Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Day 15 - smiling!

Today has been one of the more painful days for some reason.  The last couple days I've been able to get by with only 2 motrin every 4 hours.... But today i had to take tylenol 3 a few times in addition to the motrin, and i still didn't get the pain under control.  I could have taken a vicodin, but it makes me so sleepy that i wanted to avoid it at all costs.  The most likely reason i can think of for my mouth hurting is that some of the nerves are finally waking up.  Like I've said before, i've had zero feeling in my chin, lower lip, nose, my gums, and the entire roof of my mouth.  Because of the numbness, I pretty much haven't been able to open my mouth at all...only slightly.  I can't describe how weird it is to have no control over parts of your face.  Imagine tapping your chin and not feeling anything.  Imagine trying to make a smile that shows your teeth and being unable to. Its very strange.  However, today I've begun to have more control over my face.  Its still numb to the touch and I cant, for example, rub my lips together when i put on lip balm, but I can definitely sense some improvements.  I think I can talk a little better, I can now make a kissy face (because thats exactly what I've been waiting to do for 2 weeks....) and I can (my personal favorite) make a smile that shows my teeth. Its an awkward smile... but a smile nonetheless!  So even though today I've had to deal with a lot of pain, I'm smiling!!!!

4 comments:

  1. Rebecca, I am going for upper and lower jaw surgery on the 13th August 2012. I am a little apprehensive. I am a lecturer at college and am really worried to be off for a long time as it is the beginning of a new year.Do you think it is unrealistic that I could be back at work after 3 weeks of surgery

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    1. Well....If you have a very strong will and are a fast healer, you might be able to pull it off... But honestly, i dont think i could have talked for any period of time after only 3 weeks. You won't be able to pronounce everything correctly and your mouth will get tired VERY fast...and depending on how much blood you lose during surgery, your whole body will become fatigued very quickly as well. You might just want to play it by ear though to see how you're doing and get back to work gradually.

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  2. How long do you think I will have to take off of exercising after jaw surgery?

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  3. Hey Rebecca, love this blog! I'm having double jaw surgery in 4 weeks and am curious about the pre op appointment with the surgeon...any major questions that need to be asked? Was there something you wish you had asked about?

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