Six Weeks Post Op

I know it's been awhile since I posted but believe me I have been sooooo busy. Anyway, pain wise I'm doing o.k. could be better, my joints still bother me terribly. I saw my surgeon last Wednesday and he ended up giving me a steroid injection directly into the tm joint inside my mouth. Yes it did hurt for the rest of the day, but the next day and two days after the joint pain was at a minimum. It was the best it has felt in 9 years. Then on June 25th I saw my orthodontist and he put elastics on to help pull my bite together and now my joints are back to aching again and my teeth feel like they're being pulled out of my gums. I take 2 tylenol and 3 advil every 4 hours and it doesn't help much. So, yesterday the surgeon prescribed diazepam to take before bed he said it would relax the muscles in my jaw (I am unable to sleep through the pain and wake up a lot) and I was so happy that I was able to sleep for six hours last night. I still have nerve pain and some numb spots but nothing really significant anymore. The itching still comes back every once in awhile but nowhere near what it was. I have lost 20 pounds so far and have been on a soft chew diet for 2 weeks now. It does hurt to eat still so I really don't eat much. As far as swelling goes I still wake up in the morning with swelling and it goes down a little during the day, but overall the swelling is a lot better than it was. The bones in my face are still a little achy but I think it's normal post surgery pain. Most of the swelling is around my joints now which is mostly where the pain is. But, hopefully when I get used to the elastics it won't hurt so much. I have been going to physical therapy now for 2 weeks and do my exercises everyday. I have an appointment tomorrow. They do ultrasound, massage and heat. I love the heat it feels sooo good; come to think of it so does the massage. But, through it all I keep as busy as possible so I try not to dwell on the pain too much. I only do that here, lol. I have days when I regret having the surgery very much, but for the most part I'm glad I did it. My surgeon did say the pain could last for 3-4 months in my joints. No pain no gain right? Just to let the people know who sing; I started singing again about 1 week ago. I think it is good exercise for my jaw if I don't overdo it. Of course I can't do it for as long as I used to and I can't sing certain songs but I'll get there. I don't know how much I am opening but 2 weeks ago I measured at 15mm. I am able to use an adult toothbrush and can floss now so I think it must be more than that now. The inside of my mouth is still really swollen and sore; I'm not sure if that's normal or not it must be though. That's pretty much it for now. I will post a picture soon.

I have a couple of recipes if anyone is interested. They are really easy and I thought they tasted pretty good. Just a little something I made up so enjoy.
Beef Stew-
1 15oz can of Roast Beef Hash
1 15oz can of beef broth
1 4oz jar of baby food carrots
Put in blender and blend. Pour in bowl or cup and microwave til warm. Freeze what you don't eat.
This next recipe my sister gave me for a cake but I liked the filling and made it a pudding.
Pumpkin Pudding-
1 15oz (or 15 1/2oz) can of pumpkin
1 package of instant vanilla pudding
1/4-1/2 cup of brown sugar-depending on how sweet you like it
pumpkin pie spice-I use about 1/2 of a teaspoon but you can use however much you like
milk to thin it
mix everything together with whisk or mixer and enjoy; freeze what you don't eat.
Hope you enjoy them as much I have. The beef stew doesn't look as good as it tastes but most of the blended food doesn't look that appetizing anyway, lol.

Hello again. I just wanted to say Katharine that I am frustrated. I never expected the pain to last this long. Sometimes it hurts so much I just want to cry. I'm not one to really bare my feelings to people so you just have to bear with me on this. I have been really stressed with some personal things going on in my life and am having a hard time dealing with them. My 16 year old has been skipping a lot of school and has missed over 30 days of school and now he probably won't be getting any of his credits for this year. He probably won't graduate with his class if he graduates at all. I keep telling him he will regret this some day but he just won't listen to me. He's a bright kid and has a lot to offer but doesn't want to bother with school. He could go to summer school but he still won't have enough credits to graduate. On top of this we are planning renovations to the house and I have a garden to finish planting (I grow and preserve a lot of foods so it's a lot of work). Lately I've had on average 3 doctor appointments a week and I don't drive so my husband has to take time off work to take me to there. I like keeping busy cause it keeps my mind off the pain but when I overdo it the pain just gets worse, thus my frustration. Now, my doctor wants me to do physical therapy a few days a week and I know it's for my benefit but I'm so tired that I just need a break. I think overwhelmed is a better word for how I'm feeling right now. I know things are going to get better. I just wish it would hurry the heck up. My husband and I hooked up the boat and went fishing today so that was a nice reprieve but it was so cold that my face didn't like it and I ended up with my face covered up most of the day. We did catch a lot of fish mostly catfish and perch (we catch and release by the way). My 17 year old son went to his prom last night all decked out and looking pretty spiffy with his date. I was so proud of him. But at the same time realized that my baby isn't a baby anymore. He's going to be 18 on Wednesday. Any of you who have young children you really need to enjoy them while you can because the time flies and before you know it they're all grown up. So, anyway thanks for listening to me prattle on but I'm going to call it a night. Til' next time...

Well guys looks like it's physical therapy for me. 2-3 times a week for about 4 weeks. I asked the doc if it was okay for me to just take a break for a couple of weeks and he said yeah and gave me some jaw exercises to do. I mean it does seem kind of early to start PT doesn't it? Other than that he said everything looks good. I can open to 12mm and he said that was normal. He said the reason he wants me in physical therapy is to loosen up the muscles so I don't clench which makes sense I guess. Clenching equals pain. The muscles in my face do feel really tight but I think that's normal too isn't it? So anyway that's it for today, thanks for the comments and continued support. I really do appreciate it.

