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.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Day 8 - Nothing New
I'm definitely still swollen, and it doesn't seem to be going away. It's more likely that you are swollen in the morning, and I definitely agree with that. I've been trying to keep on my toes the whole day and drink more ginger! By 6pm, I definitely looked better. I hope my double chin goes away soon.
One thing that's annoying, other than not being able to eat, is that my rubber bands are starting to turn yellow from the carrot apple juice. Luckily, I'm not seeing very many people, but ew gross. I admit that I probably didn't do this liquid diet thing right. I'm hungry pretty much all the time, but I stopped losing weight which is good! I am though, making a mental list of the foods I really want to eat when I get to eat again!
My friends are coming to visit me later today. I'm kind of nervous because the last time I saw a friend, she couldn't stop laughing when I tried talking, which made me laugh, and laughing sort of hurts. At night, I yawn a lot and it scares me every time because it pulls my jaw apart and I don't want to hurt myself. I also try not to sneeze.
Taking time off work? Depending on what your doctor/insurance company classifies your surgery, you can apply for state disability after jaw surgery. Everything is online now but it's still very confusing. There's no real person you can contact, everything is just an automated recording. One thing I didn't understand was after you apply for disability insurance through the EDD, you personally have to contact your physician to process your claim. I didn't understand this so it took me a few days to actually find an email I can use to contact my medical provider. Doesn't help that I'm not able to make normal modes of communication work, like the phone and walking into their office.
Take-Away:
1) Still swollen
2) Still Hungry
3) Yawning and sneezing are scary
4) You have to forward EDD information to physician, and you should do this before you have surgery.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Day 7 - Good Progress
Last night was the first night I didn't take any hydrocodone!! YES!! I still couldn't sleep for a while, tossing and turning, but the pain was not bad enough that I needed to take it to sleep. I visited the surgeon this morning and he told me my progress was great! Woohoo. It was the first time I had gone out in public so I definitely felt odd, and it didn't help that I wasn't able to speak. I have been trying to "talk" a lot, but communication is very difficult, and I'm not confident that people will understand me. I wore a mask out just to let others know that I am "sick".
The swelling is still there, and I haven't seen a significant difference. I'm starting to become self conscious about it so today I looked up natural anti-inflammatories. I was going to go buy some tumeric pills, but then I realized ginger is high in gingerols which has lots of anti-inflammatory compounds. So rather than paying $13-15 for a bottle of pills, which I'd have to really contemplate how to break up and take, I decided to chop up some ginger and drink it with my tea, juice, and ginger-ale. Yes, putting ginger in ginger-ale tastes so good!! I didn't see any immediate changes, but I'm going to keep doing that daily.
I tried eating mashed potatoes today with no success. I feel like others have had enough room between their teeth, or space in the back molars, but I definitely don't have much space. When I tried to syringe the mashed potatoes, it ended up just getting stuck in my cheeks. So I ended up eating miso soup broth, my usual juice, AND dun dun dun.. In-n-out Neapolitan shake! I could only eat like a quarter of the cup, but it tasted really good and I need the calories at this point.
The doctor said he will loosen the rubber bands next week, woo!
Take-Away:
1) Swelling will depend on the person, but you can take anti-inflammatory medicines or foods that are known to help swelling.
2) Liquid diet meant truly liquid.
3) Finding enough calories in food is difficult.
4) Can't wait till these bands are off!
The swelling is still there, and I haven't seen a significant difference. I'm starting to become self conscious about it so today I looked up natural anti-inflammatories. I was going to go buy some tumeric pills, but then I realized ginger is high in gingerols which has lots of anti-inflammatory compounds. So rather than paying $13-15 for a bottle of pills, which I'd have to really contemplate how to break up and take, I decided to chop up some ginger and drink it with my tea, juice, and ginger-ale. Yes, putting ginger in ginger-ale tastes so good!! I didn't see any immediate changes, but I'm going to keep doing that daily.
