Pain- 0/10 Discomfort- 0/10 Weight- 120/122 Energy Level- 8/10 It took about 4 days after my orthodontist appointment for my teeth to not be constantly sore after my adjustment and addition to the box elastics. My teeth are sore from time to time, but that is to be expected since my teeth are constantly moving and shifting. Any discomfort is taken care of with a couple of Advil or Ibuprofen pills. I would say that my weight is officially back to where it is normally. I have always had a 4 pound fluctuation between 119 and 122 pounds. My energy is slowly starting to go back to where it was prior to surgery. This is my second week back into my normal routine and this week was much easier than last. I can start running again, but I would feel more comfortable waiting until 6 weeks post-op since where I run is either rocky or on trails, so the terrain is very uneven and I would hate to fall and hit my jaw. I got the OK to run at my last appointment when I was about 3 weeks post-op. I have been informed that it turns out that my surgeon was out-of-network. I am in the process of finding out why I was told he is in-network. The cost difference between the two is $2,500, so I am trying to figure out which it is. Frustrating. I feel like I am back to normal and I already forget that the surgery has happened. I have to remind myself while I am eating that I still have 9 days before I can chew. It's also confusing when I try to open my mouth wide and it won't open past two fingers. It takes a moment to remember that I had surgery and my lack of mobility is normal. The first two weeks of recovery really drag on, but once you get to the point where you cannot easily recall how many days it has been since surgery that is when time begins to fly. Each day goes quicker than the last. Through some research I have found the following timeline of how far you should be able to open your mouth at different recovery points:
I have not been instructed to do any sort of stretches and exercises yet, so I am currently not doing so. My next appointment is September 23 and I will be asking about this if I am not given the OK to start the exercises. My numbness still had not changed. I am having more burning sensations in the numbest areas, but from what I can tell the numbness is not going away yet. Before I wrote that talking felt awkward because my lip is numb. Thankfully, I am now used to this and it feels just as natural as it did before surgery. I still don't like being numb, but I don't really notice it anymore unless I am eating and drip something on my chin.
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Pain- 0/10 Discomfort- 3/10 Weight- 119/122 Energy Level- 8/10 I met with my orthodontist for the first time since surgery today and the appointment took about 40 minutes. Everyone was so excited to see me! They knew it was my day to come in and everyone just couldn't believe the results. If you don't like to be the center of attention, mentally prepare yourself for this because everyone is excited to see you. The first thing that was done was the assistant took my wires out and took off most of the surgical hooks. I have some in my mouth still that I had before surgery for something called a tieback and these guys basically help close gaps. But the ones in the front and back are gone! The orthodontist put some detail bends in my wires and said my braces should be off in less than 6 months! So that is sooner than I was expecting. The assistant then put my wires back in and took some photos of my new bite and smile. The last thing she did was show me where to put my new elastics. They are called "box" elastics and are very forceful and used to really pull the top and bottom teeth into each other. I experienced no pain during this visit and the assistant was extra gentle with me. I can only open my mouth two fingers and that seemed to be plenty of space for them to do their work. The discomfort rating for today just comes from all the elastics that are making my teeth sore. It usually takes a couple of days to adjust after an orthodontist visit. Here you can see all the crazy going on inside my mouth. There are two different elastics. The first is the one going horizontally across the top and another going across the bottom. This is the tieback that I mentioned earlier. See the silver post? There is a gap between those two teeth on each side of my mouth and these tiebacks will close that gap. If not, then I will get a power chain my next visit. I had these tiebacks for months before surgery and the gap reopened after surgery since I did not have them through my recovery. I do not change these. They stay on 24/7 and of the 10 months I have had them, only one has broken. If one breaks, I have to go in and have the orthodontist assistant put it back on. The second elastic is the one in the square shape. This is the "class II box elastic." This will force my top and bottom teeth together so that they will lock into each other. These I do change myself and I have to wear them 24/7 except when I brush my teeth and eat. I was told that my teeth will be reshaped towards the end of my treatment, so I'm pretty excited about that! I have never really liked the shape of my teeth. When your teeth do not meet correctly, they don't wear down to look more aesthetically pleasing. See the ridges on the ends of my teeth? Everyone has them when their permanent teeth come in and the ridges wear down as you eat. But since my teeth have never met correctly, the ridges never had the change to be worn down.