Day 15

Sorry I haven't posted in so long but look at these pictures I almost look normal. If you didn't know me I would look normal. Well, the pain hasn't let up much. That itchy feeling has finally gotten better and now where the itching was is burning and sharp pain like little needles poking me. My jaw joints are still very tender. Inside my mouth is still pretty swollen and it hurts to eat cold things. The stitches are slowly falling out and they are kinda gross. The skin on my face is really dry so I'm constantly putting lotion on. I know Leah said her skin was oily so I guess it's different for everyone. I'm still not sleeping well at night and still wake up several times, I'm sooo tired. I lost about 13 pounds and gained 5 pounds back. I asked how I was able to gain weight when I'm only taking in about 1000 calories a day and he told me that my body has gone into starvation mode so I will gain weight. So, I wonder if my body will get used to it and realize I'm not starving. I saw my orthodontist on Tuesday and he gave me some elastics to wear only if they don't make my jaw hurt. I think I was able to wear them for a couple of hours before I had to take them out because my face started to hurt pretty badly. But, I will try again in a couple of days and see if I can tolerate them then. My od said I should be out of braces in about six months maybe less depending how things go. Tomorrow I will see my tmj doc and he will determine if I need physical therapy for my jaw. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't need it. I'm tired of appointments and doctors and running here and there. I would like a couple of quiet weeks now to recuperate without a freaking appointment to worry about. But, anyway, I am going to go now and will let you know how tomorrow's appointment went. Thanks for listening to me vent...

Day 10

Day 10

So what do you think? I think the swelling has gone down a lot. The pain is very slowly getting better, though not fast enough for me. I over did things today and am feeling lousy at the moment. My own fault but I learned my lesson; the pain isn't worth it. I spent the day at the camp ground with my family. Most of them haven't seen me since before the surgery and can't believe how different I look with all of the swelling. So, I showed them pictures from a week ago and they all agreed that I look much much better today lol. I have this itching/burning/tingling/pain on the right side of my nose and cheek and it is driving me crazy. It itches but it hurts at the same time. I scratch there and it doesn't itch on the skin, it feels like it itches inside under my skin. I am gonna call my doctor and find out what the heck that is. My joints are also very achy. Anyway, you get the picture, I feel yucky. So, I am going to say good night to everyone. Have a great weekend!

More pictures

Day 7 Post op

These pictures were taken yesterday after my post-op appointment with Dr. Danielson. The steri-strips are gone and you can barely see the puncture mark on each side of my face. The swelling is slowly getting better and so is the pain. I'm so jealous that Leah doesn't have much pain but I guess every one's different. Anyway, my post-op went well, he took more x-rays and I was ecstatic with the result. My jaws are straight!!! I actually have a copy of the x-rays taken but I don't know how to download it yet, but will continue to try. Hopefully you'll get to see what it looks like. My doctor said everything looks great and he is pleased with the outcome. He said the pain will slowly get better and any numb spots that I have will start coming back slowly as well. He gave me an irrigation syringe to clean inside my mouth where the toothbrush can't reach or where it's just too sensitive to brush just yet. I find that it's a very helpful tool, kind of like the water-pik, but not as hard or as much water. I did ask if I could use the water-pik but he said it would be too much force at this point. I'm just glad to be able to brush and "irrigate" and keep my mouth clean. I have to go back to see him in two weeks. In other news, I saw my orthodontist today for my post-op with him. They said that I will need to wear elastics for awhile to finish pulling my bite together. He couldn't do anything today because there is just too much swelling so he just kinda peeked in there and said everything looks good. I go back next week for the elastics and get the surgical hooks off. I was wondering if wearing the elastics is going to cause more pain or if it's just more of an annoyance than anything? So, that was it for that appointment today. Now it's late so I'm going to say goodbye for now. Will talk to you again soon.

One week down...

What a tough week it has been. Last Wednesday I was in the hospital drifting in and out of consciousness...I would like to recap last Wednesday for you finally. My check in time was 6 a.m. and we did all that. I got my little "bay" if you will (it consisted of a sorta nook with a bed 3 walls and a curtain for a door), where I changed into my hospital gown and patiently awaited the nurse to start the I.V. So, he got the iv started and everything started happening at once. The nurse (who started the i.v.), Dr. Danielson (OS), anesthesiologist, and OR nurse all came to explain what would happen and take my history one more time. The anesthesiologist said she would give me something to help me calm down and I said why do I look scared? and she said yeah a little, next thing I know she said she gave me Versed (sp?) and I don't remember much after that. My husband said my last words to him were I love you and see you on the other side. I woke up 4.5 hours later in recovery with the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. Leah described it right when she said it feels like a huge weight on your face. Well you know what I looked like. I also woke up with the catheter in and remember thinking I was peeing my pants and asking the nurse if she would help me to the bathroom. She said hon you have a catheter in and your bladder is empty. I said well how can my bladder be empty if I feel like I'm peeing myself? And when can I get this thing out? She said as soon as we get your pain under control we'll take it out before we move you to your room. Four hours later the pain is under control and the catheter is removed (hallelujah), seriously it wasn't too bad. I wanted to be as independent as possible so I could go home the next day. I was brought to my room (private) where ice packs were immediately tied to my head and a morphine pump was set up and a clicker put in my hand along with a suction tube to remove blood from my mouth (which I used through the night and the next morning when the bleeding stopped). The nurse looked at me and said now don't try to be a hero if it hurts hit the button. I said well I don't plan on being a hero, this clicker is going to be my friend for the night. Then we got out the zip and squeeze bag and I asked the nurse for ice water. They had never seen the bags and thought they were just the greatest thing. So I gave them the website and they said they would look at it. I fell asleep after the nurse brought me the water and woke up every single hour to go pee. By the way, I didn't have a lot of nausea throughout this whole thing, phenergan took care of it. So anyway, every hour I had to hit the call button and have a nurse help me get up to go to the bathroom. They must have been clapping when I left the next day. I kept apologizing to them but they were like no, we understand, the i.v. does that to some people. The next day I gave myself a sponge bath (the LNA offered to wash my bottom if I couldn't...I declined of course after blushing profusely) and that went off without a hitch; I dressed myself too. My nurse came by around 1 pm and went over the meds I would be taking and I was discharged at around 1:45 pm. The ride home was a little rough because there is a lot of road work going on and some of the roads are just plain rough. Plus it just seemed so long because we live an hour and 10 minutes away from the hospital. We got home around 3:30 and I went straight to bed. You pretty much know the rest so I'll end it here. I have more pictures to post from today but I'm tired so I post them tomorrow. Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow, take care.

