Feb. 14th - I just can't figure out why I didn't have a date on this Valentine's Day...
February 15th with my "Linus" blankie. Mom left the next day and I had to become an adult ...again (sigh).
Feb 14th again. This is what discomfort looks like.
Feb 18th ... Yellow & Purple is "the new black".
What a hot mess.
These are photos of me taken in the first week. Thoughts this week? So many...
- I can't breathe right. This sucks.
- I feel like crap.
- I need more ice in this head-wrap-thing.
- This is like having a really bad cold...aaaaaand a broken face.
- I need my shades...sunlight is way too bright all of a sudden.
- Where is the Otrivin? And why is it not working?
- I would pay a gajillion dollars to blow my nose right now.
- I'm supposed to sleep sitting up? No problem....I'm so tired.
- I don't need food anymore. I'm "above" it now. I'm so zen.
- I love T.V.
- I love this la-z-boy. LOVE it. I shall live here for awhile. Leave me be.
- Why is everyone talking to me and expecting me to answer? PASS THE PEN & PAPER, FOLKS...LOOK ALIVE.
- Neat, I drool now.
- I have to take this towel with me everywhere. I feel like Linus from "Peanuts".
- Neat, my face feels like there's a big pile of rocks glued on top of it.
- Where's the codeine? Has it been 4 hours yet?
- Where's the cherry decongestant? Why are you trying to kill me with Buckleys, mom? (true story - I thought I was going to die of menthol fumes).
- Can you fill up the humidifier again please?
- Look at that, my nose bled all over my pillow while I slept.
- Thanks for cleaning that up, mom.
- Thanks for getting me that mom - and that - and that - and that too. I appreciate that.
- I'm so glad my mom is here.
- Why is my cat totally ignoring me?
- I like Ensure...I really like it.
- This syringe sucks. Ha ha ha.
- I couldn't even read right now if I had to, that's how tired I am.
- This can't possibly ever get better. This is just brutal. No way is this getting better.
- Why is every day the same as the last one? Why isn't it getting better?
- I have a sneaking suspicion that people who had one jaw done are recovering much faster than me...
- I am SO glad I made sure to ask Surgery man if I could use my waterpic on the lowest setting. It's awesome.
Great post. You made me lol. I'm having the same surgeries as you are and with the same doctor so I appreciate you blogging your experiences.
ReplyDeleteHey Jason - You BETCHA! Oh wow, you're gonna LOVE this surgery. Tell Tocchio I say hello - just saw him 3 days ago... Can't get enough of him.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to email with any weird or bizarro post surgical questions. I'm so impressed that you're doing your research before the surgery... way more foresight than I had. Yes siree. Good luck!!!
Thanks! I can't wait for this whole thing to be over with. How long do you figure I'd need to take off work? I've heard some people say 2 wks, and some other blogs were saying 4-6 wks.
ReplyDeleteI booked 6 (It was a rough month in general), took off 4.5, but probably could have gone back at 3.5 but for my lack of energy and hideous face. I sometimes think I went back too early. I would give it 4 weeks. There is NO way I could have gone back at 2. I don't know who you are, "2 weeker people", but I wasn't one of them.
ReplyDeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteJust got home from the hospital. Not sure if you'll get this in time... but how did you manage to breathe? This Otrivin stuff doesn't seem to work. I have a plastic spoon stuck in my mouth to keep my lips apart so I can breathe. Looks ridiculous but works. Also, when did you start the Ensure/Boost (non clear liquids)?
Thanks!
Breathing was VERY hard for the first week - I just tried to deal with it as best as I could. Humidifier, try to get some of the blood out of the nose as best I could, etc. Otrivin was not my best friend, let's just say that. Too much dried blood for it to work. I think I started ensure around the 2-3rd day. Ask your surgeon's office, they will know. Do you have a zip and squeeze? I hear they're pretty good to use instead of the syringes. Good luck - it gets a LOT better around day 10. I'm impressed you're even able to type and read, frankly.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all your observations you listed above. Today is day 6 and the worst pain so far. Not sure if I'm allowed to but I took extra strength tylenol, then codeine and then added advil when the first two didn't work. So far so good.
