Sorry, Should have said February 2014 surgery buddies

[batwing]

Hey all, I'm two months post Le Fort (I don't think we had a December group?) and I wanted to stop in and encourage you all. There IS hope on the other side, I swear. The first couple weeks are rough. I'm now at 90% feeling and only about 5% swelling. I am so happy I went through with the surgery. I stopped reading the site for a while because I got so anxious!

Thanks for the post!! I'm trying to be positive too, just one week out, but every little thing freaks me out lol. Like I had a mini yawn today and I hear a crackle on one of my jaws...I'm wondering if I should alert my surgeon or just let it be. I. Trying to be still as possible so I heal the absolute best possible lol.

When does the hard face feeling start to go away? Also, I'm trying to b good about my caloric intake, but it's soo hard. When does your energy start to normalize?

The first few yawns are very scary! I had my first sneeze on day six and I remember it feeling simultaneously amazing (my sinuses were so messed up) and painful. But I kept hoping for more sneezes because for a brief second I felt really good again!

I still have popping in my jaw, and I'll probably always have it. Are you doing weekly visits with your surgeon? I'd bring it up. I am now done with my weekly surgical visits, but I brought a list every time.

My energy went close to normal around week three. My surgeon told me a lot of people go back to work at either two or three weeks. At two weeks I thought he was absolutely insane. And then I just woke up one day and felt fine. I also had a baby nine weeks before my surgery, and had recovered energy enough to deal with both sleepless nights with a newborn and dealing with my jaw. By week three I was able to start transitioning to more substantial foods (pasta, ground meats, etc.) My surgeon said to play food by ear. I remember the first week being so.incredibly.sick. of sweet things- I didn't want smoothies or juice or gatorade or ensure- I wanted something savory SO BAD. One day I watered down refried beans and mashed them together with an avocado and sour cream and I swear it was the best thing I had ever eaten in my life. And now two months out I've been able to carefully eat beef jerky, steak, popcorn, salad, etc. It's hard, but I can do it!

By the end of the first week, I took Ibuprofen during the day and Percocet at night. By the end of the second week, I was off of Percocet completely and only on Ibuprofen. By about five weeks I was off of the Ibuprofen.

The face feeling hard thing lasts about a month-ish. I felt like I could make normal facial expressions around then. I still have spots that feel "hard," and they are near where my brackets are holding my top jaw in place. They are especially noticeable when a really cold wind hits my face.

[batwing]

I'm so depressed that I regret getting this done. My swelling is just awful and I can't breathe through my right nostril and am still getting frequent nose bleeds. I think my bite looks awful and I think he screwed up my nose because if he didn't, I should be able to breathe out of both nostrils. Afrin, saline spray, and humidifier....none of it helps.

Hi samoorelaw- did your surgeon push your jaw to the left or right when your surgery was performed?

I ask because my jaw was pushed a little to the right. My left nostril and sinuses cleared up very quick, but my right one stayed clogged up until about two and a half weeks. Hang in there! Days 3-5 are generally the worst.

[samoorelaw]

Thanks for the support, everyone. I wrote that post after having had no sleep (I sleep in 1-2 hour increments) and while in extreme pain. I was trying to wean myself off the narcotics but that's obviously not a good idea only 3 days out. It's just that I hate relying on pain meds, not to mention the constipation (TMI, I know).

Feeling much better today, breathing is better, too. I'm not sure which side the surgeon pushed forward the most but I believe it is the right (ortho said right side had to come forward about 4 mm, and the left 3 mm).

Looking forward to the final result.

[treichow]

Hi February folks... I had my Lefort 1 on October 1st.... just to add some encouragement, you will be feeling tons better very soon! I also had the crackling in my jaw and it drove me crazy. I was banded shut but even tiny movements would crackle. This went on for weeks. Once I was able to move my jaw more, that went away. My OS office said that the joint just needed to get lubricated again. The nasal congestion was one of the hardest parts for me post-op. There were times that I just felt like I couldn't breathe (usually in the middle of the night and that was emotionally hard b/c I felt alone downstairs by myself). I found that I could take super hot steam showers and that would help clear things out and give me relief. I also slept with a humidifier right by my head. I haven't read all the way through your entries but I wanted to encourage those of you that are struggling... hang in there!

