6 Weeks Post-OP

Well, I am now a little over six weeks post op. Nothing too exciting to post! Fellow Jaw Breaker friend, Mandy, had her surgery on Monday. She hasn't posted anything on her blog yet but sent a quick email stating she is a clucking, swollen mess! :( But she is well and surgery went well. She is in her dreaded 3-4 day post surgery bliss and I PROMISED her that it WILL get better. You're in my prayers girlfriend! I can't wait to see pics and for you to be your chipper self again. You'll be up and at em' before you know it!

I had my follow up w/ the OS yesterday. He thinks my bite is looking great, swelling is going down. He's still a little concerned w/ my left nostril and I'm also a little concerned as I have a harder time breathing out of it. He brought the plastic surgeon in and he also said to wait 5 more weeks and we'll look at it then. There is def still some swelling around that area so I'm believing it WILL get better. If not I will have septoplasty done to correct my septum. This procedure would be done outpatient. I'd like to have it done before the end of the year though, so I could claim it on taxes with the rest of this god-awful amount! :) Of course insurance only covers this w/ a prior-auth so we start down that road again.  Sigh...I just have to believe it will all be miraclely (is that a word???) better in 5 weeks! Here is my 6 week photo. I cut bangs and wore a little makeup. I still got Aunt Acne....she's fighting that lil' blue pill w/ all her strength and is so far continuing to win. Sigh...little blue pill...it's time for you to whoop some acne-you-know-what!!!!!!



MJS, don't be checkin' out my dirty laundry room to the left! :)


On the family front...my favorite cousin read my blog and called to apologize for her comment about the famous face! :) She said if she really meant I looked bad she would've ignored me all day b/c she wouldn't be able to tell me the truth!! That sounds pretty accurate so I really think she was just trying to make me laugh!  My MOTHER on the other hand is another story...she asked me a few days ago if my nostrils will always be this big. Seriously? I'm sure they flared a little MORE after that comment! Grrrrr....My nephew also made note of my cheeks commenting they look rather "full".

    So, needless to say, I'm a little discouraged w/ the comments of my fellow family members.   But, on a medical note: I am sleeping better,eating better and have an overall feeling of happiness in light of the acne, nostrils and cheeky cheeks! Some favorite foods include: avocados w/ sour  cream and salsa, re fried beans w/ pico de gallo, mushed up quiche Lorraine and of course the chopped-up chicken enchilada!

I have lost approx 12 lbs. and holding. I really need to start working out some. I've been pretty lazy but I plan on changing that. Don't we all????

My stitches are all dissolved except for a few on my upper incision.   I'm really working on stretching and massaging my face as my upper lip feels stiff. I guess this is common. Bottom lip is still numb but OS isn't worried about this yet as things are still healing and some residual swelling is still there. Well, that's all folks......

Have a Happy Happy Day

XOXOXOXOXO

E

One MONTH Post-OP

Sorry guys! I missed my exact one month post op party! :( We've had some things going on and I'm just now able to update.  But, I did take my pic on Thursday so I'm posting that. Things are going pretty slowly now. My OS appt. was a week ago and he took off my rubber bands for a whole week. It was really nice. I really worked on stretching my mouth and opening wide. I still have tons of canker sores all over the inside of my lips but I can't really feel them so it's only slightly annoying.  My next appt. with OS is in three weeks! He's still concerned w/ my left nostril and my breathing through it. I'm believing that it's just swelling that needs to calm down and I won't need the second "dreaded surgery". :(

I went to the Dermatologist on Monday. He gave me some cream samples (for my face and canker sores) and a prescription of Solodyn. I was hoping it was just hives, but he said it was acne and rosacea. So, this prescription costs $724 for a one month supply. Not even kidding!!!! My first month was free and insurance will only cover for "pre-approval"....well, we all know I've unsuccessfully been down that road before. So, I hope this little blue pill lives up to what he thinks he's worth and that I'm as smooth as a baby's butt in 30 days or less! I will NOT be purchasing this lil' blue pill after my free sample. I'm not THAT vain!!!!

I had my FIRST ortho appt. on Thursday. Very exciting stuff! He was impressed with my bite. Although I have a slight crossbite and my back molars don't touch he still thinks I can be out of braces in six months! I'm still banking on nine, but if it's earlier that'll be icing on the cake I will be eating then!!!!  He left my surgical hooks and wires on but added a power chain to top and bottom. I was glad as I feel that helps smooth things out and may help w/ the canker sore issue.  I had some of my stitches stuck between my back brackets and it was pulling on my incision. I was sooo thankful for them to cut that part off and get it out of there. It was causing some discomfort and now I have none over there!!! He also only put one rubber band on at this time. It's on my left side in a box shape. It's not heavy so I still have good range of motion! I was happy with my first appt. I see my Ortho again in 5 weeks.

