Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Day 14 - 2 Weeks Update
I had my two week check-up with my surgeon yesterday and I found out some bad news! I am not allowed to take out my plastic splint for 4 more weeks! I cannot talk much with it in my mouth so it's incredibly annoying. Not only that, I started working from home today so I'll be returning to the office next week. Talking to people in the office will be almost impossible so my intention is to wear a mask around the office. The splint was a lot smaller than I expected when I took it out, but it feels so gigantic in my mouth.
The surgeon took off my tight bands shutting my mouth and replaced them with loose ones so today was the first day I could open my mouth. What a relief! I get to eat soft foods now! It feels so weird when I take out the plastic splint and close my mouth. My teeth don't feel a part of my body yet. I am allowed to take the bands and splint off to eat and brush my teeth. My toothbrush still doesn't fit in my mouth so I'm not able to clean the inside of my teeth well, but just being able to properly brush my teeth feels amazing! I've been eating a ton of softs foods since yesterday morning and it feels so nice not to have to carry around a bottle of protein shakes.
The swelling has gone down but it's still there. I am finally starting to see a different face that everyone's been talking about. The shape of my face obviously changed, and I no longer have a protruding and uncentered jaw. It's definitely something I have to get used to seeing in the mirror though. I feel like my new jaw makes me look like I have a rounder face, so I'm excited for my swelling to go down even more so I don't look like I have a full cheek.
When I take out the splint and close my mouth, I can tell that there is some interference with some of my teeth, so I know my orthodontist will have to move my teeth around after I am done with the surgeon. My surgeon also requested that I get a new set of lateral ceph x-rays so I will need to get those before the next appointment.
My old invisalign retainer case is coming in handy because it comes with a mirror. While I eat, I can put my splint and bands in the case, and when I'm done, I can use the mirror to put them back in. The bands will take a few tries to hook in right so the first time it took me like 20 minutes. My jaw is still feels loose and can easily shift, so I like to keep my splint in as much as possible. Last night my jaw was tight again from moving it too much, but that was kind of expected. This week isn't necessarily for your jaw rehabilitation, it's mainly just so that you can get off your liquid diet. Rehabilitation starts next week with my surgeon.
Take-Away:
1) Splint stays for whole duration of recovery: 6 weeks
2) Mushy foods!
3) Retainer case handy.
4) Starting to realize new face
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Friday, April 17, 2015
Day 11 - And then
As soon as I say I won't blog until there's something new, there's something new, figures. Every morning, I wake up an take a "selfie" to see my progress. Like I said before, usually I'm more puffy in the morning, and this is normal for most people when they sleep, something about blood circulation I'm sure. Anyway, this morning was no different, I got up and took a photo, buuuutt something about my face looked different. It was the first day I felt like wow, my face is significantly decreasing in swelling. From the photos, I'm sure you think my face has already been decreasing in swelling, but this morning it felt like, wow, I could almost be normal! This definitely makes me happy!
Let's talk dental hygiene! I "brush my teeth" about 4-5 times a day, and each time I mouthwash with the Crest mouthwash. The dental floss brush helps as well. I think a day or two ago, I started to feel less tension in my face. I think it correlates with the swelling going down as well. Brushing my teeth for me means, brushing most of the front teeth and gums. For the first week, since my face was tight and I was scared of opening my incisions, I stayed away from pushing the toothbrush into my mouth. I didn't even look at my stitches for the first few days anyway. The stitches are still there today, but they're supposed to dissolve automatically. Your mouth will feel gross, and there's no way to get around it. Some people stay away from sweets to avoid getting cavities. I'm hoping when the bands get loosened next week, I will be able to clean my teeth better.
Bread cravings. I'm not sure if this is normal but my main hunger craving is bread!! I just really want to eat a piece of bread more than anything. Odd, but I wonder if anyone has felt the same way, or there's actually a science behind it.
Take-Away:
1) Finally seeing swelling going down.
2) You may get cavities.