I tried eating mashed potatoes today with no success. I feel like others have had enough room between their teeth, or space in the back molars, but I definitely don't have much space. When I tried to syringe the mashed potatoes, it ended up just getting stuck in my cheeks. So I ended up eating miso soup broth, my usual juice, AND dun dun dun.. In-n-out Neapolitan shake! I could only eat like a quarter of the cup, but it tasted really good and I need the calories at this point.
The doctor said he will loosen the rubber bands next week, woo!
Take-Away:
1) Swelling will depend on the person, but you can take anti-inflammatory medicines or foods that are known to help swelling.
2) Liquid diet meant truly liquid.
3) Finding enough calories in food is difficult.
4) Can't wait till these bands are off!
Day 6 - Finding Routines
I tried sleeping upright on the massage chair last night, it didn't work, who would've guessed?! I ended up lying down to sleep as usual. I took 3ml of hydrocodone for the pain in my jaw. It's amazing how you have pain only when you sleep. My swelling is slowwwwwwwwwwwly going down. My left side seems to be more swollen than the right. Took penicillin this morning on my empty stomach. I think I'm finding a routine now, and it's making it easier!
I will have my first post-op appointment with my surgeon tomorrow morning. I will need to drive myself to his office tomorrow, since everyone is working and cannot drive me. Luckily, I am not taking any medication to cause drowsiness, phew!
My family ate pizza for dinner, and I was suffering. I've been able to keep my appetite controlled, not well, but at least controlled, from my carrot/apple juice and chicken vegetable soup. I know I'm still dehydrated, but it's nothing new since I've never been good with that. I brushed my teeth and mouth-washed as usual. The recommended is salt water wash but I've been using the Crest pro-health mouthwash and it works just fine. It doesn't sting at all. One thing I've noticed after the surgery was that I never had blood in my mouth. I was expecting at least the first time I mouth-washed, there would be some blood, but there hasn't been at all. I'm not sure if the stitches just never produced any blood? I'll have to see tomorrow how the stitches are doing.
Let's talk money.
How much does the surgery cost? I feel like I never touched on this subject, but I remember when I was contemplating this surgery at a young age with my parents, they typically quoted something around the $30k range, which was ridiculous. That is another reason I never asked my parents for this surgery, because I wouldn't be able to live with myself putting my parents through that type of debt. It's important to remember that a lot of insurance companies still consider these jaw surgeries completely cosmetic. If they do consider it cosmetic, the chances are you will be paying a lot out of your pocket. Luckily, I researched my insurance options offered by my employer before renewing my insurance policy to find out that one of them covered some types of oral and maxillofacial surgeries. However, I still had to set up appointments with the surgeon to figure out if my surgery was covered, I assume they need to know the severity of your jaw. I ended up paying the copay only for my surgery, but each pre-surgery visit also requires copays so keep that in mind.
How much did my braces cost? I don't know if this is an important topic for many people because there are SO MANY options available with orthodontics nowadays. Most dental insurance plans cover around $1000-1500 of your orthodontics. There are many places that advertise braces for $2000-3000. Since I went with an Invisalign/metal braces option, I did pay more for my braces, in the $6000 range. I also did not go to an "affordable" orthodontist because I was mainly looking for a orthodontist with experience in patients undergoing jaw surgery. Your orthodontist will need to work directly with the surgeon to talk about how to move your teeth before and after the surgery. Your orthodontist will also be the ones putting in the surgical hooks before the surgery according to what the surgeon wants. I took x-rays and molds at the orthodontist to bring to the oral surgeon a few times before the surgery. I opted to enroll in the health savings account offered by my employer to use towards my orthodontics. This program makes it possible for you to have a savings account pre-tax which you can use towards qualifying "purchases" or treatments, and orthodontics was one of the options, hooray! I would say find what you're comfortable with. My orthodontist was the first orthodontist I actually liked and sort of trusted, and I've seen at least 8 in my life.
Take-Away:
1) You will want to eat everything and anything around you, but you can't.
2) Frustration from hunger begin to emotionally affect you.
3) Some insurance companies do not cover jaw surgeries.
4) Braces will range in price.
For the photos, I usually take one in the morning/day and the other at night to see if there was any progress or change.