[samoorelaw]

I'm now getting a bit concerned: there are two or three pieces of dissolvable stitches that have come loose from my upper lip. Is this normal 5 days after surgery? I thought these stitches took a week or two would to be dissolved by the body? One stitch is right above my two front teeth that is hanging down and when I try to cut it, it hurts. Surgeon seems to think it's normal and that I can attempt cutting it but I still think it's too early, especially if my skin is still tender. Thoughts?

[redwine]

Hi Sherry and all,
I have emerged from post-op depression determined to get on with this. For my upper jaw surgery I had a very hard time breathing through my nose. Hot showers helped as did humidifiers in bedroom. Just about ANYTHING to clean that mess out! If you can stand using a neti-pot they work wonders. My first week was awful, but then got better in leaps and bounds every day. I was eating pretty well by the end of the first week or so. Mush only, but you can make mush tasty.
As for me, I am still struggling with pre-op expectations vs post-op outcome. Pretty sure he let a resident in there after specifically being told by me that he had to do all cutting! They pretty much shattered the left jawbone, and cut the nerve. The nerve was sewn back together and jaw screwed together and thats why I have the splint and am totally wired shut. Someone told my friend that they mostly do this on 17 year olds and that my jawbones were thin. Odd, as my upper jaw was fine a year ago and actually had to be rebroken because it healed too quickly! Excuses. But trying hard to get over it and face 6-8 weeks on Boost, watery protein drinks and (forgive me) kool-aid. Found out that even straining cream soups leave too many tiny pieces that get caught and make me choke. No real pain since about 3rd day, swelling is starting to go down and bruising will be gone in a few days! Can't talk at all - wire is too tight and lower lip is mostly numb. I'm going out today for the first time (slept through the night last night for the first time) and will buy several cases of Boost, a pitcher for mixing salt water for rinses, and some Kefir (thought I'd try it). Thanks for words of encouragement and may I add my own to others going through this now and in the future.

[samoorelaw]

Hi Sherry and all,
I have emerged from post-op depression determined to get on with this. For my upper jaw surgery I had a very hard time breathing through my nose. Hot showers helped as did humidifiers in bedroom. Just about ANYTHING to clean that mess out! If you can stand using a neti-pot they work wonders. My first week was awful, but then got better in leaps and bounds every day. I was eating pretty well by the end of the first week or so. Mush only, but you can make mush tasty.
As for me, I am still struggling with pre-op expectations vs post-op outcome. Pretty sure he let a resident in there after specifically being told by me that he had to do all cutting! They pretty much shattered the left jawbone, and cut the nerve. The nerve was sewn back together and jaw screwed together and thats why I have the splint and am totally wired shut. Someone told my friend that they mostly do this on 17 year olds and that my jawbones were thin. Odd, as my upper jaw was fine a year ago and actually had to be rebroken because it healed too quickly! Excuses. But trying hard to get over it and face 6-8 weeks on Boost, watery protein drinks and (forgive me) kool-aid. Found out that even straining cream soups leave too many tiny pieces that get caught and make me choke. No real pain since about 3rd day, swelling is starting to go down and bruising will be gone in a few days! Can't talk at all - wire is too tight and lower lip is mostly numb. I'm going out today for the first time (slept through the night last night for the first time) and will buy several cases of Boost, a pitcher for mixing salt water for rinses, and some Kefir (thought I'd try it). Thanks for words of encouragement and may I add my own to others going through this now and in the future.

Oh my goodness! I can't believe they let a resident operate on you without your consent! Do you have any recourse? Do they need to re-operate on you, since the jaw was shattered?

I can't believe it's been a week already. While my swelling has gone down, I don't like the shape of my nose: it looked great right after surgery but now the upturned nostrils bother me, and my surgeon told me he would specifically do a procedure that would prevent nose widening. I guess preventing nose widening has nothing to do with the upturning of the nose.

