June/July 2015 Surgery Buddies

[gruntled]

Liz, swelling will come and go I found mine peaked at 48 hours, so there's probably worse to come tbh. Sorry to say!

[Liz192]

Well they released me late last night. So my first night home sucked. I woke up in the middle of the night in pain. I took a Percocet which helped and I was able to sleep. Woke up almost 4 hours later in pain again. My friend gave me another Percocet and some ice packs. She said it looks like my swelling has gone down a little. She's goin to call the doctor this morning to see if they can give me a muscle relaxer so I don't chatter my teeth at night. In the hospital they were giving me a steroid to help with swelling but didn't send me home with any. It makes me nervous possibly taking all of those meds though. I was drinking warm jello water last night to help sooth my throat cause it was sore and was causing me to cough and have to clear my throat a lot. But that is all for now. I already know Percocet may be my new best friend.

[snapdresser]

gruntled - I definitely feel like I'm recovering. Well, "recovering" would be the verb, and it's hard to tell much difference on a day-to-day basis, but I feel like I'm close to being fully healed. Some numbness/altered sensation that I don't think is going away anytime soon. My mouth feels full of metal and it's uncomfortable on my cheeks (more so on the sides than on the front behind my lips. Maybe the skin on my cheeks is getting pulled tighter? I hope so cuz my cheeks are still a little puffy looking). No real pain. I might stop taking the Motrin, but as long as I have any amount of lingering inflammation, I feel like I should keep it up. I do seem to have a chunk of dried blood or something stuck in my left nostril real far back. I wanna bring it up with my surgeon next week and see if she sees anything and could yank it out. I can breathe through my nose ok, but it's a bit uncomfortable and I think it's kinda blocking my Eustachian tube on that side.

You know, it seems like the people who started with an underbite aren't as thrilled about their appearance afterwards as those with an overbite. After you get a few compliments I think you'll be happy with it. Sometimes we're our own worst critics and when we stare at small differences too long, we miss the forest for the trees.

Jaime - What do you think of the definition in your cheeks? Are you getting extra prominence in your cheek bones? As our cheek puffiness goes down, I'm starting to get some nice definition on the left side (cuz it's less swollen). Same for you?

Liz192 - Congrats on getting released! I know it's tough getting down the fluids in the first couple days. That's interesting about the chattering teeth at night. I don't recall anyone else having that symptom. I'm assuming your room isn't too cold or anything. You're about peaking in terms of swelling, so get ready for the big improvements over the next week or so! Very exciting

[Liz192]

Thanks y'all. I'm doin ok right now. I think my room was just too cold. I bundled up with some blankets and a sweatshirt which seems to have helped. I can talk a little better today. I was able to choke down all of my meds which is good. I was able to have a pretty long conversation with my parents with mild discomfort. So I would say I am improving day to day. I can't wait for the swelling to start decreasing and my new self showing through.

[Liz192]

Oh I was goin to ask, how often are y'all brushing your teeth and using the mouth rinses they give you? Brushing my teeth is so hard right now. But I want to keep trying to avoid any infections.

[snapdresser]

Liz192 - I started brushing about 5 days post-op (2x a day). I was like 3.5 weeks when I could no longer take not brushing the insides of my teeth so I did it against the doctor's orders Up until that point I was only brushing the outward side of the teeth. I used the mouthwash 2x a day starting on Day 1 post-op. The mouthwash is the more important thing in avoiding infections, or at least that's my understanding.

[Nozzelnut]

I used the Peridex rinse (the mouthwash stuff) a couple times a day. I was also directed to "brush" with the mouthwash after meals; dip the brush in it and softly brush down/up away from my gums. That was for the first week.

No toothpaste until directed; I think that was at my first followup appointment at a week. Most of the swelling was down and I could actually get in there and brush.

[jaime]

I was instructed to brush my teeth after every meal starting the day after surgery. I was doing that for awhile, but now I'm anywhere from 1-3 times a day, depending what I eat and how furry my teeth feel.

Just do the best you can, Liz.

Agreed with snap that I am most definitely still recovering, but I do feel like I'm getting back to normal...except for the eating, swelling, and numbness. I went for a long bike ride yesterday (11 miles!) and it felt great to do some exercise.

Snap, I haven't noticed any difference as far as my cheekbones. I think because I'm still swollen and can't really smile that big. It'll be interesting to see what develops, though!

