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!