Surgery April 22nd! Need advice for post-op! REALLY SCARED!

[ssspidermom]

I am scheduled for upper jaw (Le Forte I) on April 22nd. I have degeneration of the left TMJ and an open bite. I am glad to get it scheduled. But I want to know what people recommend for comfort after surgery.

Also, any comfort and reassurance would be very welcome!!

[spartanfan72]

I am scheduled for upper jaw (Le Forte I) on April 22nd. I have degeneration of the left TMJ and an open bite. I am glad to get it scheduled. But I want to know what people recommend for comfort after surgery.

Also, any comfort and reassurance would be very welcome!!

I had a 3-piece LeFort I done on Feb. 19th. They widened/rotated/moved foward my upper jaw.

Nothing done to the lower jaw or chin.

The first week is the worst.....my best advice is to eat/drink as much as possible even though you won't feel like it.

I was hospitilized a week after my surgery for severe dehydration. I had a nosebleed that wouldn't stop and they packed my nose. All I wanted to do was sleep, so I wasn't eating or drinking anything...I just didn't feel like it.

This coming Tues. I will be 4-weeks post-op. I'm pretty much 100% again...still some swelling & numbness, but nothing major.

While I wouldn't jump right back and do it again...the recovery is fading quickly from my memory like a bad dream.

Take it slow the first week...pamper yourself...eat/drink as much as possible. Once you get past that first week...it's all downhill.

GOOD LUCK!!!

[ssspidermom]

Thanks so much for the encouragement and advice. I will definitely be sure to eat and drink enough. That is good to know.

They are doing this procedure outpatient, in their office, not in the hospital. I will come home mid-day! I don't like hospitals, so I guess I'm glad, and it will cost less, so that's also good, since I have a very high deductible.

I live almost one hour from the doctor's office, but we have a hospital 1 mile from my house, so if there is an emergency I can go there : )

[freerideuk]

hey am quite a couple months out of surgery now like 5 or something and i must say at the time surgery is a little rough

not due to pain i experienced very little just you will be quite tired for the first couple a days and when its hard to eat you get angry and frustrated easy soo it is good to have someone around for the first week just to cheer you up and tell you everything is ok

apart from that get alot of pillows in and pack your bed up to make it as comfy as possible soo you can get lots of sleep post op as you will want to sleep alot

get in alot of soft food for the first few days even stuff like pasta/spagetti just so you have lots of choice cause the same thing over and over again just makes you want to cry haha

and lots of movies and tele is about all i needed because after two weeks i was out and about again and bk to my normal self still a little swollen but at just over two weeks post opp being 18 i was bk out at the clubs haha

xxxxxxx

[mmh]

Good luck, ssspidermom! I recommend for comfort after surgery lots of pain relief - make a note of what you have and when (keep it handy) and read the packets to make sure you're not having too much. Ask your dr if s/he can prescribe you complementary pain relief (that you can take without overloading on too much of the same type), so you can alternate and manage the pain. You may be lucky and not find it too bad, but I found it quite painful (upper brought forward and lower rotated) and some of the pain relief didn't agree with me. Trial and error is the only way, but having a few options is very useful.

Also, I would prepare and freeze some meals that you can microwave - minimal effort required to eat, otherwise you won't feel like it. Stews with well cooked tender meat and vegetables that you can blend to a pulp (with mashed potato, with added cream, milk, butter etc to smooth it out and keep it all soft). Soups (tinned or homemade and frozen). Custards, smoothies etc, a blender is very useful. So is someone to help you out for the first few days/ week or two.

And of course, a comfortable bed - stock up on pillows (or borrow some), I used lots! I found a portable cd player (to listen to books) was quite a good distraction (thanks Delag for that tip the night before surgery!!) or an ipod with your favourite positive songs helps too.

Finally, if "ssspidermom" alludes to you having children (young?) make sure you have someone who can help you out with things that you need to lean over to do - like bathtime, making beds, cleaning up etc. And initially, if you're very swollen and feeling crappy, someone (plural) who can help with drop off and pick up for school, and after school play dates/ care, so you can try and rest up. I found because I had a splint in that made it hard to talk and I was very swollen and bruised, i wasn't all that keen in appearing in public (particularly around my young kids' school!!) for the first few weeks, but maybe that was just me being a bit precious (and admittedly, I was prone to puffiness, some people just swell up more than others).

You'll be fine, the first week is like something you can't really imagine, but then it gets better day by day, I'm now four months post op and lo and behold my braces are even off!! Life is good. Good luck. mmh x

[loulou123]

I had lower surgery and wisdom teeth removed, not upper but heres my opinion anyway.

Stock up on soft foods, as someone else said it helps too keep your spirits up if you have different things to choose from.
Also have plenty of different drinks, before op i was a diet coca cola addict (i know its bad for braces etc) but since surgery i havent drunk any so have different things to choose from.
Lip balm is a livesaver, i found the thing that worked best was simple vasoline.
I dont know if its the same for upper, but i needed clothes with a big neck opening as i was very swollen and hated putting anything tight near my head/neck (perhaps im just weird tho!)

Ive had a pretty rough ride after surgery, but id still say one of thw worst bits was the anxiety of waiting for the operation to happen, so i no how your feeling.