I am thinking about having upper and lower jaw surgery with Dr. Tocchio. I have a few questions for you....do you have full feeling back in your face, lips, tongue etc now? Any residual numbness? Were your teeth wired together after surgery or was it just elastics that held them together?
ReplyDeleteHey... i do have full feeling back, it is just a bit of a different sensation. Most people adjust to the difference. Give it 3 to 4 months though to come back... it is SLOW... My teeth had elastics. Good luck! Do your research. I was happy with the results. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI just had my sugery on both the top and bottom jaws, as well as a chin, deviated septum, and lypo in my neck, I have felt the same way up to this point
ReplyDeleteIt's been 9 weeks now. I get my braces off in 4 wks. Still a bit stiff in my lips, and there is a small patch of numbness on my chin, but apart from that I'm back to normal. That went fast. Thanks again for your blog.
ReplyDeleteI just got out of the hospital... This sucks, how did you survive? I can't breathe, I sound like Darth Vader, I hate this stupid syringe, I hate the codine, I hate Otrivin because its not working, I hate that I can't feel my face, ugh, I just want to fast forward to about 4 weeks from now. How long did it take for you to stop using the syringe? How long until you could breathe properly? How long until you could feel your face/could move your face? How long until things started getting better? This really sucks, I can't do anything and I really hate this. I'm starting to question whether or not this was a good idea.
ReplyDeleteHey Victoria. Ya, the darth vadar thing. Fun. I think I used the syringe, had breathing trouble and hated life for about a week to 10 days. Then it got better. The stiff face lasted ages and ages. Like 3 or 4 months, but it too, got better slowly. It is SO SO slow. Just be patient. Be more patient than you ever thought possible. Then be more patient than that, and you might have a shot at tolerating the ridiculous recovery process of orthognathic surgery. You WILL feel better soon. Give it another 2-3 days minimum before you start doubting your decision. It will be a couple months before your results are bordering on "worth it". Good luck and have fun sleeping upright. :)
ReplyDeleteHey again. I really hate the antibiotics, they taste gross and make me nauseas. Ugh. But, I've noticed that I can open my teeth a little, is that normal considering I had surgery on monday? And this bandage they put on your chin, how on earth do you get it off? Its stuck on with crazy glue I swear, and it hurts to pull off too. I really want food. Solid, good tasting food. Everything else right now makes me nauseas. How did you handle the nausea? I can't take gravol for the obvious reason and I can't stop taking the antibiotics, again for the obvious reason. Please help, this is killing me.
ReplyDeleteHey - yeah it's normal to open a little bit. I got the bandage off by soaking my chin in the bathtub and slowly slowly peeling it off. Use soapy water / bubbles and just let it soak in there for a while. You can crush up a gravol in water and suck it up the syringe, or take liquid gravol / children's liquid gravol. I had no nausea but rarely ever do, so I was fine. Good luck and just let the days pass.
ReplyDeleteThank you, your blog has helped me so much. Nights are hard though, I can't breathe, I miss sleeping on my side, I miss sleeping on my back, I miss being able to eat (I really should have pigged out more when I had the chance, what was I thinking?) I also miss being able to talk and move my face. Also, the antibiotic and stuff is getting stuck in my elastics and my splint (I don't know if you had a splint or not but the antibiotic keeps getting stuck in it) I can't rinse my mouth because I can't move my mouth, I tried rinsing it with a syringe by pushing water in a letting it drain out but it didn't help. I'm scared to brush them because I think its too soon but I really don't want to go to my appointment with antibiotics and stuff all lodged in my splint/teeth/elastics/whatever else is in there. Also, my ears really hurt, is that just from the truama in my jaw? Thanks for being so helpful, I really don't know what I would do without you.