I will have my first post-op appointment with my surgeon tomorrow morning. I will need to drive myself to his office tomorrow, since everyone is working and cannot drive me. Luckily, I am not taking any medication to cause drowsiness, phew!
My family ate pizza for dinner, and I was suffering. I've been able to keep my appetite controlled, not well, but at least controlled, from my carrot/apple juice and chicken vegetable soup. I know I'm still dehydrated, but it's nothing new since I've never been good with that. I brushed my teeth and mouth-washed as usual. The recommended is salt water wash but I've been using the Crest pro-health mouthwash and it works just fine. It doesn't sting at all. One thing I've noticed after the surgery was that I never had blood in my mouth. I was expecting at least the first time I mouth-washed, there would be some blood, but there hasn't been at all. I'm not sure if the stitches just never produced any blood? I'll have to see tomorrow how the stitches are doing.
Let's talk money.
How much does the surgery cost? I feel like I never touched on this subject, but I remember when I was contemplating this surgery at a young age with my parents, they typically quoted something around the $30k range, which was ridiculous. That is another reason I never asked my parents for this surgery, because I wouldn't be able to live with myself putting my parents through that type of debt. It's important to remember that a lot of insurance companies still consider these jaw surgeries completely cosmetic. If they do consider it cosmetic, the chances are you will be paying a lot out of your pocket. Luckily, I researched my insurance options offered by my employer before renewing my insurance policy to find out that one of them covered some types of oral and maxillofacial surgeries. However, I still had to set up appointments with the surgeon to figure out if my surgery was covered, I assume they need to know the severity of your jaw. I ended up paying the copay only for my surgery, but each pre-surgery visit also requires copays so keep that in mind.
How much did my braces cost? I don't know if this is an important topic for many people because there are SO MANY options available with orthodontics nowadays. Most dental insurance plans cover around $1000-1500 of your orthodontics. There are many places that advertise braces for $2000-3000. Since I went with an Invisalign/metal braces option, I did pay more for my braces, in the $6000 range. I also did not go to an "affordable" orthodontist because I was mainly looking for a orthodontist with experience in patients undergoing jaw surgery. Your orthodontist will need to work directly with the surgeon to talk about how to move your teeth before and after the surgery. Your orthodontist will also be the ones putting in the surgical hooks before the surgery according to what the surgeon wants. I took x-rays and molds at the orthodontist to bring to the oral surgeon a few times before the surgery. I opted to enroll in the health savings account offered by my employer to use towards my orthodontics. This program makes it possible for you to have a savings account pre-tax which you can use towards qualifying "purchases" or treatments, and orthodontics was one of the options, hooray! I would say find what you're comfortable with. My orthodontist was the first orthodontist I actually liked and sort of trusted, and I've seen at least 8 in my life.
Take-Away:
1) You will want to eat everything and anything around you, but you can't.
2) Frustration from hunger begin to emotionally affect you.
3) Some insurance companies do not cover jaw surgeries.
4) Braces will range in price.
For the photos, I usually take one in the morning/day and the other at night to see if there was any progress or change.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Day 5 - Cooking
I'm finally caught up to the present! If you haven't noticed, all the posts in this blog are from today because I was not well enough to start a blog the day after surgery. I woke up today feeling pretty good. As usual, I took my morning bath and it felt really nice. My face sort of looks like the swelling is decreasing, but not noticeably so. Just glad that it wasn't any bigger than the day before.
I woke up hungry. So most of the morning was spent juicing carrots and apples to make me some yummy juice! I highly recommend buying a juicer, even a cheap one, if you can. I bought a cheap one at Walmart for around $30 that lasted me a good two years before I dropped it and broke. My parents have a Jack LaLanne's power juicer so I am able to use that. Let's not get into the details of what juicer is the best, because if we start that, this will never end. Just, get one.