Well, that's about all I have to update right now. I can't wait to post pics with my hair fixed and makeup on! My hair still bothers me to touch my face. I'm sure it's just my OCD. Every time it's down it seems to cling to my face from the lotions I've been wearing and it feels totally strange. ewwww.....

I still am completely numb in my bottom lip but my swelling seems to be going down nicely now and I'm hoping to get feeling back soon! :)

Enjoy your week! This is such a busy time of year for us moms w/ kids. Fall seems to be packed with field trips, festivals, sports, parades, etc. Lovin' every minute of it!

Oh! on a side note...I went to a family fish fry yesterday. Most of my family acknowledged I look different. I know I still have quite a bit of swelling, mostly in my upper lip.  I feel like a duck or fish or something. Anyway, my favorite cousin (because she's possibly reading this :) ) Noted I looked like someone famous. I started to smile and then she added with a laugh. "It's no one attractive though...." And the smile fades.....Thanks.....Like I'm not already self conscious and emotionally taxed as it is!!! Gotta love family right?? :)

Asinine Acne---3 Weeks Post-Op

Okay, so Aunt Acne came to visit and she won't LEAVE!!!! I'm literally about ready to become a hermit. I have been using toner and prescription cream but looks like she's decided to camp out on my FACE for awhile. Hopefully this too shall pass. I can just feel the oil oozing out of my pores. I wonder what causes these oils to go into overdrive???

Anyway, tomorrow I will be THREE weeks post op.  My swelling is still sticking around but I'm starting to feel much better. My energy level is up and I just feel like I'm HEALING. My OS gave the okay for me to start back up my muscle relaxer at bedtime which has helped me sleep tremendously. I still sleep on four pillows. OS said I only needed two but I feel much more comfortable w/ four as I still have lots of swelling...and it's allergy season.

Not much new news...my nose is drying up. I'm still drinking a lot of my meals. I may blend one meal a day to "cat food" consistency but it's still a lot of work to eat that way so I do a lot of drinks. Still some drooling and talking still tires me out but I can tell it's getting easier.  Over the weekend we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant. It was HELL, but I ordered something and ate a few refried bean w/ salsa and got home and blended my chicken enchilada with some salsa and chicken broth. It was HEAVENLY. The best meal yet! :) I don't really like ice cream much but I bought some Haagen Dazs caramel ice cream and now I'm addicted. So, some things are looking up. Took some pics of Aunt Acne...Also some new pics of smile/profile. I still have quite a bit of swelling (more on the left) so there's some asymmetry. I even notice it in my nostrils. I hope that one nostril calms down. It looks a little too perky! lol!

I see my OS on Thursday and he may give the okay to see my Ortho....we'll see. Also, I found out some CRUSHING news. My OS isn't going to file a second appeal to my insurance as the exclusions are so strong that they think I don't have a chance. So, I guess I can say... We spent A LOT of money and even though it's money well spent (I can already tell it's helping my ears, energy level, breathing, etc.) I still feel guilty.  Uncle Sam better give us a pretty darn good tax deduction is all I can say!

Here's my profile a month prior to surgery and at three weeks post-op and I still have quite a bit of swelling in my upper lip and lower jaw!! It still amazes me. I just want to stare!  Sorry about the hair. I'm just trying to keep it off my oily ole' face! :)

Have a great week everyone and HAPPY FALL!!!! Maybe we should celebrate w/ a pumpkin shake or something??? Any good recipes??? XOXOXOXO

Splint Removal....CHECK!

So, the splint removal went much easier than expected. I didn't even need a local as I was still completely numb. It was attached to my upper teeth with wires that went around each tooth and connected to my braces wire. He used some little tool and it cut all the wires in only about 7 minutes. The only time I freaked out was when it was hanging by like one wire and I thought I was going to swallow it. I can talk much better without it. I feel like my saliva is still plentiful and I still "slurp" it. Eating's not much easier either. I guess I imagined removing the splint would magically make everything go away. I know I just need to be patient. *NOTE: This is not my splint but mine looked very similar.

