Pain

So I haven't had pain for quite some time now. All of a sudden this week I am having pain everyday. It started on Sunday night. I can't figure it out. It seems to be muscular in nature. It is mostly on the left side. My top braces haven't been adjusted in weeks. My bottom braces I got off on Monday, Yeah! Three more weeks till the top come off and then a week later I have a cleaning appointment with the dentist. I have added some more pics. I can't see much of a change. Yet, I do see myself everyday. Hope all is well with the rest of you jawers out there.

4 months post op

Still making it day by day. Jaw pain here and there but nothing too bad (knock on wood). The only wires I have on now are the first front teeth on my top and bottom. It's weird I can actually get between my teeth when brushing now. Good news! My OD says braces off this month! yeah! Hopefully this will still hold true. Still having difficulty biting into things in the front. Foods I still can't eat...carrots, well cooked steak, croutons, and apples. I am sure there is more but can't think of anything else right now.

3 months Postop

Hi all,
Not much to report. I am eating almost normally now except I can't bite into apple slices. one of my favorite snacks is apple slices and I just have a real hard time biting into them and also chewing them. It's so much work. I have toughed through it because I wanted something healthy to eat and to prove to myself I could do it.
I saw my os this last week and he said I am doing great. he wasn't too worried about my opening. he said i am actually on track and states that my opening is pretty big. uh sorry buddy! I need my mouth to open more just to bite into a simple sandwich and well other things...wink, wink :>)
Pretty funny though, I was going through about a week or so with no jaw pain. As soon as I said to someone I wasn't having any more pain, BAM, the next day it's back! Boo! Maybe I should lay off the gum. I have been chewing sugar less gum once a day to work my jaw muscles per my orthodontist. But my OS said it probably wasn't the best idea. Hey, I was excited that i could actually chew it. before i would chew it for about 2 minutes and i would have pain. now it's more like 20 minutes.
On a different note, why is that I am still swollen in the mornings? Anybody?

It's been so long!

I am awful! I have been so very busy. To all of you I am very sorry for not keeping my blog updated.
Let's see what's new...I am eating like a normal person. Although, this is nice, I am enjoying food way too much! My only exception is I am still having difficulty biting into things. My opening is only 2 1/4 fingers wide. It's weird my front teeth are numb. Anybody else feeling that? Its like my teeth are not a part of me. I saw my OD 2 weeks ago and he said that it looks like I will be getting my braces off shortly. What that means, I am not sure but it sounds great. He also stated I need to work on my jaw muscles. He gave me this exercise to take a rubber eraser cut it in half and put it on both sides of my mouth and bite away. I have tried this but it is quite awkward. So I have turned to gum instead. As for my pain...I am only taking tylenol and Ibprofren once a day. It is really nice not to be reliant on meds. As for my swelling or looks, nothing has changed. I guess this is the way I am going to look from now on. I am pretty upset about this! My OS said that my change would hardly be noticed. That's a understatement! I look very different! I don't like it most of the time and now I am stuck with it. Looking for ways to cope with all of this still.

8 weeks

Another week has gone by and I am still exploring new foods. The most of which is chicken... marinated chicken, grilled chicken, chicken on the bone, chicken breast,and a chicken bowl. oh and lots of veggies. Yummy! I really missed veggies. Of course they are all cooked veggies but still they are so good!
However, with all new foods comes more muscle pain. :>(. I should buy stock in Ibprofren and Tylenol.
After my last OD visit I had a wire poking my cheek. I didn't realize that it was the wire. I thought it was just my cheek and muscle healing. so i tried putting wax in the area just to see and whala the pain went away. So I called up my OD and they fixed it. I asked my OD why so long til the next visit. He said," oh well, it can be sooner." ok weird! So I have an appt again the last week of May. I also asked if he could give me a approx time for my braces to come off. He said," end of summer, early fall." Yeah! Hopefully it will be the end of the summer.
I also went and saw my OS. He looked and said everything looks great! I asked him why I have no gum space on the top left. He said it's probably scar tissue and I need to rub my finger up there to try to break it up. So I started....ouch! It's sore up there. Also, Iam also practicing with my jaw exercises. He gave me tongue blades amd I am suppose to stack them up in my mouth. I start adding one by one in between each blade til I can't stand it. I am suppose to get to at least two and half finger widths apart. He says average is 2-3 fingers width. I'll keep trying Im up to two. But I still have difficulty biting into anything.
The good thing is I am starting to get used to my new look.