I noticed I have partial feeling back on part of my chin...just a small part, but yay! Having such a large area of your face be completely numb is very unsettling. Do you guys agree?

[snapdresser]

Jaime - You're allowed to exercise already?? I keep asking my surgeon and she wants me to wait! That's awesome about your chin! I haven't noticed much less numbness than immediately post-op in my chin, but I think my area of numbness is smaller than yours was. Great to hear that it's coming back You doing a vlog post this week?

[jaime]

The sheet of info I was given for after surgery said I could return to exercise whenever I felt able. I normally run for exercise but I'm going to steer clear of that for awhile, too high impact.

No vlog/blog post this week; nothing new to really report, other than the improvement with my chin numbness.

Where all is your chin numb? Mine is/was basically from the edge of my lips down to the bony ridge at the bottom of my chin. That area is also breaking out in pimples non-stop and I can't seem to keep up with it. I don't know what the deal is...I always check to make sure my chin is dry and clean, and it usually is. I don't know why that skin is freaking out so much.

[snapdresser]

Jaime - Ugh I knowwww! My skin is way out of wack right now It got so dang greasy post-op that I keep having to scrub all those oils off and scrubbing my face makes me break out! So now I got a bunch of little pimples on my nose, cheeks near my nose, and my chin. At least it's not getting to oily anymore so I've been able to avoid scrubbing. Hopefully the pimples clear up soon. I think they're starting to. My chin is numb in roughly the same area as yours, but rather than extending up to my lip, it only goes up to where the cut for the genio is. And it's only on my left side. Sounds like the genio damaged the nerve cuz of where the numbness is located.

I wanted to go for a run too, but my surgeon said not to. She said not to lift too, but that's kind of my thing I think I might start doing some curls again tonight. I hate taking all this time off from exercising...

Noooo! Your vlog posts are awesome! Next week I'm sure you'll have big stuff to say tho

Have you guys tried poking at where your cuts are? Feel the ridges in the bone?

[Nozzelnut]

Snap, the closest I've come to feeling the bone cuts is feeling the slightly bunched up cheek tissue at the top of the inside of my cheeks; assuming from them moving my jaw forward.

And the slight bumps on the outside of my jaw.


Anyone getting any more room while opening? Mine has stayed virtually the same since week 1. (I'm still only using the hinge...)

[gruntled]

My mouth opening is getting steadily better. 2 fingers now!!!


Liz, I was told that I could use a baby toothbrush when I felt up to it. I think I started using one about 5 or 6 days after surgery but only the outsides of my teeth because I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to get the toothbrush in to do the insides! I was told the use the mouthwash every time I ate (up to four times a day), which wasn't very often at the beginning. I was also told that if I was having a lot of milky things I was to rinse my mouth out with salt water every time.


I have seen quite a bit more definition in my cheekbones too! And I'm sure you're right, Snap, re: looks. My mum thinks I look a lot better now. I look a LOT like my older sister now, so that's a bit weird. Personally I'm still a bit unsure.

I've had a bit of a poke where my cuts are. Mostly they're just tender when prodded like that but I can really feel the scar tissue or bone or whatever it is at the front where my maxilla was brought forwards. It's a hard lumpy ridge right under my nose.

[Liz192]

Hi all,
Sorry it's been a while. I've been having a hard time managing my fluid intakes and med schedule lately. I landed in the hospital yesterday for IV fluids due to dehydration. My mouth feels disgusting. I have sloughing like crazy and my stomach is not handleing this all liquid diet at all. As of right now, even though everyone can see a positive change, I am regretting it. I hate feeling helpless and sick. Did y'all go through this phase too?

[gruntled]

Hi Liz, sorry to hear that you're having trouble. Don't worry at all, I don't know anyone who DIDN'T go through this phase. It is a struggle adjusting to liquid food, especially when you may have...bowel problems from the anaesthetic and painkillers. I wondered on an hourly basis whether it was worth it at all, with my face swollen and trouble speaking. But it is worth it and you'll see that soon. The first week is the worst, after that it's a breeze.

I found myself very argumentative and rude in the first week too, and just generally an emotional wreck. It's mostly just the painkillers .

For me, I found that the best way to keep on top of the meds was to set times that I took all of them at once. For me it was 12am, 8am and 5pm. I slept most of the time so I'd just have an alarm and take everything then. I stopped taking painkillers after around 5 days though and just bore the pain because I couldn't cope with how loopy they were making me.


It will get better, promise.