3.5 Weeks Post Op

Hi. Sorry for not posting anything for awhile. Things have sort of stabilized since my last post - nothing new happening with my recovery. Chin/lower lip still numb and I am still a bit swollen but I don't think you can really tell. One of my stitches came out a few days ago when I was brushing my teeth.. I don't know if that is something to be worried about but I guess I'll mention it to my doctors when I see them this coming Tuesday.

2 Weeks Post-Op

Today marks 2 weeks since I had my double jaw surgery. I am feeling good.. swelling continues to go down slowly day by day. I no longer get stares when out in public so I guess I am looking more normal now =) I was actually expecting to bruise but aside from that light bruise on my left cheek (which is gone now), I had no bruising at all. Laughing still hurts, I think from the stitches under the top of my lip being stretched.. so I try to avoid laughing, but sometimes it can't be helped, and I end up in some pain =/

Yesterday I saw my OS for another post op. Everything went fine - short visit. I just got new elastics. My next post-op visit is 2 weeks from now. Other than that, nothing new is going on.

Day 11

Just got back from my 3rd post-op visit. I had to go alone today because my SO could not take off of work. I took the train - it was weird getting looks from people but I think they were mostly looking at my lips because they are so irritated - it looks like I have a rash. And, btw, the lip thing is due to overuse of the A+D ointment and vaseline - I was putting that stuff on like 10+ times a day all over my lips and the skin around it. My doctor told me today that my skin most likely wasn't able to breathe because of all the vaseline and as a result I got this red rash. So now I'm not putting anything on it and I'll see if it clears up.

Anyway, today's post op visit was long - about an hour. They took out the splint! I was so surprised they did that because initially they said I will have to wear it for 3-4 weeks - so happy about that - that thing was really annoying. Taking it out didn't hurt at all - they just snipped the wires that held it in place and it came out very easily. I think it was the splint that was preventing me from closing my lips (or maybe the wires that held the splint in place) because now I can close my lips. After that they put on some tighter elastics on each side, which means I can't open my mouth as wide but I'm sure they'll stretch out soon.

Funny thing happened, I was in the dental chair and my doctor comes in and says "You know I was just talking to a new patient and she has the same exact case as you and I mentioned to her that you were here and when I told her your name she said 'OMG, I've been reading her blog'" lol lol lol... What a small world huh? I ended up talking to her about my ordeal.

So I am home now and very hungry.. about to attack this blended food =)

Day 9

Today went by pretty fast. My SO was off today so we decided to take care of some things - went to IKEA and a few other places. My swelling isnt that bad anymore but I still can't close my lips and they are irritated.. and also my left cheek is a little bruised. So I did get quite a few looks but not as many as I thought I would. I didn't really care for strangers to see me this way though. After that we stopped by his parents' house - this was the first time they've seen me since before surgery. They both stared for a little bit and said that they can see the improvement in my profile and that I don't really look swollen, maybe just a little chubby in the face.

So now I'm back home and I'm about to eat blended tilapia with a sweet potato.. lol.. I know it sounds very appetizing blended fish haha. I have no idea how this will taste but I am hungry for real food so I will try it out..

I finished my anti-biotic already so now I am officially off all meds. Just taking a liquid multi-vitamin, vitamin C powder, cal-mag-citrate powder, Vit D and fish oil - I usually mix all of these together and drink up.

I decided to play a joke on my SO last night as I was drinking beet juice. After I was done, a little of the juice oozed out of my mouth and it looked like blood so I went up to him (he was sleeping) and woke him up and stood there saying in this whimpering voice "babe, somethings happening".. it took him a few seconds to get it and then he just jumped up like a grasshopper and started freaking out saying omg whats wrong, why r u bleeding, where's the number for the doctor, etc etc.. and it was so funny to me that I couldn't stop laughing which hurt so bad and in turn I couldnt explain that it is all just a joke ... it took like 5 minutes. In the end, not worth it lol.. because the laughing was a little painful.

Day 8

Today was yet another boring day. I slept very well last night though... for about 12 hours! I didn't sleep fully laying down but on 2 pillows, definetly not upright and it felt sooo good. As the swelling goes down (and it did go down quite a bit), I am getting feeling back in my face and it can be somewhat painful in a weird way. Laughing is very painful - I think because I have stitches under my top lip - that area is still very much swollen - which is probably also the reason why I still have to strain to get my lips to come together. Other than that nothing much is happening. I haven't lost any more weight which I am happy about.

Day 7

Almost a week since my surgery - woo-hoo! I had my 2nd post-op appointment this morning. They took x-rays, took off my old rubbers (I had 4) and put on 2 new ones - one on each side. They said I look good for just a few days out of surgery and were impressed at how fast I was recovering. I asked them about sleeping because I am having such a hard time getting to sleep upright, and my OS said that at this point I can sleep any way I like even on my face. I don't think I will go as far as sleeping on my face even though he said it was okay but I will definetly sleep laying down tonight! I have to come back again on Friday.

Right now, I am just bored because I have to be at home and that has gotten a bit old by now... I don't really want to go out in public yet. My lips are still irritated. They healed a little bit and then I went to the park and when I came back they were all red with little bumps/irritation in the corners again. It looks disgusting and hurts when I brush. Hopefully this goes away soon...

I am starting to crave real food. I was never a big eater but lately when I smell different foods, I just want to stuff them in my mouth. Five more weeks of this liquid diet thing... ahhh...

Day 6

Hi. Nothing new going on today. My parents are still here so my mom is bugging me to eat all the time. I finally took a poop last night and another one today - woo-hoo! LoL (sorry if this is too much info but nobody mentioned this before)

I think the swelling went down a little bit but my face looks crooked - they mentioned that my swelling is more pronounced on the right side so I suppose that's what it is... Didnt take the codeine today and I feel fine pain-wise. I scraped my tongue with a tiny tongue scraper the best I could because it was disgusting looking - now it's much better.