I've spent the better part of the past 5 days completely disabled by a headache. My surgeon says this is normal and that it will resolve itself when my range of motion returns and my lower jaw gets used to its new position. He suggested taking a large dose of ibuprofen, which is normally my go-to drug for pain, but it wouldn't even touch this headache. Tylenol and hydrocodone won't touch it, either. Add some sleep deprivation to the mix and you get a body that's not healing (as well as a very unpleasant me). Not good.
Since I reached the end of what western medicine can offer me at this time, I turned to acupuncture for relief. All I can say is -WOW! I felt relief as soon as the needles were inserted and felt so good that I fell asleep during the treatment. It was amazing. The headache went away. I felt little flickers of feeling in places in my mouth and face that previously didn't have feeling. I felt good for the first time in days.
Unfortunately the full effects of the treatment stopped as soon as the needles were removed. I felt better than before the treatment, which was good, and even better was that I had hope that a few more treatments can get me through this headache crisis and help my body to heal.
One interesting side effect of the treatment is that my face's oil production has shot back up. Right after the surgery I was told that my skin's oil production would increase and that I should be diligent about washing my face to prevent breakouts. Oil production did increase for a few days, but then it went back to normal and I was glad. Now it seems that the oil production may have something to do with blood flow and healing - I'm not sure exactly what the connection is, but I'll be trying to figure it out over the next few weeks. My next acupuncture treatment is on Monday and I can't wait!
I had a follow up appointment with my surgeon on Thursday and everything still looks good. He reduced my elastic wear to nights only and eventually I won't need them at all. Woo hoo! Nose oozing/dripping continues but is greatly reduced. Facial swelling comes and goes. I foolishly thought it was gone for good after my last post, but noooooooooooo. Recovery from this surgery really is a marathon. I have months more to go.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Day 6
I've been taking lots of natural stuff to speed healing and reduce swelling (arnica, bromelain, quercetin, walking, drinking tons of water) and I'm happy to say that the major swelling has come down a lot. Minor swelling remains in my cheeks and upper lip which will probably be around for a few more months. We'll see!
My range of motion continues to improve and I can smile better than yesterday. It still looks scary, but not as scary.
.
Feeling continues to come and go in my face and lips, little flickers and patches here and there. Unfortunately this stupid headache keeps grabbing me in its kung-fu death grip. During the last episode I added listening to a meditation CD for healing to the moist heat from my bed buddy (that just sounds funny but I swear that's what it's called). It definitely helped to un-frazzle my nerves.
Fatigue is still a challenge so I took 2 short walks today instead of 1 longer one. It was a beautiful day!
My range of motion continues to improve and I can smile better than yesterday. It still looks scary, but not as scary.
Feeling continues to come and go in my face and lips, little flickers and patches here and there. Unfortunately this stupid headache keeps grabbing me in its kung-fu death grip. During the last episode I added listening to a meditation CD for healing to the moist heat from my bed buddy (that just sounds funny but I swear that's what it's called). It definitely helped to un-frazzle my nerves.
Fatigue is still a challenge so I took 2 short walks today instead of 1 longer one. It was a beautiful day!
Day 5
Day 5 started out great. Had a follow up appointment with my surgeon and everything is healing up well. He reduced my elastic wear to while I'm sleeping and a few hours after lunch only. Woo hoo! To celebrate my new found freedom my husband and I went to Denny's for breakfast. One of my fellow jaw surgery bloggers mentioned that she ate some french toast and for some reason it wormed its way into my brain and I absolutely had to have it. It took me an hour to eat one piece and it was seriously the most delicious thing I've ever eaten.
Took the dogs for a 45 minute walk today which wiped me out for the rest of the day. It was great to get some fresh air, sunshine and exercise but I guess 45 minutes in a row was too much. I had to wear a scarf because the cold air hurt going in through my newly clear sinuses.
Tried to eat a finely chopped burrito from Chipotle for dinner. It tasted really good but there were just too many little particles and pieces. I ended up pureeing the rest of it and drinking it.
