June/July 2015 Surgery Buddies

[gruntled]

Nozzel, I feel the same about the amount of movement I have too. It's really strange. I feel ready to tackle a huge burger!

I was told that it's okay if a few of your elastics go AWOL as long as you don't notice a big change in position of your jaw, and make sure you don't open your mouth very wide - so essentially act as though those elastics are still there!

It's been a total emotional rollercoaster these last couple of days. Yesterday I cried watching a video of synchronised swimming!

Jaime, yes the prune juice did seem to have a fast effect! It's not so much the taste but the texture that got me!

Snap, that thing about your gums certainly doesn't sound ideal, but I'm sure it'll actually be fine! Our gums are crazy resilient and I'm sure it'll come back over time.

[jaime]

Synchronized swimming? I can't laugh because I cry over strange things too. Perhaps your pain meds have something to do with mood changes? Never mind, just go with that.

[jaime]

I'm back from my orthodontist appointment! He said everything looks great and that it's not a concern at all that my left side is open. He said the right side is too, actually. I told him I was scared I needed another surgery and reassured me that no, everything looks normal. I seriously nearly cried I was so relieved.

I felt like a bit of a celebrity in there, the assistants all stopped what they were doing to come over and say hi. Their office sent me a $15 gift card to the movies along with a "get well soon" card which was really nice of them.

[Nozzelnut]

I called my surgeon this morning; apparently having half of your elastics snap IS a good enough reason to come in; even if it is only 4 days...

He said things looked really good and commented a couple times on how well I looked for only being out of surgery for 4 days. He did adjust my nose a bit; from the inside.

I asked about the small little scab on top of my head; he said it's where they sutured the nasal breathing tube. He also said they sewed my eyes shut instead of using tape.

I go back on Thursday to get the external stitches on the outside corners of my jaws out and he'll swap out elastics again.

I had a squeeze bag of progresso tomato basil soup for lunch; it was fantastic!

[snapdresser]

Jaime - It's not that I love Ensures, but they're not terrible, I get real hungry, and they're easy Yeah, hopefully that little piece of gum grows back... Great news about your bite! Woooo! Did they say why it's still open? Is it just swelling in the joint? They just wanna give it more time or you get more elastics? The casserole sounds real good Btw that's pretty sweet that you got free stuff from your ortho! Of course, you've been with them for quite some time

Deathorglory - You know how long until we're allowed to drink again?

Nozzelnut - Yeah, I had a fair bit of movement at first too. When my teeth weren't coming together it kinda felt like everything was just sorta floating around Now how did your doc "adjust" your nose?? That sounds disturbing... Are the sutures for the nasal width inside the nose? I thought they did them from the inside! They sutured your breathing tube to your head and your eyes closed??? Sweet Jesus!!! Now I'm curious to ask my doc if she did that stuff but I kinda feel like she'd be like "Uhhh... No." Lol. Glad to see your diet is moving forward Easier to eat now, eh?

Gruntled - I'ma try and pick up some prune juice too. A good organic way to get things flowing well. Been going but not easily lol. I'm hoping that's true about my gums. We'll see! But I think you're probly right. Synchronized swimming lol. Musta been a hell of a routine eh?

[jaime]

He didn't say why it's open, just that it's normal for "this stage" and he explained how things are still very pliable. He was like, "If it's still open later on, we'll just pull it down with some elastics on your molars." He seemed so nonchalant about it.

Nozzel...sewed your eyes shut?!!? What does that entail, exactly? I must have missed you mentioning the scab on your forehead...I would have assumed they tripped on you during surgery or something, haha. I've never heard of them suturing a tube to your skin before. Interesting. That's awesome that they had good things to say! It's always so nice to hear that from doctors.

I posted a new entry on my blog. For fun, I included 2 photos of my profile pre-surgery. I nearly gasped...I've already gotten so used to my new face that seeing the old me was shocking!

[Nozzelnut]

With the turbinate reduction and deviated septum fix; I'm not sure if he used sutures inside the nose or not. He was realigning the septum in his office today, maybe just a mm or so; no pain. From what he said, the septum sits in a groove on top of the palate and he was just moving it a little.

I thought it was odd to suture a breathing tube to the top of my head too; but whatever. Right on the top! Just a small little scab of blood; about the same size as a needle.... As long as it stayed out of their way and kept me breathing. Either that or they dropped a tool on my noggin and are covering it up.... Surprised they didn't use tape for my eyes. That's how they've done it in the past. They didn't go crazy with the stitching or anything, but I was wondering about the little redness I had. It doesn't really matter to me; whatever works for them and makes it more efficient. But who knows; he did have some residents with him. He did assure me he was going to do the important work.

And I might have eaten 2 diced up fried eggs today. The shakes weren't cutting it. Now I'm starving...

[deathorglory]

Sewing shut the eyes is something I think horror story writers think up...not surgeons... That would give me nightmares if it had happened to me...

I usually don't advise drinking alcohol until after the antibiotics are done. In terms of Metronidazole, though, I usually say wait an extra day or two for it to cycle out of your body before consuming alcohol, just because it has that serious reaction. I'm sure no one is gonna get blisteringly drunk when their jaw is still wobbly feeling, but still...

I know that my teeth didn't come together after surgery for a few weeks. Around week 3 I felt that my jaw finally started to get where it was supposed to hold itself when relaxed because up until then, my jaw at rest was kind of variable. There were some positions that felt "normal" and some positions that felt slightly "strained" but it finally figured itself out around week 3. Then at week 5-6 I no longer had to wear elastics at all, which was a relief.

