3 months post op

Well it's really 3 months and 2 days post op. Felling pretty darn good these days. I can eat pretty much whatever I want now. Most of the swelling is down. I still have some around my nose which makes my nose look a little crooked when I smile. I have almost all the feeling back in my lips both upper and lower. The lower left is still not normal sensations but I have feeling and everyday its better and better. I will be getting my braces off in about 6-8 weeks....so so so happy about that. I don't have to see my surgeon now until September unless there is a a problem but I don't foresee anything going wrong at this point. I have pretty good range of motion at 39 mm. I am currently losing A LOT of hair. Apparently fairly common after undergoing major surgery and then extreme weight loss. Frightening to see so much hair in the shower drain when you don't have a ton to spare in the first place. I just wish it would stop already. Just when I think it is tapering off I have a day where I lose a bunch. I suppose it has to stop at some point. I am taking some supplements to hopefully slow it down until my body decides it has shed enough. Other than my current hair loss I have no complaints. I am very happy with my bite and how good my teeth look. I can honestly say it was worth it. Amen!

These are my 8 week photos.......not bad........still swollen around my upper lip and nose area. I think I look pretty normal all in all. I still dont have normal movement of my upper lip do to the swelling. If you didnt know me you might think that I had really bad botox done. Chewing is still odd.....not used to having my teeth in this position still. I am still not opening as wide as my surgeon wants. I am up to 30mm and she wants 40mm. So I am left prying my mouth open with tongue depressors. I am so bad about doing it.......its not painful really its just a pain in the butt. So tomorrow is my first day back at work. I am nervous. I dont like to be gawked at and I know people are going to be coming over to see what I look like. So I will spend most of the day trying to hide at my desk :)

I have almost normal feeling back in my upper lip. I have feeling in half of my lower lip but its not the normal sensations yet. The other half I get zings and tingles so I know that it isnt too far behind at this point....thank goodness. I hate having things on my lip and not knowing it. I saw my orthodontist last week. He said my bite looks terrific. Love to hear that. I am anxious to get all of my tweaking done so I can get these braces off before summer.

I can say at this point I am happy that I did this. It has been a long road and I know its not over yet but it is mostly over. And the worst is definitely way behind me now.

Jen

6 week photo

That is my 6 week photo........not bad...........but my 8 week is much better I think

Day 28

Do you like my crooked smile? It actually hurts on my right side when I smile too big....so I have been favoring the left side as you can see. The swelling is also making my nose look crooked. Some days it's straight some days it's crooked depending on the amount of swelling I have on either side. It's kind of a crap shoot as to what I am going to look like each morning. I look less swollen than last week but never fear the swelling is still there. I have some more feeling in my upper lip and around my nose this week...not normal sensation but some feeling. I still have zero feeling in my bottom lip and chin. I get funny sensations in them like shooting tingles and pain and also a weird burning sensation. I'm hoping all of those are good signs. I am seriously considering going to see an acupuncturist if I don't get some feeling back in the next 2-3 weeks. Saw my surgeon today. So far everything looks good. She removed the final 3 stitches that were on the roof of my mouth today, it feels wonderful not to have those things bothering me. I am also permitted to go one 6 hour stretch without my bands on plus having them off an hour at mealtimes. Yesterday was my first 6 hour stint and it was nice. By then end of the 6 hours I was talking more clearly...still not great but better. I was also able to open 8 Popsicle sticks wide. Which I thought was pretty good considering when I was in her office today I started out at 4. I also have to do "exercises" to get my jaw opening back to normal. So I hold the Popsicle sticks in my mouth for 1 minute 10 times, 3 times per day. Kind of a lot! Anyway, I am supposed to add 1 Popsicle stick per day. So far it hasn't been that bad, I am anxious to have full range of motion again. I was pretty disappointed that I am still not allowed to eat any solids what so ever. Bah Humbug! Next week I get to eat things like scrambled eggs and such. I guess I have come this far, what's another week? Well to be honest soup and the like has gotten so old. I am so tired of it. I don't know how long it will be again until I have soup once this is over. It will be a LONG time I guarantee you that.

Jen