MAY 2011 BUDDIES!!!!

[Rizzie]

Good luck, jenbrack! Sending positive thoughts your way! See you on the other side!

[Lingualita]

Hi,

Now I feel a little better, been two days at home now, and I feel that I am getting better each day, though I', still very tired and sleep a lot.

I ended up having two surgeries. I was initially supposed to have only lefort 1, but after that I ended up with an open bite, so they had to perform a BSSO (i think that's what it's called). I'm now 4 days post op my 2nd. surgery, and still very swollen, but I am starting to LOVE my new look.

I'm no longer so long in the face, and I have a chin, and I can almost close my mouth without straining (I hope the rest will go away once the swelling continues to recede, but either way it's a big improvement from what I used to look like).

The recovery has been okay, not as hard as I expected. I can feel my nerves "waking up" all over my face, so there is constant tingling in my face, but the pain is not too bad. I would rather describe it as uncomfortable than painful.

This has definately been very hard for me, but that's due to the fact that my first surgery didn't go as planned and that I had to do a second surgery. It's not yet been a week, and I am very happy that I had this done!

Lingualita

[sb4512]

Hey all! I'll be having double jaw surgery for an underbite and a crossbite TOMORROW at 10am. Long time lurker, finally getting around to posting. Will be in the hospital 1 night and will let you guys know on my progress.

[romancommander]

Good luck sb4512 on your surgery tomorrow!
Great to hear that you love your new look Lingualita!
Jenbrack, hope your surgery went well!

Just a final update on my surgery after 14 days. I am surpirsed that as of now, 90% of my swelling has gone down and I have starting eating better food such as mac and cheese, meatloaf, potatoes, etc. I am so thrilled with the results and hope that all of you end up thrilled with your results as well. Thanks for all the support on this board!

[Lingualita]

Good luck sb4512! Looking forward to hear from you on the other side!

Romancommander: I am happy you are thrilled with you result! Glad to hear much of your swelling is down by week 2, hope that will be the case for me as well =)

[Rizzie]

Good luck, sb4512!

[aussiere]

Good luck SB4512!

I am now 8 days post op, still have some swelling, but coming along nicely. I am on a strict liquid diet for 4 weeks and I am so hungry. What have you done to combat the hungers and when did your doc allow soft foods to your diet?

[jenbrack]

Hey Guys!

GOOD NEWS: I MADE IT

I went in for surgery on Monday morning around 9:15 a.m. Initially, the nurses told me that the procedure would be about 2 and a half hours and then I would go to recovery and then to my hospital room for the overnight stay. Turns out, the surgeons had me out of surgery in 50 minutes! They did a FANTASTIC job! I was on antibiotics, liquids and morphine for about 24 hours following surgery however, I stopped the morphine at about midnight because I was feeling fairly good. I did have one minor mishap a couple hours after surgery where I suddenly got very nauseous and threw up, most likely from the anesthesia. However, after that, I didn't come in contact with anything else of that nature. I had my jaw wrapped in ice consistently following the surgery which I think helped tremendously. Luckily, I haven't had ANY bruising and very little swelling.

Before I got discharged, I had a vanilla milkshake and some applesauce which felt great on my mouth. The doctors let me go around noon yesterday and I was home and all snuggled in bed within a couple of hours. I'm currently taking 2 percocets every 4-6 hours, amoxicillan every 8 hours and then 2 different types of nasal sprays to help with the congestion as needed. So far, so good! I have a little bit of swelling, kind of like a chipmunk but luckily still no bruising. I've managed to eat some instant mashed potatoes, pudding and a little bit of a smoothie among LOTS of water! I also took a shower today which felt great and weighed myself a couple hours ago and I'm at about 102 pounds, yahoo!

Long story short, things have gone great so far. I have my follow up on Friday around 11 a.m. and then I'll start cranking the palate expander. I'm a little nervous about that but if it goes anything like the rest of this process has so far, it should be smooth sailing! Best of luck to everyone! If there's any advice I can give you it's breathe and have faith in your surgeons, they will take care of you! Stay positive!

[romancommander]

Congrats jenbrack on your surgery going well!

[Sams]

Hi all,

I'm three weeks and 2 days post op now. My splint was removed on Tuesday and I go back to see the surgeon today to check that my bite still lines up OK without it. I'm glad to be seeing the surgeon again because my bite doesn't really fit at all. Everything appears to be in the right place but my teeth only touch in one spot at the back of my mouth... Another thing, I've got a couple of stitches that are really painful and I want to find out what's causing that. I thought the stitches would have dissolved by now.

Still swollen around my nose and lip and still numb but I know that's going to take several weeks to improve. At least without the splint I can talk normally again! This means I'll be going back to work next week. Anyone else back at work yet?

