BSSO on the 22nd of FEb **DONE!!! DEBRACED!!!**

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JayC
Posts: 201
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: Vancouver Canada

#76 Post by JayC »

I suppose the initially treatement would be presccribing antibitics to see if things would clear up because it is the cheapest and least invasive method in dealing with such a thing. But at least your surgeon didn't count out the possibility of an infected screw right away. They basically pinpointed that it is most likely the cuplrit and the reason not much is to be done right now is because they are waiting for the jaw bone to heal properly before they remove the plates/screws.

In my case its basically throwing me in some anitbiotics which may reduce the swelling and contain the infection from spreading, but won't eliminate it. heck.. maybe the hardware isn't infected but i have caught a knarley case of MSRA. But that would not make sense as if it were MSRA none of my initial infection would have gotten better. The part that baffles me is the different location the swelling is occuring in now. If anything I would not be surprised if it was maybe a bone chip that is aggravating or inflaming the area currently. I have yet to see my surgeon as it is only 1140am where I am and he is going to call me to meet me at his office in the afternoon. I can already predict what he is going to do/say "the infection has recurred and I will prescribe you some other antibiotics. Don't worry it's gonna resolve itself". The thing is... Clindamycin is a pretty strong antibiotic in terms of eliminating oral infections and other aerobic/anaerobic bacteria. If that didn't work, I dunno what else he will prescribe me. I am going to ask him straight up today if he has seen anything like this before. But I bet he will just say "Sure it's fairly common and it will resolve itself" :?

thanks for all your support Lou

loulou123
Posts: 716
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:33 am
Location: United Kingdom

#77 Post by loulou123 »

Hey :D

You may find that what they do next is to give you a number of antibiotics to be taken at the same time :? which isnt as bad as it sounds. I had a antibiotic resistant bacteria in my jaw bone a few years ago (after a routine extraction that time, what can i say im just unlucky :shock: ) which they believed to be mrsa and i had 2 small operations, and had to take several weeks of antibiotics and differnent antibiotics at the same time to clear it. But it did clear. Mrsa tho as you say would be unlikely in your case as you had begun to heal.

Possibly my previous history has meant my surgeon has taken my concerns more seriously this time (especailly as its the same surgeon!) but if you know theres something wrong then make sure you persevere and dont be afraid to tell him your not happy. Yes he is the profeesional but its your face.

Your welcome for the support, just hope you get things sorted out later today :D
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Braces on 11th June 2006,~ BSSO and Wisdom tooth removal 11th February 2008,~ Plate Removal 14th May 2008,~ Braces off 28th August 2008.

http://adultwithbraces.blogspot.com/

JayC
Posts: 201
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: Vancouver Canada

#78 Post by JayC »

okso i just got back. he was really nice nad understanding.. felt around some more.. prescribed me a diff type of antibiotic as i thoguht he would. he said there was no need for surgery or draining etc. he explained the different life cycles of bacteria and there re certain percentages of ppl who get recurrent infections and also an even smaller percent (3%) who get a third infection by the same bacteria in a diff life cycle. he said for my age and health, it usually doesn happen but it isnt uncommon.

i do believe what he says and i HOPE it is the case with me. he seems to be very confident in what he is talking about. i mean to be able to say with 110% confident "you wont need further surgery or draining", he better be able to back it up or he has been around long enough to know and seen what i have occur more than a few times with his patients...

loulou123
Posts: 716
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:33 am
Location: United Kingdom

#79 Post by loulou123 »

Glad it went well, fingers crossed that this lot of antibiotics do the job :D keep me updated.
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Braces on 11th June 2006,~ BSSO and Wisdom tooth removal 11th February 2008,~ Plate Removal 14th May 2008,~ Braces off 28th August 2008.

http://adultwithbraces.blogspot.com/

StephCanuck
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:57 pm
Location: Kingston, Canada

#80 Post by StephCanuck »

Hey, wow. Im new to the board and have been keeping up with your post Jay. And despite the resent....hurtles...you’ve had to get over I still am quite comforted by your story.
Im having my surgery on May 2, in Kingston Ontario. It freakin creeps up on you doesn’t it? Well, for me at least, considering I only decided to do it in August... which is when I got the braces and all that, and now, less then a year later and SURGERY.
A bit scary...