I was really hungry (notice the theme here?) so I decided to cook dinner for my family as a thank you. I just wanted to feel normal again I guess. It took me almost 4 hours to cook, granted I chose an elaborate dinner. It was amazing how little work can make you so tired when you're running on a liquid diet! I had to take a lot of breaks just to get through the cooking process. When I sat down with my family for dinner, I got a little emotional because I was just really overwhelmed with this whole process. I am still not fully convinced that this was worth it. This will hopefully change, and I'm thinking it will when my plastic splint comes out. I feel like others have downplayed the splint...but I think it's actually one of the biggest reasons why this is so hard!!!
I am still taking the penicillin 3 times a day. It still makes me nauseous each time, but I may be getting used to it now. I probably will take some painkiller tonight. It just seems to be a theme that when I lie down, my jaw just really hurts. I contemplated sleeping on the massage chair tonight, but I will let you know if I end up doing that. I wore a hot compress most of the day around my face. It's good to take them off once in a while though.
Other than carrot and apple juice, I was able to eat some yogurt using the syringe, and some chicken vegetable stock soup, yum! I still need more creative ways to get nutrients in my diet, but I think at this point I'm just eating/drinking what I can.
Take-Away:
1) You start becoming hANGRY.
2) You contemplate if this is all worth it.
3) Swelling is slowly going down.
4) Buy a juicer.
5) Any movement/exercise will make you tired.
I woke up hungry. So most of the morning was spent juicing carrots and apples to make me some yummy juice! I highly recommend buying a juicer, even a cheap one, if you can. I bought a cheap one at Walmart for around $30 that lasted me a good two years before I dropped it and broke. My parents have a Jack LaLanne's power juicer so I am able to use that. Let's not get into the details of what juicer is the best, because if we start that, this will never end. Just, get one.
I was really hungry (notice the theme here?) so I decided to cook dinner for my family as a thank you. I just wanted to feel normal again I guess. It took me almost 4 hours to cook, granted I chose an elaborate dinner. It was amazing how little work can make you so tired when you're running on a liquid diet! I had to take a lot of breaks just to get through the cooking process. When I sat down with my family for dinner, I got a little emotional because I was just really overwhelmed with this whole process. I am still not fully convinced that this was worth it. This will hopefully change, and I'm thinking it will when my plastic splint comes out. I feel like others have downplayed the splint...but I think it's actually one of the biggest reasons why this is so hard!!!
I am still taking the penicillin 3 times a day. It still makes me nauseous each time, but I may be getting used to it now. I probably will take some painkiller tonight. It just seems to be a theme that when I lie down, my jaw just really hurts. I contemplated sleeping on the massage chair tonight, but I will let you know if I end up doing that. I wore a hot compress most of the day around my face. It's good to take them off once in a while though.
Other than carrot and apple juice, I was able to eat some yogurt using the syringe, and some chicken vegetable stock soup, yum! I still need more creative ways to get nutrients in my diet, but I think at this point I'm just eating/drinking what I can.
Take-Away:
1) You start becoming hANGRY.
2) You contemplate if this is all worth it.
3) Swelling is slowly going down.
4) Buy a juicer.
5) Any movement/exercise will make you tired.
Day 4 - Hunger Kicks In
I'm not sure if I'm hungry, or just really want to put food in my mouth. Finally I am starting to feel normal. I am not as drowsy or tired as the days before. I don't want to encourage not taking prescribed medication, but I feel that it helped a lot with my nausea, and therefore, encouraged me to eat more food. I understand that antibiotics are still very important, so I made it a point to drink it at least 3 times a day, 10ml each time.
I think my swelling is officially peaking. I look the most ridiculous I've looked thus far, but I've been saying that everyday since day 2, but really, look at the photos. Last night, I started using a warm compress to loosen and relax my muscles. I sat on the massage chair, upright, pretty much the whole day, as suggested to keep the swelling down.
Out of boredom, I watched the last 45 minutes of Charlie St. Cloud, and realized for the first time what all the fuss was about with Zac Efron. After looking at his face very closely, you just realize that he can't be human, because he's too perfect to be a human. Off topic, I'm sorry.