Friday I got my hair trimmed (and a few bangs). It made me feel better but I think I overdid it on Thursday and I have felt pretty crummy the past couple days. My OS said everything looked great and I was healing nicely. I have another appt. next Thursday and he said depending on how things look then that he may go ahead and send me back to my Ortho.

I'm kinda anxious to see my Ortho. My back teeth don't touch, I still have a little cross bite and I feel like I still have an overbite. I'm curious on his opinion. I know I will worry about this as I'm a freak about my teeth. That's the only downfall to having the splint out. With it in I knew my bite was where it was supposed to be, with it out, I have NO IDEA. I still have two rubber bands up close on my teeth that I can take out to eat and brush. OS said my ortho will probably do some different band configurations to fix the cross bite. I think he wants HIM to be the bad guy! lol :) I don't blame him. He's such a nice guy!

Well, I didn't post any pics this time...sorry. I actually got really swollen after Thurs (from overdoing it) and I have totally broken out in zits all over. I have been cleaning my face as often as I can. After surgery my oil glands went in to overdrive and it's been crazy oily. Now, I'm just trying to get this teenage adolescence look under control. :( I'm emotionally at the bottom of the roller coaster today.

Sorry to be such a downer. Hope you all are doing well in whatever stage you're in. XOXOX

Make Like a Banana Smoooothie and SPLINT!!

Okay, I know I'm a dork. Can't help it, I was born that way. Well....big applause....today is two weeks post-op and I have survived! Things are still looking pretty good. Swelling is still going down. Just very slowly. No more nausea. Yay! And my mood is picking up. I am having issues sleeping and am actually in pain during the night, which is strange because I'm pretty comfortable during the day. I will ask my OS about this tomorrow when I get my SPLINT out!!!! I'm very excited. They called today and said I will be getting a local to numb everything (as if everything isn't already numb) and I can take a pain pill for my own piece of mind. My mom's taking me so I don't have to worry about driving.

I'm still drooling, and actually having a harder time talking, but I'm thinking all of this will improve tomorrow after I get that splint out. I have pretty much stuck to blended meals. I have tried some mashed potato texture type stuff but it only got me and my splint messy so I figured I could hold off until tomorrow. Can you tell I can't wait until then???? I'm getting very tired of this splint.

I've lost about 7 lbs and holding. I've done pretty well to keep my calories up. I could actually benefit to lose about 10 more lbs. but I'll def wait until I'm healed. Now is not the time to diet!

So, funny story...Yesterday was a beautiful day and my daughter, dog and I decided to take a walk around the block. We got almost all the way home when these two dogs w/ the electric fence collars were "harassing" us. It was no big deal, but the owner stopped to talk to us for a few minutes. I tried to hurry up as I really don't feel comfortable carrying on a convo w/ complete strangers at this stage. So we scooted on home and as we got inside and I passed the mirror I had a flashback of Dumb and Dumber. You know....where they were on the motorcycle????? It went something like this...

Remember that???? When he had snot hanging all the way down to his lips????? Well....there I was--in that same position. I am completely numb and had no idea I was sporting this look. I had to call my husband right away. He just laughed and laughed and said, "Well, at least no one SAW you." Um, yeah, I actually carried on a complete conversation like this, I guess.  Maybe that's why the dogs were barking at me? They were making fun!! lol. Nothing I can do about it now.  I'm sure I've embarrassed myself beyond this measure a time or two.

Well, that's about all the news for now. I'll post a new pic later after my splint comes out and I get my hair trimmed on Friday. I am still debating getting bangs. I'll ask my hairdresser what she thinks.

Have a great evening.  Prayers go out to June (fellow blogger friend) who is having her hardware removed tomorrow due to infection. We hope you have an easy recovery and you stay healed! XOXOX

  GOOOOOOOO CHIEFSSSSSSS!!!

Day 11 Post-Op!!!

Okay, I'm 11 days post-op. I can't believe I'm this close to two weeks. This will be my first full week of "back to normalcy" as I say. Eric is back to work full-time...house duties, bills, kids, etc are all back to my responsibility. I'm ready for it though...I need life to get back to normal.

I'm feeling pretty good for the most part. Yesterday we had my son's first soccer game and then had a family get-together at my sister's house. I played croquet and blended some zucchini casserole and some "vanilla" oreo's w/ milk (at separate times! lol) and got pretty wore out. I think my body wasn't used to that rich of food and of course being up and about all day so I'm a little lazy today. I did get up and go to church but I think I'm just going to eat soup today and lay low a little.