JayC
Posts: 201
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: Vancouver Canada

#81 Post by JayC »

i hope everythign goes wel for you steph. i hope i can look back a month from now and say "even though all that stuff happened, i am glad i did it". honestly, besides this stupdi infection i dont regret doing it at all. i always hated setbacks and hated the "Waiting game" which has always been a big part of who i am. if i have a plan i want to get from point A to point B in the fastest way possible without any hurdles. i also dont like being tardy and i dont like waiting for ppl when we have plans to meet at a certain time. i guess all that is related in a way. i know some ppl that can shrug a lot of what has happened off easily and just get on with their life and let time heal. but for me, if this wasnt part of the plan, it really bothers me.

to add on top of the great things that has happened since surgery. i think i have developed an esophageal ulcer from the clindamycin which i have read up is very common with taht type of antibiotic. i didnt realize how dangerous that drug was until i read a lot of horror stories about it. neways i hope the infection gets dealt with and then i will deal with the ulcer. one problem after another.

StephCanuck
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:57 pm
Location: Kingston, Canada

#82 Post by StephCanuck »

I have found that reading up online...well, frightens me, I therefore have stopped.
Well, I really hope that all the crap your going through will end at exactly 12 am eastern time sooo on the west coast, I guess thatda be about 9 pm...
sorry, Iv been going insane trying to write an essay all day, Im going a bit nutty.
But I do really hope everything gets back on track for you and you don’t have to worry about a darn thing. Then you’ll be all like "wow, I so rock. Geez, look at that hansom guy staring back at me in the mirror, oh wait, that’s me!" lol yeah....

JayC
Posts: 201
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: Vancouver Canada

#83 Post by JayC »

hahah thanks for the kind words steph. what procedure are you getting down btw? for me i was excited about the whole surgery i wasnt really scared at all. i was prepared to be off work and away from the public for 2 weeks for the major swelling subsided, but i didnt expect the setbacks that have occured. oh well what can you do now. 9pm? lol thats a bit optimistic isnt it? im giving it till thursday to hopefully see a drastic change in the swelling. i know being optimistic is the best thing for me right now, but it hard. i kinda lost faith in the whole thing. i know eventually things will work itself out, but at this pace, im not banking on getting my hopes up

StephCanuck
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:57 pm
Location: Kingston, Canada

#84 Post by StephCanuck »

Im not really sure of the professional terms for it...like all this BSSO stuff...but Im getting a mandibular setback and umm, well centring my jaw as it’s a bit askew, and my oral surgeon said that there's a possibility I ll need a palate expansion but he’s not sure yet.
But Im not scared about the surgery, as I have total confidence in the Doc, but I just really had no clue what I was getting myself into when I agreed to go through with it, all I really knew is that I was sick and tired of not wanting to smile...which is a pretty sad thing to miss out on.

JayC
Posts: 201
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: Vancouver Canada

#85 Post by JayC »

yea i went into the ortho 2 yaers ago wanting straighter teeth.. finaly working full time after being out of school and being able to afford braces (monthly financing that is :)

little did i know surgery was gonna be part of the treatment. at first i was like "wth!!". i alwyas new i had somewhat of an underbite but i didnt realize i had a slight open bite as well. so that was the major thing. they could have removed teeth and corrected my undbite that way but the ortho was saying functionally it wouldnt be as stable and bc of my open bite as well surgery would be the best option. so what the surgeon did for me was a rotational setback. set my mandible back and rotated it just a tad to correct my minor open bite.

and yea i was in the same boat as yu my teeth werent HORRIFIC. and you could barely even see my bottom teeth when i smiled (Which was much worse than my top), but i really didnt like my profile bc of my slight underbite. but yes, like i said earlier i will probably look back a month from now and laff it off and have it being just a small ordeal in my life. and when the braces come off that will be the day everything is paid off.

until that day.. i have no choice but to rough it out. its just really tough with my job that i am dealing with ppl all the time. as i mentioned before, i wish i worked at a call centre or from home at a time like this.

the surgery date does creep up on you.. i was notified about my surgical date on the week xmas to be on feb 22nd. before i knew it, it was thurs feb 21st.

StephCanuck
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:57 pm
Location: Kingston, Canada

#86 Post by StephCanuck »

So Jay, hows everything going? Feeling better yet?

