Metal Mouth Message Board

Could everyone applicable please share with me
The stories of your journeys to having a bsso done?
I'd love to see contrast and comparison of your worries vs the reality.
I'm a little overwhelmed with the whole process:P

My story started when I was about 12 and my parents took me for two ortho consults. Surgery was recommended by both. My parents couldn't afford it, so nothing was done. Fast forward 10 years. I began having minor TMJ symptoms which progressed over the next several years until they were really interfering with my life. I visited a TMJ specialist who put me in a special splint which was quite amazing in its ability to reduce symptoms. At the end of her treatment plan, I was doing quite well, but I would still have 2-3 day periods of pain. I had to have her splint with me all the time in case I needed it for pain relief. Before discharging me, she told me that if I wanted a permanent solution, I would have to talk to an orthodontist, but the timing of so doing was completely up to me. There was no hurry, and I didn't have to if I didn't want to. She did give me a referral in case I wanted to.

Six or so months later, I had concluded that at 24 years old, the splint was not a good long-term solution. If I left home without it, I might or might not be in trouble, and it was bound not to last a lifetime, and who knew if another one could be made as well. I decided that, having tried all other options, I needed to bite the bullet and get orthodontics and jaw surgery done. So I called up her referral, and off I went.

My primary worry was that the surgery would do nothing for my TMJ and I would end up splint-dependent after all with no further options. That was a risk I had to take. Heck, it was no worse than my current situation! Yes, I had concerns about numbness, but I considered numbness preferable to the TMJ pain, and I had to try. For me, once I realized I needed to do surgery, it was not a hard decision.

Because of another surgery I had had as a teenager when I was given no pain meds, I really expected to be in absolute agony postoperatively. I was also very worried about nausea and vomiting because I don't handle anesthesia well, and I didn't know how I would handle strong pain meds, never having had them before.

They gave me plenty of nausea meds for the anesthesia. I did have lots of trouble with nausea from pain meds, and it took a trip to the ER to control it. The pain was minimal. I probably could have done without much of anything, but because of my worries as above, I wasn't about to try: Have meds will take them. Recovery was hard, harder than I had anticipated. I missed food more than I thought possible. I ate the same four dishes for 6 weeks. My family couldn't understand my speech for at least a week, maybe more. I struggled to get my energy back because of all the nausea from pain meds. By 3 weeks out, I was finally doing ok in the energy department, and that is very delayed compared to most folks. I was readily understandable to everyone except people over the telephone by 2 weeks. By 3 weeks, most people over the phone could understand me. The splint to position my bite came out at 6 weeks (oh happy day), whereupon I could talk normally immediately.

One year out, my TMJ symptoms are nearly gone, as long as I avoid certain foods and certain activities with my jaw. I am completely splintless, and I'm not looking to buy another. I have altered sensation on my chin on both sides, though one side is much worse than the other. Overall, I am glad I did the surgery, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Recovery is very hard but not lethal, which fortunately means you'll live to tell the tale of how hard it was. Lots of people have easier recoveries than I did, especially BSSO-only patients.

Is that helpful? Unhelpful? Questions? If you haven't done so yet, I suggest you spend some time exploring this forum. There is a lot of good information, and you will come upon many stories as you read.