[lissybear22]

Hey team!
I am loving reading all of your posts. I have been in braces about 2.5 years now. I am waiting for surgery on my over-grown upper jaw. It keeps getting put off due to the 'torque' of my teeth. Which is the interesting way my orthodontist talks about the slow movement of my canine's roots. I have high hopes that I will be ready sometime within the next few months. But at this point, who can say.

When it does happen, a portion of my upper jaw bone will be removed, allowing my lower jaw to come up where it belongs. My surgeon also says he will be advancing my chin, for improved balance.

The waiting has been driving me crazy. I have had awful headaches and neck aches ever since I was an adolescent. Growing up, my mother thought (so I thought, as well) that my thick long hair was putting strain on my neck. After a drastic haircut, things did not imrpove (surprise). I had my wisdom teeth removed by an oral surgeon who spoke to my parents about my crazy jaws, and discussed surgery, but did not seem to know a lot about the procedure -- resulting in my parents not understanding the long-term consequences of not having anything done.

So, here I am; grinding my teeth at night; waking up with horrible headaches, neck aches, and it has migrated down into my shoulders, where they are stiff and tense and painful as well. I also have difficulty breathing through my nose, as my upper jaw is overgrown and is competing with my sinuses. I've been slightly miserable, needless to say!

I know there are tons of stories all throughout this website, and I have read many of them.... but I am trying to fish here for some words of consolation!

[samoorelaw]

Had my first post-op appointment at the orthodontist. Turns out my jaw spasms on the left side are from my jaw shifting back to the left. Yes, already my jaw wants to relapse! So he changed out my elastics in the hopes of shifting the bite back over to the right. I was so scared that changing the elastics one week post-op would hurt, but thankfully it didn't. At first, the assistant said I was to begin changing out my elastics twice per day but my orthodontist jumped in and said no for now. I see the surgeon on Thursday and the ortho again next Wednesday. Ortho said I will be in braces probably another 6-8 months. Bummer: I was hoping he'd say 3-4 months, which is more typical.

Anyway, this is what my bite looks like today. It actually looks pretty good, so I don't know why I need to be in braces in another 6-8 months?

[redwine]

Sherry - I think your bite looks great! Congratulations! So jealous of your bands!
I've begun week two with a surgeon follow-up yesterday. He removed wires, looked around, cleaned everything (felt sooo good) and wired everything tightly back in place for another two weeks. Slight possibility that I'll switch to bands next time, but I'm not getting my hopes up. However, I was told that I can start using waterpik (lowest setting) and toddler toothbrush which makes me feel a lot better. Bruising is nearly gone, and swelling has gone down enough that I probably won't scare anyone. I went to work for a few hours on Tuesday, skipped yesterday because of follow-up, and will spend about 4-6 hours at work today. Was shooting for all day, but am feeling tired - probably due to not eating enough yet. I'm working on it!
Sounds like everyone is seeing some real improvement. That is very encouraging.

[batwing]

Had my first post-op appointment at the orthodontist. Turns out my jaw spasms on the left side are from my jaw shifting back to the left. Yes, already my jaw wants to relapse! So he changed out my elastics in the hopes of shifting the bite back over to the right. I was so scared that changing the elastics one week post-op would hurt, but thankfully it didn't. At first, the assistant said I was to begin changing out my elastics twice per day but my orthodontist jumped in and said no for now. I see the surgeon on Thursday and the ortho again next Wednesday. Ortho said I will be in braces probably another 6-8 months. Bummer: I was hoping he'd say 3-4 months, which is more typical.

Anyway, this is what my bite looks like today. It actually looks pretty good, so I don't know why I need to be in braces in another 6-8 months?

You look great! The remaining time in braces, from my understanding, is to just sort of stabilize everything and help prevent relapse. I have my second post-op orthodontic adjustment next week, they mostly just replace my wire and give me new rubberband configurations. There are no dramatic changes in this time like there was when I was first braced!

redwine- it sounds like you've been run through the ringer!!