I'm getting more feeling in my face each day. I actually think I'm having a harder time talking (not sure why) but I get the splint out on Thurs. so I'm not worrying about it right now. Swelling is still going down. Slowly but surely. I posted a new pic. I don't really like this pic but o'well. I do still have swelling and of course I'm not wearing make up. I don't know when I'll go that far....My hair...is another issue. Because of the stress, and the change in diet I've been loosing ALOT. And let me tell you...I don't have alot to lose. There's nothing I can do about it though so I can't dwell. I do need to get it trimmed and it's funny...I think my hair looks different now that my face shape is a little different. I'm debating cutting bangs. I guess I'll wait another couple weeks to see what my face looks like then!

I'm still drooling some and I have got in a habit of making this "clucking" type noise as I suck the saliva back in my mouth. It was so funny...we were at my sister's house yesterday checking out the peacock eggs she is incubating. My other sis and I were leaning down real close to look in the incubator when I decided to suck my saliva....making the clucking noise.  She was like "what was that???" as she peered in to the incubator. I think she thought one of the peacocks were hatching!!! I sure hated to bust her bubble!

Really not much more news. I take my rubber bands out once a day and try to do open/close mouth exercises. I can open my mouth almost two fingers. Don't know if this is good or bad. I also finished my amoxicillin so I'm done w/ all prescriptions. Yay! I just pray I stay healthy and get NO INFECTIONS.

I've always had trouble w/ my ears getting very full and getting infected.  Especially this time of year...so far they haven't been. I totally believe that this surgery had helped (and will continue) to help my ears. I know the Dr's don't believe that this could help my ears but I seriously do. I also love my sister who is my biggest cheerleader. I know she is believing right a long with me! If you ever read this...Thank you Paula! XOXO

Welp, that's it for today.

1 Week Post-Op!!!!!

Hello all! I am still alive and I FEEL much more alive! Let me tell you something. Everyone talks about that Day 3 mark. Well, for me it must've been Day(s) 3-5 because those days all felt the same for me. They were the worst! Not just physically, but emotionally as well. I am now a week post-op and things are looking up! I have more energy and a much more positive outlook than originally. Not sure if the meds got me down or what but I'm off of everything except one more day of antibiotics and over the counter Ibuprofen. I think today I'll go get a humidifier and some natural sleep aid. I'm still sleeping on several pillows on my back and it's not the most comfortable.

I met w/ the OS yesterday. He took another pano. He said everything looked great and my swelling was very minimal (although my left side is a little more swollen than right). I scheduled an appt. for NEXT Thursday to get my splint taken out. I'm a little nervous b/c they asked if I was getting completely put out or a little sedated to have this done. I wasn't aware it was going to be painful???? I told them I wouldn't need anything.  Now, I've decided to take my mom along in case I become a baby and need some kind of medication.  Has anyone heard if this is supposed to be painful? Why would I need sedated? He said the wires aren't between teeth or anything.  OS also put some weaker rubber bands in so I can move my mouth a little more. Although, the bands are very close up front so I don't have alot of room if I wanted to use a spoon or something.

I'm "allowed" to have mashed potatoes and stuff but I'd rather stick to the blended meals. It's faster, easier and I get more "bang for the buck". :) I'm all about efficiency! I still have a lot of muscle milk, chicken broth and soups. I also have blended oatmeal and last night had a piece of fried (boneless) chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy mixed w/ milk and blended. It was the best meal yet! I also bought quiche to blend and chicken pot pie. Let me tell you... my Vitamix might of cost a lot but it has been heavenly!!!!!  My hubby was much impressed. He's been using it as well.

My other purchase that was much enjoyed is my Waterpik. I am allowed to use it on my teeth on the lowest setting. It has proven to be much more effective at cleaning my teeth/mouth than anything else. I also add salt water at times to help soothe my mouth. Very good choice!!! One more good purchase was the 'moist heat' heating pad. The first 24-48 hours you want to ice your face, but after that it won't help anymore w/ the swelling and the moist heat feels really nice...and aids in healing.

Well, I think that's it for today. I overdid it a little yesterday w/ my OS appt., then we went to Sam's Club and my sister's house for dinner. I'm a little tired this morning so I think I'll take it easy. It's my hubby's last day home so I'm going to take advantage. Thank you so much for prayers and encouragement. It has really helped me through those "dark hours". I'll keep all of you in my prayers as well. XOXOXO E