I got flowers from my boyfriend and my lovely friend dropped off a care package with so many goodies! I am pretty sure I scared her off with my awfully large face, but I was so happy to see her for 2 seconds. I don't really suggest having company for the first week though. You just don't feel good, your face is large, and you really want time to recover to a point where you feel sort of normal. Her goodies really helped a ton! She brought chapstick, coconut water, apple sauce, snack pack pudding, decaf herbal teas, and hand warmers. I highly suggest that you purchase a hot & cold gel pack for when you are ready to keep your jaw warm.
Today I'm so hungry that I am running around the house trying to find something to eat. I end up blending another Campbell's soup but this one had rice in it, big mistake. It ended up being way too hard to eat through the little crevices in my teeth. I ended up boiling ramen, and only drinking the soup, so sad. But I was mainly happy that something tasted good! Back to the idea of finding things you can eat before you go into surgery so you don't suffer like me.
I am liking the baths to not only help me keep clean, but to also relax my jaw muscles. I recommend finding pajamas that open in the front for the first few days so you don't have to pull your clothes above you face.
I thought I'd be able to sleep without pain killers today, but I was wrong. I tossed and turned until about 1am, so I just got fed up with it and took 5ml of hydrocodone. I believe you are also prescribed children's ibuprofen to take instead, but I forgot to buy that so I'm just taking smaller doses of the hydrocodone still.
Take-Away:
1) You will start to become very hungry.
2) You hope your face will be less ridiculous tomorrow.
3) Zac Efron may be possible alien.
4) You don't want to schedule visits from friends in the first week.
5) Ramen soup tastes good!
I think my swelling is officially peaking. I look the most ridiculous I've looked thus far, but I've been saying that everyday since day 2, but really, look at the photos. Last night, I started using a warm compress to loosen and relax my muscles. I sat on the massage chair, upright, pretty much the whole day, as suggested to keep the swelling down.
Out of boredom, I watched the last 45 minutes of Charlie St. Cloud, and realized for the first time what all the fuss was about with Zac Efron. After looking at his face very closely, you just realize that he can't be human, because he's too perfect to be a human. Off topic, I'm sorry.
I got flowers from my boyfriend and my lovely friend dropped off a care package with so many goodies! I am pretty sure I scared her off with my awfully large face, but I was so happy to see her for 2 seconds. I don't really suggest having company for the first week though. You just don't feel good, your face is large, and you really want time to recover to a point where you feel sort of normal. Her goodies really helped a ton! She brought chapstick, coconut water, apple sauce, snack pack pudding, decaf herbal teas, and hand warmers. I highly suggest that you purchase a hot & cold gel pack for when you are ready to keep your jaw warm.
Today I'm so hungry that I am running around the house trying to find something to eat. I end up blending another Campbell's soup but this one had rice in it, big mistake. It ended up being way too hard to eat through the little crevices in my teeth. I ended up boiling ramen, and only drinking the soup, so sad. But I was mainly happy that something tasted good! Back to the idea of finding things you can eat before you go into surgery so you don't suffer like me.
I am liking the baths to not only help me keep clean, but to also relax my jaw muscles. I recommend finding pajamas that open in the front for the first few days so you don't have to pull your clothes above you face.
I thought I'd be able to sleep without pain killers today, but I was wrong. I tossed and turned until about 1am, so I just got fed up with it and took 5ml of hydrocodone. I believe you are also prescribed children's ibuprofen to take instead, but I forgot to buy that so I'm just taking smaller doses of the hydrocodone still.
Take-Away:
1) You will start to become very hungry.
2) You hope your face will be less ridiculous tomorrow.
3) Zac Efron may be possible alien.
4) You don't want to schedule visits from friends in the first week.
5) Ramen soup tastes good!
Day 3 - Trying to get comfortable
Today is not much different than day 2. My face continued to grow in size as expected. I try to avoid mirrors simply because it's too hilarious to be looking at all the time.