After dinner I took a shower, brushed my teeth and cleaned my nose. It took an hour and a half but I felt sooooo good after I was finished. Until the headache from hell hit. It completely disabled me for the rest of the night and the only thing that gave me some relief was my bed buddy, a sock-like thing filled with rice that I would heat up in the microwave and place on my head and face. The moist heat felt good. I know this is all part of the healing process while my skull puts itself back together and I just need to be patient. Anyone who knows me knows that patience is not one of my finer virtues, but I'm working on it. :-)
I felt so dreadful last night that I didn't take a picture. If I had, the caption would have read something like "I feel just as bad as I look in this picture."
Took the dogs for a 45 minute walk today which wiped me out for the rest of the day. It was great to get some fresh air, sunshine and exercise but I guess 45 minutes in a row was too much. I had to wear a scarf because the cold air hurt going in through my newly clear sinuses.
Tried to eat a finely chopped burrito from Chipotle for dinner. It tasted really good but there were just too many little particles and pieces. I ended up pureeing the rest of it and drinking it.
After dinner I took a shower, brushed my teeth and cleaned my nose. It took an hour and a half but I felt sooooo good after I was finished. Until the headache from hell hit. It completely disabled me for the rest of the night and the only thing that gave me some relief was my bed buddy, a sock-like thing filled with rice that I would heat up in the microwave and place on my head and face. The moist heat felt good. I know this is all part of the healing process while my skull puts itself back together and I just need to be patient. Anyone who knows me knows that patience is not one of my finer virtues, but I'm working on it. :-)
I felt so dreadful last night that I didn't take a picture. If I had, the caption would have read something like "I feel just as bad as I look in this picture."
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Day 4
I slept well last night on either side of a little middle-of-the-night insomnia fit. I took advantage of the awakeness and time on my hands and added some pictures to my blog.
Scary attempt at a smile. You can see the splint and braces through my lips.
Good enough attempt at a pucker that I could kiss my husband Happy New Year. :-)
The liquid/pureed diet doesn't fill me up for very long, so I ate a lot today to combat hunger pains. I'd say I grazed on a bit of this and a bit of that, but that would be a lie. Twice I went in the kitchen, made a blender full of something, ate it, then made a blender full of something else and ate it, too. Hubby brought me a chocolate malt (one of my favorite things) after my lunchtime eating frenzy and I was so full I could only drink a little of it. Yay, more for later!
After lunch we took our dogs for a 30 minute walk. I felt great at the beginning of the walk but ran out of steam fast. Holy tiredness, batman! As soon as we got home I got comfy in the recliner and took a 3 hour nap. Doing anything but sleeping this afternoon wasn't an option. I've never felt fatigue like this before. My spirits are good, I feel good otherwise, I'm just....so....TIRED. I know the fatigue will pass, so I'm not worried.
I cleaned some junk out of my nose today and it seems to be staying away on the left side this time. The good news: I can breathe perfectly through that side now. The bad news: cold air hurts so I have to breathe through my mouth outside. The right side continues to drip, drip, drip.
Here are my photos for the day (I swear I feel better than I look). Swelling seems to be moving around, spreading itself over a larger area. My face doesn't feel as stiff as it did yesterday and I'm getting more movement back in my upper lip and cheeks.
Head shot
Scary attempt at a smile. You can see the splint and braces through my lips.
Good enough attempt at a pucker that I could kiss my husband Happy New Year. :-)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Day 3
I slept great again last night. I still can't believe how good I feel compared to what I was expecting.
My surgeon called me this morning to see if I needed my nose cleaned out again. It's Saturday. His office is closed. How awesome is it that he called to check on me on a Saturday and offered to come in just for me? I am so lucky to have the world's best surgeon. :-) Thankfully I do not need my nose cleaned today - it's still dripping but it's not clogging up. Yay for me!
My swelling is a little worse today. My husband's interesting comparison is that the shape of my face went from somewhat light-bulb like to moon-like. I just remembered that he made me laugh last night - really laugh - and it HURT! My face just doesn't want to stretch into a full smile or anything remotely close. I've had good spirits and have been cracking jokes left and right, but it was nice to have a real laugh work its way into my soul. Thanks for that, baby doll!
The back part of my palate is swollen and mostly numb and it feels like I need to constantly swallow. Every time I swallow the bones in the right side of my upper jaw make little clicking sounds. It's very disconcerting. Per my surgeon this is normal and will stop in a couple of weeks as the bones begin to fuse.
