Before Braces
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
6 Weeks (And 4 Days)
I am terrible at this update thing. I think it's because my recovery is now slower, I don't have as much to write about. I will make a brief update here.
Swelling: Most of my swelling is gone, though I still have a bit in my cheeks. I've always had chubby cheeks, but I can tell the right side is still more swollen. It is not noticable to other people though.
Pain: My pain is pretty much gone. I still take ibuprofin twice a day, but this is for tooth pain, not jaw pain. It is also to help with the swelling.
Eating: I am back to a normal diet! I can eat just about anything, although my bite strength is still so-so. I can bite things like pizza, but I can't bite through meat yet. I can chew fine, and eat things like chips and crackers. Chips hurt my teeth a bit, but again this is more brace pain than surgery/jaw pain.
Appearance: My bruising is gone, save for a yellow tint under one of my eyes. I have noticed my chin is more pronounced, as are my cheekbones. My face is rounder, and my chin is not as pointed. The circles under my eyes have also gone! My nose is slightly wider, but my surgeon minimized that as much as possible. One of my front teeth was chipped during surgery, but again it is hardly noticable. The best change for me is the cheekbones, though they are not as prominent as they would be without the swelling. I think once all the swelling is gone they will look even better. My lips are also more symmetrical, and my cupids bow is more defined. I will post photos for you to compare!
Before = Left
Before = Right
Before = Left
After:
Before:
Swelling: Most of my swelling is gone, though I still have a bit in my cheeks. I've always had chubby cheeks, but I can tell the right side is still more swollen. It is not noticable to other people though.
Pain: My pain is pretty much gone. I still take ibuprofin twice a day, but this is for tooth pain, not jaw pain. It is also to help with the swelling.
Eating: I am back to a normal diet! I can eat just about anything, although my bite strength is still so-so. I can bite things like pizza, but I can't bite through meat yet. I can chew fine, and eat things like chips and crackers. Chips hurt my teeth a bit, but again this is more brace pain than surgery/jaw pain.
Appearance: My bruising is gone, save for a yellow tint under one of my eyes. I have noticed my chin is more pronounced, as are my cheekbones. My face is rounder, and my chin is not as pointed. The circles under my eyes have also gone! My nose is slightly wider, but my surgeon minimized that as much as possible. One of my front teeth was chipped during surgery, but again it is hardly noticable. The best change for me is the cheekbones, though they are not as prominent as they would be without the swelling. I think once all the swelling is gone they will look even better. My lips are also more symmetrical, and my cupids bow is more defined. I will post photos for you to compare!
Before = Left
After:
Thursday, July 14, 2016
5 Weeks
On Monday I had another post op appointment, and I also saw my orthodontist for the first time post surgery. I recommend waiting more than 4 weeks to see your ortho, because this wasn't fun!
Usually when I see my ortho the appointment last a maybe 10 minutes. This time it took 2.5 HOURS. He started by taking off all of the wire ties on my brackets, and then removing the wires. Removing the wire required a lot of pulling and yanking on my sore jaw. Then he replaced the wires with heavier gauge ones, which also required lots of pushing and yanking. It also took 2 people, which meant my mouth was stretched uncomfortably wide. I then had chains put on (anyone with braces knows the pain), and a new figurative for rubber bands.
I have to wear 4 rubber bands everyday, and they are a bitch to put on correctly. I have 2 going from the back of 1 tooth to the front of another, one of which goes around 4 teeth (imagine square shape). Then over that I have 2 more elastics. It is hard to eat with these in, but I don't want to remove them lest I have to replace them.
My surgeon said everything is healing well, and that putting heat on my face will help with the residual bruising. I still have a good amount of swelling in my cheeks, but hopefully that goes away in the next few months. I can sleep lying down now, which means no more tossing and turning! I finally feel like I'm sleeping some. I have also upped my chewing game, even though my jaw is protesting. I was able to eat a pop tart today, which is a huge step. Hopefully I will be back to chewing relatively normally soon!
Usually when I see my ortho the appointment last a maybe 10 minutes. This time it took 2.5 HOURS. He started by taking off all of the wire ties on my brackets, and then removing the wires. Removing the wire required a lot of pulling and yanking on my sore jaw. Then he replaced the wires with heavier gauge ones, which also required lots of pushing and yanking. It also took 2 people, which meant my mouth was stretched uncomfortably wide. I then had chains put on (anyone with braces knows the pain), and a new figurative for rubber bands.