How am I sleeping? I can say that the first night, I was mainly knocked out. Starting the second through now, sleeping has been difficult. I would try not to take the hydrocodone, until I was tossing and turning in my bed so much, that I just got fed up with it. I am drinking less hydrocodone now, typically 10-20ml suggested, but I would try to take less than 10ml. I needed water right after I would take it because, again, gross. I've been sleeping on a regular bed, not much elevation. What's been really hard is that I am usually a side sleeper. When you have jaw surgery, you can't really sleep on your side anymore. I would try to sleep on my side by putting the ice pack on the side I wanted to sleep on, and that would help a lot. I still had the ice pack because my face still felt warm to the touch. I believe they suggest you switch to a warm compress eventually, but the ice pack still felt nice so I kept using. During the day, I spent most of my time on my massage chair that moves to a laying position, which helps a ton because it keep my head elevated. I'm starting to worry that my face my not go down in swelling so I'm doing everything I can to keep the swelling controlled.
I knew if I kept avoiding food, I would starve to the death so I try to blend a Campbell's tortilla soup to drink out of the syringe. It was pretty successful but the feeling of all of those little tiny pieces getting stuck between your teeth is really gross. Pretty much you are constantly going to the bathroom to wash out your mouth as best as possible.
It was also the first day I felt good enough to take a bath! I suggest, if you can, take a bath instead of a shower. It takes a lot of energy to stand there and raise your hands, which is crazy to say, but you barely have any energy to walk so I'm sure you can understand. I just made the bath with lavender bath salts, which is supposed to be good for relaxing your muscles. I couldn't really wash my hair yet because I didn't have enough energy but I felt much cleaner and nicer afterwards.
The pain is actually getting tolerable during the day. I pretty much forgot to take Penicillin, which is probably not good for me. I am still thinking to myself, this is crazy, why did I do this, and I want my jaw un-rubber-banded NOW! I am hoping my feelings change in a few days.
Take-Away:
1) Sleeping is difficult if you're a side-sleeper.
2) Your face is still hilarious.
3) You can lay off on the pain killer.
4) Ice pack still feels good.
5) Soup will need to be further blended.
6) Baths > Showers
How am I sleeping? I can say that the first night, I was mainly knocked out. Starting the second through now, sleeping has been difficult. I would try not to take the hydrocodone, until I was tossing and turning in my bed so much, that I just got fed up with it. I am drinking less hydrocodone now, typically 10-20ml suggested, but I would try to take less than 10ml. I needed water right after I would take it because, again, gross. I've been sleeping on a regular bed, not much elevation. What's been really hard is that I am usually a side sleeper. When you have jaw surgery, you can't really sleep on your side anymore. I would try to sleep on my side by putting the ice pack on the side I wanted to sleep on, and that would help a lot. I still had the ice pack because my face still felt warm to the touch. I believe they suggest you switch to a warm compress eventually, but the ice pack still felt nice so I kept using. During the day, I spent most of my time on my massage chair that moves to a laying position, which helps a ton because it keep my head elevated. I'm starting to worry that my face my not go down in swelling so I'm doing everything I can to keep the swelling controlled.
I knew if I kept avoiding food, I would starve to the death so I try to blend a Campbell's tortilla soup to drink out of the syringe. It was pretty successful but the feeling of all of those little tiny pieces getting stuck between your teeth is really gross. Pretty much you are constantly going to the bathroom to wash out your mouth as best as possible.
It was also the first day I felt good enough to take a bath! I suggest, if you can, take a bath instead of a shower. It takes a lot of energy to stand there and raise your hands, which is crazy to say, but you barely have any energy to walk so I'm sure you can understand. I just made the bath with lavender bath salts, which is supposed to be good for relaxing your muscles. I couldn't really wash my hair yet because I didn't have enough energy but I felt much cleaner and nicer afterwards.
The pain is actually getting tolerable during the day. I pretty much forgot to take Penicillin, which is probably not good for me. I am still thinking to myself, this is crazy, why did I do this, and I want my jaw un-rubber-banded NOW! I am hoping my feelings change in a few days.
Take-Away:
1) Sleeping is difficult if you're a side-sleeper.
2) Your face is still hilarious.
3) You can lay off on the pain killer.
4) Ice pack still feels good.
5) Soup will need to be further blended.
