MARCH 2011 BUDDIES

[thisisme]

Hey everyone,

I'm still too exhausted to share my story, but I promise I will when I'm feeling better. I have a few questions and would be very grateful if someone could answer.

I had lower jaw advancement and all 4 of my impacted wisdom teeth out.

1. My lower jaw is very far forward, doc said this is because of swelling and will settle in the right position. Anyone else experience this?

2. When can I have a shower?

3. Is it essential I use ice packs? They hurt me a lot - do I have to use them for swelling?

That's it for now. I had surgery at 3:20 on the 25th of March. Hope you are all doinh well xoxo

[juneyer]

Hi thisisme-

I think we are experiencing the same thing. Its actually my lower lip is so swollen that it looks as though my jaw is jutting forward, but its not. I actually can't even move my bottom teeth forward enough to fit into the groove of the splint that they are supposed to go, but my os said that it will be like that until the swelling goes down and then he will use rubber bands to position my jaw where it should be. I think he is going to do this on Wednesday. My surgery was on the 24th and I just took my first shower a couple of hours ago. I washed my face/behind ears with a cloth outside the shower and then showered without getting my head wet. I still have a bandage on my chin and I didn't want to get it wet. I am using ice-paks alot as this is what other people on here have said to do to help the swelling. It does hurt sometimes but I give myself some breaks (on and off) I have to say that this is day 3 post op for me and I don't feel any better, however there are times during the day that seem to be better, and after reading other peoples posts I am sure that I am going through the normal course of healing which is very reassuring.

[smithie]

thisisme, you should be able to shower whenever you want. The external dressings are designed to fall off after a few days of soap and water, you don't need to keep them dry or anything (in fact, if you want them to come off eventually, you need to get them wet). I used one of those poofy things to wash my face for the first few days as with the swelling and numbness it felt really weird to use my hands. As for ice packs, follow your doctors' instructions, though honestly I used them for about a day and then stopped. I think the high-dose ibuprofen that my doctors recommended did more to reduce the swelling than the ice.

[jonathon003]

yeah my OS told me i could shower (and remove my chin/neck bandages) as soon as i got home from the hospital. which was a huge relief for me b/c i caught diarrhea at the hospital, and just had that nasty hostpital smell on me (still smell it at times unfortunately), so it was nice to bathe myself.

i also haven't found the time/energy to update or read through the last couple pages yet, so hopefully in the next few days.


i just said this in my other thread (trouble breathing thread) but i have to admit i really was unprepared for the nightmare that follows this surgery. i'm proud to admit my pain threshold is higher than most ppl i know, but it was rather useless in dealing with this surgery, to an extent anyway. the discomfort of not being able to breathe at many times over the last few days trumps any pain i've probably ever experienced. now, i imagine the swelling and the degree to which the nasal passages close up, varies for everyone, but for my case, it was living hell! i struggled mightily for nearly every breath the 2nd night in particular, unable to get any sleep at all.

at least i feel that when i come out of this, and look back on it, i think this whole experience will have made me a lot stronger in dealing with other issues. kind of like if i can get through that, i can get through anything!

anyway, hopefully we are all heading in the right direction now, and our worst days/nights are behind us.

[jonathon003]

i noticed, with arieswithbraces anyway, you were talking so soon after surgery??

i'm on day 3 now, and still can't even imagine trying to talk. i try to mumble things with my family to no avail; if anything i feel i've dramatically improved my charades game lol.

also to my surprise, and maybe it was the diarrhea, but i haven't even started craving any food yet. the most i've had was a little pack of jello at the hospital on the 2nd day. yesterday i strictly drank water all day! a combination of everything being so congested (which makes drinking a huge battle since i cannot breath through nose most of the time) and my energy levels completely depleted, i just haven't had the motivation to get some calories down. i know this has gotta change though quick; gonna try some jello and juice in a few hours.

[kelhuntley]

Hey everyone,

One week today since I had my surgery - man has it gone fast. Had a check up today with my orthodontist (just a quick look, no adjustments thankfully!!) and also with my surgeon. He replaced my rubber bands to longer ones and also took out the stitches from the outside of my cheeks - YAY, no more whiskers!!

He seems to think I should be fine to sleep in my bed now (even on my side!!) rather than the lazy boy I have been using - cannot wait for that. My neck and shoulders has really been suffering!

Also went back to work today (desk job), was bored out of my brain at home last week so thought I would give it a go and am glad I did. Finished at 2.30pm as I had my appointments, but I definitely feel more lively tonight, which is great.

Weighed myself at work today and have lost 3.5kgs in a week, which is crazy. Made up for it tonight by eating a big bowl of mashed potatoes covered in cheese sauce. Mmmmm.

