June/July 2015 Surgery Buddies

[jaime]

Snap,

I slept horizontally last night to see how it'd go. I didn't have any extra swelling this morning but I was so uncomfortable and had a terrible sleep! Might go back to the wedge tonight. I can't believe I'm so used to it that sleeping normally is the uncomfortable option.

Btw, I saw your blog post and it's nuts! I hadn't seen a "before SARPE" picture of you before! Crazy! I can tell why you're already so happy with your results! They're very impressive!

If you think about it, that's a really nice way of saying, "Wow, you looked awful before!!" I joke...I know my teeth looked terrible and that all this is definitely an improvement not only to my teeth, but my face in general as well. I never thought my teeth were *that* bad before, except now when I look back, I'm horrified I didn't do something sooner.

Lobster roll, omg. One of my favourites. And root beer too! I need real food soon or I'm going to go crazy.

[snapdresser]

Jaime - NOOOOOO!!!! I totally didn't mean it that way! I just meant that it's made a big difference in the way you look, and it looks good! I probably wouldn't have known that was you if you hadn't said. It's crazy how much the lower half of the face affects the general appearance. You Canadians don't know how to take a compliment

Yep, it was actually my first lobster roll Apparently the place was kind of a big deal and it did not disappoint! Little beach-themed hole in the wall, but the service was great and the lobster rolls were incredible I hear you on needing real food soon... I got some new Dark Chocolate Ensures today. That's my fav flavor but I haven't had them since like Week 2. I'm trying to appreciate the little culinary things

So I've been bad about recovery stuff kinda. Today and yesterday I went elastics-less for a few hours unauthorized It just makes my teeth feel so much better. Also, I'm about to eat the cheese off the top of a piece of pizza

[snapdresser]

So I got the last of my insurance reimbursement papers today. The no insurance out-of-pocket costs would have been about $90k total Plan allowance was about $34k Significantly cheaper, but still... After insurance out-of-pocket comes to about $1000, maybe a little less. Thank goodness I got insurance to cover this!

[jaime]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang. I thought this surgery topped out in the USA around $50k. It is totally absurd that it could cost nearly $100k.

Where was the lobster roll place you went to, out of curiosity? When my husband was in NYC, he went some place and got a lobster roll. I don't remember what it was called but I'll know it if I hear it.

Also, I know you weren't giving me a backhanded insult, I was totally kidding!

Slept horizontal again last night. It's getting a little better but I do miss the wedge (but not the back pain it was causing).

I went back to an adult toothbrush the other day as well. The handle feels so long!

[snapdresser]

I had heard of it going up to $80k+. Though I'm guessing if I had gone to my doctor with no insurance, they would have found some way to cut me a cash deal. I'd think... Otherwise that's pretty much prohibitively expensive. Crazy, you can get other popular plastic surgery done for ~$10k, but this they want $90k for? Nuts.

The lobster roll place is called Red Hook Lobster Pound. It's in Brooklyn near where I live.

Lol, I sleep waaaay better horizontally or near it. I was always a front- or side-sleeper and I couldn't WAIT to get back to it. It was really hard for me to sleep all through the night on my back. Once I stopped taking the codeine, it was virtually impossible.

I tried an adult toothbrush the other day and it felt kind of awkward trying to avoid my stitches and all. It was just a bit imprecise, I guess. So now I used the baby toothbrush if I leave my elastics in to brush, or I use a kids toothbrush (which is a little bigger than the baby one) if I take out my elastics.

Soooo last night I got a little carried away with the pizza cheese. It was Papa Johns, with Italian sausage and onions. I ate 5 pieces worth The big pieces of onion were too tough to chew, but the cheese and Italian sausage were awesome. I'm not gonna tell my surgeon when I see her tomorrow

[jaime]

Gasp! Bad! Haha...I bet it was darn good, though!! I ate canned baked beans last night and holy heck were they an improvement over soup! Not difficult to chew at all, although I found lots of bean bits in my cheeks later on.

Funny you just got your bill because mine just came in the mail this afternoon. $65, which is just what my insurance didn't cover for the private room. I really wish my husband would immigrate to Canada instead of me going over there.

Too true about plastic surgery being cheaper...I think it just goes to show how inflated the prices of medical surgeries are.

You still have stitches? When I pull my lip down, all I see is the scar now. Maybe our surgeons use different types of thread. I asked last time and they use some kind of sheep intestine or something? I forget exactly.

