June/July 2015 Surgery Buddies

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snapdresser
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Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#526 Post by snapdresser »

Ok, so I just got back from my 6-week post-op. My surgeon was pissed that I had pizza last night :( She said I can start having ground beef and fish, but she didn't want me eating pizza again. I'll TRY lol. So that means I can probably try and get a burger from Mickey D's for lunch tomorrow! I think I just might! Not sure how the bread will go over. Also, I'm not fully off elastics yet :roll: I'm supposed to do night elastics now, like some of you already are. Since I still had some sections of my sutures in, I asked her to remove them. One section in the middle of the bottom stung for about 5 minutes, but other than that it was painless. So that's all fine and dandy. I'm not super blown-away only because I had hoped to get the elastics dropped permanently today. Oh well. I guess the best news (since I'm already cheating on my diet anyways) was her reassurance that in a mere 2 weeks she'll be taking off the archbars and I'll be done!!!!

Oh yeah, so as pertains to my front tooth that the archbars loosened. Like I said before, it's now no longer moved forward, but it still sticks down a little, like 1mm or so. Today she said we'll leave it until the archbars come off, and maybe it'll equalize with the other teeth. Otherwise, she said she'll just shave 1mm or so off the bottom of it. Not super fond of that idea, but I'm still thinking about it.
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deathorglory
Posts: 117
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Location: Seattle, WA

Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#527 Post by deathorglory »

Man I so do NOT want that oiliness to come back...! I was sooooo super oily and was so afraid to scrub my face hard hahaha! I finally scrubbed and exfoliated around 1.5 weeks because I just couldn't take it anymore... I was gentle on my jawline and chin, but I scrubbed like a madwoman all over the rest of my face. I finally felt like I had a clean face after that. Then I just scrubbed mildly every couple of days or so to keep my face from getting that bad again...

I was at 2 fingers around 4-6 weeks, but my elastics wearing was cut down a little faster than you guys, I think. It took a long time to get back to 3 fingers though. I think it took until 8-12 weeks before I could get all the way up to 3 full fingers. I'm still only at 3.5 fingers where prior to surgery I was at 4.5 fingers. I've found that I'm able to open more in the evenings, after having spent a day opening and closing my mouth...and sometimes I encourage myself my trying to eat large burgers :) Last measurement was 47mm out of 52mm (prior to surgery measurement). I think previous to this last appointment, I was a mere 33mm out of 52mm!

My dentist said to be careful biting into things because after surgery your biting power may be a bit diminished while you're recovering. Just keep that in mind when trying to eat your burgers, Snap! Maybe cut it into small pieces THEN attempt to eat...?
Braces on March 7th, 2014
Lower Jaw Surgery (BSSO) March 30th, 2015

jaime
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Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#528 Post by jaime »

I am at barely over 1.5 finger width when I open, but my orthodontist's office said that's pretty good. So the rest of you are just keeners. :wink:

Snap: my surgeon was rushed today so no mention of the diet but I had asked last time anyway and was told to wait for 6 weeks. He said he wasn't concerned that my left side was open, that we'll sort it out with elastics, which I got at my orthodontist appointment this afternoon (just one, way at the very back). After my "gently" suggesting several times that my ortho take my surgical hooks off, he agreed and took them off. :-* :mrgreen: :-** :jump:

Soooo my surgeon said to take my midline elastics off and my ortho took the surgical hooks off, and now my midline has reverted to where it was. After over a week of me leaving elastics off for hours at a time and my midline being fine!!!!!! I don't get it?!?!!?!?!?! I'm trying to consciously hold my jaw over and see if that helps. :-(* Might have to call my orthodontist though.

I don't go back to work until Monday. This is my last week of freedom!
SARPE: December 19, 2013
Expander out/TPA in: May 13th, 2014
Upper and lower braces: May 21, 2014
Lefort I + BSSO + sliding genioplasty: June 11, 2015
TPA out: December 17, 2015 (due to issues)
Braces off: November 28th, 2016!!!
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snapdresser
Posts: 996
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Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#529 Post by snapdresser »