Six days Post-Op

Well, not much to say at this point. I'm tired all the time so I sleep a lot. Today is a bad day pain wise so this post will be short. For some reason the swelling in my upper lip is getting worse. Gotta go for now will post later.

DAY FOUR POST-OP

Swelling is worse!

I didn't think it was possible for the swelling to get any worse but it has. I am in constant pain and I can't sleep. Time for me to complain now I'm due. Seriously, though the swelling can't get any worse can it? I called my Dr. to see if it should be this bad and he thinks it's bad because I'm not sitting up enough. Well, I can't lay down because I swell too much (I told him this or rather my husband did) and the dr. said if I don't see any improvement by tomorrow he wants me to go in to see him. Also, the pain should be letting up some too he said and it's not; it keeps me up at night and isn't well controlled yet. So the dr. called in some more pain meds for me and we'll see how it goes. Anyway glad to hear from Leah and that she made it through ok. Way to go Leah! I hope she doesn't feel as bad as I do right now. Although, when my mom came over to see me I did feel better, something about mom's touch no matter how old you are. Take care everyone; will post more pics soon.

And here are today's photo's. You can see the bruising a lot today, more swelling and more pain today (you were right Shontell). Today has been a terrrible day for pain and swelling. I'm ok as far as food goes; I'm not hungry anyway so all I want to do is drink. I am probably just going to go to bed after I write this post. I didn't realize how tired I was going to be. I really don't like it but oh well it'll pass too. Have had a little bit of a fever all day, low grade 100.2 most of the day. So anyway, take care everyone and will talk to you all again soon.

These are yesterday's photo's. The steri-strip on each side of my face is where he screwed in the hardware to hold my bones together. So yes, I do have two small puncture wounds on my face.

UPDATE

Thanks for the support ladies. Holly in answer to your question that is me and the staff at the hospital said the same thing you did, that I looked like Angelina Jolie, but the swelling in my lips has gone down a lot don't you think? Michelle, the name of the cream is Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment USP, 0.1% and I use it every eight hours. It is a steroid cream to help with the swelling and believe me it has. My lips really hurt but feel so much better than they did. I also wanted to let you know that they gave me a lot of antibiotics by I.V. (8 bags) and I ended up with a yeast infection; just wanted you to be prepared, they gave me meds for it and the itching has stopped but not exactly something I wanted to deal with. Anyway, just glad that it's dealt with and one less thing to worry about. I am really tired so I'm gonna go now, will continue to keep you posted on my progress. Again, thanks for the support I love hearing from everyone.

I'm Back

The top four pictures were taken the day after surgery. The next two were taken in recovery.

Hey girls, I'm back! My hubby didn't get a chance to follow through on the posting, so very sorry for that. I am very very sore. I got home yesterday afternoon and went right to bed. I have been taking pictures...I've gotta warn you it doesn't look like me very much. My lips are very swollen. I was in recovery for 4 hours because the swelling and the pain was so bad. I have already lost 5 pounds cause I'm just not hungry. The doctor was very pleased with the outcome of the surgery. He said my bite was perfect. Of course I can't tell yet. Right now I could care less anyway, the pain is awful for me. I can feel everything...that's good right? So far the only numb spot I have is on the right side of my nose. The pain meds so far don't help as much as I'd hoped they would. He put me on hydromorphone 2mg, take 2 tablets every 3-4 hours. I also take 750mg tylenol every six hours, 300mg clindamycin (antibiotic) every 6 hours, phenergan 25mg every 6 hours as needed for nausea, peridex rinse 3 times a day (this stuff really soothes my mouth, I love it) and a steroid cream every 8 hours for my lips ( this stuff is awesome too, very soothing). So, if it seems like I'm babbling I probably am and sorry for the mistakes or anything that doesn't make sense to you in this post. So anyway I wanted to say that I'm sorry for keeping you in suspense for so long and my husband apologizes for not posting. I will give better updates when I'm feeling better and more like my old self.

Here are my before pictures:


Well, tomorrow's the big day. I need to be at the hospital at 6 a.m. and my surgery is scheduled for 7:30. We decided not to spend the night in Burlington so that means I have to get up at 4 in the morning. I am very nervous and excited but mostly nervous. I just got back from the orthodontist and my surgical hooks are in place. They really aren't that bad except food gets caught in them more so than the braces, in my opinion anyway. My orthodontist said I'll only have them in for a week. Not so bad right? My jaw is sore today but I'm more tense than usual so that doesn't help. My bag is packed and I'm ready to go. I will try to post tomorrow morning before I leave but I can't be sure I will. My husband will post for me after the surgery to let you know how it went. Guess that's it for now. Take care everyone.