I have to wear 4 rubber bands everyday, and they are a bitch to put on correctly. I have 2 going from the back of 1 tooth to the front of another, one of which goes around 4 teeth (imagine square shape). Then over that I have 2 more elastics. It is hard to eat with these in, but I don't want to remove them lest I have to replace them.
My surgeon said everything is healing well, and that putting heat on my face will help with the residual bruising. I still have a good amount of swelling in my cheeks, but hopefully that goes away in the next few months. I can sleep lying down now, which means no more tossing and turning! I finally feel like I'm sleeping some. I have also upped my chewing game, even though my jaw is protesting. I was able to eat a pop tart today, which is a huge step. Hopefully I will be back to chewing relatively normally soon!
Saturday, July 9, 2016
4 Weeks
So by now I only have a bit of bruising left under my eyes, although the swelling is still obvious in my cheeks and cheekbones. I think the swelling is much more obvious to me, to the casual observer I probably look pretty normal!
My jaw is regaining more movement, because I am snapping more rubber bands! When I first finished surgery I didn't break any, now they break almost every day. My stitches have almost all come out, except for the ones under my nose. I think those always last longer though. I will go to the orthodontist in 2 days, and will see if they adjust anything then.
My pain is pretty good, I'm down to ibuprofin 800mg and acetominophen 1k MG twice a day. I am also taking 1.5 MG of oxy once a day, but this is more to keep me from going through withdrawal than it is for pain.
Chewing has been pretty good, although I'm still sticking to very soft things. Too much chewing causes a lot of pain. I did eat a piece of cut up pizza for dinner, so yay! I've been craving pizza more than anything, and couldn't resist. My appetite is also back to what it was, although still lower than 'normal.'
My sleep has not been great. I'm not sure if it's because I'm still basically sleeping sitting up, or the narcotics, or what, but it sucks. I go to sleep around 2am, wake up 6 or 7 times, and then wake up by 9am for good. My doctor just gave me hydroxizine, so in a few days I'll let you know if it's helped. I've also noticed I'm hardly dreaming. I've always been a lucid dreamer, so I have very vivid, detailed dreams. Now my dreams are barely there or unmemorable. I miss my dreams most I think, hopefully they'll come back.
Whelp, here are some photos!
My jaw is regaining more movement, because I am snapping more rubber bands! When I first finished surgery I didn't break any, now they break almost every day. My stitches have almost all come out, except for the ones under my nose. I think those always last longer though. I will go to the orthodontist in 2 days, and will see if they adjust anything then.
My pain is pretty good, I'm down to ibuprofin 800mg and acetominophen 1k MG twice a day. I am also taking 1.5 MG of oxy once a day, but this is more to keep me from going through withdrawal than it is for pain.
Chewing has been pretty good, although I'm still sticking to very soft things. Too much chewing causes a lot of pain. I did eat a piece of cut up pizza for dinner, so yay! I've been craving pizza more than anything, and couldn't resist. My appetite is also back to what it was, although still lower than 'normal.'
My sleep has not been great. I'm not sure if it's because I'm still basically sleeping sitting up, or the narcotics, or what, but it sucks. I go to sleep around 2am, wake up 6 or 7 times, and then wake up by 9am for good. My doctor just gave me hydroxizine, so in a few days I'll let you know if it's helped. I've also noticed I'm hardly dreaming. I've always been a lucid dreamer, so I have very vivid, detailed dreams. Now my dreams are barely there or unmemorable. I miss my dreams most I think, hopefully they'll come back.
Whelp, here are some photos!
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Before and After Photos - 3 Weeks
Before on right, after on left.
3 Days after (worst of swelling)
3 Weeks! (and 2 days)
I must get better at this whole blogging thing. I haven't been updating everyday, basically because not much has happened. My swelling is almost gone, and my face looks mostly back to normal. I don't have the heart shaped face that I used to, so I'm still getting used to that. I don't feel as pretty as I used to, my face feels like it's too big.