ReplyDeleteHow long until you were able to talk? Because the whole "no talking thing" is really annoying. Today is day 4 and I can't move my lips very much. This sucks.
ReplyDeleteIt took a while. Not until after my elastics were taken out, so 2 weeks I think. I didn't have a splint, so I was lucky. Nobody likes those. I wrote everything out on paper for a while. Save them, it'll be HILARIOUS later when you feel better. You'll look back and Laugh laugh laugh. :) My ears didn't hurt, but it may be from the nerves being jostled around. As for rinsing, get a waterpic!!! Lowest setting. It is AWESOME. A must must must. Tocchio said it was okay to use on the lowest setting. I don't know about brushing, but I was grossed out so much I didn't want to try. I waterpicked for weeks.
ReplyDeleteI tried the waterpick but it did absolutely nothing, I have all of this disgusting tasting saliva in my mouth thats not going away, I tried swallowing it but it tastes too gross so I only swallow when I have to. I still can't open my jaw to get the waterpick past my teeth and onto my tongue (to try to clean it). I just know my mouth is disgusting. I think its stuff like that that leads to infection, even though I'm taking antibiotics and trying to clean it out as much as I can but I'm really limited in terms of options.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you're probably pretty gross right now. I'm kidding... I have read other "splint people" blogs and it does not sound like fun. No ma'am. It won't get infected. It will be okay. The mouth is an amazing little wonderous being. Have you named your splint yet? Like "splinty darling" or "mcsplinty"??? Just a thought. Google other people's blogs for splint help. It sounds pretty grody, but if they got through it, you will too. It will pass in a little while. A good swig of alcohol like vodka (you are over 19 right?) will probably burn that stuff away. But it will KILL for a good 15 seconds, so beware and don't hate me for it. You're on day 3 now! Hang in there. It will get better but it takes time. Think zen thoughts. Pretend you're a buddhist monk. Enjoy the tv time while you can. Guilt free.
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks. No, I haven't named my splint yet, I should get right on that. And no, I'm not over 19, I'm only 15. So I think that since I'm not used to drinking alcohol, that swig of vodka would burn a lot more. Today is actually day 4, not counting surgery day. Tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and today is friday. But day 3 since I got out of the hospital, maybe that was what you were reffering to? Anyways, I am feeling a bit better, I can (almost) close my lips to make a fish face (its a nice look) and I can make my mouth form something that looks like a smile. I still can't feel anything though. And my lips are really gross. Oh well. I haven't taken codine today because it doesn't really hurt, it just tingles and feels weird. Also, did you jaw pop/move/make noises when you move it? It just feels really weird and I'm worried I'm making it worse which is NOT good, obviously. According to Dr. Tocchio's assistants, I should feel like a million bucks after my appointment with him on tuesday. Hopefully that means they'll be removing the splint or cleaning out my mouth, yay! Anyways, thanks again for answering all of my questions/irrational fears. It really helps to have someone who's been through all this help me out, especially within the first two weeks which I heard are the hardest.
ReplyDeleteHey Victoria... so day 4! Wow... wait til day 10! It's gonna be awesome. Well my jaw did sort of pop and move and stuff at first and it weirded me out. Lots of people who have it done totally obsess about it moving and stuff, but it's usually nothing. Because of your age, you will heal faster... but eating makes you heal even better, so as soon as you can include ensure, ice cream, and protein powder, do it. I missed eating but just tried to get over food for a while and concentrate on healing up and letting it go at it's own pace. Also because of your age, it is even more important to follow Tocchio's and your orthodontist's (if you have one) instructions about post-op care. That likely means elastics, splint, retainer or whatever. I was so worried about relapse that I didn't deviate one bit. Good luck with the grody lips (I know all about it), and maybe try mouthwash if you're allowed to at this point. It should do the trick to. Mmm...listerine.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering, did your weight stay down? I know its unlikely but it would hurt me if this weight stayed off, you know?