Three more days! I'm pretty excited. My party yesterday was awesome; everyone had a great time. It was nice having everyone together. I was a little upset that my younger sister didn't show up but I pretty much expected it anyway so I wasn't surprised (*sigh* long story). Other than that though everything was great. My dog Lucy was the star of the party. She is just a sweet animal and everyone loves her. My kids really enjoyed themselves too.

I also wanted to say thanks to all of you for your support through all of this. It is greatly appreciated. Makes me feel better knowing that other people know what I'm going through and being able to talk to people who understand.

I tried to download picasa for pictures and my computer doesn't like it so I'm just going to have to try again. I will post pictures no matter what though. Well gotta go for now will post the day of surgery before I leave.

6 more days!

Okay, only 6 days left...I'm getting more excited and less nervous as the day draws closer. I've decided to throw a party on Saturday the 10th so I can relax and have a good time with my family and friends. Also, almost everyone I know can cook very well and I'm looking forward to good food before surgery. I also don't drink much so am looking forward to having a couple of beers. I asked the nurse who did my hospital pre-op if it was ok and she said as long I didn't drink alcohol 24 hours before surgery I was fine. So, I had three pre-op's this week and everything went fine; got my clean bill of health and go ahead for the surgery. Now everything is falling into place. Hopefully my son doesn't spread his cold to me. I went around the house yesterday and sanitized all the surfaces he had touched and sprayed the house with sanitizing spray to kill any airborne germs. I know it sounds obsessive but I have waited almost two years for this day and do not want anything bad to happen. I have also been drinking DanActive hoping to give my immune system an extra boost; don't know if it works but we'll see. I'm not sick yet, but I don't want to jinx myself either. I plan on sanitizing the house until he isn't sick anymore. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't get sick. In other news, I haven't heard from the OS's office about my surgery time. So, I don't know what time I have to check in to the hospital. I am going to take some before pictures and post them soon if I can figure out how to do picassa. I plan on having my husband take pictures of me in the hospital and showing him how to post for me and give you an update. He's a hunter and pecker when it comes to typing so the post will be short and sweet, lol. As soon as I am able I will give you all the gory details and hopefully lots of pictures. That's it for now...

NINE DAYS LEFT! I can't believe May 14th is almost here. I am ready to get this over with. I have been trying to stay busy so I don't think about the surgery much but at this point it's hard not to think about it. Everyone around me is getting sick with a cold that's going around and I am praying that I don't catch it. I am eating to my heart's content and have gained 5 pounds (ugh). As the weather gets warmer my jaw gets less and less achy; although last week it was cold and rainy so my jaw ached a lot more than normal for this time of year. I haven't been wearing my splint all the time either; I'm sick of wearing it. I have been wearing it for 5 years now. The oral surgeon said I will not have to wear a splint after my jaw surgery. You don't know how happy that made me. I have my pre-op appt. with my primary tomorrow and the hospital will call me tomorrow for their pre-op appt and instructions tomorrow as well. Hopefully I will find out what time I need to check in next Wednesday and what time the surgery will be. I guess that's it for today. It's a beautiful day outside and I plan to enjoy it...take care everyone.

Pre-op news

Hi everyone! I hope you all are enjoying spring as much as I am. I have lots to tell so I'll get started. First, last week (18th) I had my ortho appt and am sorry to say that the doc didn't have results for me. I was in and out of there in ten minutes. All they did was change my bands and left the wires in the way they were. This week on Tuesday I had my pre-op with the oral surgeon. The appt. took two and a half hours. They did more molds and yes they got very stuck again; I gotta warn the people who have tmj issues that it really hurts when they start yanking. I'm sure that when they are pulling on the molds it would hurt anyone for that matter. Prior to this I had told the assistant that the molds got stuck at the ortho appt and she said, "oh our molds rarely get stuck because we use a different material than the orthodontist". They did two sets for the top and bottom so I had to go through that four times. They also took their pictures, lots of measurements, and more molds with what looked like what can only be described as a caulking gun. My husband asked the doctor where he could get one and the doctor said well we could probably order one for you but it would be pretty expensive. By the end of the appt. they were pals and talking about carpentry work. Oh yeah, was wondering if anyone who has already had surgery had measurements taken with the thing that looks like a stethoscope with a compass on it? I was wondering if you knew what they were measuring with it? I didn't get a chance to ask because I had molds in my mouth at the time and forgot to ask after that. I thought maybe it was used to measure my upper jaw width and maybe my nose and cheekbones. After all of that I got to ask a lot of questions about the surgery. I asked him to describe to me exactly what he thought he was going to do. He told me he was going to do the BSSO (bilateral saggital split osteotomy) and the Le Fort 1 with possible multiple cuts. He will remove bone and push the upper jaw up to close the open bite and reduce my gummy smile. He said he won't know until he gets in there whether he's going to have to widen the upper jaw or not. He will move my upper jaw forward as well but he didn't say how much. He will remove bone from the right lower jaw due to asymmetry (the right side is longer than the left) and then move both sides back. He said the surgery would take about 3-4 hours depending on what he finds while he's operating. He told me my nose and chin are proportionate so nothing needs to be done there. I asked how long I would be in the hospital and he said some people go home the afternoon following surgery and some stay an extra day depending how they feel. We talked about the blood donation and he said he didn't think it would be necessary because in 20 years of doing this he's only had to transfuse one person. I explained my fears of receiving someone else's blood (HIV and Hepatitis) and he said the blood is very well screened and my risks were very low. He seemed very confident about this so I decided not to donate my own blood. He's also very confident that the surgery will eliminate my tmj pain (YAY!!!) but he can't promise anything (they say that to cover their butts). He also said I wouldn't notice if the tmj is better for 3-4 months (it might actually feel worse at first) but he thinks after that I'll notice a significant difference. I think that is very positive news and I am very hopeful. I'm not looking forward to more tmj pain than what I have now but I'm prepared and that's all that matters to me. I am really anxious about getting this over with; I only have 20 days left. I have almost everything I'm going to need for after the surgery. I am wondering though if it's possible for a dog to know that something is up because my dog Lucy has been extremely anxious and following me everywhere. She won't let me out of her sight. I feel bad for her because I can't help her understand. I'm sure she's feeling my anxiety and that's why she's acting like this. She's going to be heartbroken when I'm gone for a couple of days. The last time I left her she didn't eat the whole time I was gone (three days) and my daughter was there with her; I thought that with someone familiar with her the transition wouldn't be so bad. So, needless to say I am a little worried about Lucy. She will be with my son at my mother's and it will only be for about two days; so that's not too bad I guess. My kids are fine with everything although I don't think they realize how serious the surgery is; which is probably a good thing so they don't worry about it anyway. So anyway, that's it for now. Enjoy spring everyone!