New foods, pain and chain

So I have started to introduce more foods back to my menu. I have had homemade turkey chili, quiche, diced chicken curry(which I had to cut up even more) sliced strawberries, raspberry's, and blueberries. I love fruit so this was a real treat! I plan on having more later over some vanilla ice cream. Yummy! So you say, this is great, right? Well, yes and no. My jaw is killing me! Especially, on the left side. It's not really the joint either, which is good, its the muscle. I was down to taking only 2 Tylenol a day but now I have gone back to taking it three times a day and taking Motrin here and there. I'm concerned because my teeth keep catching on my cheek or rubbing it constantly in the back. I was feeling around and I literally have no gum space above my upper back teeth. The other side is great. So my question is...did they stitch it up wrong and now its messed up? Will it get better? also, I have not been given any exercises to do. The opening is barely one and half fingers. shouldn't I be doing something? On the up side, my power chain has already worked wonders. I have no more space between my front teeth. Another question...my OD has seen me once since the surgery and that is when he put the power chain on. The next time he wants to see me is in 6 weeks. I thought that was a long time considering all the work I just had done and now it really is up to him to correct the rest of my bite. Doesn't that seem like a long time?

7th week post-op

Well, another week has gone by and not too many changes have occurred. I haven't tried that many more new foods cuz it is just work! Oh, I did cut up a sausage patti the other day and had it and that was really good.
I have had aches and shocks here and there. It's weird! Little jolts in my mouth where my nerves are telling me their healing. It only lasts a minute at most, so it is nothing I can't handle. The pain is more of aches and I have been using Tylenol and sometimes Ibprofren for that and that seems to help.
I went to my orthodontist today and I got my first power chain. I read other peoples blogs but didn't really know what they were. I have developed some spaces in between my top teeth and this is suppose to help with this. Also, I only have to wear two bands now! I was shocked. I had been wearing 7-8...now only two? But I am sure my od knows what he is doing.
It was funny while I was there, there was another patient that just got braces on and is going to have surgery in December. He was asking me questions. You could tell he was hesitant and worried. Been there! I referred him to the blogs since I wish I had done that before my surgery. I just love that we all can share our stories and not feel so alone in this crazy world of jaw surgery.
FYI: posted more pics and I put some on from when I just came out of surgery. My husband had taken them I didn't even know...stinker!

Freedom! 6th week post op

I went in to see my os yesterday. I was actually pretty relaxed for the impending splint removal. My mom came with me since I wasn't sure about the laughing gas effects. So when I went into the room, they immediately put me on the laughing gas. Wow! Within minutes I was high. It felt like I was really drunk. At first it felt like that drunk when you get nauseous. My mom got the PA back in the room because I wasn't sure if they knew I was a light weight and just a little would put me out. I was definitely in la, la land. So she turned it down a little. But within minutes I was back to myself. The doctor walks in. I was like turn on the gas. I want to be back to la, la land for this. Health care workers make the worst patients. I think it's all the knowledge of what is being done and what could go wrong. So he cranked it up. He numbed the area multiple times and he kept asking. "how ya feeling?" I responded, "I m wasted." "Good, that's what we want." It went by real quick and the splint was out. The top of my mouth felt gigantic! So much room up there. As my tongue rubbed up against the top I could feel rough edges and areas of soreness. My mom was asked back in the room. She was flabbergasted on how quick it took. She barely had enough time to read a paragraph in her book. I sat in the chair a while because I was a little dizzy. Which by the way, I have been having a lot of since the surgery. whenever I go from sitting to standing. Watch out...head rush.
They told me I could start eating whatever I wanted. My mom and I went to Starbucks after. We got our coffees and started to chat. But I felt so tired and had difficulty concentrating at first. I must have had a little reminisce of gas left on board.I tried a little pice of pumpkin bread but it felt rough on the roof of my mouth. I will take it slow from now on. Overall, I highly recommend the laughing gas! You're aware of what's going on but don't care. The best part is, you don't have a hangover later; like most anesthesia.
FYI: I posted pics of me this week including one of me with the laughing gas on.HEE. HEE!