Sams

[Sams]

Hi all,

Home now from my check up. Bite not lining up is normal and will be rectified using more elastics, so that's a relief. I asked about the painful stitches sticking out of my cheeks (inside my mouth, not through my face!! lol) and they turn out not to be stitches at all, but knots from the threads that are holding my hooks in place.... Yikes! that means my hooks are threaded up through my gums and cheeks! *shudder* I wondered how they stayed in place!! The pain is not from the knot but, a sore right next to it caused by a hook so I got some more dental wax to cover the hook up.

Anyhow, all gone a bit quiet on the forum - would love to hear where you're all up to, going back to work, splint out, swelling/numbness, etc.

Sams

[Rizzie]

Sixteen days post op! So happy to be able to say that! I had an appointment with my OS yesterday. He took off all the old bands and placed new ones. Initially, I had tons of bands--vertical, criss-cross, you name it, I was banded SHUT! I still have one on almost every tooth, but it allows me to open about 1-2 cm to stretch my jaw a little, and they are a simple vertical pattern so I can replace them if they break. I do not get to remove them to eat or brush, however, so I will be on the dreaded liquid diet for the whole 6 weeks.

My bruising is almost gone. I still have swelling along the sides of my nose, cheeks, jaw, and upper lip. My upper lip swelling is the most noticeable, and my lip is pretty stiff. Pain is not bad, I'm cutting way back on my tylenol w/codeine and switching over to motrin. My numbness isn't as bad as I thought it would be. The right side has almost complete feeling. The left side from the top of my nose to chin is numb, but not 100%. I can feel things coming back. Gums are numb and the front half of my palate is numb as well. I'm experiencing lots of tingling sensations. Numbness was my #1 big concern going into this, and I am most happy with progress at this point!

I am scheduled for 8 weeks off work, but I will probably go back at 6 weeks because there are some training classes I need to take that start June 20. This is a blessing, as I won't have to immediately start up on my 12-hour shifts, thus making the transition back to work a lot easier.

All in all, I'm doing great. I figure 4-5 days of rough, difficult times is totally worth it! Once you get over that hump, it is all downhill, and just gets better every day! Did I mention that I am 16 days post-op?

[trc]

Newbie here. I had upper and lower jaw surgery, genioplasty and bone graft for future implant yesterday. I got home from the hospital today and I am VERY swollen and getting bigger by the minute. I am on constant ice but it just isn't cutting it. I have a splint in and will have it for 6 weeks. So far the only thing I have been able to tolerate is water through the syringe but trying to have as much as possible. I can't move my lips as they are so swollen. I sure hope they go down quickly. Pain so far is ok considering I have a bad stomach and cannot take any of the narcotic meds they prescribed me.

Thank you to everyone who has posted their journey so far. It really helped me to know what to expect in the coming weeks and months.

Here's hoping to a good first night at home!

[TitaniumAdded]

Newbie here. I had upper and lower jaw surgery, genioplasty and bone graft for future implant yesterday. I got home from the hospital today and I am VERY swollen and getting bigger by the minute. I am on constant ice but it just isn't cutting it. I have a splint in and will have it for 6 weeks. So far the only thing I have been able to tolerate is water through the syringe but trying to have as much as possible. I can't move my lips as they are so swollen. I sure hope they go down quickly. Pain so far is ok considering I have a bad stomach and cannot take any of the narcotic meds they prescribed me.

Thank you to everyone who has posted their journey so far. It really helped me to know what to expect in the coming weeks and months.

Here's hoping to a good first night at home!

Sounds exactly like I did. Try some apple juice in addition to water. I was on an apple juice + water diet for the first 2-3 days after the hospital stay. Also see if you can purchase naked smoothies, they are so tasty.

Keep icing the jaw, and if you can, do the front of your face beside your nose. That area usually stays swollen the longest, and icing it will help keep swelling down for the future. Swelling peaks on day 3-4, so don't stress it.

Cheers.

[suzanna]

Newbie here. I had upper and lower jaw surgery, genioplasty and bone graft for future implant yesterday. I got home from the hospital today and I am VERY swollen and getting bigger by the minute. I am on constant ice but it just isn't cutting it. I have a splint in and will have it for 6 weeks. So far the only thing I have been able to tolerate is water through the syringe but trying to have as much as possible. I can't move my lips as they are so swollen. I sure hope they go down quickly. Pain so far is ok considering I have a bad stomach and cannot take any of the narcotic meds they prescribed me.

Thank you to everyone who has posted their journey so far. It really helped me to know what to expect in the coming weeks and months.

Here's hoping to a good first night at home!

I would try to have someone bring you some Gatorade or apple juice. That's basically all I was drinking the first 2-3 days, plus some water of course. You can always dilute the juices with some water if the flavor is too strong on your stomach. Hope you get a good rest tonight!!