Day 3

I got discharged today so I’m back in the comfort of my own room J I didn’t believe the docs and my mom when they said that my swelling was going down but pics don’t tell lies so I have to admit that they are right. I’m looking a little less like Fat Bastard day by day. I am still getting tired quickly, as well as I’m always hungryyyyy! And of course the first thing I see when I pull up my facebook today is an entire album dedicated to cook out food with a lovely rack of ribs front and center L L.  I am about 12 hrs away from my last morphine shot and haven’t died from pain yet so hopefully this holds up.

Also I wish someone had told me about shaving my forearms before having surgery, I’m not the hairiest person out there but still managed to get tape stuck to my hair. Getting my iv’s taken off hurt!!

So far I am thrilled about my nose (cant be thrilled about my chin yet cuz my lip is blocking it lol). I told my mom that I finally have my family’s nose. It always bugged me that my mom and my brothers had these perfect neat straight noses, while mine was just huuuge, at least in my opinion. Now I look like the rest of my fam. Its funny because yesterday she told me that my face would no longer be a T and W production (where T and W stands for my dad and her's last names) but then had to eat her words when she saw for herself that I look more like her now that my jaw is in its rightful place. 

I did some walking around today after I left the hospital. Not much though, just shuffled around CVS while I was waiting for my prescriptions to be ready. Some jaw surgery patients claimed that staying active helped their swelling to go down faster so thats definitely something I'll be keeping in mind over the next few days. 

Food wise, today I had a couple boosts, a sippy cup of apple juice, a sippy cup of water and a tin of chowder. Not bad for someone on day 3 post surgery!

Pre-Surgery

Its 3 hours from my surgery time and I can't get back to sleep. Too much anxiety I guess.

I am beyond ready to have this over and done with, but anxious about the wake-up process. I am especially anxious about the possibility of nausea and vomiting blood. I think i would rather throw it up than have it swishing around in my tummy, or better yet just not have any blood get in there at all :( Hoping for too much?

I guess this is the bet post to say what I am expecting or hoping for from this surgery

COSMETIC
Better profile
More prominent chin
More proportionate face
My surgeon pointed out to my mom yesterday that because of how recessed my lower jaw is the first thing you see when you look at me is my nose, although in actuality, if you isolate that feature it isn't really that big.
No more lisp!

MEDICAL
No more of this strained feeling in my jaw
No more uneven wearing down of teeth
Improved bite
Decreased risk of developing TMJ or other joint problems later on in life
Decreased risk of damage/decay to teeth and gums due to bad bite
No more irritated gums behind my front uppers due to my front bottom teeth touching the roof of my mouth.....yep my overbite was THAT bad

As nervous as I am about this surgery I know that its temporary pain (and discomfort) for a lifetime of pleasure and benefits if all goes well. It will be well worth it in the end!

Jaw Surgery Prep

I placed my amazon order earlier this week for my sippy cups, baby toothbrush and garlic scalp treatment. I am VERY serious about not experiencing telogen effluvium (hair loss) after this surgery and hopefully the mask will help with that. I met briefly with my surgeon today and apparently I will only be on a 'clear liquid diet' while I'm in the hospital (2 night stay). I have been given the go ahead to use my waterpik on the lowest setting and will also be purchasing Sensodyne Iso-active toothpaste in the hopes that the foaming gel helps to get those hard to reach areas in my splint, as well as the backs of my teeth. I am going to do some initial grocery shopping this week, and then depending on how my appetite goes I will order the rest of my food supplies on the Friday after my surgery (Day 2) and have them delivered. I also reminded my mother to bring my travel pillow which I intend to use to make sleeping upright more comfortable. That's all for now, one week left til the big day!!!

Updates and Surgical Hooks

I have definitely calmed all the way down since my last post. I also took a break from all the jaw surgery blogs, forums etc etc in an effort to get my mind off the surgery and for me to chill out a little. I think I already have most of the information I need in anycase. My surgical hooks are in and I have one last appointment with my surgeon tomorrow to get my final impressions etc done. 2 weeks and 4 days left!

P.S.
I was worried about getting the hooks put on because I thought they wud irritate my mouth. Turns out I barely feel them..guess those 3+ years in braces really toughened my mouth up lol

Got My Surgery Date!

I was just told that my surgery date will be June 28th. I am sooooo panicky now. I can't put my finger on exactly why I'm frazzled though. I think a lot of it has to do with the uncertainty surrounding the next few weeks as I still haven't quite figured how much time I should take off from wrk. I have heard of people going back to work after two weeks and I think I'll be able to do that but only time will tell. My biggest issue is that I'm paid based on the hours I worked, meaning that the more time I take off work the more broke I'll be. :S I also need to make sure that I don't run into problems by taking two weeks off my work for housing program. I signed up to assist in one of the dorms on campus in exchange for free housing, which is a program my school offers during the summer every year. The problem is that I signed on to work from May til the end of July and this surgery will take me out of commission for half of July. Hopefully I can work something out so I don't end up paying for housing cuz that would suck! Will definitely be praying HARD that everything works out! 3 weeks away and so much to do! Rana

Intro

Hey there :)

For those of you who read my other blog feel free to skip past this intro. For the newcomers, I am a twenty something, med school bound, young woman from Trinidad and Tobago who has had her teeth caged up for the last 3 and a half years.

I blame all my current teeth/jaw issues on my thumb sucking habit, which means that no child of mine will EVER be allowed to suck their fingers. EVER! But I digress...

A few years ago when I initially went for a orthodontic consult back home I was informed that because I sucked my thumb for so long, and waited until I was older (17) to try to correct my bite that my jaw development and face shape had also been affected. It wasn't until a year later when I got my consult at my current ortho clinic that I was told that all this could be fixed, but I would need to have jaw surgery.

I have felt self conscious about my teeth, my bite and my side profile!!!! for most of my life, so I agreed to jaw surgery. I was taken on as a teaching case (otherwise I would not have been able to afford the surgery) and became all too familiar with terms like figure 8, lig tie and powerchain. I swear, if someone had told me that it would've taken all this time and pain to fix my teeth, that would have been more effective than half the other nonsense my family tried to get me to lay off my thumb.

My surgery was initially tentatively scheduled for the end of July, but was then pushed up to the end of June because I need to work with the schedule of my ortho clinic. I am slightly panicked (I'll explain why in my next post) but just have to keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it in the end. I will say this though, after spending all this money on this mouth of mine I will be Cheshire Cat Grinning nonstop after I get these braces off, I'm talking walking around looking like a crazy person cuz I'll be smiling all day lol.

Til next time,
Rana