Jaime - I'ma wait till I'm on my desktop at work tomorrow to type out responses to the new posts from you and deathorglory, but I wanted to let you know sooner rather than later something that my surgeon told me. The first night she took me from 9 elastics to 2, she told me "Text me first thing in the morning. I want to know how your bite is when you wake up. If it's off to the side (which sounds like what you're describing), we're going to have to put some of those elastics back on." She texted me the next morning to inquire and again the morning after that. I know my surgeon is pretty gung ho with the elastics :roll: but I got a feeling you're gonna need more elastics back on. Which kinda makes sense, considering how few weeks you were rocking the hardcore elastics. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news and I truly hope that's not the case, but since my surgeon was so pushy about knowing the morning after, I wanted to let you know sooner rather than later :(
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Partial hardware removal 14 SEP 2018
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snapdresser
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Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:31 am

Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#530 Post by snapdresser »

deathorglory - I hear you about the oiliness. One of the more annoying things about the later parts of recovery, no doubt. The diet and inability to open your mouth widely are probably more annoying, but the skin thing is probably next IMO. Good to hear that yours is much better now :) Also, sounds like you had quite a thorough pre-op if you have your opening measurements in millimeters! I never measured lol. Do you get pain in your TMJs when you try to open more widely than you're able? I've noticed that my biting power is reduced. Right now I'm not sure a burger is an option, just cuz I can't open more than about a finger or a finger and a half. Still, it's awfully tempting to try, rather than chug a couple Ensures for lunch :|

Jaime - You're over 1.5 fingers? You're ahead of me then. Ever since when I was eating pizza Sunday night, it's been back down to 1-1.5 fingers :? If your surgeon didn't mention the diet and said to wait for 6 weeks, I'd be out there chowing down RIGHT NOW!!! :D :lol: Like I posted last night, your elastics case seems interesting. Hopefully you woke up and your muscles have loosened up again and your jaw is back in the correct position! Otherwise, it might be worth it to throw on the elastics for another week or two. I can imagine how sucky that would be to return to the surgeon and get elastics back on, but they probably wouldn't need to stay on for long. How long after the surgeon removed your midline elastics did your midline revert? That's so crazy that you've had them off for hours and then just now it reverts :shock: Enjoy your last week of freedom!!! When you leaving on your honeymoon?
No braces
1-piece LeFort I + BSSO + Sliding Genio on 10 JUNE 2015!
Partial hardware removal 14 SEP 2018
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deathorglory
Posts: 117
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2014 9:28 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#531 Post by deathorglory »

It seemed that a night of gung ho chewing always made my jaw super tight the next morning. And since I had that infection on my right side, that's the side that's a bit tighter feeling. I've recently developed a slight pain in the right side of my jaw by the joint, but I think it's more from clenching my jaw after my last ortho adjustment. At least, I haven't noticed any stiffness holding me back from opening as wide as I was able previously. I don't get any TMJ pain, though my tendons do let me know when enough is enough. ...And I eat big burgers by taking half bites right now. As in, one bun and part of patty then the other bun and more parts of patty. :D I've tried squishing large burgers down, but sometimes they only squish so far...

Don't worry too much about the biting power thing. I don't think my biting power really came back until about the 3 month mark. Even chewing today on my right side, I felt like I wasn't fully healed enough yet. I'm almost 4 months post op now! Only another 8 months to go till I'm fully healed... (I tried to eat a semi firm peach today without cutting it first... T_T)

My ortho took range of motion measurements prior to surgery. She measures every time I go in and even gave me a little measuring thing to take home! :) I'm really bad at using it cuz it's almost impossible to read when stretching your jaw open as far as you can, then staring intently at the backwards numbers in the mirror, but hey. My ortho tells me at each appointment, so I guess I don't have to be THAT proficient lol

Snap, try something soft and small first. Bits of cupcake (with frosting to help it along), small bites of pasta noodles, bits of pancake, torn off tiny bits of cheeseburgers...? You'll get there! When you're hungry enough you'll find a way... Somehow, at 4 weeks post op (and only 2 finger widths) I managed to squish and cram a Chikfila chicken sammich into my craw. I had it stuck all over my braces, but oh goodness it was worth it... Though the inability to chew through the crunchy bits of the chicken was annoying. ...Basically I gummed until I couldn't gum anymore.
Braces on March 7th, 2014
Lower Jaw Surgery (BSSO) March 30th, 2015

snapdresser
Posts: 996
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:31 am

Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#532 Post by snapdresser »

deathorglory - I hear you about the taw tightness the morning after chewing a lot. Yesterday I had a Mickey D's cheeseburger and mozzarella sticks for lunch and last night I had chicken bites and a fully loaded fry from Checker's for dinner. It was delicious, but I could feel it a little bit this morning. I think I'm just completely hosed on the liquid diet at this point :| I'm still supplementing with Ensures, but in general I eat "real" food for lunch and dinner. The burger from Mickey D's was a pain. I got a regular cheeseburger so it wouldn't be too thick but even then I couldn't open wide enough to make it easy. That's alright, the important thing is that I'm getting to experience deliciousness :lol: I reeeeeally want a CFA sammich... I hear you about the crispy parts tho. That'd be my biggest concern. I have to drive all the way out to Jersey for a CFA sammich right now, tho. The new one in Times Square doesn't open for another couple months, I think. Maybe longer. Ugh... that's disheartening to hear that it took you 3 months to get back full biting power. I'm ready to get back to life as usual with my nice new face!


Oh yeah, so yesterday I put on a nice blue jacket, button-down, and tie (a nicer outfit than the one I wore over the weekend, and maybe fancier, but not as... trendy? as the one I'm saving for when I'm fully recovered), did my hair, and took a few pictures. I posted my favorite one on Facebook and the facial recognition thing that Facebook does tagged it as being my brother lol. My brother seemed happy about that, and even called me to talk about how much we look alike and stuff :lol: His chin is longer than mine tho, I think. When my surgeon was talking to me about my measurements and aesthetics, she brought up that I have a long lower quarter (lip to chin, basically). She corrected that for me, which is the single thing about my new look that's been the hardest to get used to. A shorter chin. It initially felt "too short" but as the swelling's gone down and I've gotten more used to it, I think it looks good! More like my dad's chin than my brother's tho, I think. Anyways, I attached the pic here. I tried to post my x-ray a while back like Jaime did, but the file was too big. This one's been compressed through Facebook tho, so apparently it fits now. I realize this is the first time you guys are seeing what I look like :shock:
portrait_6weeks_resized.jpg
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Partial hardware removal 14 SEP 2018
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jaime
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Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#533 Post by jaime »

You look great, snap!! It is really true that people who have never seen you or don't see you often have no idea if you're swollen. I would have no idea you just had jaw surgery if it wasn't for 36 pages of discussion.

That's funny about your and deathorglory's muscles tightening up after chewing. I'm going to watch for that.

We went out for dinner last night for my mom's birthday. I got mac and cheese that had chicken and some veggies in it. The chicken was mostly too difficult but everything else was fine. I'm eating the leftover dessert right now, too. It's a gigantic brownie...gotta pick out the pecans, though.

That's hilarious about the Facebook recognition thing! I definitely sympathize about getting used to your new face, though. I love my face from the side now, but each time I've seen photos of me smiling post-surgery, I feel like my face looks smushed and small. And then when I look at old photos of me, I feel like I still look different from how I imagined I did because now I see how recessed my midface was.

I just realized what CFA is and now I'm jealous. :-(( I won't be near one until September.

So I was gone ALL day yesterday with my friends and then my family. I was out of the house from 6:45am until 10:30pm, ugh. So I didn't see your thing about the surgeon, snap. But I did call my ortho yesterday and asked. I still have some leftover medium gauge elastics so I hooked one onto my right canine bracket (which has a hook) and onto the two teeth below which both also have hooks. That holds my midline in place for the most part. My ortho wanted to see me right away but I was out of town and they're on holidays now, so it has to wait until next Wednesday. He said wearing the elastic was fine if it makes me more comfortable. Today I woke up and consciously kept my jaw relaxed as I got in front of a mirror, and it's fine. It can't make up its mind!
SARPE: December 19, 2013
Expander out/TPA in: May 13th, 2014
Upper and lower braces: May 21, 2014
Lefort I + BSSO + sliding genioplasty: June 11, 2015
TPA out: December 17, 2015 (due to issues)
Braces off: November 28th, 2016!!!
My blog
My ArchWired thread (last updated November 29th, 2016)

KaylaChristine
Posts: 125
Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 6:26 am
Location: USA

Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#534 Post by KaylaChristine »

I saw my surgeon again yesterday......I'm getting unwired on the 28th!! :-* Just five more days! I hope I'm able to eat soft no chew foods right away. Anyway, after my appointment with my surgeon I stopped by my orthodontist to scheduale an appointment for elastics for the same day....and both receptionists didn't recognize me. I said something like "Hi, I had jaw surgery 5 weeks ago and I'm getting unwired next Tuesday. I need to schedule an appointment for elastics on that day. " Her response: "Okay, um, who's your orthodontist?" Lol my ortho is the only one at her practice btw. They didn't realize who I was until I said my name.

