Breathing after surgery

[bracedfaced]

Question for those of you who already had surgery...

The first few days after my surgery (upper and lower), I could not breathe out of my nose at all. Not even a tiny sliver of relief. 100% plugged up for 5 days.

That was by far the most difficult thing for me recovery wise. Breathing only through the tiny spaces between my rubberband shut teeth...

So I wonder...is it like that for everyone? Or were some of you able to breathe even a tiny bit through your nose?

[John18]

Breathing was, by far, the area that I was most concerned with in terms of post-op recovery. I had my lower jaw moved 18mm and my top jaw widened 12mm and I was, prior to surgery, a complete mouth breather. The thought of having to breathe trough my nose really caused a lot of anxiety. You can read about my thoughts on this on my blog (see below).

I am now 5 weeks post-op and I can say that the breathing turned out not to be as bad as I thought or, at least, it was a lot more manageable than I thought it would be. The surgeon had prescribed a nasal decongestant that I had to take every two hours and it was a life saver; it completely cleared up any congestion and I was able to breathe clearly through my nose. In addition, given that my airways now had an additional 18mm to inhale oxygen, it was far easier to breath through my nose! :)

You get through it, though I recognise it is an anxious time. Good luck on your recovery!

John
Double jaw surgery (18mm lower jaw, 12mm upper jaw widened, genioplasty)
doublejawoperation-dot-com

[Anastasia8]

I can't answer the question about post surgery breathing as I'm not even braced yet!

But I want to say that John, your blog is absolutely brilliant - so well laid out and informative, thank you so much for sharing your journey

[John18]

@Anastasia - Thanks for your comments - I am glad you liked my blog!

John
Double jaw surgery (18mm lower jaw, 12mm upper jaw widened, genioplasty)
doublejawoperation-dot-com