I did not realize until the past couple of days that my entire lower gum line is numb as is the inside of my cheeks. So, I cannot feel when I have food stuck along my gum line. It's very strange to be confident that you don't have any food stuck, but then you look in the mirror and see more food than you ever have in your life stuck under the brackets and in the wire. I cannot wait until I have all the feeling in my face back.
Here is a list of additional foods that I have had success eating during my no chew diet:
My husband and I went out to Red Lobster and we always get their "4-Course Feast." I had no trouble eating the cheddar bay biscuits as long as I dipped it in the clam chowder, which was also no trouble eating. I love salad, but I was not able to eat that without chewing. I knew the vegetables and croutons would not work, but I was hopeful for the lettuce. Once I sucked the ranch dressing off, the lettuce was not possible to swallow. For the entree, I picked the shrimp and scallop linguini and this was nice and easy to eat. I just had to cut the scallops in half and the shrimp into thirds. Finally, I selected cheesecake for dessert. Again, no issues whatsoever eating this creamy dessert. So, it is possible to eat out at a restaurant, it's just important to really think about what you are choosing. Pain- 0/10 Discomfort- 0/10 Weight- 119/122 Energy Level- 6/10 Today was my third appointment with my surgeon and I was only in there for about 15 minutes. He came in and looked at my bite and pushed hard on the incision sites and confirmed that they were completely closed. He said that the scar tissue is thick right now, but should thin out and not be so stiff in a couple of months. He then asked me questions about my numbness and took a sharp piece of wood and poked me with it to get an idea of the perimeters of the feeling. Basically, I have a circle about the size of a dollar coin the left side of my chin and lip. He said that each week the numb circle should become smaller and smaller. On the left side of my chin and lip, I could not feel the pokes at all. But on the right side I could. The surgeon said that I don't have as much feeling back as I think I do and it should be back in 2-3 months. He mentioned nerve repair surgery as something he sometimes has to do if the nerves did not heal properly or were too damaged, but he was hopeful that I would not need this. Whew! That was good to hear. That was basically it! He said he has spoken to my orthodontist and said that he is free to move my teeth and use whatever bands and wires as needed. I only have two more visits with my surgeon. One in one month and then he wants to see me one last time after my braces are removed. He told me not to start chewing until 6 weeks post-op and to start out with soft foods and work my way up. The bone will be fine. There is no chance of it breaking if I eat something too hard. The concern is the muscle and over working it. My jaw has a muscle that I have not used in 6 weeks by that point, so I have to rebuild the strength and endurance. If you can bench press 300 pounds, but break an arm in an accident, you cannot use that arm for 5-6 weeks. You lose muscle mass during that time and will be unable to go right back to 300 pound weights. You would have to start small and gradually work your way up. The jaw muscle is the exact same. He also said I should only be in braces for 3-6 months, but I think I will wait to see what the orthodontist says on Thursday before getting my hopes up. Yesterday and today were my first two days back into my original schedule of classes and running errands. I quickly became tired and my energy levels are definitely not where it was prior to surgery. Hopefully in a couple of weeks this will be back to normal. Pain- 0/10 Discomfort- 0/10 Weight- 120/122 Energy Level- 8/10 Three weeks ago today I was being wheeled into the O.R. to have my lower jaw lengthened. I have halfway through my initial recovery to when I can start chewing again! If the next three weeks goes as quickly as the first three, then I will be chewing before I know it. This was also my first full week of being able to take my bands off to eat, which broadened my options for food. Eating The first two days of being able to take my bands off to eat was time consuming. I found myself eating a tiny bit and then making something I could just drink. However, after those first couple of days, it became easier and easier to eat. After five days of my no chew diet I have had no issues. I am now eating full meals and it takes me no longer than it did before when I could chew. I did learn a couple things though. The first is that as long as the food is wet, soft, and can easily be cut it will be no problem to eat. Dry foods cannot easily be swallowed without chewing. Here is a list of foods that I have successfully eaten with no chewing and no discomfort:
All of these foods were effortless to "tongue chew." It really helps your energy levels once you start consuming solid foods and your weight will begin to go back up. The second thing I learned is that as long as you can soften the food with a soup, milk, or other liquid it should be no problem to eat. I haven't tried this yet, but I could probably eat any sort of cookie (chocolate chip, Oreo's, short bread, etc) after being dipped in milk. If there is something you want to eat, just think if there is any liquid that would accompany it to make it easy to swallow without chewing. Third, you have to remind yourself not to chew. It's such a habit and it's unusual to not chew. I have accidentally chewed a couple of times and had no pain whatsoever, but that does not mean I can or should chew. I just have to really focus to keep from doing it. Talking I sound completely normal now. However, since my lower lip is still numb it feels awkward to talk, but the more I talk the less awkward it feels. I have looked in the mirror as I talk and it doesn't look weird, just feels like it. I am not getting sore or tired when I talk. I don't even really feel like I am recovering anymore. The elastics feel like something I would have received at the orthodontist and my teeth feel the exact same way. The main thing is getting used to talking with my jaw in its new position. Pain- 0/10 Discomfort- 1/10 Weight- 119/122 Energy Level- 6/10 This morning I took my bands off for the first time on my own! I had two elastics on each side, one set in the back and the other closer to the front. The back bands do not need to be put back on, but the others need to be worn 24/7. When I took them off, I used a pair of tweezers and they came off with no issues. I can only fit one finger in my mouth and I didn't realize how small of a space that was until I tried to brush my teeth. Even with my baby toothbrush, it was still too big to fit between my teeth. I was however able to use the WaterPik to get direct water onto the backs of my teeth and tongue, which was better than nothing. I decided not to eat soft foods right away, so I used the tweezers to hook the front bands on and gave speaking a try. I am so used to my teeth being clenched that I have to keep reminding myself that I can open my mouth a little to talk a bit clearer. With the bands on, I can fit half a finger in effortlessly. I'm sure I can stretch the bands more, but I don't want to put that strain on my jaw and risk snapping the bands. Maybe in a couple days I will be more willing to take some risks. As I mentioned, my speech is much clearer with just these two bands on. However, I have realized that I have habits of moving my jaw back and forth as I talk, so now I am trying to do that now post surgery. This doesn't hurt my jaw, my jaw is more like "hey, I don't like that anymore." It's a friendly nudge. Am I saying that I have to relearn to talk? No. Not at all. I just have habits that I didn't know about prior to surgery that are no longer necessary. I'm sure before surgery I was subconsciously trying to make sure my jaw was in the correct position by holding it forward while I spoke. I was aware of holding my jaw forward when just sitting and listening, but not while I spoke. Which makes sense because talking with my jaw far back felt unnatural and uncomfortable, so I would automatically hold it forward while my muscles fought to pull it back. Long story short, I have to get used to talking with my new bite. Just like going from driving your old car to a new one. You didn't forget how to drive, you are just accustomed to handling your old car and it will take a week or two to adjust to this new car. I'm expecting the same with talking and it will just take a bit of practice. For dinner, I attempted tuna salad and mac and cheese. It took FOR-EV-ER. Here's what I did:
Speaking of my tongue, I cannot stick it out between my teeth. If I try, it pushed my jaw past it's capacity and it hurt a little. This was a lot easier while looking into a hand mirror and make sure to have some sort of bib because this is messy! I'm going to try to eat this way at least once a day. It takes a lot of time and energy and I don't want to overdue it since I have not been approved to start stretching or exercising my jaw yet. While I did not eat as much food as I thought I would, it was nice to not be so tightly banded shut anymore. The soreness in my teeth seems to be better now as a result. Pain- 1/10 Discomfort- 1/10 Weight- 118/122 Energy Level- 7/10 I had my second surgeon appointment today and he said I am still healing well! He also said that 70% of the swelling is gone. Where is this other 30%? I have no idea. I can't see it, but I do believe him. He said the final 30% of swelling should be gone in two weeks. I'm excited to see what my facial features look like after this final 30% is gone. I'm thinking a lot of the swelling is inside my mouth (it feels crowded in there) and some is still along my jawline. But like I said, to the untrained eye, you can't even tell. I am still tightly banded shut, BUT only until Monday (17 days post-op). I currently have two bands on each side. One set in the back and the other set more towards the front and the positioning is exactly like what the orthodontist would give you for overbite correction (Class II bands). So, on Monday, I remove the bands in the back and were the Class II bands 24/7 (except when eating) and change them as needed. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. This should also allow me to open up just wide enough to talk more clearly. I honestly believe the biggest challenge will be the psychological adjustment. When I had my bands off at the surgeon's office, I found my self pushing my lower forward just like I used to without even thinking. I was hoping that having my jaw immobilized post surgery would mean I would lose that range of motion, but it's still there. It hurt a little when I did it. I felt a pop that felt like when your back is achy and you pop it and it hurts, but feels good... Does that made sense? So, I need to be very careful and I have no idea how long it will take. According to psychologists, it takes 3-6 months to break a habit and form a new one. I'd imagine it will take about the same amount of time. Once I am through that portion, I will write a post about how to help yourself through the psychological process. Right now, I plan to spend a lot of time looking in a mirror so that my brain can connect the image it is seeing. My brain still thinks I have an overbite and is moving and behaving as such. You literally have to retrain your brain. Sounds intense, right? Pain- 0/10 Discomfort- 1/10 Weight- 119/122 Energy Level- 8/10 I decided since there really isn't any changes day-to-day anymore that this will be my final daily post. I will definitely continue to post as new things happen and when I go to appointment. I will make sure to do at least one post per week during my recovery. Today, I dealt with mostly soreness along the incision sites. A warm sea salt rinse gets rid of this soreness immediately though. Why sea salt and not table salt? I'm honestly not sure, but I have had several piercings and sea salt was always recommended by the piercers and table salt is a no-no. It just doesn't act the same as sea salt, so try not to use it unless that is what your surgeon says. Sea salt is soothing and extracts infections. So I figured the same applies to surgical sites. What I do:
It's important to not use too much sea salt because it is very drying and can cause irritation. I try to do this 2-3 times per day. I think I am having those spasms that you read about on everyone else's blog posts. However, mine don't hurt at all. It just feels like my jaw is involuntarily jerking. I also forgot my mouth is banded shut and tried to open my mouth real fast. Why? I don't know. No one else was in the room so it's not like I was trying to talk. Anyway, that more scared me than hurt. Any discomfort from that was gone after a few seconds. Sleeping no longer seems to be an issue. I didn't want to say anything until I has 2-3 nights of good sleep just in case it was a fluke. But nope! I have been sleeping well and not on my back. I can't do it. I did for a few days and just couldn't do it anymore. Last night was night 3 of being able to comfortably sleep on my side. I am still sleeping with 2 pillows (I usually don't use a pillow... I know, it's weird). So I am still elevated. I also did not take nor need to take any pain medications today! I occasionally have uncomfortable soreness in my teeth or a mild pulsing feeling in my jaw (rated 1-2), but these things only last a couple of minutes. My wisdom teeth removal was way worse than this. I was in pain ranging from a 7 to a 9 for two solid weeks. I felt completely normal again on day four. I know it's person-by-person, but I hope you all have as good of a recovery as I have. Pain- 0/10 Discomfort- 1/10 Weight- 120/122 Energy Level- 10/10 I actually slept 5 hours straight without waking up! It was amazing and I slept for an additional 5 hours and never needed to take any medicine for