ReplyDeleteHa! No definitely not... that was on a non-food diet, so quite difficult to sustain that. I lost about 15-20 lbs and regained 10 of it over the last 1.5 yrs. It was definitely nice to be able to eat donuts whenever I wanted for a year. Wow that was fun.
ReplyDeleteI'm really worried, its week 2 after my surgery (day 11) and my chin still looks recessed to me! My mom says it doesn't but I swear it still is! My teeth line up properly but I look in the mirror and it looks recessed. I put my finger to my lips to see if it lines up with with chin and it doesn't. Is this normal?? Is it just the swelling? I'm really worried because I do not want to have gone through all this and still have a weak chin because, that was kinda the whole point of me getting the surger. Dr. Tocchio didn't say anything about it not lining up, I'm going to ask him the next time I see him because I'm worried it didn't work or I'm relapsing or something. Thanks again, I'm just really worried.
ReplyDeleteVictoria--while I don't know how doctors in Canada are (I'm in the U.S.), you should feel free to call your doctor or whomever is on call anytime with any and all of your questions. Trust me--it does not bother them and that is what they are there for. I had major upper jaw surgery in mid-August, and there were plenty of times that first week either I or my mom called the on-call resident at midnight, 3am, 5am...and they were always very responsive and never bothered by any question. Also, if you're still having problems breathing through your nose, be absolutely sure to mention that to your doctor and see if he can clean out your nose. I had this problem about a week after surgery, and at my 1-week follow up appointment, my surgeon used a continual saline solution spray/stream and the little suction tool similar to what your dentist uses to clean your mouth out and, while it was painful, he cleared out all sorts of dried blood/mucus clumps and I could TOTALLY breathe through my nose then. It was great...after he was finished :) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria,
ReplyDeleteDid your chin line up?
I'm also getting orthognathic surgery (also with Dr.Tocchio) this year.
Gwendoline (14 years old) :
ReplyDeleteFirst question :
I'll will have the same operation next month ( i'm a bit scared and stressed because i'm wondering if i will still be swollen on the cheeks when i will have to come back to school? )
--I'm having my operation on the 11th of April and i'll come back to school on the 2nd of May.--
Second question:
In how much time was your face not swollen anymore?
Thank you very much for answering me, it would help me very much. :)
Hi Gwendoline. Don't be stressed. It sucks, but it will get better. You will likely not be too swollen by the 2nd of May, but you probably won't want to go back that early. I took 4 weeks off work and I'm glad I did. It is hard to talk, to eat, and there is little energy to do things. From a pure facial-looks perspective, you can look at my photos to get a sense of what week 3 looks like. I wasn't used to my face yet. It was still swollen and I looked funny talking :). But it is only temporary and people know it, so they usually would just joke with me and apologize for being able to eat so much while I could hardly eat anything! It took about 4 months total for me to feel like my face was back to it's normal size, but I think a lot of it is psychological. It's going to take some getting used to. Most people love their new look. But it's an adjustment. And like all adjustments, it takes some time to feel normal again. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
ReplyDeleteI wish i could miss two more weeks of school :(
I know that i will LOVE the result after 3 month.
Your blog helped me a lot to understand what i will be going trew.
Thank you !!!
Hi, I just read your blog and can COMPLETELY relate to your comments, it was so hard not to laugh (still hurts a little!)...I'm on day 7 and starting to feel like I'm back in the land of the living. I had work done on both upper and lower jaws, as well as my chin, and had my wisdom teeth removed.
ReplyDeleteRandom question, but how long before your cat liked you again? My dog TOTALLY ignored me right after surgery! And when could you breathe (sorry if you've already answered it, am only on day 1 on your blog journey).
Looks like the surgeon did a great job, happy for you that you are doing well :)
Wow, you got some intense bruising! I didn't get any on my face, but my entire neck turned yellow. My mom-in-law-to-be had never seen yellow bruises on anyone before and looked at me like some weird science experiment. Finally she decided it must be a white person thing. Which I guess is half true!
ReplyDelete