Pre-surgery jitters

Only 29 days left 'til surgery and I'm starting to get really nervous. I am also anxious to hear what my orthodontist says about the mock surgery he and the OS performed. I have an appointment with him on Friday. I spoke to my OS office last Friday about the blood donation thing and the girl I spoke with said the doctor wanted to speak to me about that. I'm guessing he's going to tell me it's not necessary to do the donation. He was supposed to call me last Friday but never did so I'll call him again today. I will keep you posted about what he says.
Yesterday I had my teeth cleaned and the assistant said I was doing a very good job keeping everything clean. I guess being obsessed with keeping my teeth clean is really paying off lol.
The weather here is really shaping up; we are expecting to be hitting 70 degrees by the end of the week. My flowers are coming up like crazy, the leaves are budding, and the snow is almost gone. I plan on working outside all week to get the lawn cleaned up and looking nice again. So, gotta go so I can start the clean up. Will post again at the end of the week to let you know the results of the mock surgery. Have a good week everyone.

It's been awhile since I last posted. Just not a lot of changes to report. I have noticed slight changes in my bite but nothing significant. The snow is finally melting...WHOO HOO!!!!! We can see the ground again! I am so freaking happy to see the snow go. We went to Connecticut this weekend to see my husbands kids and to go to my step-granddaughter's first birthday party. She is the cutest little thing. It was nice seeing the kids again though. They're all grown up (24 and married with a child, 21 and 18) and do their own things now so we don't see too much of them while we're there. We did get to see the baby for a few hours before we left and spend some time with his daughter and her husband which was very nice. We always want to see them more but it's hard because it gets expensive. We did get to go to Cabella's to get a new fish finder for the boat. But, we have to take it back because it's missing parts. So, we have 30 days to take it back and we will get to visit the kids again. We are planning a camping trip for Memorial day weekend (9 days after my surgery) because my 21 yr old step-daughter and her friends are coming up to see us and want to go camping that weekend. We always start our camping season on Memorial day weekend with my family. Unfortunately, I don't know if I will be able to go. The campground we are going to is only a few miles away so if I'm not feeling well at that point I'm not going with them. Plus, we always bring the karaoke equipment and provide the entertainment for the campground; they will be very disappointed this year because I won't be able to sing and my husband doesn't sing so doesn't want to do it by himself. But, there are plenty of other things to keep them occupied. The campground has a paintball course, mini-golf, a pool, and go-karts. The kids love it there and I see no reason for us to change our plans. Who knows maybe I'll be feeling just fine and will be able to go. I'll just have to prepare myself for the looks I'll get from the people who don't know me when they see my swollen face; and probably the looks my husband will get lol. Poor guy. Hopefully I'll be able to talk clearly at that point so I can explain why I look beat up. My surgery is only 38 days away now. Hard to believe it's only a little over a month away; time is flying now. I have so many appointments coming up; 4/18 with orthodontist, 4/22 pre-op with OS, 5/6 pre-op with primary, 5/7 pre-op with tmj doc, and 5/13 surgical hooks. I have arranged for my kids to stay with family while I'm in the hospital because my husband is going to stay in Burlington so he doesn't have to travel so far. I don't know if they'll let him stay in my room with me. Probably not but I'll ask anyway. Luckily, my mom and my aunt live in the same area as me so the kids will be able to go to school as usual. My 16 year old thought they were staying home by themselves and I think he was a little excited about that idea because he was disappointed when I told him he and the dog are staying with his grandmother. My daughter will stay with my aunt. I will soon start buying my food for after the surgery. I think I am pretty well prepared for the whole thing. I just hope I don't get too nervous as the big day gets closer. There is just so much to do before. My biggest fear right now is that they will change the surgery date. Well that's it for now. Take care everyone.