[snapdresser]

It was the best pizza (or part of a pizza lol) I've ever had... Oooo baked beans sound good too. I was pulling pieces of cheese out from my archbars all evening I don't know if you do this, but I tend to put my teeth together over and over a lot during the day. Maybe that helps so it doesn't hurt too much to chew? I'm not sure why I do it tho, just to see how my teeth are matching up, I guess? Cuz sometimes they come together just right and sometimes my right-side molars touch first, so I'm just messing with it. I think it's because everything got pulled from that side so the muscles are still lengthening and getting used to the new jaw position. If I look straight ahead and bite down all my teeth touch at the same time. I can't help but mess with it tho

Makes sense that your bill came right after mine $65?? Nice! Cuz you haaad to have your fancy room! Oh yeah, I guess I never told you what I ended up with, but overnight I was in surgical recovery, which is an open room with curtains separating you from the patients on either side of you, and a nurses station right in front of you. There were maybe 8 people in there, all in a row? It's awesome because the nurse is there all night and just has to punch a couple things into a computer real quick and then she can administer morphine, so the whole process takes maybe 3 minutes from the time you say "Nurse, it hurts!" When I got admitted into a regular recovery room the morning after my surgery, I was there with 3 other people. One was an old guy whose pace-maker fired when he was in the bathroom One of the other guys seemed to have some mental issues and kept asking for cake and brownies and stuff. I felt so bad for the guy. A young man who had difficulty enunciating so he kept saying "on-y!" "On-y!" and the nurses would say "Potty? You need to use the potty?" And he'd yell "ON-Y!!!" Turns out the poor guy wanted a brownie. I wanted him to get his brownie too

Yup, definitely inflated prices, but my surgeon's fees were actually a very small part of it. Most of it went to the hospital. Why doesn't the hubby want to move to Canada? Too cold? Too many polar bears and poutine?

Yeah, all my stitches are still there for the most part. Little pieces started coming out a couple weeks ago but I haven't seen any new ones in over a week. Yeah, must be a difference in the type they used. How big are your scars?

[Nozzelnut]

My stitches have been out for a couple weeks; they used dissolvable for me. Probably in there for 10 and they started falling out.

I hope my surgeon gives me the ok to start chewing soft food this week. I've been eating some real food; but not chewing yet...

The numbness in my gums is very odd; I can't feel anything on the left side and when I rinse and brush after meals, a whole bunch of stuff comes out. I hope month 2 of recovery continues to improve feeling in my chin and mouth. 4 weeks this Thursday!

[Liz192]

Eek!! My surgery is tomorrow! What!? Well today I had a cheeseburger and fries and then I had a baguette with butter and some broccoli and chicken alfredo. I'd say it was all good for a last day of meals for at least a little bit. I'm getting my "hospital" bag together and I think I'll be good to go. I just can't wait for it to be over with.

[snapdresser]

Liz192 - EEK!!!! I'm sure you're a nervous wreck at this point like we all were the day before going under, but you'll do fine. It sounds like you'll be in for the easiest recovery of all of us too See you on the other side!!!


I took a look at my stitches and they look like what's remaining is barely hanging on. I might just have my surgeon yank em out tomorrow. Today I touched my maxilla through my still-somewhat-swollen cheeks and I can totally feel the ridge where they cut. It freaked out my wife lol. For some reason I have a hard time finding where they cut on my mandible. You guys been poking around for ridges too? Special message for Liz192 for being a trooper and reading the whole thing: Good luck! Enjoy the morphine Don't worry about getting on right away or catching up on old posts. We all understand

[Nozzelnut]

Liz-- Best wishes for tomorrow and we hope your surgery is completely uneventful and goes as planned!!

[snapdresser]

So today was my 5-week appointment! Tomorrow is technically 5 weeks for me, but my surgeon wanted me to come in a little sooner so she could adjust that tooth that moved. I've read up on it a bit and it sounds like archbars that don't fit just perfectly can cause teeth to loosen, so surgeons always check for any loose teeth when they remove your archbars. Anyways, last week she kinda jammed the tooth back in there and rewired it to keep it in. Today she removed that wire altogether. She thinks my body will naturally move it back to where it's supposed to be. Fingers crossed! Fingers also crossed that I don't have any more loose teeth... So for this week, almost nothing is new Same diet: mashed potatoes, overcooked pasta, and scrambled eggs. Also, she told me that while she'll remove the elastics next week (Week 6), she's going to leave on my archbars until Week 8 just to make sure there are no issues

[Liz192]

Well I got here at 9am for an 11am surgery. We are hoping I will go back around 5. It has been 7.5 hours of waiting. I'll keep y'all updated when I can.

[snapdresser]

Liz192 - Oof... That's a long time to wait! Of course, when it's time it's gonna go by quick. Next thing you know you'll be in recovery! Remember, you can use your fingers to work your lips to help close them and swallow

[gruntled]

Gosh I've been naughty! Been eating basically anything I want and can manage, and I'm not even 4 weeks post surgery! I had a cheese and onion pasty earlier and it was truly glorious.

Someone asked about my bite sans elastics - I think it's fine! When I went to see my surgeon a week or two ago I was without elastics as I forgot to put them back in after brushing my teeth, and he said that my bite was perfect. I haven't really noticed any weird or wonky contact if that makes sense.

I've been dreadful with elastics but when they're in my teeth hurt so very much from the pressure


How is everyone doing? I think I'm pretty much back to normal by now. Would be perfect if I could open my mouth wide enough to eat properly!