3 Years Post-op

This is me 3 years post-op, still very happy with my appearance. My lower jaw is a bit crooked though... my surgeon is not sure why or how this occurred. She offered to fix it but for the moment I have declined. You can't tell from the outside but you if I open my mouth wide you can definitely tell that it is lower on one side. My bottom teeth have a diagonal slant. I still have some numbness on my upper gums. I have been told by other physicians that it could still come back in the next 2 years but I am not holding my breath. It really does not bother me, its just odd sometimes to not be able to feel them. Other than that all is well and I am still very happy that I did this.

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

Day 20

So today I got my stitches out. I didn't realize that I had a ton of stitches under my upper and lower lip. I never dared to look to be honest. I also had a few near my back molars that had to be removed. I also have one stitch near the back of my throat on the roof of my mouth.....this one we couldn't get today because I couldn't open wide enough for her to get to it. Anyway, the stitch removal was weird, at one point I actually cried a little bit, for some reason my right side is much more sensitive than my left side and some of the stitches were painful. I am glad that they are out though. For some reason I think that now that they are out some of this swelling in those areas might start to go down. I know it doesn't look like it in the pictures but I am still very swollen in the area surrounding my nose, upper lip, and around my chin. It wouldn't be such a big deal except that the swelling is pressing on the nerves and therefore I still have considerable numbness and altered sensation in these areas which is frustrating sometimes. It is getting better day by day but I keep having to remind myself that I just had major surgery 3 weeks ago and this is to be expected.

So I thought that last week I might actually get some real food. WRONG! I actually got real food today. I still can't "chew" but that didn't keep me from swallowing baby spoons full of chili tonight along with very soft cornbread, followed by Ben and Jerry's Brownie Batter. I was in heaven! Now mind you I could just get the baby spoon in between my teeth at first, and it took a long time to eat but it was wonderful. By the time I finished (which took about an hour) I had more range of motion and could easily fit the baby spoon in. I can take the bands off 4 times a day for 1 hour. An hour each at breakfast, lunch , and dinner, and then another hour in the evening. It was totally bizarre to talk and eat with my new mouth. I felt like I had fake teeth on. It was pretty odd. I also got to brush the insides of my teeth tonight....also wonderful! My husband helped me get the bands back on afterward and now I am just trying to figure out what I am going to eat for breakfast. I'm afraid that this whole experience has changed my outlook on food. I feel like I have been on "Starvation Island" and now that I have been rescued everybody better watch out! :)


Jen

Day 13....De-splinting!!!!

So today was my big splint removal. It was mostly painless, a few twinges on one side when they were getting it unwired from my upper jaw but other than that it was fine. They popped the monstrosity out and she sat me up and handed me a mirror to check out my new bite. I seriously almost cried when I saw it, it is beautiful. All of my front teeth come together perfectly. For the first time since I can remember my teeth touch in the front! I got to clean my mouth as I best as I could after they got it off. I actually got a little woozy while I was cleaning my mouth afterward. Not entirely sure why. Maybe I was a little scared having my mouth "unsecured", I don't know but I had to sit down. I could only open my mouth just a little bit and it was weird. My mouth and lips felt and feel like they aren't mine still. I still have a lot of swelling around my mouth, chin, and nose. The swelling is much more visible now that the splint is out. I'm still having a small problem with drooling I would say about 5-10% of what it was...not bad for having the splint out for 8 hours. I think the remaining 5-10% is because A)both of my lips are still pretty numb, and B) I am now banded shut, though without the splint. I will be banded shut until next Wednesday when I go in and they take out my stitches and then she will give me a schedule to follow where I start to wear the bands less and less and practice using my new bite more and more. I am very happy with where my smile line is and now am just anxious for some feeling back in my lips.

I don't have any profile picture from today but the one's up there are from right after I got the splint out and then after I got home from getting my hair cut.

Jen