Let's talk dental hygiene! I "brush my teeth" about 4-5 times a day, and each time I mouthwash with the Crest mouthwash. The dental floss brush helps as well. I think a day or two ago, I started to feel less tension in my face. I think it correlates with the swelling going down as well. Brushing my teeth for me means, brushing most of the front teeth and gums. For the first week, since my face was tight and I was scared of opening my incisions, I stayed away from pushing the toothbrush into my mouth. I didn't even look at my stitches for the first few days anyway. The stitches are still there today, but they're supposed to dissolve automatically. Your mouth will feel gross, and there's no way to get around it. Some people stay away from sweets to avoid getting cavities. I'm hoping when the bands get loosened next week, I will be able to clean my teeth better.
Bread cravings. I'm not sure if this is normal but my main hunger craving is bread!! I just really want to eat a piece of bread more than anything. Odd, but I wonder if anyone has felt the same way, or there's actually a science behind it.
Take-Away:
1) Finally seeing swelling going down.
2) You may get cavities.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Day 10 - Is this my new face?
Some people I've read or watched said they didn't recognize their face after the surgery. I am not sure if my face changed, or it's still in the process of recovery. I still feel swollen, so it's hard to tell if anything has changed. I think my face is a bit rounder, rather than the oval shape it used to be possibly.
Tip of the day: Don't watch the food network. I made the mistake the hovering over Giada at Home, now my stomach is rumbling. I really have no advice on successfully suppressing hunger. I'm continuously hungry, and I feel like I just walk back and forth from the kitchen just to look at all the food I can't eat. I feel like some people never even had to have their mouth shut after surgery, so I think it would depend on your surgeon and the recovery plan. If you don't have the plastic splint, consider yourself very lucky. It takes up so much space in my mouth, I really can't have anything but liquids, with no small pieces of food.
For the past few days, I've been feeling more normal. I will begin working from home next week and I can't say I'm looking forward to it because the time off has been nice but I'm really glad at the same time because it just means I'm one step closer to recovering. I think I will limit my posts now to every few days or when I see something worthy of blogging about. I will continue to put daily photos here!
Take-Away:
1) Your face may have changed, but can't be sure yet.
2) You begin to feel like you're starving.
3) You start feeling normal again.
Tip of the day: Don't watch the food network. I made the mistake the hovering over Giada at Home, now my stomach is rumbling. I really have no advice on successfully suppressing hunger. I'm continuously hungry, and I feel like I just walk back and forth from the kitchen just to look at all the food I can't eat. I feel like some people never even had to have their mouth shut after surgery, so I think it would depend on your surgeon and the recovery plan. If you don't have the plastic splint, consider yourself very lucky. It takes up so much space in my mouth, I really can't have anything but liquids, with no small pieces of food.
For the past few days, I've been feeling more normal. I will begin working from home next week and I can't say I'm looking forward to it because the time off has been nice but I'm really glad at the same time because it just means I'm one step closer to recovering. I think I will limit my posts now to every few days or when I see something worthy of blogging about. I will continue to put daily photos here!
Take-Away:
1) Your face may have changed, but can't be sure yet.
2) You begin to feel like you're starving.
3) You start feeling normal again.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Day 9 - Holy grail drink!
Last night, I spent time with my friends! One thing I've learned from this experience is that your family and friends are everything. You don't know how much you are loved until you are down, and everyone helps you up. I'm incredibly blessed to have amazing people around me, and sometimes I think I don't have too many friends, but I definitely have quality friends, and that's all that matters in the end.
Not only did my friends bring their lovely selves, they also brought me goodies! Remember how I had a gigantic case of Vanilla Ensure that made me want to vomit? Well, my friend brought chocolate Ensure and wow, made tons of difference. It tastes like I'm drinking chocolate milk. For those of you thinking about drinking Ensure, definitely try the chocolate, unless you don't like chocolate. If you're drinking the vanilla, I'd suggest you find a good recipe to mix. But wait a minute, that's not the star of the show! It's actually the Special K Protein drink in Chocolate Mocha flavor. O.M.G. This is a coffee lover's dream. I've been craving coffee, since I'm a typical coffee drinker, but I really haven't had any since the surgery. It's sweet, but not too sweet. I'm so happy they brought me this drink because now I have a go-to protein drink! Woo! :)
I've been cooking dinner for my family on the daily. It keeps me occupied and on my feet for at least an hour or two everyday. Although it makes me so sad and hungry, I'm just really glad I can do something for my family in return. I usually serve dinner for each of them, since they all come home at different times, and I sit with them while they eat. I suggest that you do something similar to spend time with your family if you can. How many times in your life do you get 3 weeks off work to just sit around?
