My lips are FINALLY no longer abnormally dry! I still keep them hydrated, but it seems as if now applying a simple non-fancy lip balm is finally enough to do the job and actually combat the dryness.
The numbness has not changed and I have not experienced too many tingles or stabbing feelings as I did last week. Since my surgeon was not worried about my numbness suddenly returning, I'm not going to worry about it either unless it's still the same around being one year post-op. The biggest issue I am having right now is dealing with tight elastics and allergy season. I am very sensitive to ragweed, which is outrageously high in my area right now. The elastics are not tight to where it is difficult to open my mouth, but it does take effort to open it. At night when I am sleeping I have found myself waking up having trouble breathing because my nose is clogged and my teeth are banded together. I have an orthodontist appointment in 3 weeks and I am hoping that I won't have to wear elastics anymore. Although by that point I would have been wearing elastics for 3 months, which isn't that long compared to most people. The gaps that my orthodontist was hoping would close with the tiebacks are not at all closing, so I know I will get a power chain at this next visit. I am really excited to go because it is my first appointment since surgery where they are going to go back to the heavy duty shifting. He wanted to take it easy on me since I was only a month post-op, so I am hoping to see some huge changes from here on out. As for mobility, I can fit three fingers easily and now I have a little bit of wiggle room. Maybe a fourth of my fourth finger. If I continue at this rate, I should have 100% of my mobility back by the time I am 3 months post-op. I was not given any instruction to exercise my jaw, but it does feel good to massage the area and it does feel tender still. I would imagine that the swelling will stick around until everything is healed and I know I look and feel healed, but 100% recovery takes a full year. Which is something I have to keep reminding myself!
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Today was my final appointment with my surgeon until my braces come off (hopefully early February 2015). Since it was only a checkup, I was in and out in about 15 minutes. He checked my bite and commented on how well everything was touching. He then checked out my incisions sites by pressing his fingers along the site. The surgeon also spent some time rubbing the outside of my jaw where the plates are to feel to see if there is anything abnormal going on. I am still 10% swollen and that last little bit will take a couple more months at least to fully go away. (Click here to compare pre-surgery profile and 8 weeks post-op). The surgeon gave me the OK to resume to my normal diet! So I am good to eat those tougher foods like steak and apples as long as it does not cause any pain to chew or bite into it. Sunday morning I woke up and noticed that my chin felt weird. So, I touched it and the entire left side of my chin and lip went numb again. All that feeling I and gained back was, and still is, gone. I mentioned this to my surgeon and he said it is unusual, but as long as I had feeling it should come back. He is still confident that I will gain 100% feeling back. I have been experiencing at least 3-4 level stabbing pains in my left side chin and lip. It's sharp enough to make my eyes water, wake me up in the middle of the night, and make me stop what I am doing until it subsides. Still feeling sensations is also a good sign. I'm hoping by 6 months post-op I have most of my feeling back and 100% of the swelling is gone. At almost 2 months post-op, I can say that I have hit the point where changes are slow and patience is needed because there isn't much going on. I am still waiting for:
I have not had too many sensations in my numb areas. Once in awhile I get a sharp poking sensation or tingling sensations. My lips are almost back to normal and are not as dry this week as they were last week. I have not needed as much lip balm this week when compared to previous weeks. So, hopefully in a couple of weeks this will be back to normal. I'll admit, I panicked this week a bit thinking the swelling left is what my face will forever look like. I have a surgeon appointment on Tuesday and I plan to ask if I am swollen where I think I am. Through extensive research, it can take 6-12 MONTHS for 100% of the swelling to go down. So, if you are panicking like I am at this point, don't fret yet. There is still plenty of time for your face to return to normal. What is still left orthodontically:
At this point, I should only have 5 months of orthodontic treatment left! I have officially been chewing again for a full week! After reading the blogs of other jaw surgery patients, I thought that this process was going to be slow and painful and that is what I went into this week expecting. However, I experienced absolutely no pain or soreness while I ate and it felt as if it did not take any extra time to eat compared to where I was before surgery.