JayC
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Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: Vancouver Canada

#87 Post by JayC »

swelling is completely gone. i guess dr. w was rite. on top of the infection swelling benig gone, post op swelling has further gone and my chin/jawline is a lot more defined just in the last week. my chin is no longer numb as well.

i dunno who else has or is experiencing this post op, but the roots of my front teeth started to ache a bit when i move my jaw in certain postitions. i asked my ortho what that was about because it doesnt hurt when i eat or push down on the teeth or wiggle it (the teeth arent even loose). he said its part of the recovery/healing process where tthe nerves that were damaged are regenerating.

loulou123
Posts: 716
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:33 am
Location: United Kingdom

#88 Post by loulou123 »

Really pleased to hear theres been an improvement in the swelling etc :D

Cant comment on the root issue, as im grinding my teeth alot, so all my teeth feel bit on edge and sensitive.
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Braces on 11th June 2006,~ BSSO and Wisdom tooth removal 11th February 2008,~ Plate Removal 14th May 2008,~ Braces off 28th August 2008.

http://adultwithbraces.blogspot.com/

StephCanuck
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:57 pm
Location: Kingston, Canada

#89 Post by StephCanuck »

thats great!

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Steph-in-WI
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Location: Wisconsin, USA
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#90 Post by Steph-in-WI »

JayC wrote:to add on top of the great things that has happened since surgery. i think i have developed an esophageal ulcer from the clindamycin which i have read up is very common with taht type of antibiotic. i didnt realize how dangerous that drug was until i read a lot of horror stories about it. neways i hope the infection gets dealt with and then i will deal with the ulcer. one problem after another.
Hi Jay, I was just reading through your post and noticed that you think you have an esophageal ulcer. I am just getting over 6 of them, I started feeling them a week ago yesterday. It started out as feeling like my esophagus was clogged last Monday night, and then come morning I started to have severe pain. I stopped taking my medication because I strongly suspected that had something to do with it, I am on a pre op protocol of doxycycline, amitriptyline, and feldene for joint stabilization prior to my bimax surgery which I should have in Sept. or October this year. I have TMJ Dysfunction so my OS wants to stabilize my joints before he operates.

This week has been a VERY long week, very painful, and very frustrating. I finally got in on Thursday for a GI study, they did an endoscopy and colonoscopy (the "works" as they called it) and found 6 very nice size ulcers in my esophagus just as I had suspected. Unfortunately, you just have to let them heal, they did prescribe me lidocaine which you can take up to 4 times a day but my pharmacy told me they wouldn't have it in until Monday. Mine were caused by the doxycycline, and with that med they usually take 7 to 10 days to heal. I don't know if they would take any longer on the meds you are on.

My OS prescribed the meds at bedtime, and I knew better from the research I had done that you should not take at bedtime because it has a tendancy to get lodged in your esophagus if you are not upright. I also probably did not take enough water with it as I should have, because with my vitamins I was taking 20 pills a day (my vitamins alone are 8 in morning, 8 at night), so when you take so many pills over a long period of time, it is easy to become complacent or lax and not be so careful every time you take them.

Well, I certainly learned my lesson. I honestly think this last week has been more difficult than it will be after my jaw surgery. The first 3 days I couldn't even eat because it was so painful. I felt the pain in my chest, not in my throat when you swallow. The pain occurred about 2 seconds after I swallowed. When I finally did try to eat it was so frustrating because I was so starving by that point and I wanted to eat so bad but even apple juice burned so bad going down. I bought those EAS protein drinks, French Vanilla flavor, because I felt I was really lacking protein in my diet, and I couldn't even drink that. Chicken broth (low sodium) and jello was about the only thing that wasn't extremely painful, so I know I wan't getting enough protein which I knew would hinder my healing. But today I ate real food for the first time and I am feeling a lot better.

I am telling you all of this hoping it is not too late and hoping that the ulcers have not fully formed. Make sure you drink LOTS of water before and after each pill, and that you remain upright for at least 15 minutes after taking your meds, if not longer, to ensure that gravity helps push them down.

Good luck ... please let us know how you're doing.
See my complete braces and jaw surgery story at www.mycorrectivejawsurgery.blogspot.com

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