I've had snoring and sleep apnea issues for most of my life whether in shape or out of shape. When I was a kid, they did the extraction/headgear combo on me to correct an overbite. About a year into treatment, I started losing hearing in my left ear. Doctors had no idea what was causing it, only that my auditory nerve had pinched itself and been damaged. When I was 17, I woke up and my other ear was plugged up and I haven't been able to drain it properly since.
This past summer, I saw a doctor who confided in me that my inner ears are smaller than they should be for someone my height. I did some google-fu listing my symptoms and came across a website from a man who had gone through the same thing as me and was in the process of "reverse extraction" treatment. He mentioned his snoring had gone away and I was intrigued. I made an appointment with an orthodontist who specializes in it in my city and had 3d models of my teeth and airway taken. When I went in a month later to look at the results, he showed me an image of my head and neck with the airway colour coded showing its volume. The scale on the bottom ranged from blue at 500mm squared at blue down through green and yellow and red then to black at 100mm sq. My airway is 78. So, he basically said that I have to fix this or I'll be losing years of my life, which has been echoed in the past by sleep specialists and my gp. I figured it'd be something like a mouthguard or whatnot, but he informed me it's gonna be a year of braces, double jaw surgery to move everything forward, then another year of braces to tidy things up.
There's a few things freaking me out about this whole thing. Firstly, I'm gonna be 39 when this is done and an adult in braces. Ugh. Secondly, I'm wondering how I'll deal with a totally different face after this is done. I mean, I'm used to seeing myself in the mirror and, if any of the before and after pictures in the fb jaw surgery group I joined are any indication, I'm gonna look different.
Who here has gone through this?
Double Jaw Surgery at 38
Moderator: bbsadmin
Re: Double Jaw Surgery at 38
Hello,
what are your updates since your last post? Did you decide to start the treatment?
I can comment only on the braces part: I am 31 and I´ve been in braces for 5 months now. They are quite uncomfortable and I am a bit self conscious about them BUT I am old enough to have an overall distance to the situation because of my age. I know what I look like without them , and I know my personality so I tend not to care about what other people think. Just keep in mind who you have been before the braces and what you stand for and that the whole thing will be over at some point and believe me, the last months just flew by for me and I promise you it will be the same for you. Also, you could check out if ceramic braces could be an option for you ( I wear them too) as you notice them way less than the traditional ones. Good Luck!
what are your updates since your last post? Did you decide to start the treatment?
I can comment only on the braces part: I am 31 and I´ve been in braces for 5 months now. They are quite uncomfortable and I am a bit self conscious about them BUT I am old enough to have an overall distance to the situation because of my age. I know what I look like without them , and I know my personality so I tend not to care about what other people think. Just keep in mind who you have been before the braces and what you stand for and that the whole thing will be over at some point and believe me, the last months just flew by for me and I promise you it will be the same for you. Also, you could check out if ceramic braces could be an option for you ( I wear them too) as you notice them way less than the traditional ones. Good Luck!