your recovery is speedy.

#6 Post by **dapper** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:41 pm

pablo me fellow dub to me your a lucky bastard i cant wait to be where you are i truly hope everything works out for ye good luck

#7 Post by **CeramicLisa** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:37 pm

So why drink so much water? Is there a good benefit to the surgery or recovery??

#8 Post by **CeramicLisa** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 2:51 pm

Thanks for the tip. Surgery for me is on Friday!!!!!! I'm getting excited.

#9 Post by **Pablo** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:52 am

hey there ,, just back from hospital

thanks for all the replies . Well this is day 3 post op and I'd say i'm in good spirits .. The swelling is quite severe but no bruising as of yet. From past experience that will start over the next few days .. I'll go into more detail later on but the first couple of days were not that good .. I mean the pain isn't really an issue as there is none but I had top wisdoms out with lower advancement and that didn't help .. ( All you double jaw surgery people out there , I'm amazed , can't imagine how you did it ..) To me the whole thing has been more of a mind game over the past 3 days .. Having my mouth banded so tightly is definately the most annoying part of all this .. Sorry this post is all over the place , I'm so tired .. The single most helpful tool I had post op is ????? Zip and Squeeze bags ,,, my god I needed those .. could handle liquids from a glass no problem but for breakfast ( weetabix ) I so needed those bags .. Oh and their jaw wraps are excellent too .. much better than the offering from the hospital ..

So thats if for now ..I survived .. just had chocolate milkshake which included chocolate suppliment drink .. And had a bowl of soup with bran and vitamins all be it through one of the ZnS bags ..

Will update again soon , back to the surgeon on Tuesday .. praying for lighter elastics ..

thanks again for all the good wishes

#10 Post by **mfconrad** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 10:40 am

Hang tight and rest well Pablo, things only get better from here!

#11 Post by **Pablo** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 1:53 pm

hey ,

Just a quick update on how things have been going ..

First of all , this liquid diet business isn't as bad as I first imagined. I think the key to it is keeping it as varied as possible .. So nearly a week on liquids and still managing .. My weight is down slightly but I was expecting it to drop slightly.. I know people say you should be able to maintain your weight but it's not possible for me.. Pre surgery I could just eat and eat with no weight gain so I was always goin to drop off on liquids .

Next is numbness .. When I woke up after the op I had numbness all the way to my ears .. Over the next few hours that changed to just the usuall chin and bottom lip. Feeling is returning to the left side more so but I'm feeling alot of tingling and burning sensation in all places .. So fingers crossed. Also the wooden teeth experience can't really be described .. It's bizzare .

Was back with the surgeon today. He wants another week in all these tight bands .. Bite is looking perfect so he's happy ,, and so am I .. Seven more days and they all come off and i can have a good clean up . Think I'm onto elastics i change myself then .. I'm not too bothered , well if it means a really stable result I'll wait another seven days..

So six days post op , swelling is reducing very quickly now and I can see the profile change better .. I'm very happy .. just want to see it all without the bands now ..

Thanks

#12 Post by **CeramicLisa** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 5:09 pm

Your updates have been so helpful. Very good summary of your experience. I'm encouraged. Tell me more about this wooden teeth feeling...

#13 Post by **Pablo** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 5:57 pm

haha ,, wooden teeth

..

I remember reading other peoples stories and that's how they described it .. I mean you can see your teeth in the mirror when your cleaning but your brain isn't feeling anything .. Slowly though , some feeling is returning .. I've noticed that temerature has been the first to return through my lower teeth .. really cold water seems to find a way to register .. Overall it's no big deal really .

#14 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 10:45 pm

Hey Pablo,
Great to hear you are doing so well! Believe me I know what the wooden teeth thing feels like. Had that up top with my SARPE. Glad to hear you are slowly getting some feeling back, that is a plus! Keep the updates coming and stay hydrated!

Oh...glad to hear the liquid diet is not too bad. I think my doctor is a bit more conservative than yours. Wants me in tight bands for 6 weeks!

Brandy

#15 Post by **Pablo** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:48 pm

So the latest news on my recovery ..

Had my second follow up with my surgeon on day 13 post op .. He's very happy with the surgery so all is good from that end of things .. The bad news that I wasn't expecting is that I'm in tight bands for another 2 weeks .. He removed my post op elastics and placed some new ones ( not as many ) in a different configuration.. Worst head aches of all time after this visit .. They've settled down now but so glad I kept some post op pain killers .. So liquid diet all the way .. I was very pissed off but now it's fine.. As with alot of this surgery stuff ,, it's all mind games and stubborness !! I think people who elect for this type of thing must be all quite stubborn in one way or another ..

The swelling is gone now on day 15 except some internal stuff that nobody can notice .. Bruising is all gone also except some on my chest .. Was drinking pineapple juice ( freshly juiced ) so maybe that helped with the bruising .. had read that on here about a year ago ..

Numbness is continuing to improve .. It is a slow enough process but can notice the changes .. Must be patient ..

So thats it for now .. opening your mouth for the first time is quite strange but I actually enjoyed it ....

Just wat to say good luck to anyone who is about to go under te knife .. Just remember that it's all temporary and before you know it things will be looking up .. Positive thinking goes a very very long way .. So does doing your homeowrk on sites like this .. i would have been very lost without all the tips from here!!! Thanks to all those veterans !!!!!!