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