One Year Since Surgery

I really can't believe it's been one year since my surgery. Actually, it's the night before the "big day". I had my surgery on May 6, 2010. I remember thinking, as I drove to the hospital, that I could still back out. I actually kept thinking that all the way into the surgery. It was such a scary time. I can still say, however, that I'm really glad I did it. I like my new face, and the fact that I can breathe, and no more snoring.

Things have been going fairly well since the last time I posted. I still can only open my mouth about 2 fingers width. I see the surgeon next Tuesday and I hope he gives me some exercises to do. I haven't had any problems until a couple of days ago. That's when I thought I was coming down with a cold, but it was only one nostril that was runny. Then I noticed that my upper molars on that same side were sore. My runny nose just continued, but it had blood in the liquid. It was just like bloody water coming from my nose. I called the surgeon and he put me on antibiotics and the pain and blood have gone away. I'm not sure if it's my tooth or an infected screw. I hope it's not a screw, because I really don't want to have another surgery. Well, I guess I'll find out Tuesday I hope.

I hope everyone is doing well. It was so nice to not think about my jaw for a few months.

One last thing, I saw some old pictures of my teeth and after that I was so glad I had this done.

Guess what happened today!

I wasn't expecting this, but today when I took my youngest son in to get his braces on they took mine off. It did hurt to keep my mouth open for so long, but otherwise it wasn't bad. I am so pleased with the way things turned out. I will post more later. Here's a real dorky video of me right after I got them off.

Surprise, No Loose Screws

It came as a big surprise to my husband that I don't have a screw loose. He's just sure there's another one in there that's causing me to be so weird. I told him to just wait until he has a procedure and I'll tease him.

Today at 11:15 I walked into the OR to get my plates and screws removed just on the left lower jaw. I have to tell you, it was a piece of cake. They did give me gas to put me to sleep and a half trachea tube, and an hour later I was in recovery drinking apple juice. The doc did say the screws weren't loose, so that wasn't what caused the infection. He said a piece of food or some bacteria probably just got in the screw/plate. He said because of the infection the bone started to lay down more bone to cover the infection and he had to scrape the bone down.

I woke in recovery in pain which made me think the pain would only get worse, but it didn't. Actually, I feel fantastic now! I am still swollen in that spot, but I think removing the infection has already made me feel better. Or it could be all the Vicoden I've been taking. :-)

I've already taken the dog on a walk, made dinner(simple one) and cleaned the kitchen.

I am restricted to a cold liquid diet for 24hrs then I can progress to a soft diet for about 4-7 days depending on how I feel. Oh yea and I should feel good enough to go to the Bronco's game on Sunday! So excited. Anyway, you guys are all just awesome. Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers and comments.

Plate and Screw Removal Tomorrow

Hi all. I had my appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday and he wants to take the plate and screws out. Actually, so do I. My surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at 11:15. It will be done at his surgical suite in his office. He kinda freaked me out when he said that an anaesthesiologist will be there. I thought he was going to just put me to sleep with an IV, but I guess he changed his mind. I know it will be nothing like my last surgery so I guess I'm not really scared, just a little . He said it would take about an hour. He didn't recommend me doing the other side because it wasn't bothering me. So, thanks guys for your input! You were all right. Once he's in there he should be able to tell what caused the infection. He also may have to shave the bone down slightly if I had some overgrowth. Sometimes that happens with an infection.

I asked the nurse how often this happens and I didn't get a very straight answer. She just said "not that often". Anyway, your prayers are always appreciated. Hugs!

The Infection is Back

Well as the doctor expected, my infection is back. I've been off the antibiotics for about 3-4 weeks now and my jaw started to get tender a few days ago. Over night it swelled up. It's kinda weird because the swelling is really hard, not soft like I expected it to be. It's right along my lower left jaw. In the picture it's on the left (looks like my right). The picture is reversed. Anyway, I called the doc today and he's going to put me antibiotics just to get me through the weekend. He wants to see me Tuesday. Looks like the plates and screws are going to come out. He said he would give me the option of removing the other side. The only draw back besides extra pain is he will have to put a hole in my cheek to remove the last screw. I'm not sure what to tell him. Does anyone have suggestions? Thanks so much.