I ate gooooooooooood today. Aside from the act of chewing, I don't feel like I am missing out on anything yet. For lunch I had chicken tikka masala pureed with naan and chicken broth and it was delicious. I had a mini-meltdown just before I ate, though. The 2 syringes the hospital gave me were sticking and no amount of coaxing, oiling, cold water/hot water would get them to work. So, I went to the nearest Walgreens figuring they would have more syringes. No luck, Walgreens doesn't stock them and suggested a medical supply company (which was closed at the time). I resigned myself to eating with a spoon and dealing with the dirty splint but an empty condiment bottle turned up and worked out perfectly. I bought the bottle a month before surgery on the recommendation of another jaw surgery blogger. How it ended up on my kitchen counter in exactly the right place at the right time to short circuit my meltdown and allow me to eat, I will never know....but I am grateful.
Tonight we stopped by to visit our dear friends who are more family than friends, the B family. It was so good to see everyone and I can't wait until the next time when I have a bit more energy. Thanks for the well wishes and love, guys!
On the way home we stopped to get some new juice/smoothie fixins for me and chicken wings for my husband. He was so sweet and ordered a few extra so I could lick the sauce off of them. I had no intention of doing this (what kind of weirdo licks the sauce off a chicken wing????) but they smelled so good and I became that weirdo. They tasted just as good as they smelled. Then I drank my smoothie and took one last lick of the chicken wing for dessert. I suspect much more weirdness as my 3 months of no-chewing goes on.....
After dinner I did something really exciting (for someone who has been unable to properly brush their teeth for several days, anyway). I was able to open my mouth wide enough to properly clean almost all of my top teeth and floss some of my bottom teeth. This was done with the help of my husband holding a hand mirror and flashlight - it was too difficult to see anything and maneuver around by myself in such a tiny, swollen space. The entire operation took close to an hour and utilized 3 different tooth brushes, a proxabrush, a tongue scraper, a strand of superfloss, an oral syringe, a tiny oral mirror, a hand held mirror, a flashlight, a reading lamp, some toothpaste, chlorhexidine mouthwash, several very creative curse words, and a very patient husband.
Speaking of my husband....I would like to publicly thank him for all of his support. He's taken such good care of me while I recover, he knows exactly what to say/not say and when, he's my biggest cheerleader and I couldn't do this without him. ILY baby! Thanks!
I have finally added some pictures - see the link on the right nav bar for Before & After Photos, or click here:
http://jawsurgerysaga.blogspot.com/p/before-after-photos.html
I ate gooooooooooood today. Aside from the act of chewing, I don't feel like I am missing out on anything yet. For lunch I had chicken tikka masala pureed with naan and chicken broth and it was delicious. I had a mini-meltdown just before I ate, though. The 2 syringes the hospital gave me were sticking and no amount of coaxing, oiling, cold water/hot water would get them to work. So, I went to the nearest Walgreens figuring they would have more syringes. No luck, Walgreens doesn't stock them and suggested a medical supply company (which was closed at the time). I resigned myself to eating with a spoon and dealing with the dirty splint but an empty condiment bottle turned up and worked out perfectly. I bought the bottle a month before surgery on the recommendation of another jaw surgery blogger. How it ended up on my kitchen counter in exactly the right place at the right time to short circuit my meltdown and allow me to eat, I will never know....but I am grateful.
Tonight we stopped by to visit our dear friends who are more family than friends, the B family. It was so good to see everyone and I can't wait until the next time when I have a bit more energy. Thanks for the well wishes and love, guys!
On the way home we stopped to get some new juice/smoothie fixins for me and chicken wings for my husband. He was so sweet and ordered a few extra so I could lick the sauce off of them. I had no intention of doing this (what kind of weirdo licks the sauce off a chicken wing????) but they smelled so good and I became that weirdo. They tasted just as good as they smelled. Then I drank my smoothie and took one last lick of the chicken wing for dessert. I suspect much more weirdness as my 3 months of no-chewing goes on.....