54 More Days Til Surgery!

Hello everyone as you can see by the title I have 54 more days until surgery (tentatively). So anyway, I saw my orthodontist Dr. B on Wednesday. I got there and the assistant took my pre-op photos. You know the ones they did way at the beginning with the cheek/lip things you hold and they take pictures of the inside of your mouth. I did not get to see the photos unfortunately. After the pics she took my wires and bands off and we did the wonderful (sarcastic) molds of my teeth. She did the bottom arch first which went great. The top was next which wasn't so great...it got stuck. After about 5 mins of pulling and feeling like the joints were going to pop out of the sockets she got the mold out. Dr. B came in about a half an hour later and looked at them and said the bottom one looked great but we need to re-do the top one cause it's missing the back teeth. So, another mold was made and got stuck again but not as bad as the first time. It only took about 4 mins to get it out this time. This was not a good feeling for my tmj and I have been very sore since. After the molds were made she put the same wire back on and new bands. I set up my appointment for the surgical hooks which will be done the day before surgery (yay!) because he said he didn't want me to be too uncomfortable. Because we live so far away from the hospital we have decided to spend the night in Burlington in a hotel the night before surgery. Plus, I can eat at my favorite restaurant the Olive Garden for my last meal (sounds like a death sentence lol). And I'll get much needed time alone with my hubby. Anyway, Dr. B and Dr. D (oral surgeon) will perform a mock surgery on the molds and when I go back to see Dr. B in April he will tell me exactly what they did and what will be done during surgery. I also called the Red Cross about my blood donation and they don't need me to donate until around 10 days before my surgery. So anyone who is considering donating their own blood for their surgery should find out what their doctors' protocol is for that. Here, we go to the Red Cross and they have a clinic in Burlington, VT where you can donate and they'll prep the blood and send it to the hospital. The doctor has to sign and send in a special donation order and let them know how many units of blood is needed. If I need more than one she said I could do it a week apart. I also asked if family members could donate and she said they could but it cost about $90. So, I will just donate my own blood.
In other news, on Tuesday I saw my tmj doc and because the narcotics are no longer working for me I have decided to stop taking them. The nurse asked if I would consider long acting pain medicine (morphine or fentanyl) but I declined because the risks outweigh the benefits. I do not under any circumstances want to take that crap because it's just another set of problems to have to deal with afterwards thank you very much. So, they prescribed a topical ointment called Ketoprofen (sp?) which is used for arthritic joints. Insurance of course doesn't pay for it so it cost me $48 but it does work, not for very long, but it's some relief anyway. All I have to do is rub the ointment over the sore joints and muscles every four hours. The cream works for about two hours for me. I am wondering though why they didn't prescribe this to me a year ago when the joints started acting up more. Oh well, it is what it is, no use crying about it. Well, that's about it for now. The kids are home from school today as we are getting a tremendous amount of snow again. About 12 inches have fallen and it's still snowing like crazy out there; ughh...I am so sick of snow already. The snowbanks are so high they are touching the roof. Come on spring! Oh yeah...Happy Easter everyone!!

Update

I just wanted to update on the name of the recipe book I bought online. Shontell pointed out other victims would probably enjoy this. It is called "dinner through a straw" and you can buy zip n squeeze bags there as well. Their website is www.dinnerthroughastraw.net and the products are not expensive. The jaw bra (the contraption they wrap around your head with ice packs in it) I bought at another website where you can buy zip n squeeze bags and other things...this website is www.zip-n-squeeze.com again it won't be too expensive. Hope this helps everyone who's looking for this stuff for their surgery. Also, both places mail this stuff to you through US postal service so make sure you give them your mailing address and not your physical address. I gave them my physical address thinking it was being sent UPS and it caused a delay. Good luck and again hope this helps.

I had my wire changed a little over two weeks ago and I am noticing big changes. The gap from my open bite is smaller. My upper teeth are now even farther behind my lower teeth. I am just amazed how much of a difference there is. When I was flossing the other day I was able to get the floss in between my molars on the upper right side (I haven't been able to do that since the braces were put on without shredding the floss). My jaw pain is ab0ut the same; some days are better than others. I have started buy things I will need after the surgery. So far I've bought a blender with a travel mug (I can make smaller portions in this so I don't have to use the big one), zip n squeeze bags, ice packs and hot packs and a recipe book that included the syringe kit to eat with. I was a little shocked to see that the tubing was actually a catheter tube; is that what they actually put in your urethra? Ouch...not looking forward to that! I will stock up on books next time we go to the bookstore. I called my OS's office earlier this week to make sure that my surgery is still booked for May 14th and to see what I needed to do for my blood donation. I have to call the red cross to set up a date for the collection. My surgery date is still on; so far so good. I hope I don't have to go through the frustration of having my surgery cancelled at the last minute. Right now I just want it over and done with. I'm curious to see how my mock surgery turns out when my ortho does it at the end of the month. Anyway, that's it for now. Bye til next time.

I was just thinking...since I already wear a splint am I going to have the same kind of muscle tightness as everyone else who does after surgery? Yet another question for the dr. I can relate to everyone who has worn the dreaded splint. It is a pain in the a** to put it mildly. I think sometimes it hurts more than helps and am personally sick of wearing it. When I talk with it in I have a lisp, my teeth get sore, and sometimes I feel like I'm choking. And sometimes it makes my jaw hurt even more. My TMJ doc wants me to wear it when I eat but that is just impossible since with it in I have at least a 1/2 inch gap in my front teeth. Without it my front teeth don't even touch. I'm already on a soft-chew diet and have been for quite awhile. I have been craving a bagel with cream cheese...mmm that sounds SO good. Or to be able to eat certain foods without a fork would be nice. I just want to be able to eat whatever I want again. I don't even know if the surgery will help my jaw, but I'm praying it does. My TMJ doc can't tell me for sure but he thinks it will. So anyway, thanks for listening again to my complaints. My jaw hurts a lot today and I just needed to vent.

