Wednesday, February 15, 2012

63 DAYS POST OP

Yesterday marked 2 months since my surgery and I seriously cannot believe how unbelievably fast time is going, soon enough I will be without braces! My ortho said that people usually wear elastics for 6 months so I guess that will be around when I get them off.  So today I went and visited the orthodontist, if you can call it that, we literally saw him for 2 minutes and then were done. He had a look at my bite and said that my bite was looking fantastic and that I now only had to wear my elastics at night, so I was pretty excited, I see this as a big step forward. My jaw is still a little stiff but other then that everything is going swimmingly hahah. I don't really see any reason to do my usual points as everything is pretty much the same but here are some pictures of the last week :)




Since there wont be much happening over the next few weeks, since i'm at 9 weeks now! so there is probably not much good in doing these weekly updates so when something happens i'll keep you updated :D

Thursday, February 9, 2012

57 DAYS POST OP

So it has been just over 8 weeks, and I saw my surgeon today. He said everything was going great and he was happy with the movement that I have achieved in the way of movement. He was so lovely, he seemed genuinely happy with the way things are going, he even said that he was really proud of me with my progress, which made me feel really good, he really is great.I am now moving my mouth more and more and my confidence with eating is improving.
Just for anyone interested otherwise skip ahead. I actually payed attention when he was explaining the healing process, I tend to get lost a bit when he explains it at times. But he explained the residual swelling that occurs after the surgery and lasts up to 6 months. basically you get blood clots after surgery and because they arent very strong they build up in large amounts, and over the months they stretch out to match the bone, and  until then the sort of gap you feel is an area of bone thinness where they slid the bone either back or forward.

But anyway, so that I don't start rambling as much as I usually would:
Swelling: I think it may have come down a tiny bit since my last appointment 2 weeks ago.
Pain: just muscle stiffness. I have had a head ache the last 2 weeks and I think that is because I have been clenching my teeth again.
Numbness: I have been getting a prickling feeling in my chin, and that I think is increased feeling. I have almost full feeling in my lip and for my chin I can feel temperature changes, but touch is still very tingly. My surgeon said for me to try move my lips more, like puckering and such, he said something about sending signals to my brain to increase the feeling to help my brain better register touch, and my nerves wont change that much. The cold feeling I talked about last week isn't occurring as often but does happen from time to time. 
Opening my mouth: opening my mouth is alot easier it is beginning to feel very natural.
Weight: same
Chewing: I am chewing almost everything, my surgeon encouraged me to try some really chewy foods, to have steak and as a bit of encouragement he told me to have some chocolate that had been in the fridge for a while, so i'll see how that goes. 
Drooling: it isnt as bad now, I think it was just the increased movement left my mouth a little confused. 
So that is all for this week, Almost 2 months!! :)

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

49 DAYS POST OP

Its 7 weeks, and I'm feeling a little worn out, I think i'm coming down with the flu so its not jaw related. I have been working on moving my mouth more and I have improved greatly so i'm a bit proud of myself. I went to a party on Wednesday night and it felt really good, everyone was nice, they said I looked great so I was feeling pretty great especially on top of the appointment I had earlier that day. This also helped me get my mouth moving more normally, it was loud at times so I had to yell a bit and it is surprisingly hard to yell with little movement of my jaw, so I was sort of forced to talk normally. In the end just for people at this stage I am really glad that I did go, I was a little apprehensive at the beginning, considering not going, but I had a great night and being out made me feel normal again, and I pretty much forgot about my jaw and just had fun.
As for food, it has again become the love of my life haha, I've been eating pretty much normally, I havent gone and had a steak or an apple or anything like that but things I have missed like bread, chicken and all things good I am now enjoying again. I had a cheese burger the first night, not the healthiest thing but i thought I deserved it, I decided to satisfy the craving that I had in the first week post op, and it felt soooooo good into it normally, it was not only easier but i didnt have anything falling out of the burger and, i'm not sure why this is but, I didn't get anywhere near as much stuck in my braces. It was a good feeling and sort of gave me the realization of what this surgery has done for me, and the things that I can further look forward to.
Swelling: Same
Pain: I have had alot of muscle stiffness and the warm cloth helps and I have been getting alot of pain in my chin, but I think that is mostly nerve related. Just for anyone, the warm wet cloth feels so good in my jaw, I actually sort of look forward to using it because it just relieves any discomfort and makes my jaw feel a little more relaxed. 

Numbness: still a bit in the chin but its continuing to get better. numbness in my mouth is starting to bother me little, last week I said that it didn't but it is now, my chin is changing so rapidly now and i'm just expecting something from the rest. So i'm going to ask my surgeon next week at my appointment. I have been getting a weird sensation around the numbness on my chin where it feels like something is dribbling down my chin. 
Opening my mouth: there is no noticeable difference although with talking and chewing I am finding that opening my mouth is getting a little easier, and possibly slight wider.
Weight: remaining stable
Chewing: it is progressively getting easier, I have surprised myself with some of the things I have eaten, things I expected to be far more difficult than it was. It is still a bit of an effort to chew, so it can take a while, but I am getting back to normal so its getting better with time.
Drooling: It has strangely started to be noticable at 6 weeks, 6 WEEKS! it ridiculous, my mouth is still a bit numb and now that my muscles have relaxed a bit since moving it more over the last week, i have been drooling a bit, not alot like some people I have read, which I consider myself lucky for, but when talking or eating for a while I start to drool.