You can see in this picture how my chin used to veer to the left (and how long it was). 
Once I can smile normally, I will post a picture. I still have a lot of stitches that pull when I smile. I'm wondering if they are going to fall out by themselves or if they will have to be removed.
Friday, May 29, 2009
A Before Pic
Posted by Aimee at 1:05 PM
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8 comments:
Hi Aimee! I had upper and lower jaw surgery on May 7th and just started reading your blog. Thank you so much for posting EVERYTHING you've felt while going through this. I know first-hand what a pain in the butt recovery can be, and it's nice to know someone else feels the same!
I do have a question for you though: Have you started stretching your jaw yet? It's been more than 3 weeks since my surgery and my surgeon told me absolutely no stretching. My father is an oral surgeon and thinks I should have been doing passive stretching for a week now. Let me know what you've been doing about stretching your jaw!
-Victoria
Hi Victoria!
I'm so glad my postings have been helpful. :)
I haven't done any stretching exercises yet. My surgeon hasn't mentioned doing any, so I think I will wait until he gives me the okay. I will see him again in 2 weeks. I still have lots of stitches in my mouth that I thought would have been gone by now. I'm wondering if he will have to take them out himself.
I'm still hungry and can't wait to eat. I can't stomach eating blended food and I am sick of smoothies so I haven't been eating a variety of things. How is the eating going with you? Do you still have a lot of swelling? I have more than I thought I would at this point.
Thanks for writing!
Aimee
Hey there!
Eating is going okay. Lots of oatmeal, soup and pudding. Not allowed to chew yet, so I try to get down anything that I can get on my tongue and move to the back of my throat. It's definitely getting old and I miss actually being able to TASTE food while it's in my mouth! I will never take eating for granted again, that's for sure.
I still have the splint in and it's driving me insane! I have an appointment with my surgeon next week and am praying he will take it out. He's been extremely cautious though, so I'm almost positive he'll want to keep it in for the entire 6 weeks. I'm not sure what's worse--being banded shut or the splint itself.
I definitely have more swelling than I would like. It went down so dramatically within the first week, but now it seems like it will never go away. I know it can take up to a year for all of the swelling to really subside, but my patience is wearing thin.
I hope you're enjoying your weekend!
Victoria
Hey Aimee,
I love the pic you posted. Your boys are ADORABLE! I got my plate out on thurs and it has been so great to finally communicate WELL with people. My stitches have just started falling so I guess they don't completely dissolve. I go for my first adjustment tomorrow to get the hooks off. The surgeons mentioned it's up to the ortho to decide if bands are needed at that point. Do you still have yours on? I've heard so many people talk about muscle spasms, pain etc after their bands came off...
I agree about the eating part. 6 wks seems so close now so I feel even more antsy then before to eat REAL food. The blending has gotten old and I too have become less creative and keep eating the same thing.
As for stretching, my surg. recomm. that I can start stretching...basically holding your mouth open as far as it will go til it hurts and then hold for 30 secs. He didn't recomm. that til I was at 4 wks.
Have a great monday!
Steffi
Thanks Steffi! My boys are a lot bigger now. That picture was taken some time ago. They are still way cute though. :)
That's awesome you got your splint out! Isn't it nice?!
I have two rubber bands...one on each side. I'm sure I'll be wearing them until I see the surgeon in 2 weeks. After that I'm not sure.
I haven't started stretching per se, but I yawn a lot and that really stretches my mouth. I can open pretty wide now. I haven't had any pain. Still waiting for my stitches to fall out. I think one fell out in the sink when I was brushing last night. I can feel a ton of them with my tongue but I am too scared to look. Have a great week!
Aimee
Hey Aimee (and anyone else reading this!),
I'm almost 4 weeks post-op now and have been experiencing soreness in my jaw. It seems to be worse on my right side. It's nothing extremely painful, but I'm worried about it because I haven't had much soreness until this point. Did anyone else start experiencing jaw soreness about a month after surgery? If so, how did you deal with it? Any advice would be really great!
-Victoria
Hey Aimee, I like your before picture. Your kids are so cute. My stitches came out on their own. I didn't even know they were gone until I looked. I am glad you are doing well. Bless ya!!!
Victoria ~ I had the worst pain last night. I was almost in tears. The roof of my mouth and all of my teeth were aching so bad. It's feeling a lot better today. Thank goodness. The sides of my jaw were also hurting, but that seems to have gone away.
Rita, I haven't been brave enough to look at the areas where my stitches are. I get grossed out too easily. I can feel around with my tongue and can tell they are still in there. I hope they come out on their own so I won't have to have them pulled out.
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