Appointment with OS about Infection

Hi all. I've been very busy lately because of a new midlife crisis purchase. Instead of a really nice Audi R8 I decided to get a Whoodle. What's a Whoodle you ask? Don't worry, I had never heard of it before either. You know how they come up with all these weird sounding dog breeds. A Whoodle is a mix between a Wheaten Terrier and a Poodle. She looks like a Labradoodle. She's super cute, friendly and soft. She's taking up a lot of my time lately. Her name is Sophie.

Ok, on to ortho stuff. Thank you guys for asking about how my appointment went. I really appreciate it. Anyway, I saw the surgeon on Wednesday and he took a look at my teeth and said we "hit a home run". I'm not sure, but I think he's complimenting himself. My lips are getting closer together too as the swelling goes down. He told me that women should have between 2 and 4mm lip incompetence. I guess that's ok then.

As for the infection, he thinks it will probably come back and if it does he would take the screws out. He said that once bacteria get in there it's hard for your body to fight it off and you just have to remove the screws and plates. He would do it in his surgical suite in his office. He would just put me to sleep with an IV and cut along the same original surgical incision. The last screw is hard to get out without putting a little hole in my cheek. Well, that doesn't sound too bad. He was going to wait and see if the infection does indeed come back. I forgot to ask how long that might take. That's all for now. Off to bed.

Infection?

Hi all. I have been a bad blogger. I haven't posted anything for weeks now. School has started for my kids and with that comes all the business of planning, driving and studying. My last post I think I mentioned that my left side was somewhat swollen. Well, within the last couple of days it has really swelled up. It is starting to hurt and look funny. I called my OS and he put me on antibiotics and wants to see me next Wednesday. I wonder if he's going to say we need to remove the screws. I guess I will find out. What's funny is that my lips close better now with the "infection". Weird. I don't think things are quite right yet.

Here are some pictures. It probably is hard to see the swelling, but it's on the left side of the picture. It is reversed, so it looks like my right side.

3 Months

It's been about 3 months and I am feeling great. The feeling in my chin is almost 100% back. I still have a tiny bit of tingling when I touch it, but not much. The feeling in my palate and gums is coming back, just slowly.

At about 2 months I went through a period where I thought I looked really funny and fake. I felt like the doctor hadn't taken enough out of my upper gum and that he hadn't pulled my upper teeth back far enough. That was the first time in my recovery where I felt depressed. I felt like I had made a big mistake by not making it clear exactly what I wanted. I thought I might have to do the surgery again to get it "perfect".

Well, I think I have turned the corner on that. I finally had to compare my old pictures with my new ones and after that I remembered there was a hugh difference. I guess I couldn't remember exactly what I looked like. Weird, huh? I like the amount of gum that shows when I smile. I like my new chin. My lips do look better than they did. My smile is wider. (See, I have to remind myself.) Also, my swelling has gone down a little bit more so my lips almost touch. It's still not perfect, but better. I still have what looks to me like chipmunk cheeks. I'm hoping the swelling goes down on that. The surgeon did notice that and said sometimes the bone grows back thicker than before and they can shave that down. I don't think so! He wouldn't make that decision until after a year out. My left side is more swollen than my right side and sometimes it hurts when I push on it. Yea, I know...don't push on it.

I hope you all are doing well at whatever stage you're in. It really is all worth it!

9 Weeks Out

Hi all. It's been awhile since I posted. It's kind of nice to not be obsessing over my teeth so much. I told my husband that I don't want to talk about my teeth unless I bring it up. haha He said, "That's weird. That was all you wanted to talk about for the past year". Yep, he's tired of this too. We have been busy though. We went on vacation to visit family and I had my 47th birthday. Forty-seven and I still have braces on. Yuck.

It's been a year since I got my braces on. I remember the first thing I did after my braces were on was to ride the COG Railroad up to the top of Pikes Peak. I have already decided that will be the last thing I do to finish off my braces journey. That will be like a round trip up and back from the Peak. Symbolic in a way.

Things have been going really well. I still have some tingling in my chin, but the feeling is continuing to improve. I am eating quite a few things. It's still hard to get my teeth and tongue working together and my mouth opening wide enough. I still have to push food between my teeth to get it into my mouth.

I will see my surgeon this Wednesday. I haven't seen him since about 3 weeks after surgery. I am planning on asking him about my lips not coming together. I think they are closer together now, but still not perfect. I did notice my top lip was very thin for awhile and it's getting fuller now. That helps.