5th week post-op

Where's Megan? I still look at myself in the mirror and I don't recognize myself. I catch myself looking in the mirror alot in hopes that my old self will suddenly appear. Iam still taking pictures of myself as well, to see if there is any little hint of difference. People I haven't seen in a week or two say that some of the swelling has gone down. As for my husband and I, we don't see it. The other morning he greeted me with, "hello, swollen." Yup, I know. I posted some pics for this week. The picture doesn't do justice but if you look at the right side of my face in the pic it is more swollen. That is where the doctor cut into this week.

Clenching....does anybody else feel themselves clenching their jaw for no particular reason at all? I can be driving or watching tv and there I am clenching away. I don't even know why I am doing it and have to actually think of my bite to even know that I am doing it. Weird!

Food....same ole same ole. my diet still consists of smoothies, ice cream, soup, yogurt, and lots of starbucks! Man I am on a kick! I can't get enough of starbucks sugarfree mocha frapps. Yummy! I usually make some oatmeal in the am and grab one of those on the way to work. I think I am keeping them in business. I know where there is a Starbucks where ever I go. You name an area, I'll know where one is located. New foods...I ventured into having tuna,peas, and some really soft pasta. Even those things I have to work a little in mushing it up on the top of my mouth. It's funny...at first I really missed a big juicy burger. Now if someone is eating one, I just think if all the work my jaw would have to do to eat it and I am instantly turned off.

My splint...it comes out next week! It's really kinda weird. my splint felt like a part of me at first. Now I can tell it's ready to come out. At times it feels as though its seperating from the roof of my mouth. I guess that's a good thing. It means my bone is healed. So I am a little anxious for the removal. I keep falling asleep or not falling asleep, wondering how it is going to feel while he's trying to yank it out. My jaw is still hurting from earlier in the week when he was jabbing into my cheek to get the infection out. He has given me the option of putting in an IV to sedate me a little. I am still weighing that option. Last I talked to him, we had decided to just do a local and laughing gas. Is that going to relax me enough? I've never had it. Even when he was doing an I and D (incision & drainage) on my cheek, it made me nervous. The cutting, pushing and pulling...eeew! Will the laughing gas make me so I am not as aware of what he is doing? I mean come on! He has to take the thick wires that are on one side of my gum and unscrew them to take them out on the other side. Then there is the yanking! Ok it is a week away and I am freaked. It is probably all in my head.

Infection and Healing

I went in to see my doctor today. He cut into my cheek and drained some of the infection. Like I thought, some of it was encapsulated. So he had to dig alot in there to losen it up. The numbness is starting to wear off so I am having alot of pain now and I have alot to do today. I see my OS next Monday to recheck my infection. Then I see him again next Thursday for splint removal! Yeah! The plan is to numb me up and give me some laughing gas. Hmmm...I never had laughing gas. This should be interesting. As for the rest of the day I think advil and tylenol are going to be my friend. Oh, and nice cold smoothies!

The lump

I went and saw my doctor today. I requested xrays to be done so I could see what was going on. On xray it looks like infection and my doctor says he thinks that's what it is as well. Im thinking it's incapsulated since it's hard and I don't have all the other signs and symptoms. So I start on antibiotics today and then I will go back in on wednesday. At that time he is going to stick a needle in it and try to get stuff out. Hopefully, it will soften up a little. I would hate to have him stick a needle in and then get nothing in the syringe when he pulls back.
As for everything else...it's the same. swelling is the same, pain is the same, and eating is the same. I hope I can recognize myself soon!

Still up for rocking!