I was chewing, but I got overzealous and made the pain worse. So I am back to a no chew diet for a while, until things settle down. I didn't need to take any oxy today, which is a huge step forward! Unfortunately it led to me accidentally getting a major case of the DT's, which you DO NOT want to have to go through. Never stop any medication cold turkey. Okay body, lesson learned.
If you want to know what withdrawal feels like, imagine a horrible flu. Runny nose, sweating, shaking, nausea, no appetite, etc. The worst part is that I keep going between being freezing cold and boiling hot, and I can't regulate my temperature at all. I am back on the oxy to help with this, and I will titrate off of it more slowly this time.
Tomorrow is the fourth of July, and I am sad that I can't chew anything! Maybe I can blend steak and watermelon? Only joking, don't worry. On Saturday I went to the salon with my mom and we had our nails done, a get well gift from a friend. Thank you if you are reading this! It was really nice to get out of the house and go relax. I've never had a manicure before, so that was fun!
Other than the chewing thing, I am healing well. My jaw has started cracking and popping every so often, but I'm pretty sure that is normal. I am able to open my mouth wider, which means I am snapping more rubber bands. I am trying to be careful, because I have a very limited supply! I am also able to smile more, although the right side of my face starts drooping after a few seconds. I had a lopsided smile before the surgery, and it is actually my favorite feature, so I'm glad it didn't go away. Although if I'm not paying attention I start to look a little too much like Sylvester Stallone. ;D
I still have green circles under my eyes, but other than that the bruising is gone! But in place of the bruising my acne has really flared up on my forehead. I've never had perfect skin, but it has never been this bad before. Hopefully it will go away soon. My chin and lower lip are still numb, as well as my upper palate. But I am starting to get the itching/burning that means nerves are regenerating! My upper teeth are resting on my lower brackets, which is causing pain. I have to wait until my next appointment to get this fixed. My lower brackets are also tearing up my lower lip, and because its numb I keep accidentally biting it. It's not pretty, and I've actually chewed a hole through part of it. Ive bought these bumpers off Amazon that should help, so we'll see. My nose is also still stuffy, but I think that is from residual swelling. Otherwise I'm feeling great! I am hungry though...
I was chewing, but I got overzealous and made the pain worse. So I am back to a no chew diet for a while, until things settle down. I didn't need to take any oxy today, which is a huge step forward! Unfortunately it led to me accidentally getting a major case of the DT's, which you DO NOT want to have to go through. Never stop any medication cold turkey. Okay body, lesson learned.
If you want to know what withdrawal feels like, imagine a horrible flu. Runny nose, sweating, shaking, nausea, no appetite, etc. The worst part is that I keep going between being freezing cold and boiling hot, and I can't regulate my temperature at all. I am back on the oxy to help with this, and I will titrate off of it more slowly this time.
Tomorrow is the fourth of July, and I am sad that I can't chew anything! Maybe I can blend steak and watermelon? Only joking, don't worry. On Saturday I went to the salon with my mom and we had our nails done, a get well gift from a friend. Thank you if you are reading this! It was really nice to get out of the house and go relax. I've never had a manicure before, so that was fun!
Other than the chewing thing, I am healing well. My jaw has started cracking and popping every so often, but I'm pretty sure that is normal. I am able to open my mouth wider, which means I am snapping more rubber bands. I am trying to be careful, because I have a very limited supply! I am also able to smile more, although the right side of my face starts drooping after a few seconds. I had a lopsided smile before the surgery, and it is actually my favorite feature, so I'm glad it didn't go away. Although if I'm not paying attention I start to look a little too much like Sylvester Stallone. ;D
I still have green circles under my eyes, but other than that the bruising is gone! But in place of the bruising my acne has really flared up on my forehead. I've never had perfect skin, but it has never been this bad before. Hopefully it will go away soon. My chin and lower lip are still numb, as well as my upper palate. But I am starting to get the itching/burning that means nerves are regenerating! My upper teeth are resting on my lower brackets, which is causing pain. I have to wait until my next appointment to get this fixed. My lower brackets are also tearing up my lower lip, and because its numb I keep accidentally biting it. It's not pretty, and I've actually chewed a hole through part of it. Ive bought these bumpers off Amazon that should help, so we'll see. My nose is also still stuffy, but I think that is from residual swelling. Otherwise I'm feeling great! I am hungry though...
Sorry for the bad photos, I'll add better ones in the morning.