I was feeling my head the other day and I noticed I have a big dent from where they cut my bone graft. It's probably 1" x 4". I sure hope that fills in. It doesn't hurt though. I'm only wearing 2 rubber bands at night only. My smile is now looking a little more natural. I don't find myself covering my mouth when I smile like I did before surgery. That is so awesome. I just smile real big and show my teeth braces and all without being embarrassed. That in itself makes this surgery so worth it!

I hope everyone is doing well!

One Can Dream

This could be me in 6 short months...

5 Weeks Since Surgery

Wow, the weeks are just flying by. Tomorrow marks 5 weeks since surgery. I'm still feeling great. I don't have any pain. I am, however, very tired of the surgical hooks, skeletal hooks and the rubber bands. My teeth always look dirty. Probably because of all the metal reflecting off my teeth. If one of those spring storms hit, I head inside real fast. I'm sure I'm a lightning rod.

I've lost 12lbs so far and holding. I eat a chocolate shake every night. I know that's coming to an end as soon as I get my clearance to eat real food. I better slow down now so that I don't gain too much weight. I actually would like to stay the weight I am now and not gain back the 12lbs. I don't know if that will happen.

I emailed a couple of pictures of my open lips to my OS. I heard back from the nurse who forwarded the pictures to him. He's in Thailand or something like that. I can't wait to hear back from him. I'm probably just worrying myself for no reason, but I just want to make sure. I also see my orthodontist tomorrow and maybe he can reassure me that things are ok.

The times I was most self-conscious of my jaw were at the grocery story(odd), driving, and sleeping. I would always try to posture my jaw so that it didn't look that bad. I haven't totally gotten over that yet because I still imagine my jaw being the way it used to be. So here is a picture showing why I felt that way. Oh, I hate my old profile. I really didn't want to post it. Yuck. But the good news is my new profile.

4 Weeks Since Surgery

I love the warm, lazy days of summer. I have been taking the kids to the pool and enjoying the beautiful weather. This is a picture of me and a friend of mine from elementary school. We've known each other for 40 years. Ahhhhh.

Now on to my jaw...

I can't believe it was a month ago that I had jaw surgery. I am so glad to have that behind me. Things are progressing as usual. My OS is still out of town, so I won't see him until July. I will see my orthodontist on June 10 to check my bite. I'm now only wearing 4 rubber bands. They are on my molars and I can get them in-and-out in about 30 seconds. That's way better than a week after surgery when it would take me about an hour to put 5 of them in. That was so painful with all the swelling.

I am getting daring with my food. Yep, I've tried microwavable Quiche Lorraine, Bread Bowls from Panera Bread, and anything I can put in my VitaMix. That blender is awesome. Today I did Pineapple Juice and my kids loved it. It's nice that my healing is during the summer when I can get all kinds of fresh produce.

I still can't feel my gums. It's weird to run my fingers across my gums and not feel a thing. I also can't tell if I have food stuck in my braces and as a matter of fact I can't tell where food is in my mouth when I'm eating. I push food around in my mouth until it goes one of two ways, down or out of my mouth. I still bite my lower lip on the right when I chew. I'm still numb on my chin; it feels like rubber when I touch it.

My lips still don't touch at rest. It worries me, but the nurse thinks it may be swelling and all the metal in my mouth that's stopping it. When I sleep my lips come together no problem, or so I'm told, but not when I'm awake. I don't understand that. My orthodontist did scare me a little the last time I saw him when he said, "don't worry, as you age your upper lip drops 1mm for every decade". Great, so I may have my lips touch by the time I'm 70. Well, it is definitely better than before.

3 Weeks Today

This last week went by so quickly. I am still feeling great - lots of energy and no pain. I saw both my orthodontist and my Oral Surgeon this week. Everything looked good to them. However, when I left I got to thinking that it seems like my lips aren't closed at rest. I started worrying and obsessing over this. Why didn't I think about it when I was at one of their offices? Stupid. Anyway, I went back to look at the pictures from right after surgery and I did notice my lips closed closer together then. It figures that my OS is out of town for a month. (He goes to 3rd world countries to do surgery on people in need.) So, I called my ortho and he got me in today. He told me to stop wearing the band in front. He thinks it may be pulling down my front segment. I had a 3-piece Lefort done. I'll see what that does. Also it could be that I still have swelling and a lot of metal in my mouth. Is there anyone else that noticed something like this?

My ortho also took pictures of me yesterday and he showed me my before and after side-by-side. It was amazing. I look so much better now. I'll try to get my hands on them and post comparison pictures later.