[Andantae]

Hi sspidermom!

I'm not "on the other side" yet as we say as my surgery is this Summer, but as Meryaten et al suggest, it's a good idea to start a list of supplies & preparations ahead of time so you can minimize stress and distractions post surgery.

A couple things to add to your list is a baby spoon and baby toothbrush. Also, I just found a wonderful adult size sippee cup at a health food store which I will use after the zip & squeeze phase. I think it holds up to 16 oz and the lid has a horizontal, oval shaped opending more for an adult sized mouth.

Best wishes and keep us posted!

[ssspidermom]

Thanks for all the great ideas and encouragement! Y'all are the best! I am keeping a list of things to have around for post-op. You gave me many things to add to the list.

Did anyone order a wedge pillow for sleeping? I'm wondering if they are helpful, or a waste of time.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for making me feel like I am alone.

And, yes I have 4 children! But my three boys are between 14 and 16 and are a big help. My daughter is away at college. Boy I'm glad I'm not doing this when they were younger. I would need MUCH more help then I will now.

[fromjersey]

Spidermom: I think I had it easy. I only had sliding genioplasty (somebody saws your chin off, that's all, then they put it back where they want it to be). I was outpatient, went home a few hours after my one-hour surgery.
I liked Zip-N-Squeeze bags and I made lots of smoothies. I had a head wrap, didn't have much swelling and only for a few days.

I did get a sore throat from the breathing tube, (that was awful for about a week) also an allergic reaction (big red itchy rash) from adhesive tape. Comfort for me would have meant a different type of tape and different kinds do exist. Everybody is different. Some people get worse throats, most do not react to adhesive tape.

Not much pain. Surgery did get rid of my sleep apnea and fix my badly receding chin. I'm age 79 and would do this again if I had to. I didn't have many months to get high anxiety because after I decided to get surgery, it was done within a week.
Helen

[ssspidermom]

Thanks for the great ideas.

I am working with a woman who does surgery preparation with clients. She is a doula (labor/delivery support) and a massage therapist. She is making me a CD with positive healing messages, and visualizations to listen to any time I get scared. She is also writing a list of healing messages for my anesthesiologist to read to me when I go under and before I come to. She has lots of research to back up how helpful this is. I wanted to let people know about this. She said people who prepare this way heal quicker and need 1/3 less pain medication than those who don't.

Also, I am planning on having my physical therapist (who works on my jaw clenching) be present during the surgery. She attends many surgeries for her clients as a support person. I feel comforted to know someone who knows me as a whole person (not just a JAW) will be there. I like my OS but have only met his 2 times.

My procedure (one piece LeForte I) will be outpatient, in their office. I will return home at noon! That seems pretty quick, but I live 1 mile from a hospital in case of any complications. I'm glad to not have to stay overnight in a hospital.

Has anyone else returned home this soon? Any suggestions or advice?

[jjames]

Wow, ssspidermom, you've got a ton of great advice here! Just wanted to extend my good wishes as well, and ditto about the Zip-N-Squeeze and the comfy pillows and the warm "herbie" (as I've heard it sometimes called) thingy you can warm in the microwave and use for soothing heat once you're done with the ice. OH and double ditto on the comfy loose necks and ordering the Zip-N-Squeeze jaw wrap, or something comparable being a must. I bet you're going to do great and that's really good you don't have to spend the night in the hospital. Run as much fluid through as you can and get your mild exercise as soon as you feel you can. It gets you back to you old self ASAP! I didn't have a wedge pillow, but that sounds like a good idea, the only other thing I really enjoyed after a couple of weeks that I haven't seemed mentioned yet was warm steam. I really enjoyed a warm steam bath to my face, sometimes adding and small addition of herbs like dried lavender and mint for smell, enough to get the blood flowing and soothe the sinuses. But you can do that with just a pot of water and some towels. Best of luck!

[ssspidermom]

I ordered Zip N Squeeze bags! And the jaw wrap thing that holds ice and hot packs.

I will get a little toothbrush and spoon, and a humidifier. I feel so supported by all y'all here! Thanks so much. I'll keep you posted.

Also, someone suggested Rescue Remedy, which helps with fear and trauma, so I'll try that as well.

[Clo]

Hi,

I perfectly know how uncomfy such a bite can be. I now experience the same.
Only contact on right 3rd molars and an open bite in the front. I posted this
some days ago :

viewtopic.php?t=25109

In the pic, I bite down the best I can. My ortho also thought my condyles were
part of the reason for this. Then she said they weren't. Later on, they were ...
again. I had several X-rays and a CT scan to shed some light on my issue. My
condyles are deformed, but it not easy to tell if that is the reason why I now
have this bad open bite.

Anyway, a bit similar bite. Obviously, I am very interested to see how you are
doing. I wish you the very best !

[ssspidermom]

Thanks Clo!

It does sound like we have similar problems. I read your other post. My understanding from my OS and dentist, is that trying to close an open bite will almost never result in stable results, as the braces are literally prying the teeth out of the socket and when braces come off, they will retract back to their old position. This certainly depends on how open the bite is.

Keep me posted in how it goes with your treatment!