After dinner I did something really exciting (for someone who has been unable to properly brush their teeth for several days, anyway). I was able to open my mouth wide enough to properly clean almost all of my top teeth and floss some of my bottom teeth. This was done with the help of my husband holding a hand mirror and flashlight - it was too difficult to see anything and maneuver around by myself in such a tiny, swollen space. The entire operation took close to an hour and utilized 3 different tooth brushes, a proxabrush, a tongue scraper, a strand of superfloss, an oral syringe, a tiny oral mirror, a hand held mirror, a flashlight, a reading lamp, some toothpaste, chlorhexidine mouthwash, several very creative curse words, and a very patient husband.
Speaking of my husband....I would like to publicly thank him for all of his support. He's taken such good care of me while I recover, he knows exactly what to say/not say and when, he's my biggest cheerleader and I couldn't do this without him. ILY baby! Thanks!
I have finally added some pictures - see the link on the right nav bar for Before & After Photos, or click here:
http://jawsurgerysaga.blogspot.com/p/before-after-photos.html
Day 2 - Dec 30th
I slept well last night but woke up very congested. I broke down and went back to my surgeon's office to have my nose cleaned out. That made me feel sooooo much better! My nose is still dripping blood tinged discharge (an improvement from pure blood) and I asked my surgeon about it. He said it's normal and a good sign that healing is under way. It will keep dripping for a few more days. He thinks my swelling peaked today and should start to improve tomorrow. I sure hope so. Although my swelling isn't nearly as bad as some others have had, it's still uncomfortable. I feel like I'm wearing a heavy, tight mask over the middle part of my face. It's starting to loosen up - yesterday I couldn't move the right side of my upper lip and today I can. More and more feeling is coming back and things are tingling. It doesn't hurt, it just feels weird. It looks weird, too, because I haven't regained full use of my face and lips.
On the way home from the surgeon's office my husband and I picked up cheeseburgers and shakes for lunch. I tried to eat my cheeseburger chopped up in tiny pieces but kept choking on them, plus the instinct to chew was too strong (and I'm not supposed to chew for 12 weeks), so I tossed my cheeseburger into the blender with some beef broth instead. It looked gross but tasted delicious and I was in heaven for a little while. :-) The milkshake was good, too. I'm not able to use a straw yet so I ate both through a syringe. It sounds like a pain but it's easier and less messy than drinking out of a cup. That is, unless your syringe gets stuck, which mine did later in the day. It had a blowout and I had a small temper tantrum while cleaning up the mess. Stupid syringe!
My BFF came over this afternoon and it was so nice to just hang out. Except for the part where I fell asleep (SORRY!). Thankfully she did most of the talking because I'm unintelligible a good portion of the time. Today I seemed to have more trouble talking than the previous 2 days, mostly because my mouth is full of thick drool. It resists all efforts to spit it out or rinse it out, so the only thing I've been able to do is soak it up with a paper towel. Thank goodness we bought an industrial sized package of paper towels a few weeks ago. I think I will go through them all if this drool and nose dripping keeps up.
My energy level comes and goes. I seem to bounce between feeling really, really good and energetic and so tired that I must take a short nap.
I also had a headache for the better part of the day. Tylenol and cold packs helped a lot.
On the way home from the surgeon's office my husband and I picked up cheeseburgers and shakes for lunch. I tried to eat my cheeseburger chopped up in tiny pieces but kept choking on them, plus the instinct to chew was too strong (and I'm not supposed to chew for 12 weeks), so I tossed my cheeseburger into the blender with some beef broth instead. It looked gross but tasted delicious and I was in heaven for a little while. :-) The milkshake was good, too. I'm not able to use a straw yet so I ate both through a syringe. It sounds like a pain but it's easier and less messy than drinking out of a cup. That is, unless your syringe gets stuck, which mine did later in the day. It had a blowout and I had a small temper tantrum while cleaning up the mess. Stupid syringe!
My BFF came over this afternoon and it was so nice to just hang out. Except for the part where I fell asleep (SORRY!). Thankfully she did most of the talking because I'm unintelligible a good portion of the time. Today I seemed to have more trouble talking than the previous 2 days, mostly because my mouth is full of thick drool. It resists all efforts to spit it out or rinse it out, so the only thing I've been able to do is soak it up with a paper towel. Thank goodness we bought an industrial sized package of paper towels a few weeks ago. I think I will go through them all if this drool and nose dripping keeps up.
