12 hours to BSSO ..

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#16 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

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

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

#18 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

#19 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...

#20 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 .

#21 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

#22 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 !!!!!!

#23 Post by **science teacher** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:24 pm

YOur post-op check sounds like your doing very well!
You must be pleased.
Kim

#24 Post by **Delag** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:22 am

Great to hear you are doing so well, even though the elastice are so bothersome. Every day that goes by brings yo one step closer to getting those suckers off for good!

#25 Post by **Pablo** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:48 am

I'm just wondering .. Any other lower surgery people develop head aches post op .. day to day things are fine but when I sleep the right side of my face and head hurt .. more so my right cheek area and eye socket .. my gut feeling is it's the elastics pulling differently at night but it's the worst feeling ever .. i don't suffer from headaches at all so it's all new and annoying to me .. Either way ,, one week until the elastics are reduced again .. We shall see ..

#26 Post by **CeramicLisa** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 1:15 pm

I've been having headaches this week also (two weeks post op) and they've never been a problem before. I think it's definitely related to the pressures going on inside my mouth and jaw. There's definitely pain and pressure around my eye sockets. Glad to know I'm not the only one. Most likely it's just due to the swelling and pressure going on.

#27 Post by **Pablo** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 5:06 pm

Thanks for the replies .. Things haven't been so bad the last couple of nights .. Two of the four elastics have broken though so that kinda points to them being the problem in the first place .. So now I've one tight band on either side .. Didn't want to go through the weekend risking the remaining elastics breaking and having a free / open jaw .. ( would be nice to eat though

) Have an appintment with my surgeon tomorrow to put new ones in again .. secretly I'm hoping he might bring my release date forward a few days seens how I was due to see him in another six days before this minor emergency .. not getting any hopes up though .. Besides that things are good .. more feeling in my lower lip but over all my lip feels strange . kinda swollen still , even though it looks fine .. Anyway ,, 3 weeks post op and everday is getting easier and easier .. best of luck to anyone starting out ..

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12 hours to BSSO ..

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