Eating is still hard. I am able to eat mashed potatoes, pudding, and scrambled eggs. It just takes me about an hour to eat. By the time I'm finished it's time to start again. I'm half way there though! Yea! Even now I think I can safely say I'm still glad I did it. I just want my lips to close together.

My husband is jealous by all the gifts, cards, flowers and meals I got right after surgery. He said, "I got a colonoscopy and no one got me a gift". What can I say, I have some great friends.

Here's a picture of me and my OS. I love that man. I have tall heels on that's why we are the same height.

Two Weeks Ago Today I was in Surgery

I can't believe it was 2 weeks ago that I went under the saw. I was so scared. Actually, today I can say I am glad I did it. I like my bite and that I can close my lips. I like that I can breath better too. The first week was really rough, but last week wasn't bad. I'm just getting tired of all this metal in my mouth and I miss eating bread and salad. I think if I could eat normal I would feel great.

I saw the OS yesterday and he took the staples out of my head. He said I looked great - no bruising and hardly any swelling. He thinks my bite is just about perfect. He said I need another 4-6 weeks of a liquid diet. I was prepared for 4 more weeks, but not 6. I'm not sure what he's thinking. He didn't change my band configuration, but I can remove them every day for about an hour. I still can't open my mouth enough to get much food in so I'm still on a liquid diet. When he looked in my mouth he found a stray rubber band. Isn't that embarrassing and gross? I guess I have so much stuff in there I didn't notice it.

I don't like my smile now, it looks stiff and my lips are tingly My eyes still look sunken because my face is swollen. I did put on makeup yesterday for the first time since surgery.

On more thing, I love my OS. He is a Board Certified Cosmetic Surgeon and General Surgeon, an MD and DDS. He's awesome.

Day 9 - A Good Day

I can say I am way, way better than even a couple of days ago. I have hardly any bruising and my swelling is going down. My feeling is coming back slowly. I have more feeling and less swelling on my left side. My lips are still very painful. They are chapped, sensitive and swollen. No kissing going on with me. I can't even pucker. I can drink from a cup if I look in a mirror to see what I'm doing.

On the good side, my mom and I went out-and-about today. It was really so nice to get out. I did get kinda tired and we stopped to get a smoothie and that was all I needed to go a few more hours. I did see one person I knew who said her sister had jaw surgery about 15 years ago. It's surprising to me to hear so many people have this done. We brought dinner home from Olive Garden and I blended the Zuppa Toscana soup and Shrimp Caprese for dinner and it was really good. That was probably the most I have eaten since the surgery.

I am replacing my bands every day which is so incredibly hard. They are so far back in my mouth and I'm so swollen still and my lips are sore it's hard to get them on. My husband, bless him, has helped me try to do it, but I think it's easier when I do it. Did you notice the name of the rubber bands? Bummer. That is appropriate.

I want to include lessons that I have learned as I go through this whole process. So here are my first lessons:

1. Mom's are a gift from God.

2. If there is something rough in your mouth your tongue can't leave it alone.

A Hard Day

Well, today was rather hard. I was actually feeling better. My swelling was down and my energy was up a bit. So, it sounds good, right? Except for when you start feeling better you want to do things such as talk and eat. Two of my favorite things. Talking is kinda difficult now. I'm hard to understand and my lips are so swollen and very sore it's hard to talk. Ok, on to eating. I made the mistake of telling my husband to stop by Chick-Fil-A for a chocolate shake. Any other time I would love a shake, but not when that's the only thing I can eat. So, I get the shake and my husband orders chicken nuggets and fries. Boy did they smell good. And to make matters worse, my lips are so swollen I can't even use a straw. I had to wait to get home until I could use the stupid tube. He ate his whole meal in front of me. It was so frustrating.

Then we got home and my mom had fixed chicken tenders. I had to endure dinner yet one more time. This was the first time I joined them at the table. Usually I just leave the room when they eat. I stayed because I had mashed potatoes. But I couldn't eat them though because the OS had just put new rubber bands on and we were afraid if we took them off we couldn't get them back on. Silly, because I'm going to have to do that tomorrow.

The first post-op appointment at the OS went well. He said I looked really good and I was healing nicely. However, when I saw my x-rays and I saw all the metal it kinda freaked me out. Well, really the only one that really freaked me out was the screw up my my eyeball. Yes, it is up at the side of my nose by my eyeball. How in the world did he get it there? Never mind I don't want to know. All I could think is if I want it out how is he going to do that? Does anyone else have a screw way up there?