[kelhuntley]

Yay, I can post photos now... I think

[jonathon003]

wow kelhuntley that looks awesome!!

there's no way, judging from where i am 4 days post op, that i'll reach anything close to that kind of progress just a week out. congrats. i know there's still swelling there, but it really doesn't look that noticable or bad at all. glad things are starting to go real well for you.

[juneyer]

Kel- you look like you are healing awesome. We had the same surgery and I am no where as healed--My surgery was the 24th so today is day 4 post op. I still can't talk, and I am still just as swollen as day 2. I'd post a picture, but seriously my bottom lip wouldn't fit in the frame. That's actually my biggest concern right now. Its so big and numb and has really got tore up the last couple of days. I finally got the peeling under control with vaseline but if I could feel it, even a little, I would be so much happier.

Your lip does not even look swollen now. I know you said it was swollen earlier (day 7?), surely you meant more than in the picture right? I'll be so happy if mine is down to that size in a couple of days. How often did you use ice paks after day 3-4?

Jonathan- I don't have much of an appetite either the last day or so. I am forcing myself to eat Carnations instant breakfast, ensures, and chicken broth. Once I start eating I am able to eat more, if that makes sense.

[kelhuntley]

Thanks guys, I'm feeling great! Finally managed to sleep in my bed last night rather than the lazyboy and that has made a world of difference this morning. I'm not feeling quite so fragile, and managed to walk the 30minutes to work by myself, rather than having someone come with me (got a bit nervous crossing roads, etc as I didn't really have full function of my neck).

The swelling was definitely worse on day 3 - as were my lips, they were peeling all over the place - but I found vaseline and some hydrocortisone cream for the corners of my mouth that the surgeon gave me really helped. We also have a medicated ointment called Rawleighs in New Zealand (which is a mix of camphor/menthol/eucalyptus oil, and that has helped immensely as well.

Ice packs I used for the first three nights - I kept those on all night and replaced the ice when I woke up in the middle of the night. I swear the walking has helped more with the swelling. There was a noticeable difference when I got home after a walk. It seems hard at first, but is totally worth it.

One of my back rubber bands came off last night after a vigorous tooth brushing, but thankfully I managed to re-attach it with some tweezers! It's nice to finally be able to see the back of my mouth and my bottom teeth again!!

Have attached a new photo from this morning - one week and one day post-op! I'm slowly getting my smile back

[juneyer]

Ok so this is 5 day post op. And I am being told that I do not look as swollen. It's hard for me to tell the difference though. I can see that my bottom lip has gotten to a more normal size, although I still have absolutely no feeling in it at all. I get weird sparks of stabbing stings now and then in my chin, which I guess is the feeling starting to come back. I go the the OS tomorrow for my first follow up visit. So we will see what he does, and what progress he thinks I've made. Still can't really talk, although a lot of that is probably because of the splint that is in my mouth. Unlike a lot of people on here I did not get wired shut, or banded shut. I just have a splint on the roof of my mouth. All in all, I think I'm feeling better today.

[juneyer]

Jonathan- How are you doing? Any better?

[kelhuntley]

Hey Juneyer,

I know exactly what you mean about your lip. My bottom lip feels like it is peeling/wind-burnt at the moment but when I look in the mirror it looks fines. When I move my lip it feels more like a pins and needles tingle which I assume means the feeling is start to return. My chin still feels quite numb though. My partner laughs at me every time I eat something from a spoon because I inevitably end up with half of it dripping off my chin and I don't even realise! So I've made sure I am strictly using straws in public and at work!!

When I first came out of the recovery room my bottom lip actually had a BIG dent right down the middle of it, making it look like I had two bottom lips, it was very odd. When I went to the bathroom for the first time and looked in the mirror I just about passed out after seeing my enormous swollen jaw, misshaped lip, stitched cheeks and drains coming out my jaw!!!

I'm struggling to bite together completely at the moment as my gums are quite inflamed and have swollen over one my back teeth, which is very frustrating!!

[juneyer]

Yea- I knew going into this that my bottom lip would be numb. And mine was the same as you describe-enormous. I just didn't realize how important having feeling in the lower lip is for figuring out where to put a spoon or drink from a bottle. It's like a guessing game. I am waiting patiently for the tingling you describe, because then I'll know my body is trying to repair the feeling. All in all though I'm glad it's nothing abnormal at this stage.

[Libby]

I am one day post op. =] My Lefort 1 surgery was actually scheduled for May 2nd, but it was bumped up at the last minute to March 28th and I am so glad it's over with. Got home from the hospital today, lots of swelling and pressure but I am able to talk and move around quite easily.