[batwing]

This is my one week post-op face, in all my mouth-breathing glory:



This is my two month post-op face:

[samoorelaw]

Sherry - I think your bite looks great! Congratulations! So jealous of your bands!
I've begun week two with a surgeon follow-up yesterday. He removed wires, looked around, cleaned everything (felt sooo good) and wired everything tightly back in place for another two weeks. Slight possibility that I'll switch to bands next time, but I'm not getting my hopes up. However, I was told that I can start using waterpik (lowest setting) and toddler toothbrush which makes me feel a lot better. Bruising is nearly gone, and swelling has gone down enough that I probably won't scare anyone. I went to work for a few hours on Tuesday, skipped yesterday because of follow-up, and will spend about 4-6 hours at work today. Was shooting for all day, but am feeling tired - probably due to not eating enough yet. I'm working on it!
Sounds like everyone is seeing some real improvement. That is very encouraging.

Thank you, Wendy! I'm sorry you are having a much more difficult recovery. My bands are very, very tight, even more so right after surgery, so I really can't open at all, so I am thinking that's similar to being wires shut, right?

[samoorelaw]

This is my one week post-op face, in all my mouth-breathing glory:



This is my two month post-op face:

Batwing, thank you for your kind words! Your 2-month post-op pic looks great: a huge difference in swelling. I'm hoping the appearance of my nose stabilizes like yours did!

I had my first post-op appointment with my surgeon today and he said that I am healing perfectly and am healing like "a 18 year old," since he expected me to be much more swollen 9 days post-op than I am. I guess all those heat wraps and sleeping elevated in my Tempur-pedic bed made a difference!

When were you cleared to eat soft and then regular foods? My surgeon said I can eat anything I can cut with a fork as soon as my ortho loosens my bands enough to open my mouth. My ortho the other day said he estimates I'll be in these tight elastics for at least another couple weeks. I'm starting to get hungry so I can't wait to eat real food: getting really sick of just smoothies!

[batwing]

This is my one week post-op face, in all my mouth-breathing glory:



This is my two month post-op face:

Batwing, thank you for your kind words! Your 2-month post-op pic looks great: a huge difference in swelling. I'm hoping the appearance of my nose stabilizes like yours did!

I had my first post-op appointment with my surgeon today and he said that I am healing perfectly and am healing like "a 18 year old," since he expected me to be much more swollen 9 days post-op than I am. I guess all those heat wraps and sleeping elevated in my Tempur-pedic bed made a difference!

When were you cleared to eat soft and then regular foods? My surgeon said I can eat anything I can cut with a fork as soon as my ortho loosens my bands enough to open my mouth. My ortho the other day said he estimates I'll be in these tight elastics for at least another couple weeks. I'm starting to get hungry so I can't wait to eat real food: getting really sick of just smoothies!

My surgeon said to just play food by ear. I really thought I'd be on smoothies, gatorade, and Ensure forever. But by day 10 or so I couldn't take liquids any more. I think that was the day I had my husband overcook some macaroni and cheese and I mashed it up and ate it very, very slowly. It took me about an hour to eat 1/2 cup of macaroni, but it was the best meal of my life. Day 14 was Christmas, and I sucked on a piece of ham (!!!) and ate some mashed up scalloped potatoes. It was hard, but I did it. And like he said, I just played it by ear. I was in tight surgical elastics for five weeks, but the amount I could open my mouth gradually got bigger and bigger and I experimented more and more. By the time I got to my third weekly appointment, my surgeon asked if I had tried soft foods yet, and I had already been experimenting with them for quite a while.

At five weeks I moved out of the tight bands and went into regular orthodontic bands, and also had my surgical hooks removed which was the best thing ever. I had my surgical hooks put on six weeks before surgery because I had just had a baby and didn't have a lot of time to keep coming in, so they just put them on early. So my mouth didn't feel clean for like three months trying to brush around the hooks!