I thought I would discuss some of my fears about having surgery on my jaw. Anxiety is normal before an operation and by sharing some of my fears, I hope to help you realize you aren't alone in your fears. In general, I would say I have a minor case of claustrophobia. I say minor because it does not interfere with my day-to-day life. But, I do experience anxiety when I am in a small space and my ability to breathe is compromised. This leads me to my biggest fear involved in this operation: my ability to breathe with my mouth banded shut. Another fear stems off of this one. From past operations, I know that anesthesia does not make me nauseous, but the pain killers do. Every operation I have had I experience at least one day of vomiting off and on. While vomiting doesn't bother me, I fear not being able to while my mouth is banded shut. This is not so much a fear, as a concern. But I am a bit afraid of while I am using those syringe things to feed myself, that I will accidentally pierce through or tear the incision site. How awful would that be? And be too numb to even notice... Why am I telling you all my fears? Each person will have his or her own set of fears and, once this is all said and done, I would like to compare the fears I had to the actual experience. Things typically aren't as bad as you initially think they will be.
2 Comments
Just a couple of new things to report. The first is that I have my pre-op appointment on July 2nd at the surgeon's office. They will do some x-rays, measurements, and take impressions for my splint. After two weeks of phone tag with the surgeon's office, everything is finally in order. My payment in due on July 11th, so I will probably just pay it when I go in for my pre-op appointment. Now I am playing phone tag with the actual hospital. Everything is set on that end as well, but I still need a price estimate. I was told there will multiple different bills, including: hospital, surgeon, anesthesiologist, and lab fees. Once I have all these compiled, I will be sure to let you all know what to expect. Expect to play phone tag for awhile because you are busy and the people you are trying to coordinate with are as well. Try to leave yourself at least two weeks to get everything lined up. You will be a lot less stressed... I promise! The big day is...... JULY 26, 2014! Having a date makes this whole thing seem real and I can't believe it is happening! Just a bit more than two months away! I was unaware that it was even possible to get a date on the weekend, but I am thankful for it! My husband will have that day off and will hopefully be able to take the following week off with me. We are still trying to figure all that out. This will give me a little over 4 weeks to heal before I have to start my fall semester. Which should be plenty of time. The splint should also be out by the time I start classes as well, which is something I was worried about. I will need to talk to my professors about missing class and taking my finals for the summer semester early. The woman who does the scheduling at the surgeon's office is going to be calling me sometime either this week or next, so I will make another post if there is anything to update on. Also, I have an orthodontist appointment 4 weeks from today, which will be my last regular appointment before surgery. After that appointment, I will have one more before surgery to get the surgical wires and hooks put on. So ready to be in on the other side of surgery! ☺ I love structure and I also appreciate a nice list. Therefore, I have made a list that includes the phases of my journey and thought you may like to know the process. For the most part, this is a list of "to-do's" that many of you may need to do yourself and some of these things I was not aware needed to be done in order to get braces put on. Which, as a result, made it take longer than anticipated to have the braces put on. Phase One: Pre-Orthodontic Dental Care
Phase Two: Pre-Surgery Orthodontics
Phase Three: Surgery
Phase Four: Post-Surgery Orthodontics
Phase Five: Whitening
When I first got braces on, it felt weird. I could swore my lips were sticking WAY out and that I would have to force my lips around my braces to keep my mouth closed. All this was in my head, thank goodness. The orthodontist assistant working with me reassured me that my lips were not sticking out and that when the braces come off, it will feel as if my lips are too flat. As soon as I left with my new and shiny braces, I went to KFC to get some beautiful fried chicken and the best mashed potatoes. It felt very strange eating with braces on. It was as if I was chewing with someone else's mouth. It didn't help that the orthodontist put a material he called a "build-up" on my bottom molars to keep my teeth from closing down on the brackets. All and all, it was a weird feeling. I'm not going to lie... the pain was excruciating and I consider myself to have an above average pain threshold. The pain began about 4 hours after the braces were put on and peaked at day 3. Those three days, I barely slept because it felt as if my entire mouth was pulsating with pain. It hurt to eat even soft foods such as pasta and boiled potatoes. I was worried that this is what I would be enduring over the next two years. On top of all that, I had several canker sores in my mouth that hurt every time I moved my mouth. I used this product every 30 minutes to numb the pain and provide some relief. Pain after first getting braces: 9/10 Thankfully, the pain began to decline after 3 days and completely disappeared on day 5. It felt like a miracle! I was able to eat completely normal again and there was no pain when chewing. After day 5, it was a matter of getting used to the braces being there. After one month, it felt as if the braces were not there at all. I also only had canker sores during the first month and once in a while I will get only one as the brackets shift to a location where the inside of my mouth is not used to it. This has happened only a couple times thankfully. My teeth moved fast! (I will post pictures at some point). I had a severe overjet and my front teeth flared out a lot. I had the braces put on in March and by the end of June, all my front teeth came back significantly and all gaps were closed! Right now, the orthodontist is widening and leveling my lower and upper arch so that my back teeth will touch. The left side of my top teeth are up higher than the other, which makes my mouth look lopsided. It is amazing how much your teeth determine the support for your lips. The main foods I avoid are chewy ones, such as Starbursts, Skittles, Jolly Ranchers, gums, and caramels. There are a lot of foods to avoid, but these are the main ones that I personally had to give up. I was told it was okay to eat popcorn as long as I ate the popcorn on the top and not the bottom. I have eaten plenty of popcorn with no issues. I have adjustments and wire changes every 8 weeks. Afterword, the pain is no were near as severe as when I first got the braces on. There is only pain when my teeth touch or when I bite/chew. Therefore, the first two days I eat pastas and make soups. After two days, I can begin some chewing again and after 5 days there is no pain. Pain after braces adjustments: 3/10 I have heard people say that dental wax does not help, but those people are lying. If you have a canker sore, it is important to use wax over the the nearby brackets so the sore can heal. Once I put wax on, the sore was healed in a couple of days. If I did not put wax on, the sore would stay there for a week or more.
Each person will have a unique problem area where they may need to use wax throughout the entire process. For me, it is my top four teeth. The brackets irritate and rub my upper lip and it can get pretty sore and tender. Right now, I put wax on before bed every other week. The more my teeth come back, the less often I need to use the wax. So be sure to always keep wax around! Hope this helps! Feel free to ask questions about this post or topics I may not have covered ☺ |
WelcomeThis blog documents my journey through lower jaw surgery in hope of providing help and insight involving the experience. Archives
October 2015
Posts
Other People's Journeys
1 Year Post-Op 9 Months Post-Op 6 Months Post-Op Paying for Jaw Surgery 5 Months Post-Op Retainers Braces Off 4 Months Post-Op Fear vs. Reality 3 Months Post-Op 12 Weeks Day 81- Ortho. Apt. 2 11 Weeks 10 Weeks 9 Weeks Day 59: Surgeon Apt. 4 8 Weeks 7 Weeks 6 Weeks 1 Month Post-Op Day 27: Ortho. Apt. 1 Day 25: Surgeon Apt. 3 3 Weeks Day 17 Day 12: Surgeon Apt. 2 Day 10 Day 9 Day 8 Day 7 Day 6: Surgeon Apt. 1 Day 5 Day 4 Day 3 Day 2 Surgery Day (Day 1) Pretesting Appointment Surgical Hooks 1 Week Pre-Op Insurance is Complicated Caution with Insurance Pre-Op Appointment Planning and Preparing Orthodontist Apt. My Fears Pre-Op Date Surgery Date Phases of My Journey Life with Braces The Operation 3 Months Pre-Op |