Thursday, November 4, 2010

Day 93 - Three Month Anniversary!

THREE MONTHS! all right! =D     I'm not quite sure what to say...Things aren't really much different than at the two month point.  As of the last 2 or 3 days I can feel a little bit of feeling coming back [finally!] in the left side of my chin. Or its thinking about coming back... I'm not really sure.  Its still a little weird and tingly but I'm sensing improvement... I can still poke myself with a needle in some spots though and not feel it.  Very annoying.  But anyway... I think the swelling is down all the way now.  I can finally see my cheek bones again instead of just round cheeks. Thats a good thing I think. =P  I'm still wearing really annoying rubberbands from the orthodontist. blechhhh  I'm actually a little confused on their current procedures.  When they took my surgical wires off they had me wear these rubberbands that pulled my top jaw back a little...Not sure why they'd do that since I just went through *ahem* jaw surgery to bring it forward. So that really messed things up and my top and bottom front teeth were clashing together....not ideal.  So now they have me wearing rubberbands that pulled my top jaw back forward to exactly the way things were right after surgery.  Now, I don't have a degree in orthodontics or dentistry or anything, so if anyone who does would like to explain all of this to me, I'm all ears.  [see new info in dec 2nd post] These rubberbands hurt! Sheesh. I enjoy seeing all the different animals on my little rubberbands baggies though.. Each size and strength of rubberbands has a different animal... So far I've had tortoises,  sea lions and rams.  Who knows what I'll get this month!!


 








Anyway....  I've finally reached a point where I can definitely say it was all worth it.  Yes, it was the most miserable experience of my entire life... But I love my new smile!  And i can chew normally! Yep. Life is good and I wouldn't change a thing.  Have pre-jaw surgery questions?  Or maybe you just had surgery and you have recovery questions? Ask away! - I consider myself an expert at this point. =]

15 comments:

  1. I've had braces for exactly one year today and am getting jaw surgery in 2 weeks. How long after surgery did you get your braces off?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, I had my surgery August 4, 2012 and I got my braces off December 8, 2011.... So just a little bit over one year. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi - i had double jaw surgery 5 weeks ago 4 days - im hopefully getting my wires off this wednesday - I've been wired shut .....Firstly does it hurt when they take the wires off?? and what sort of things can you eat when they take the wires off...Im craving cheese burgers lol ... im thinking if i break it up really small it might go in the gap

    Your blog has been amazing - thank you so much for writing it - its got me through the last 7 weeks.... as i started reading just before my surgery date..

    It's totally worth it!!! I'm so happy with my new smile!!! :D NO regrets!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congrats!

      My mouth was not wired shut, i just wore tight rubberbands, so i can't really say what that will be like for you. However, with or without the rubberbands, i wasn't really able to open my mouth anyway. With all those broken bones and numb muscles, its pretty difficult to open up. As far as chewing goes.... you probably wont be able to this soon. haha Go for it though :P

      Anyway, let me know how the wires go for you! :)

      Delete
  4. Hey! I had jaw surgery June 15 at the Mayo Clinic! It has been a rough 10 days already but I think the worst is over! My swelling has gone down a lot but I still look like chipmunk! I only had rubberbands too but at my 1 week post-op appt they took them off and told me I didn't have to where them anymore! but I still can't eat solid food til the end of July! Anyways, I've been reading your blog almost everyday and I even read it before my surgery! It's very inspiring! thank you for posting it! :) My question is when did the swelling finally go away for you???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the worst is definitely over! and good job looking only like a chipmunk... i was definitely more of an orangutan or a puffer fish. haha but thanks for reading! i love hearing from people who are going through the same thing. :)

      Delete
  5. Rebecca did you have a splint? And if so how long after surgery did it take for people to understand you if you spoke with your splint in?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope... I did not. My surgeon and orthodontist discussed widening my top jaw by breaking the roof of my mouth...But decided that the healing process would be much worse if that procedure was done and it really wasn't that necessary.... So i think skipping that was what made it so i didn't need the splint. All depends on what kind of surgery you're having! I'm afraid i can't really answer any questions about what its like to have one though. sorry!

      Delete
  6. Hello, i'm 16 and i had lower jaw surgery last week on the 9th of July, its day 9 today, and tomorrow i get my bands off/changed so that i can eat eggs and pasta and such. This whole experience has been truthfully awful for me, at this point in time in not sure i would do it again, yet i'm sure once i'm all recovered i'll feel differently. hopefully ha, anyways, it was day 3, and i was having difficulty swallowing my meds (i was in lots of pain and had severe discomfort), so my mom called my surgeon, no answer seeing as it was late, so my mom offered to drive me to the hospital, uneagerly i said yes, we drove off blah blah then my surgeon called my mom's cell and told us to meet us at his office, we did. he gave me stuff for pain, then he took off the 6 heavyduty elastics keeping my jaw shut, and replaced them with two. holy crap, most terrifying unpleasant experience in my entire life. i panicked, because it felt as if my jaw was disconnected from my face. again just holy crap it was awful, your blog was comforting to me because you felt the same way, sorry you did, but yea! anywho i think one of the worst things if that you truly recognize your appreciation for proper food, im sick of smoothies and chicken soup, just blech its awful. ive lost about 10 lbs and am dying for a stupid hamburger from mcdonalds. im not going to be a vegetarian, sorry animals! lucky for me my swelling is not bad, and brusing is not bad either, tho obviously its there and its drives me mad. and the tingling is MAKING ME INSANE. I cant even sleep its so annoying, and yes its like putting yourt phone on vibrate and holding it up to your chin. constant. annoying. im going insane.and seeing as it's summer, my friends are all out having fun im so jealous, i dont have energy to talk to them, yes thats another thing i hate about this surgery is that i cant speak, so frustrating i use a white board. its nice to know however that there's other people in the world that went through the same experiences as me, im just another average person desperate for my life to get back to normal! ITs taking too long, or maybe im impatient. yea im impatient, and i hope i'll be okay to go to this music festival with all of my friends in two weeks, it cost $200 so i hope i can... anyways thanks again for your blog it was really helpful to me :)
    cheers!
    yes im glad i live in canada, and have insurance because ive gone through braces, wisdom teeth removal, headgear *cough cough, retainers, and surgery. i feel bad for my parents...
    omg after writing this short story about my experience i forgot to get to the point.. erm so any tips or advice for my bands tomorrow? i'm kind of freaking out a bit here ha anyways thank again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, I just read your experience and I'm the same age as you and I had surgery on the 17th of this month! So maybe we could be like pen pals or something and exchange tips and talk about this experience because nobody understands...just a thought!

      Delete
  7. how did you get your insurance to cover it did they deny it and you appealed it again also who is your ins with

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had a bluecross/blueshield policy through my family. Luckily the surgery was completely covered without any battle or appeals or anything. My surgeon and orthodontist made it clear that the surgery was necessary and not for cosmetic purposes and that was that.

      Delete
    2. I'm honestly not sure if that policy still exists though... that was back in 2010 and obviously a lot of changes have been made to healthcare since then and it could be more difficult to get coverage.. I know the insurance i have now only covers 50% of jaw surgery... good luck!

      Delete
  8. Thank you so much for sharing your story. It is big help for us especially for me having jaw and ear pain it gives me more power how to overcome will,again thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi lm nearly 3 months post op and my top lip area under my nose is very tight. My gums are still numb. Hows your feel?

    ReplyDelete