Anyone tried eating some chopped up hard boiled egg yet? I drenched it in ranch to help it go down when I was just a week or two out of surgery. ...Small bites, but yummy protein

[snapdresser]

Jaime - That's really great to hear! I can't even imagine how relieved you must be lol. Yeah, the other doc here said there's two "schools of thought" and his was to add a bunch of elastics early if the bite is open. Sounds like your surgeon is of the other school of thought. Crazy that you had so little swelling in your bottom lip yet your joints are so swollen. Just goes to show the amount of variation involved in recovery. Not surprising, really, I guess. Your profile is looking great, btw! Hope you get a chance to do another video soon, now that you're not all drooly and stuff

Nozzenut - Jesus! That's nuts! Your guy is doing some crazy interesting stuff. Really neat to hear! But in all honesty, the sewing the eyes shut thing IS really freaky IMO... I thought they only did that for dead people Maybe they wanted to give the trainees a shot at such a thing? I know that's why my left arm is bruised to high heck. Cuz they were letting the students screw around with it Sounds like you're in the same boat as me for nutrition. Just so dang hungry all the time

Deathorglory - What is metronidazole? That's a medication?

Sooooooo I'm in love with my new face I was making different expressions in the mirror earlier and they're awesome My new puppy-dog face is killer New angry face is sweet too There's something to be said for getting to design your face with a surgeon. Awesome. Hope you guys are thrilled with your results too! I'm sure you will be!

[KaylaChristine]

Hey! Finally had the time and energy to make a post on here. I've been pretty good the past 3 days. I'm still pretty weak in general but I'm feeling better. The first 3 days post-op were completely awful. I was in a lot of pain and it was nearly impossible to breathe. I felt nauseated throughout most of the first few days as well. I actually threw up on Wednesday morning and it was just terrible. My pain pills had worn off and I felt like my jaws were going to fall off. I spent the first few days regretting surgery lol.

My surgeon used actual wires to wire me shut, not bands. Eating is a real challenge and I'm already sick of a liquid diet. It's going to be hard making it another 5 weeks eating like this. Surgeon gave me the okay to use a straw, but I'm not able to. I've lost 6 pounds so far. My swelling has went down quite a bit. I'm a little concerned with how my face is going to look....the surgeon thinks my profile is going to look great but as swelling goes down I keep worrying about how far back my chin is.....idk I'm not real confident it's going to look great.

Anyway I made a blog shortly before surgery it's http://welcometomybite.com I'll be getting it caught up on my post-op days with pictures the next day or so.

[jaime]

Nice blog Kayla! I watched your video as well. As someone who had an overbite, it's hard to imagine having an underbite! I look forward to your future posts.

Please don't be worried about your chin yet. The swelling does weird things. I remember even after my SARPE thinking that my chin looked more recessed, but it was just the swelling. I also saw another vlogger who had the same concerns after his surgery for an underbite, and he felt much better about it a few weeks after surgery. I am sure you're going to like your new face!

I visited my mom today and she couldn't get over how different I already look. She told me I looked prettier which might be the one of the only positive things my mom has ever said about my appearance. She also kept trying to get me to eat the dinner she made, even after I said I'd need a blender first.

[gruntled]

Just had my first sneeze since surgery

[gruntled]

Snap, the prune juice has really worked for me, much better than laxatives! One thing I would say though...start small on it! Half a glass, and then give it a few hours before you drink more or you'll be all gassy and bloated and uncomfortable!

I don't think it was even particularly a special synchronised swimming routine...The meds were just totally messing with me, haha!


I've stopped taking painkillers now except ibuprofen to help with the swelling. I try to avoid painkillers as much as I can because I don't want to build up a tolerance to them.


I was cleaning out my nose (eugh - the woes of not being able to blow your nose!) earlier and must have knocked a scab off because before I knew it, I was having the Niagara Falls of nosebleeds! I definitely panicked but luckily it stopped after a couple of minutes. Not a fun experience! Now to clean up my bathroom, which I left looking like a murder scene...

[snapdresser]

KaylaChristine - They wired your jaws shut? Jeez That sounds pretty brutal. Makes the congestion a much bigger issue too, I'm sure. You know, it seems everyone who has an underbite and gets the surgery initially thinks their chin is too far back afterwards. Since obv that's not the case for every single person who has this done, it leads me to believe it's psychological. For a female, the chin should not extend past a vertical line dropped straight down from the brow. If your surgeon says it looks good, you should trust them! I'm sure it's gonna look great when the swelling goes down Sweet blog btw! Looks like a lot of blood in the pics...

Jaime - Your mom sounds kinda mean! And I'm sure her offering food was pretty annoying lol. Good to hear she's giving you positive reinforcement after the surgery!

Gruntled - Lol sneezing is yet another possible way to break an elastic or start a nosebleed, I guess. I clean my nose out with a wet Qtip when the congestion is making it too hard to breathe. Never kicked off THAT bad of a nosebleed with it tho! Reminds me of what Nozzenut was saying about possible sutures in the nose and stuff. I'm not sure if poking around in there has the potential to hit sutures or not... I backed off on the painkillers too. My Tylenol with Codeine ran out so now I just do the Motrin for pain/swelling. Will do on the prune juice. Just had a little yesterday. I'll probably hit it up again in a bit.

[jaime]

Snap, are you still congested? I've been free and clear for about 3 days now and it's very nice. I am still breathing primarily through my mouth at night though, because my lips don't naturally close yet (and I can't hold them closed yet).

Just about 20 minutes ago, I was eating my pureed potato casserole through a syringe and my dad offered me a brownie. My parents are real nice people, but they aren't too bright.

Oh and guess what I came here to tell you? Guess what horror story involving cadavers I just randomly came across?