pain. I did take some Ibuprofen when I woke up just to help with any swelling that might have occurred overnight. The most noticeable swelling is still under my chin. It literally looks like I have a double chin at certain angles. My husband says it looks like all the swelling is gone. Aside from myself, he knows my face better than anyone and if he can't notice the swelling, I'm sure no one else will. Also, I bought a tub of Breakfast Essentials and it tastes so good! It looks, smells, and tastes exactly like Nesquik chocolate milk. Plus it is loaded with calories, vitamins, and protein. I drank about 1200 calories just in this drink today. Milk (I use vitamin D) is fairly filling and it kept me full for about 2-3 hours before I wanted something else/another glass. For Women I had to begin the next cycle of my birth control today. This past week I was on the placebo pills, so it wasn't a problem to skip last week. I debated skipping this month of pills and starting up again when I could, but the side effects of your body readjusting to the hormones was something I did not want to deal with. So, I decided I need to take the pills. But how do you take birth control when your mouth is too tightly banded shut and there is no way to squeeze the pill through? Dissolve them in water. Seriously. It took less than a minute to dissolve the pill in 5 mL of water. Then, I took it into a syringe and drank it. I made sure to drink a lot of water and swish it around to make sure it all was ingested. It seemed to work! Pain- 1/10 Discomfort- 1/10 Weight- 120/122 Energy Level- 9/10 I seriously cannot believe it has been a week since my operation. Time is going by much faster than I had ever imagined it would and before I know it, I'll be free and able to eat whatever I want! Last night I slept for 10 hours! I have been getting between 5-6 hours of sleep all week, so this was a personal best. I still woke up every 2-3 hours to pee and take some Ibuprofen, but that's it. The pain I am feeling in the middle of the night is more discomfort. It doesn't hurt, it just feels sore and achy. But a dose of medicine takes it away! I mentioned yesterday I was going to try to cut back on the Ibuprofen and I have managed to go 12 hours without any sort of medicine. I will continue to take it before bed to get me through the night and as needed any other time. The burning sensation I mentioned yesterday has gotten a lot better day and I think I have regained some feeling in that half of my lip. Not too much change any where else though. For Women I started my period 5 days post-op and it was very different than usual. I am on birth control, so I am very regular and it is the same every month. This month, my period was much lighter than usual and only lasted 3 days instead of 5. Jaw surgery causes a lot of stress on the body, so, don't be surprised if things are a little different. Pain- 1/10 Discomfort- 1/10 Weight- 121/122 Energy Level- 7/10 It's weird to be on "Day 7" when I am not quite yet at one week post-op. Since my surgery was so early in the day and a lot happened, it deserved to be "Day 1." Anyway... Yesterday, and all the other days post-op, it was very painful to even lightly touch my jawline because it was so tender. Today was the first day where this tenderness was not as bad. I think I mentioned this in past posts, but I always end up sleeping on my face no matter how I try to avoid it and it always hurt to have my skin in contact with something. I took a nap and woke up with no pain and little tenderness! Now I have to actually give a firm poke to feel any sort of discomfort. It seems as if the majority of the swelling is gone. I have a pocket of swelling under my chin and just a little along my jawline and on my face. I am pleased with how I look and feel already. I feel like I did before the surgery. I don't think I could have the energy for running around doing errands, but I don't get worn out while taking a shower or eating anymore. I am also going to start cutting back on Ibuprofen starting tomorrow. I am going to try to only take it before sleeping and if I need it when I first get up. I am going through a bottle of this stuff every two days and it's expensive if I don't need it. So, tomorrow I am going to see if I need it or not. The right half of my lower lip is starting to get feeling back. It feels as if I burned my lip on that half and and sort of touch, including a straw, burns. It's the weirdest thing. I looked at it very closely and it does not appear to be burned, so I think it's my nerve's way of waking up. |
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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 |