Last night I went to the Bonjovi concert. I couldn't eat and it hurt to sing along with the songs but it was worth it! Daughtry opened and they rocked as well. I thought for sure my jaw would kill me today since I talked alot last night and was singing(well, lipsinking). But not to bad.
On a different note I have been feeling this small lump under my skin at the jaw line, on the left side. it was pea size a week ago but now it is half the size of a golf ball. Its hard to the touch but doesn't really hurt. It feels like if you have a bruise. But there is no discoloration, warmth, or streaking. Very strange! It makes me worried....will they have to go in again? I called my doctor and thank goodness he was on-call. He said he thought it might be an abcess. As nurse praactitioner, my opinion is, that it isn't. At least from all the findings from above. My teeth in that area don't hurt either. Weird! Could it be a bony spur? Although spurs usually grow over a very long period of time. It seems to also be where I imagine my plate or screw to be. I iced it but that didn't help. Next, I am going to try heat. My doctor wants to see me on Monday. Iam thinking he will take xrays to see if you can see a pocket or growth. He was going to call in antibiotics but I don't think I need them. we'll see if it progresses. My husband says he can tell that it is larger on the one side. Hmmmmm!
I added some pics from last night. Did I mention we had 4th row seats!

Bummer!

Today I woke up swollen. Not any different than anyother morning. However, today it didn't go away! Boo! Yesterday, I thought the swelling was going down. one step forward and then one step backward. I included a photo.

4th week post-op

So it's the fourth week since I had my surgery and when I look back it really has gone by fast. my teeth pain isn't as bad as it was the other day but it is still there. I have learned to have more empathy for my patients when it comes to pain. You really can sleep and wake up in pain. Whenever I had woke up one of my patients from sleeping and they complained of pain, I didn't believe them. I thought how can you be sound asleep and then be in so much pain. Well, now I know. Must have something to do with that semi unconscious state when sleeping.
I went to my orthodontist today. I was expecting him to do something. But, no! he just looked and said, "wow everything is looking really good." "we'll see you after you get your splint out, in 3 weeks." Boo! I don't know what I was expecting. I guess if he had done something I would have been in more pain than I am now. It's a good thing right?
I saw a friend tonight that I've known for a long time. Guess what she said? You got it... "wow, I don't think I would have known it was you; if I hadn't known you were coming." Boo! I know, I know. But it still bothers me. Patience Megan, patience.
FYI: I added more photos today.

Teeth pain

The last couple of days I have had what I think is teeth pain. Its weird I touch a tooth with my tongue and it aches. But I also had some spasms in my jaw last night when I was trying to go to sleep. Thank goodness my doctor gave me those muscle relaxers. Ibprofren and tylenol are taking some of the edge off. my other aches are deep in my cheeks, I think. Also, kinda weird my gums are numb still. I have to look in the mirror to see what I am touching cuz I can't feel it. cold foods sound really good but when I drink them they feel weird on part of my upper lip since it is between numb and tingeling.
Everyone has been real encouraging and then there's those that comment on how different I look. I know...don't point it out. It's like having extra pounds on or having a big zit on your face. chances are you're already aware and you feel terrible about it already. It's funny how at first it didn't bug me. But now I think im getting a complex about the whole thing. I know, I know...it's what's inside that counts. Moreover, someone asked, "Is that what you were going for?" "to look different?" For those of you that have asked the answer is, no! I wanted a little bit more of a chin but the main reason for all of this was for my jaw pain. well, I can definetely say that the pain I was experiencing before, is no more. now its just a whole different ball of wax.
I will be going to the orthodontist on wednesday. I called to get an appointment a week earlier than scheduled since, I have so much teeth pain and feel that they are shifting alot; hopefully in the right direction. Besides I felt it was important since I haven't seen them since my surgery. I'll keep you all updated.