Snapdresser - You look great! Facebook didn't recognize me either lol. And I don't even like McDonald's but a cheeseburger from there sounds amazing right now. Mmm I can't wait to eat again. What's CFA?

Jaime - Yeah, it's really hard getting used to my new face as well. It's just so much smaller. I'm actually having a hard time with compliments or comments on how I look so different. I sometimes take them the wrong way. I'm still adjusting to my new face and I'm liking it well enough...but I had the old one for so long and it's just weird.
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Braced on October 14, 2014.
Lefort I and vertical ramus osteotomy: June 15, 2015
Braces to be removed January 5, 2017.

jaime
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Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#535 Post by jaime »

Kayla, I totally scrolled past your Instagram photo the other day and didn't realize it was you. You do look very different! Of course, I think you look great. You look at least 5 years younger, too.

Yay for getting unwired next week!!! :jump: It's probably going to be tricky chewing at first but I imagine you will get used to it quickly, probably mostly due to sheer will and determination.
SARPE: December 19, 2013
Expander out/TPA in: May 13th, 2014
Upper and lower braces: May 21, 2014
Lefort I + BSSO + sliding genioplasty: June 11, 2015
TPA out: December 17, 2015 (due to issues)
Braces off: November 28th, 2016!!!
My blog
My ArchWired thread (last updated November 29th, 2016)

Liz192
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2015 10:18 am

Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#536 Post by Liz192 »

Hey all! I know it has been a while. This was an incredibly tough week for me. I had a lot of trouble with nausea and pushed myself too hard moving out of our house, having it painted and getting it rented. Doing all of this without my husband has been the hardest. Luckily he will be coming to see me for the weekend. My lower lip, chin and part of my tongue are still numb.

I had my follow up appt today. They said everything looks good. Still have a lot of swelling. They said once the swelling goes down I won't be biting on my cheeks anymore thank goodness. He said the numbness will go away and I bruised a lot. I lost 8lbs but I can eat very soft things now. They said no elastics for me and will see me again next week.

I would give anything to eat a burger right now. I'm suppose to go back to work on Monday so I am hoping I will be up for it. I leave for my trip home next Friday so I can't wait to see my family.

KaylaChristine
Posts: 125
Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 6:26 am
Location: USA

Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#537 Post by KaylaChristine »

Jaime - I think the chubby cheeks add to the youthfulness. Hahaha. Though they don't look as chubby in that picture.

Liz - I'm sorry you had a tough week. Get some rest! Hopefully things are starting to look up for you now though. I'd also give anything for a burger.

Ugggggh. I just checked my insurance online and it looks like the hospital fee is going to cost me $3,334.54. Here's to hoping the hospital lets me do smallish payments on it until I get my bonuses later on in the year and until next year's income tax return. So my total cost for the surgery is: $4,613.79. Add the cost of braces to that and I'll have paid $11,113.79 to get my mouth/bite fixed. Ouch. I know it's all worth it, but ouch.

It just kills me that this all would have been so much cheaper had I gotten it done last year. My max out of pocket cost went from $2,000 last year to $4,750 this year. It would have cost me around $700 last year :| Oh well though...at least I got it done lol.
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Braced on October 14, 2014.
Lefort I and vertical ramus osteotomy: June 15, 2015
Braces to be removed January 5, 2017.

gruntled
Posts: 53
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:03 pm

Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#538 Post by gruntled »

Snap, I totally thought you were a girl :-*


I saw a different orthodontist on Wednesday because my one is on holiday. She's not best pleased that I've been eating solid food! Been told to revert back to soft food for another week :cry: I did point out to her that my discharge info said soft diet 3-4 weeks though! And my usual ortho is not bothered by it.

On the bright side I was told that my bite is excellent and my cleaning is excellent too :mrgreen: feel like a small child getting a puffy sticker at school!
Double jaw surgery to fix my underbite 17/06/2015

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Nozzelnut
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Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#539 Post by Nozzelnut »

Liz Great to hear about the soft foods! And no elastics too!

Kayla nice that you're getting the wires out next week! Just a couple days!!