Not much to say today. Still the same ole same...jaw pain is starting to calm down finally and my teeth are not achy anymore. I've been keeping busy as much as possible so I don't think about the jaw pain but sometimes it's hard. I planted some tulips in flower pots last week and they're actually growing. I also started the demolition of our bathroom by tearing the tile off the walls. That was very therapeutic. My kids are on vacation until March 4th so they'll keep me busy which is nice. But, I'm sure I'll be glad to see them go back to school. Today is my husband's birthday so I made him a punch bowl cake which is his favorite and I will make him tuna casserole for his dinner. I bought him a boombox for his satellite radio; I already gave it to him and he loves it. I did our income taxes and we're getting a nice refund. We decided we will use the money towards remodelling our living room. This house is a fixer upper but we've done two rooms so far. Our biggest thing is going to be replacing the windows; they're original to the house and the house was built pre-civil war. We were told that the house has tunnels underneath it from the underground railroad which I think is pretty neat. We only have a partial basement and the rest is crawl space. So it's kind of difficult to get in there to see but we will check it out. Being an old house it has a lot of character and was well maintained and we got a good deal on it because it needed so much cosmetic work done. The walls all had wallpaper which I don't really care for unless it's pretty or in good shape. My husband remodel homes for a living plus he's self-employed so we can do the work when time and money allow us to. We do tend to argue a lot about we want to do as far as updates though, but in the end we always work it out. So anyway, I will talk to you all later, hopefully my next post will be more about braces.

Thank You

Well, I stand corrected...not everyone sees their oral surgeon a lot. I just wanted to apologize for making that assumption. Thanks so much for your comments. Just hearing from you puts my mind at ease. When you're preparing for a big surgery you expect everyone involved to be...well more involved. I had my wire changed yesterday (my teeth/jaw are very sore) and was able to ask my ortho some questions as well. He is a really awesome dr. and he put my mind at ease too. At my next appt he will do more molds/impressions and perform a mock surgery on them to be sure my teeth are ready for surgery. If they're not he said he'd make sure they were so the surgery doesn't have to be cancelled. He assured me we have plenty of time to make the necessary adjustments if need be. The only way surgery would be cancelled is if the oral surgeon decides he doesn't want to work that day. So, I'll keep my fingers crossed that everything will go smoothly and May 14th will be the day.
So anyway, had my wire changed yesterday to a bigger wire. The assistant had a hard time getting the old wire out and kept yanking on it til she finally got it out...jeesh. There were two teenagers in the chairs next to me looking pretty horrified. It felt great to have the wire out so I could floss without it. I also had the ties changed and the wire taken off the bottom so I could floss them too (my bottom teeth are done til after surgery). I now have something poking my right cheek and tearing it up. I really don't want to go back cause it's an hour away so I think I'll dig out the wax. I haven't had to use wax thus far so I'm not sure where I put it. My chin and cheekbones are sore today too for some reason. Well, my dog just came in with a piece of the living room floor in her mouth so I gotta go. Will talk to you all later.

Can't sleep so I thought I might as well post...so anyway, I have alot questions. I noticed that a lot of you have seen your oral surgeon quite a bit and actually speak to him/her on a regular basis. I'm a little worried because I've only seen mine once to have my wisdom teeth pulled last year! I won't see him again until one week before my surgery. Is this normal? I mean I know my orthodontist is communicating with him by sending records etc. but I would think that the surgeon would want to do his own pics and what not...right? Or will he do the molds etc. when I see him before the surgery? I have an appt with my ortho on Tues, so I'll ask. I guess I'm just not sure which doc does what. I was told the doc who's doing my surgery is very good, but I don't feel like he's communicating with me enough. I don't have a clue what's going to happen at the pre-op appt and when I ask nobody can tell me anything. I had to ask them whether or not I was having double jaw surgery. I only found out the end of January that I was having both jaws worked on. I don't know maybe I'm just over-reacting. Oh, and I was also wondering if any of you who had upper jaw surgery donated your own blood for the surgery and if it's really necessary to. I would rather be as prepared as possible but I don't want to over do it. I'm really starting to get nervous about this surgery and I've still got three months to go. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Smile...

I wanted to show everyone a picture of my dog. She had just come in and I asked her to smile and it looks like she did.

I feel a lot better today than I have in awhile. My jaw is still achey but nowhere near as bad as it has been. At least I can tolerate it (Yea!!). Happy Valentine's day everyone. I have nothing special planned. My husband usually gets me flowers. I wasn't able to get him anything cause I can't get anywhere (I don't drive because I'm legally blind; a condition known as Usher's Syndrome; aka Helen Keller's disease. I wear hearing aids too). So, I think I'll just cook him a really nice dinner. My daughter stayed home from school today sick (sinus infection I think). She's twelve so they don't do the Valentine's cards anymore.