Break down

Iam trying to be positive and go day by day but today someones shock of my changed appearance really upset me! I couldn't help but cry and have my self a little pity party. It's true...I do look different. Sometimes I don't even recognize myself. It's quite a trying time.
My doctors appointments yesterday were nothing exciting. My PCP was hesitant on giving me anything for my sinuses since I didn't have a fever. She had a point. Next, my oral surgeon. He said he felt some of my swelling went down and reiterated the point that I needed to be patient. He also stated that my face wouldn't be close to what it's going to look like for another 6-8months. He said, " then if you don't like what your jaw bone looks like we can go back in and fix it." Is he crazy! No more surgeries for me! As for my sinuses he said it probably was just allergies and to wait until I develop a fever. He did fix one of the wires from my splint that was poking my cheek. As for that splint, its coming out in 3 weeks! Exciting...yes! But as always it has made me worried about the procedure, since the wires are in one side of my gums and out the other.
As one person reminded me...put on your big girl panties! :>)

At a stand still

Today I feel like the swelling will never go away! There was quite a change in the swelling at first but this last week I don't see any differences. It's quite frustrating. I just want somewhat of my old face back.
One exciting thing...new food. I tried cream of wheat and scrambled eggs today and was able to get them down pretty well without chewing.
Today, I am going to see my primary care physician. I think I may have developed a sinus infection with all of this. The head pressure in my sinuses is getting to me and as I stated before the stuff coming out isn't pretty. I will also be seeing my oral surgeon again for my weekly appointment. We'll see what he has to say. Keep you posted.

3 weeks post-op

This is the first time I've done this....a blog. I was inspired by others who have gone through this and thought I would start my own. My hopes is that I too will inspire someone else or make another know they are not the only one.
I am currently three weeks post-op for maxillary, mandibular, la forte, turbinectomy, genioplasty, and two wisdom teeth surgery. Phew! If that seems like a lot, it is.
I had been debating on having the surgery for approximately a year and a half. As my jaw pain worsened, there was nothing to debate. I got my braces on in August and my surgery was performed on March 12th, 2008.
It was rough the first day or two. I looked like the poster child for Botox gone wrong the first couple of days. I was so swollen I could not talk. I had two tubes in each nostril and because of all the blood, I could only breathe through my mouth. Drinking and taking all my meds was such a chore! I used a 60cc syringe and mixed most of my meds with water or apple juice. The worst was the liquid antibiotics! I couldn't smell it but others told me it smelled like old sweaty feet. Well, it tasted like it too. If I could imagine what that would taste like. Mixing it made it a little more bearable. I squirted my liquids to the back of my mouth from the side of my cheeks. No sipping here. I couldn't pucker. My mouth was numb. Can we say drooler!
The second week I was up and about more and had my first real follow up appointment with my oral surgeon. At this appointment my nose tubes were taken out. I had really feared going in to have this done since I heard it was awful. However, the worst part of it was the snip of the stitch. I didn't even feel him take the tubes out. Even though they were out I was still not allowed to blow my nose. I was just allowed q-tips and tissue to clean my nostrils. Next, the doctor removed my rubber bands for the first time and he had me thoroughly clean my teeth and my mouth. This was the first time I opened my mouth a little. Well, enough to squeeze a small tooth brush in to brush my tongue. Yuck! There were some nastys growing on it. Lets just say I felt very refreshed and those around me started talking closer to me. Or maybe that was my imagination. After that, my doctor put on new bands and showed me how to place them. I had officially moved to thickened liquids. First up, strawberry milk shake from the local drive thru. Yummy!
Now its week three and I am back to work. Wow! I never thought I would be so tired at first. I got to blow my nose lightly for the first time this week. EEW! Yucky stuff coming out. I won't get into details. I have had to use a Neti pot twice a day for the last couple of days to cleanse my nasal passages cuz blowing isn't getting the job done. Man can I breathe after doing that! Also, my jaw gets tired just from talking. Talking....well I mean my attempt to talk with a mouth opening ability of 1 inch. The rubber bands are becoming more and more of a nuisance each and every day. I have to take them out to eat. oh, eating....well that's mostly soups, smoothies, jello, and pudding. Did I tell you no straws allowed? so when I do eat, tomato soup, yogurt or smoothies, it's all over my face. Half of my face is still numb. Because of this my smile is uneven. I will attach images up to this point.