Sooo, saw the surgeon today. I've been slightly achey on my lower right jaw at the site of the plate and screws. Slightly swollen; but you can't really tell. More in the morning or night, not too much during the day. He's thinking there's a bit of infection in there somewhere and I'm back on antibiotics and have another follow-up appointment next Tuesday. He was able to squeeze a little fluid out.... Grrrrrrrr. I'm still on a no chew diet.
Round 3 (lifetime) Damon stainless applied 3/16/20 (after 4 weeks attempting invisalign) On for about 18 months
Night time elastics with invisalign retainers; still...
Double jaw surgery was 6/18/15...
Orthodontics never really ends...
I'm emphatically against extraction orthodontics!

snapdresser
Posts: 996
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:31 am

Re: June/July Surgery Buddies

#540 Post by snapdresser »

Jaime - Thank you! You know, when I'm not smiling the swelling is a little easier to see. But I agree, when I smile at least, it's pretty much impossible for people to tell. It's even hard for me to tell myself lol. That's good like you like your new profile. I haven't really seen mine. I think once about 3 weeks post-op and my cheeks still seemed pretty puffy. But features-wise, my nose and chin looked much more... even? I kinda have a long nose, so the chin now fits better with it. OMG I totally agree about the smaller face thing. That's what seems off to me when I look in the mirror! I'm still getting used to it, I guess. It makes my neck look longer, which takes some getting used to too. And my new smile with teeth? Fuhgeddaboudit! Totally catches me off-guard every time :lol: No more gummy smile, but the whole thing seems "smushed" as you put it lol. So I updated my FB profile picture, but I looked at my old one yesterday. God, it's unbearable... I hate it... :roll: I feel like now I actually look like what I thought I looked like all those years lol. If you know what I mean. But this is the new, and permanent "me", so it doesn't bother me when people say I look much better now. It's not like someone saying I look "much better" when I put on makeup or something :lol: Great to hear that your midline is lining back up! Hopefully that's kept up! Tho in all fairness, a couple extra elastics for a week or two isn't that bad. As long as you remove them to eat, that's the challenge with lots of elastics.

KaylaChristine - Thanks! CFA = Chick-fil-A. They sell chicken sandwiches, basically. And they're really good. Extra butter? Mmmmmmmm... :jump: Super excited for you getting unwired!!! Just a mere 4 days now! And I'm sure people not recognizing your cool new face adds to the thrill of the whole thing, eh? I think that's one of the cool parts :D How long are you going to need elastics for? Did they say? I can only imagine how stiff you're going to feel after being wired shut for 6 weeks... You're on instagram? What's your s/n? I want to see the new pics! Ouch, that sucks about your surgery bill. $11k out of pocket is pretty tough. I'm almost positive the hospital will work with you on a payment plan. They deal with big bills all the time and in my experience they're good about breaking it down into small payments, and even giving you a fair bit of time to pay, so I think you should be fine with your bonuses.

Liz192 - Oof, yeah, that moving must have been brutal when you're still fairly early post-op :FeelSick: I have still been biting my cheeks a little bit, but not bad enough to break the skin or anything. I think it's related to the swelling still tho :? That's awesome that you're out of elastics right now! When I was at your point post-up I was completely loaded up with elastics :x

gruntled - Is it because I use so many emoticons? :lol: 8) Yeah, my surgeon told me to quit the pizza and stuff too :cry: I haven't had pizza since, but I did have chicken, and she said that was a no-no too... Hahaha way to throw your discharge info in her face lol. I bet she loved that eh? :lol: Oooooo puffy sticker!!! Those are the best kind! :D No wait, scratch and sniff is better :P

Nozzelnut - I hear you about local swelling at the site of the plates and screws. I have that too. Probably my last real remaining swelling. Did he say he thought it was infected because of the swelling or because of the pain or both? Cuz I don't have pain there, but it still has some residual swelling that never fully went away. OMG he squeezed fluid out??? :shock: How the heck did he do that?! Where did it come out of?! Maybe I don't want to know :FeelSick:


If anyone wants to friend me on FB, shoot me a PM and I'll give you my full name. I swear I won't be offended if you don't tho lol. But then you can look at my "before" pictures and whatnot if you want :) I feel like I'm tighter with you guys that some of my FB friends at this point anyways lol. Just don't mention the surgery on there tho, cuz I haven't been talking about it at all on FB. Just dropping glorious new pictures that make everyone go :shock: :gavel: lolol
No braces
1-piece LeFort I + BSSO + Sliding Genio on 10 JUNE 2015!
Partial hardware removal 14 SEP 2018
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