The more you have done in surgery (double jaw vs. single), the longer it will take to chew normally again. Honestly, I believe I have been very fortunate and since I did not have a splint and was only banded shut for a few days, that really sped up my recovery. I'd say the longer your jaw is immobilized, the longer it will take to feel comfortable chewing. I also bit into soft things and my teeth work! I have never been able to bite into a food and it be cleanly cut. I used to have to bite and then pull (like an animal) to get the bite of food to break away. Also, I have absolutely no more popping when I yawn, chew, or open my mouth. Meals I have chewed normally this week with no pain:
Sounds like a healthy menu, right? Right now I am focusing on just building my jaw back up with different textures of food. I don't usually eat all that type food in a weeks time, but it's been really good! So, how did it feel to chew? Awkward. When the insides of your mouth and inner lip and gum line is numb, you find yourself accidentally trying to chew your skin. After a week, I have gotten used to chewing while numb, but the first couple of days I was self-conscious about it. I also looked in the mirror after I ate and thought my face looked swollen! I panicked because I thought I hurt something without realizing it. However, and this is gross (warning), there was a TON of food stuck in my braces along my lower gum line. So much that I thought my face was swollen. The worst part of it was I could feel anything since my gums and inner cheek is numb. Tip: When eating in public, drink a non-carbonated beverage such as water or tea. That way you can discreetly swish it around to dislodge stuck food. That's a helpful braces tip in general actually. Why no carbonation? When soda is swished, it bubbles and fizzes and wants to exit you mouth the same way when opening a shaken bottle. Also, this fizz does not help dislodge food the same way as tea or water. I am still drinking a glass of the Breakfast Essentials a day since I am not eating as healthily as I would like and I have huge box to drink through. Once I finish the box I have I probably won't repurchase them. Here is a list of how I have been mentally categorizing foods so I can better illustrate what I am eating:
Going off of these various "levels" of chewing, here I began this past week at Level 4 and prior to being allowed I chew, I was at Levels 1-3. As I felt comfortable, I moved up a level and did not go passed Level 7. As I mentioned, I did not experience any pain or soreness or tiredness while trying to chew. Levels 9 and 10 I probably won't attempt until my braces come off to minimize the chances of breaking something. Level 8 I would personally feel comfortable waiting until I am 3 months into my recovery. I would say that my diet is 90% back to normal now. In all honesty, it won't be 100% until my braces come off, therefore while I have them on I'd say I will reach 95% of my normal diet before surgery at about 12-13 weeks post-op. When I say "normal diet," I mean that I can eat whatever I want without worrying about hurting myself or my braces. There is little right now that I have had to deny and if you go to a restaurant, there is something on the menu you can easily chew and enjoy. Numbness: I would say I do have more feeling back in my right side of my chin and lip. It seems to be maybe at about 75%, maybe? and the other half of my lip is at about 25% as if the parts of that half of my chin I can feel. For the most part, I am still 98-100% numb in the left side of my chin. I went a couple of days without putting on any sort of lip balm and I woke up one morning to find a small crack in my lip that was bleeding. It wasn't too bad, but it took a couple of days of constant lip balm application to get my lips back to normal. Lesson learned: keep applying lip balm. I can now comfortably and effortlessly fit 3 fingers in my mouth, which means I have about half of an inch until I am back to where I was before surgery! Pain- 0/10 Discomfort- 0/10 Weight- 120/122 Energy Level- 8/10 It has officially been six weeks since my lower jaw surgery, which means I am allowed to begin chewing again! Also, I accidentally lied about not seeing swelling. From the front, I look 100% normal, however from the side its a different story. I had looked at my profile before, but I didn't really look. Does that make sense? The swelling is under my chin and makes my profile look chubbier than it is. Since my front profile looks the same, I will start posting side profiles from now on. So, far it feel awkward, but I believe that it is mostly due to the entire lower part of the inside of my mouth being numb (inside bottom lip, cheeks, and gum line). As far as my jaw position, it just feels so good to know that I look normal when I chew and it feels comfortable to do so. I will post more about this in my 7 week post once I have more to go on. I am still tender to the touch when I lay my head on my hand. It's not painful at all, it feels like poking a bruise. Not painful, but sore. I'm sure it will take several weeks for that to go away. I would have to say that my energy levels are back to where they were before surgery. I have had 2 solid weeks scheduled full of errands, appointments, travel, hanging out with friends, and classes. It is still tiring, but who isn't tired after a long day of running around? This past week my numb areas have had a TON of sensations. Two nights ago, the sensations were enough to actually wake me up! The half of my chin and lip that I was 100% numb in I would say is now only 95% numb. The "circle of numbness" is definitely getting smaller and I have maybe a quarter size that is still 100% numb. The sensations come in the following feelings:
These sensations are more annoying than painful. It feels like it itches, but it is below the surface so scratching does nothing to alleviate the itch. It's torture. I can now fit 3 fingers in my mouth. It's tight, but they fit. Once I get to four fingers, I will be back to where I was before surgery. If I move my jaw forward and backward, it hurts a little. It feels like a muscle being forced to move a way that it hasn't had to in a while. Which makes sense since that is what is going on here. There seems to be a thin piece of gum tissue that has grown, sort of like a flap, and is over my back right molar. That is what is causing me the most irritation right now. I'm not sure how much of the feeling I have in this "flap," but if I am going to get more feeling back still then I will have to get it cut off. I will ask my surgeon about it next time I go in. Box elastics are not very easy to put in, so I thought I would list some tips since most of you all will probably have box elastics at some point in your treatment:
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WelcomeThis blog documents my journey through lower jaw surgery in hope of providing help and insight involving the experience. Archives
October 2015
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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 |