6) Baths > Showers
Day 2 - Face Explosion
As expected, my face is on its way to full balloon. Double chin action is getting stronger. Today I felt well enough to leave my room cave I've created with essentials in arms reach. I started to "watch" tv shows and movies, and by watch I mean mostly sleep through. But the noise in the background was much nicer than silence. All of my family members worked through the day so from 9am to 2pm I was on my own. I was very weak still so a helping hand was always nice. My family would help change my water cup, clean the syringes, bring me medicine, change out of my ice packs, and make my bed comfortable. Communicating is almost impossible still, and I don't dare to make any noise yet. Everything is written on a notepad, but to be honest, at this point I was not really wanting to make the effort to communicate anyway, I was too tired.
I don't know how many times to say it, but the medicine is disgusting!! This day it was affecting me the worst. I had still not made much attempt to eat or drink anything other than water. The 10ml of Ensure that I did try to drink, was awful, but I knew I needed something other than the medicine so I forced it down my throat. I also had a few sips of Naked Juice - Berry Blast. The hardest part is that the antibiotic says it is most effective on an empty stomach. What they don't tell you really is that if you're drinking only pain killer and antibiotics for a few days, it's going to affect your digestion. And by they don't tell you that, I mean yes it is written in the fine print of the side-effects but I felt like I had not heard or read about this in anything I've looked through. Bearer of bad news: you're going to have to go to the bathroom. It was awful, I was still in pain from the surgery but my stomach was hurting way more and I didn't want to take any medicine to make it worse. I decided to only take the pain killer at night starting this day. The penicillin I just took twice, once in the morning and once at night.
By this point, I'm not sure how much weight I've lost but I suppose it's mainly water weight. As long as I feel good, the weight isn't much of a concern for me at this point. For anyone who cares, I weigh about 115-120 lbs typically, and I am about 5'4".
I also tried to brush my teeth today. Mainly because it helped me from not wanting to vomit all the time. I spent most of the night spitting into a trashcan because I just felt too nauseous. Drooling will be an issue when you sleep like I've mentioned before, but I am not having drooling problems during the day like others I've read about. Probably the dehydration kicking in.
Take-Away:
1) Your face will look ridiculous, and when you look in the mirror you'll want to laugh.
2) Ensure is disgusting.
3) You will go to the bathroom for many reasons.
4) You won't want to drink your medicine anymore, but you should probably follow directions.
5) Brushing teeth helps.
I don't know how many times to say it, but the medicine is disgusting!! This day it was affecting me the worst. I had still not made much attempt to eat or drink anything other than water. The 10ml of Ensure that I did try to drink, was awful, but I knew I needed something other than the medicine so I forced it down my throat. I also had a few sips of Naked Juice - Berry Blast. The hardest part is that the antibiotic says it is most effective on an empty stomach. What they don't tell you really is that if you're drinking only pain killer and antibiotics for a few days, it's going to affect your digestion. And by they don't tell you that, I mean yes it is written in the fine print of the side-effects but I felt like I had not heard or read about this in anything I've looked through. Bearer of bad news: you're going to have to go to the bathroom. It was awful, I was still in pain from the surgery but my stomach was hurting way more and I didn't want to take any medicine to make it worse. I decided to only take the pain killer at night starting this day. The penicillin I just took twice, once in the morning and once at night.
By this point, I'm not sure how much weight I've lost but I suppose it's mainly water weight. As long as I feel good, the weight isn't much of a concern for me at this point. For anyone who cares, I weigh about 115-120 lbs typically, and I am about 5'4".
I also tried to brush my teeth today. Mainly because it helped me from not wanting to vomit all the time. I spent most of the night spitting into a trashcan because I just felt too nauseous. Drooling will be an issue when you sleep like I've mentioned before, but I am not having drooling problems during the day like others I've read about. Probably the dehydration kicking in.
Take-Away:
1) Your face will look ridiculous, and when you look in the mirror you'll want to laugh.
2) Ensure is disgusting.
3) You will go to the bathroom for many reasons.
4) You won't want to drink your medicine anymore, but you should probably follow directions.
5) Brushing teeth helps.
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