Time is starting to go much quicker as the recovery gets a little easier, but my no means is it completely done. This surgery is a long-term commitment with over a year and a half in braces, an extensive recovery time, and braces afterwards, but it’s definitely worth it. To summarize what’s been going on:
Week 8: For weeks 4-8, I struggled with a post-op infection around the plates and screws in the jaw. This meant slower healing, more swelling, and pain. I was on 2 strong antibiotics for 4 weeks. The antibiotics weren’t all that fun as they left me feeling totally wiped out. I was also kept on the no-chew restrictions while we waited to see if that infection would go away for the hardware would have to come out. Keep in mind, that this infection was not preventable by anything I did. Though I practiced strict hygiene around the stitches, this is an infection that was likely introduced during the surgery and laid under there “brewing” for the first month. The goal in the extensive antibiotics was to hopefully knock the infection, or at the very least keep it from spreading. If it worsened or wouldn’t go away, I’d have to have a surgery to remove all the hardware. Luckily, at my 8 week appointment I was given the all-clear. Though it’s not always likely, I’d actually beaten the infection and was allowed to begin chewing soft foods. This was happy news,but once again I left the appointment with a bittersweet sadness because it was one more step to this adventure being over. I was told to use ice, heat, and massage to work on getting my mouth to open wider. I currently can barely fit two fingers in there when it’s opened as wide as I can. I was also released back to my orthodontist to continue my treatment. I ate some pasta, scrambled eggs, and mostly anything as long as it was cut up into small enough pieces.
Week 9: First appointment at the orthodontist since surgery. The staff at my orthodontist’s office will be more people that I will miss when this is all over! They are incredibly supportive and were thrilled with my results. I found out later when I ran into a doctor retired from the same practice, that though they try not to show it, surgery cases are especially exciting and interesting for them. Apparently I was the talk of the town for the last few months. 😉 The best part of this appointment was getting the surgical wires and hooks removed. Before surgery, a thicker wire had been placed so that it could withstand the pressures of the surgery and bands placed on it. I also had those 13 “hooks” in there. Though I was pretty much used to all of that, it was nice to get some of that metal out of my mouth. I now wear my bands further back in my mouth instead of over the canines. It takes quite a bit of practice to be able to get those properly placed. It was frustrating because they often came off the hooks or snapped. The nerves continue to be a problem. They seem to vary between pins and needles feeling, to burning, to weird temperature extremes. It’s all good news because it means they weren’t permanently damaged, but very tough to ignore in the meantime!
Week 10: After struggling with the bands over my molars for a week, I went back to the orthodontist for a simple fix. They bent out the hooks a little bit more and now the bands hold pretty well. The swelling is finally all gone. I’m even able to sleep on just one or two pillows at night and not wake up all puffy! It’s almost strange to sleep normally again and has taken some getting used to. There is less and less numbness in my lower lip and chin, but I continue to have problems with nerve pain. I go back to the surgeon for one last check up before school starts and will find out then if there are any restrictions to my eating as well as if anything can be done for the nerves. The last week was rough because the typical tightness and tenderness with adjusting the molars at the orthodontist, coupled with the nerve issues meant more pain than I’d had in a long time and even more time being unable to chew normally. It took about 5 days after my adjustment to feel okay chewing again. It is getting a little frustrating because my back molars still do not line up for me to chew easily. I have to trust they will get there eventually but after the ordeal of surgery, it would be nice if everything was all set and ready. But if I’ve learned nothing else, I’ve learned patience! At times, I wonder if I should have went ahead and done a genioplasty. This is a procedure to align, reshape the chin. It is strictly cosmetic and would have been another $1000 out of pocket, but sometimes I think my chin is still off center though it’s not as noticable as before. However, like many jaw surgery patiences, it becomes too easy to scrutinize and obsess over details that are most likely undetectable to other people and also insignificant. The chin does not affect my ability to chew or speak properly and is definitely a minor issue in the grand scheme of things! I supposed it’s better to not have added more hardware and recovering time to my face. For my next update, I’m hoping to have more before/after pictures ready because those are some of my favorite. Until next time, it’s massages, heat, and soft chewing!
musingofthemoment 