My energy level comes and goes. I seem to bounce between feeling really, really good and energetic and so tired that I must take a short nap.
I also had a headache for the better part of the day. Tylenol and cold packs helped a lot.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Day 1
I woke up this morning feeling like a million bucks. I slept for 6 hours last night, could breathe through my nose, the anesthesia finally wore off, and I didn't need any pain killers. I feel incredibly blessed and am so glad my recovery hasn't been as bad as I was expecting. Yet. :-)
I had a follow up appointment at my surgeon's office this morning to take x-rays and clean out my nose. The x-rays looked amazing - my anatomy looks normal now, thanks to my surgeon's amazing handiwork and the help of some titanium plates and screws. Although I could breathe through my nose, it was still oozing and dripping blood and was filling up. It was uncomfortable and a little painful to get it cleaned out but I felt better afterward. My surgeon offered to clean my nose any time I like, and I might go in tomorrow as well. I also learned today that instead of a 3 piece LeFort, they did a 4 piece due to the amount of expansion that was needed .Here's a breakdown:
Upper molars were impacted 5 mm and expanded 2 mm
Premolars were impacted 5 mm and expanded 5 mm
Anterior segment (canine to canine) was brought forward 1mm and down 2 mm
I can't wait to see what it will all look and feel like when I'm fully healed.
My surgeon cleared me to take my elastic bands out to eat and brush my teeth. Yippee! When I take them out, my jaw naturally closes into the proper place in the splint, so I hope I can stop wearing them sooner than later
My swelling continues to increase despite ice, steroids, arnica pellets and cream, bromelain and quercetin. The swelling isn't as bad as I was expecting so that's good. Really, nothing has been as bad as I thought it would be.
My nose and mouth are still oozing blood. My surgeon assured me this is normal and will go away in a few days.
After lunch my husband and I picked up some Pho soup for lunch. I threw my portion in the blender: broth, noodles, cilantro and basil, and boy was it delicious. I'm so glad I won't have to live on Ensure and fruit juice for 3 monhts!
Feeling is already coming back in my face and lips. I'm surprised and not sure if I should be happy about this or not. On the one hand, I'm healing quickly and that's good. On the other hand, numbness for another month or 2 might be nice to mask any pain.
I will post before and after pics as soon as I get around to scanning them in and uploading them.
I had a follow up appointment at my surgeon's office this morning to take x-rays and clean out my nose. The x-rays looked amazing - my anatomy looks normal now, thanks to my surgeon's amazing handiwork and the help of some titanium plates and screws. Although I could breathe through my nose, it was still oozing and dripping blood and was filling up. It was uncomfortable and a little painful to get it cleaned out but I felt better afterward. My surgeon offered to clean my nose any time I like, and I might go in tomorrow as well. I also learned today that instead of a 3 piece LeFort, they did a 4 piece due to the amount of expansion that was needed .Here's a breakdown:
Upper molars were impacted 5 mm and expanded 2 mm
Premolars were impacted 5 mm and expanded 5 mm
Anterior segment (canine to canine) was brought forward 1mm and down 2 mm
I can't wait to see what it will all look and feel like when I'm fully healed.
My surgeon cleared me to take my elastic bands out to eat and brush my teeth. Yippee! When I take them out, my jaw naturally closes into the proper place in the splint, so I hope I can stop wearing them sooner than later
My swelling continues to increase despite ice, steroids, arnica pellets and cream, bromelain and quercetin. The swelling isn't as bad as I was expecting so that's good. Really, nothing has been as bad as I thought it would be.
My nose and mouth are still oozing blood. My surgeon assured me this is normal and will go away in a few days.
After lunch my husband and I picked up some Pho soup for lunch. I threw my portion in the blender: broth, noodles, cilantro and basil, and boy was it delicious. I'm so glad I won't have to live on Ensure and fruit juice for 3 monhts!
Feeling is already coming back in my face and lips. I'm surprised and not sure if I should be happy about this or not. On the one hand, I'm healing quickly and that's good. On the other hand, numbness for another month or 2 might be nice to mask any pain.
I will post before and after pics as soon as I get around to scanning them in and uploading them.
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