November 2013 Surgery Buddies

[lattiee]

I think due to elastics breaking they try to estimate the length of the elastics and sometimes they end up too small so when eating we have habits of opening up mouth even with mouth shut to end up having it break so they need to be a little longer which will make the jaw a bit more tighter with it .

Babyjaws good luck tomorrow .

Survenant can't wait to hear how your op went .

[survenant]

The operation went fine, it is still hard to eat. I have bit of a hard time swallowing, I'll keep you informed.

[lattiee]

Survenant glad all went well sorry your still having trouble eating due to trouble swallowing.

Babyjaws can't wait to hear how all went .

Alicia how you doing so far ?

[Alicia110613]

I'm at Day 3 and think I've reached peak swelling *fingers crossed*. It's amazing how much you can swell up. My energy level is on and off - have a bit of fever as my ibuprofen wears off. Hopefully it'll get better over time.

[survenant]

Same thing here, I think I have reached max swelling today on day 3. I hope it will consistently go down from there.

I still have a hard time swallowing, however I have found new techniques to help me swallow.

[Alicia110613]

Survenant - how wide can you open at this point? Is the swallowing problem due to swollen tissues or your opening?

Also, are you experiencing uneven swelling? My left side is consistently more swollen and giving me more pain. Was wondering if that's common.

[scraggy]

The uneven swelling is normal I'm now 10 days post op and my right side is more swollen than my left by a large amount. It will all go down in time.

[survenant]

I think my difficulty swallowing is mostly due to the swelling in my throat. But i cannot open my jaw very wide, I think about 4-5 mm. There are some good news though, I no longer need to cut my tylenols in half anymore, i can simply swallow them whole.

@Alicia : my left side is more swollen

Also I was wondering, my lips are very swollen. Do you guys think I can apply ice on them to unswell them?

[Alicia110613]

Thanks scraggy and survenant for the input. I do hope there's nothing wrong w/ the left side and that the swelling will just go down in time.

Survenant - Glad to hear about your progress! I think i'm about 4 - 5mm opening as well! Also I started swallowing my amoxicilin capsule whole today which was wonderful (i had to take it in powder form for the past few days, it was horrible). I'm still cutting my ibuprofen in half though (but i used to cut in in quarters).

[survenant]

Hi Alicia,

I don't know if this could help, but have you tried round ibuprofens instead of cylindrical ones? They seem less likely to stick in your throat.

[Alicia110613]

i have some round ones but they are a smaller dose - will try those when I finish the other ones. Thanks =)

Btw, survenant - I meant to say earlier - I'd put ice anywhere swollen if that feels good, including the lips. I'm still icing my cheeks

[survenant]

Just wondering, how long should I wait before trying to drink from a glass instead of drinking using the syringe?

[Alicia110613]

I've been drinking from a glass since Day 1 (which I'm really thankful about). If you have some sensation in your lips area then I'd say it's safe to drink from a glass. (or do it with a mirror so you don't spill too much)

[survenant]

Thanks Alicia, I tried drinking from the glass and it's way more convenient than using the syringe.

[Alicia110613]

Great! Congrats on ditching the syringe!!

Btw, anyone has ideas on how long one can expect to open wide enough to brush the inside of your teeth? I've been brushing on the outside only and it's feeling a bit gross.. (can't quite stick my baby toothbrush into my mouth yet)