Well, that's my exciting day. I just notice I'm not at the point of being 100% sure I did the right thing. I guess that happens later when I can actually eat, talk and see what I look like.

Day 5

Actually, I'm not sure if I'm day 5 or 4. Are you supposed to count the day of surgery as day 1? With surgery day as day 1, I'm on day 5. I'm still taking Vicoden so I may be pretty confused. lol

Thank you guys so much for all the encouraging comments. I really do appreciate them. It's helped me a lot to hear from others who have gone through this. It can be discouraging to wake up in the morning hoping you feel much better, but find out you feel exactly the same as yesterday. I cried a little this morning when I realized that. That didn't help all it did was plug-up my nose. I look like I have a permanent smile, because my face is so swollen. I'm still just "eating" chicken broth, Gatorade, Ginger Ale and Smoothies.

I know I'm feeling a little better because I'm trying to tell the kids what to do and not do. The first few days I could care less what they did. They could have gotten away with anything. Here is a picture of all the lovely flowers my friends have sent me. They have been so wonderful to me.

One other thing I want to mention is I think my kids are kind of afraid of me. They have left me alone more than usual and sometimes I think it scares them to look at me. Did anyone else notice that? My kids are 9 and 11.

Oh I forgot to tell you this

I put the pictures in backwards. The first picture is today, day 4. The last 2 are from the hospital right after surgery.

Oh, I forgot to mention I got a genioplasty and a cranial bone graft which left 7 lovely big staples in my head. He did give me a choice between a cadavers or my own. I choose my own bone. I have rinsed it in the shower a couple of times, but I'm too afraid to use much shampoo. I'm afraid it will hurt. Anyway, here are some pictures and yes I look like was run over by a mac truck.

4 Days Post-op

Hi everyone. I'm sorry it's taken me a while to post, but I guess all these drugs make me so loopy. I'm actually doing pretty well. Pain isn't too bad. I have some pain in my upper teeth. I have lots of dried blood in my nose and it is so hard to get out. Any suggestions? I've used Ocean spray and qtips, but it's just really stuck up my nose.

I just want to post how the day of surgery went. I had to be in Denver at the hospital at 5:30. They took me back about 5:50am and got me dressed and an IV in. I was so scared I told them I think I changed my mind about the surgery. They let my husband back to talk to me and he was so comforting. The "gas" doctor came in an talked to me. He said they put a patch on my neck after surgery to stop the neausea. That really did help. I haven't felt sick at all. The OS and his assistant came in. The OS said they had been praying for me. He knew I was scared. Anyway, I said "ok, let's get this over with". The wheeled me into the OR about 7:45 and I couldn't believe how many people were there. I think it was 7-10 people. They talked to me for a second and that's all I remember. The surgery lasted 6 hours. He did the lower jaw first and that went until 10:00. I'm not sure what they did next but they fixed my turbinates in my nose. They said they were twice the normal size. They had a hard time getting my breathing tube in because my trachea was so small. The did a 3-piece Lefort. My upper jaw was pulled up 2mm and my lower jaw was moved up 6mm and then one side of my lower jaw was tiled 2mm and he fixed that. They took me to the Recovery Room and it was hard to wake me up. I was there 2 hours. I vaguely remember them talking to me. I was so out of it. I don't remember any pain waking up though, just really spacey.

I was able to breathe so much better the first few days. The surgery was done at Sky Ridge Hospital in Denver and they were all so great. The nurses were all attentive and I had a private room. It was all a fairly good experience considering what they did.

I came home the next day, Friday, and I feel better each day. Swelling is the worst part of it and it's hard to swallow. My throat hurt a lot. I do have pictures that I'll post. I am still really numb on chin and lower lip. My mom and husband have been taking such good care of me. My husband is a MD himself so he knows exactly how to care for me. I can't wait to feel normal again. It's hard to say right now that I'm happy I did it, but I think I will be happy in a couple of weeks. Maybe it's my age. Most people who do this are a lot younger than me. Sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'm doped up on Vicodene.

I made it

HI all. I can't believe I did. I was so scared I almost didn't do it. Very, very swollen. Can't swallow well. It hurts to swallow. It's hard to breathe out of my mouth. I'll post more later and pictures.