I should probably explain what Usher's syndrome is so you don't have to search the web for it. I have a degenerative eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa with hearing loss (Usher's Syndrome). I have lost most of my peripheral (side up and down) vision; I have around 6-8% left as of two years ago. If you look through a camera to take a picture, you know how you can only see what's right in front of you and not what's around you? That's how I see. I also have night blindness...yep blind as a bat at night...I often need help in places I'm not familiar with. I found out it was Usher's when I was 28 years old. I stopped driving about two years ago (I REALLY miss driving). My doctor told me no more driving because my eyes had gotten too bad. My younger sister has it too. Her eyes are worse than mine. My hearing is worse than hers. I read lips and with hearing aids I hear ok. All three of my kids (two boys 17 & 16 and one girl 12) are carriers and when they have children their spouses need to be tested as well. If their spouse is also a carrier the chance of them having a child with this condition is 50%. My older sister does not have it, but she and her kids are carriers of the gene. There is no cure. Scientists are working on some things but currently, no cure. The doctors don't know if or when I will become totally blind and totally deaf. For now I consider myself lucky because I can still see and hear enough to communicate with other people. I don't know brail or sign language. I am going to learn both though. Better to be prepared I guess. Sorry I'm so far off the braces subject, but most people have never heard of Usher's before. I don't usually talk about it but, I figured what the heck...people don't know much about it anyway and to look at me you would never know I'm losing my eyesight. People usually don't believe me when I tell them I'm legally blind. I don't have the sunglasses or the stick or the dog or the blank stare...stereotypical right? But, really, that's what people look for when we say blind. I function really well at home, but any place else I usually need help. I have run into people in the store (very embarrassing), I ran into a beam right in the middle of the floor; it hurt and again very embarrassing(the color of the beam and the wood floor were almost the same color)and I trip over my dog all the time. When I bend over I hit my head on the counter, table, washing machine, cabinet doors etc. I always have bruises on my arms and legs from running into things. One time at work, (I no longer work by the way) I walked right into a closed door that I thought was open...lol I laughed and cried at the same time. No one saw me do it thank goodness! But, you get the picture. Anyway, thanks for listening to me go on and on again. I hope I didn't bore anybody to death. 'Til next time...see ya later!

Jaw pain

I was supposed to have my appointment with my tmj doc today, but we had a bad snowstorm and I ended up cancelling. We got another foot of snow (ughh). They couldn't get me in again until June, but put me on the cancellation list. Not much to really say today except the weather seems to be impacting my jaw quite a bit pain wise. My pain has been severe the last two weeks. All I can think of is it must be all this humidity from all the snow we've gotten that's making my jaw hurt more. Nothing I do to try to alleviate the pain helps and I'm frustrated. The nurse told me to use moist heat, glucosamine with condroiton (?sp), soft chew or liquid diet, and decrease stress (yeah right). I take muscle relaxers and pain medication too. I just can't seem to get any relief from any of these things. The heat helps but not for very long; only half an hour tops. I usually only eat one meal a day and snack the rest of the day. My jaw gets really tired when I chew anyway so I just try not to eat much. Anyway, enough complaining from me for now. It's late so I'm going to sign off and go to bed.

A little about my history with braces

We have alot of snow. This fence is 4 feet high. We're supposed to get more snow this week. Driving down the road is like driving through tunnels. Anyway, I'm ready for spring to get here.

I wanted to tell you a little about my braces. I got the bottom set on in November 2006. We did it that way because I wear a splint for my tmj problem. At the time I was wearing a splint on my top teeth. I had the wire adjusted every 4-6 weeks and it hurt like heck. My bite is alot worse now than it was before braces. But, in the end it will all be worth it. In January 2007 I had my remaining two wisdom teeth pulled; also hurt like heck, but my teeth moved alot after that. After each adjustment I couldn't eat anything but soups and really soft foods for three or four days because my teeth were so sore. I have lost about 25 pounds (I needed to anyway) since this started. In August 2007 I had impressions made for my new splint to be worn on my bottom teeth, so I could have my top braces put on. In September 2007 I finally had my top braces (ceramic) put on and my new splint for my bottom teeth. I like the bottom splint alot better than the top as it is easier to talk with it in. I have adjustments to the braces every 4-6 weeks and they're not as painful as the bottom braces were, but I do still have some pretty significant pain. My top teeth don't have to be moved as much as the bottom teeth did. The ceramic braces do tend to cut my cheeks more for some reason though. I still have to eat soup and really soft foods for about 3-4 days after each adjustment and my jaw tends to get really sore for about 7 days or so. With each visit to the orthodontist my bite gets worse. My next visit to the ortho is February 19th and hopefully it won't hurt too bad this time. Here are some pictures of my bite and side profile.

My face looks flat from the side view. My jaws look really crooked especially the upper jaw. My teeth are pretty straight; I only have two more adjustments before surgery. I was not wearing my splint in these pictures because it makes my bite look a lot worse.

Sorry this post was so long...I'll try to keep it shorter next time.

No pictures yet

I was going to post pictures today but I can't find the (?)USB for my camera so I can download the pictures. I don't like my picture taken so I don't have any recent pictures I can just scan, so as soon I find what I need I'll post the pictures. So, anyway I have an appointment with my TMJ doctor on the 13th (not looking forward to it) to discuss when he thinks I should have the jaw surgery. He wants me to wait until July but I don't want to do it then; I've already been in braces for over a year. Besides that we do alot of things in the summer like camping and fishing that I don't want to miss out on. So, I'm going to try to convince him that May is better. I have two insurances; one has already approved the surgery but I will be losing that insurance in June and the other insurance hasn't approved it yet so May is going to have be it. I can't afford to pay for the surgery and I would be very upset to have gone through with the braces and pain for nothing. I'm also really really hoping that the surgery will help the tmj pain. Has anyone who's had the surgery had to deal with the tmj pain? If you did, did the surgery help? I just want this all to be over. I'm tired of being in pain all the time.

First post! February 8, 2008

I have been in braces now for one year and three months. I am tentatively scheduled for jaw surgery on May 14, 2008. Like many of you I have searched the net for info to no avail. So, I just decided to write about my experiences to help others. I will have upper and lower jaw surgery for a class 111 malocclusion with open bite, cross bite, asymmetry (right jaw longer than left) and vertical maxillary hyperplasia (long face). I also have a TMJ disorder for which I have to wear a splint 24/7 and I have a lot of pain. So, hopefully the surgery will help the tmj pain. I am starting to get nervous about the surgery so any comments and suggestions will be helpful.