I'm still swollen as usual, and it's going down slowly. You know the drill, nothing new. It's obviously come a long way since Day 3-4 though. I'm not sure I can say talking brings the swelling down. I'm still drinking my ginger infused ginger-ale, which is also still bommmb. When I talk, it's still very tight in my face, so I'm not sure if I'm making it worse, or loosening my muscles. I am still using my hand warmers on my face on and off during the day, and taking a nice hot bath in the morning where I soak my face. I want to think it's helping.
Let's talk weight. Over the past 9 days, I've lost just about 7lbs. When I had my appointment with my surgeon on Monday, he didn't seem concerned. I've definitely weighed less than this before so I'm not too concerned either. Obviously, you will gain the weight back when you start eating regular food. You're on an all liquid diet, losing weight is almost guaranteed. It's a nice detox for the first few days, but again, you're on an all liquid diet. If you're only drinking liquids, please consider what you will be doing in the bathroom. :)
Take-Away:
1) Family and friends are everything.
2) Special K Protein drink in Chocolate Mocha is BOMB.
3) Still swollen, but definite progress.
4) 10lb weight loss is pretty normal.
Not only did my friends bring their lovely selves, they also brought me goodies! Remember how I had a gigantic case of Vanilla Ensure that made me want to vomit? Well, my friend brought chocolate Ensure and wow, made tons of difference. It tastes like I'm drinking chocolate milk. For those of you thinking about drinking Ensure, definitely try the chocolate, unless you don't like chocolate. If you're drinking the vanilla, I'd suggest you find a good recipe to mix. But wait a minute, that's not the star of the show! It's actually the Special K Protein drink in Chocolate Mocha flavor. O.M.G. This is a coffee lover's dream. I've been craving coffee, since I'm a typical coffee drinker, but I really haven't had any since the surgery. It's sweet, but not too sweet. I'm so happy they brought me this drink because now I have a go-to protein drink! Woo! :)
I've been cooking dinner for my family on the daily. It keeps me occupied and on my feet for at least an hour or two everyday. Although it makes me so sad and hungry, I'm just really glad I can do something for my family in return. I usually serve dinner for each of them, since they all come home at different times, and I sit with them while they eat. I suggest that you do something similar to spend time with your family if you can. How many times in your life do you get 3 weeks off work to just sit around?
I'm still swollen as usual, and it's going down slowly. You know the drill, nothing new. It's obviously come a long way since Day 3-4 though. I'm not sure I can say talking brings the swelling down. I'm still drinking my ginger infused ginger-ale, which is also still bommmb. When I talk, it's still very tight in my face, so I'm not sure if I'm making it worse, or loosening my muscles. I am still using my hand warmers on my face on and off during the day, and taking a nice hot bath in the morning where I soak my face. I want to think it's helping.
Let's talk weight. Over the past 9 days, I've lost just about 7lbs. When I had my appointment with my surgeon on Monday, he didn't seem concerned. I've definitely weighed less than this before so I'm not too concerned either. Obviously, you will gain the weight back when you start eating regular food. You're on an all liquid diet, losing weight is almost guaranteed. It's a nice detox for the first few days, but again, you're on an all liquid diet. If you're only drinking liquids, please consider what you will be doing in the bathroom. :)
Take-Away:
1) Family and friends are everything.
2) Special K Protein drink in Chocolate Mocha is BOMB.
3) Still swollen, but definite progress.
4) 10lb weight loss is pretty normal.
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