Here we are, one year later. I keep having random thoughts like "at this time a year ago, I was still banded shut and couldn't eat anything solid" or "I can't believe I went through all of this and it didn't even feel like that big of a deal back then."
I'm so happy and relieved that it's over, but it was also not as bad as I thought it would be. Your mind is a very strong, flexible thing. After a few days in a tough situation, it'll adjust and you'll go through the hard times like it's no big deal. So don't worry. You've got this. It won't be as hard as you think.
Here are my last tips & tricks if you're about to undergo jaw surgery. I feel like these were the most important, and I've probably repeated some of them a million times, but I believe that you need to hear them again and again and again.
So here goes:
1. EAT.
This was the biggest obstacle to my recovery at first. I thought that my body would adjust to not eating much for the first week, but it didn't. I needed food but I wasn't hungry, and I didn't have the reflex to force-feed myself. I kept getting symptoms of low-blood sugar and generally feeling weak and very faint. Once I got a minimum of 2000 calories a day in my belly, I started feeling so much better. So if you're struggling, force yourself to eat. Get your surgeon to prescribe anti-nausea meds, work through the mental block of "I'm not hungry/I'm nauseated," and get food in your mouth. Try Ensure, Jamba Juice, Soylent, yogurt drinks. I know it's hard, and it takes forever to get that food behind your teeth, but you need to do it. Eat no matter what. And of course, keep yourself hydrated at all time as well.
2. SLEEP.
Sleeping is hard after the surgery. Don't be surprised if your body just refuses to go into deep sleep for the first few days. It happened to me, and it was very unpleasant and trippy. I had vivid, super weird "surface" dreams. It'll get better, don't worry. But make sure that you have a comfortable place to sleep. I had a shitty wedge pillow that wasn't really a wedge, and I regretted it. Get yourself a good, legit wedge pillow made of hard-ish foam. Make sure that it will retain its shape. Get yourself a humidifier and turn it on every night. Get yourself a jaw bra so that you can keep ice packs around your jaw at night to prevent your face from getting overheated on the first few days, and warm packs to relax your muscles later on. Get yourself something to calm you down while you try to fall asleep, whether it's your favorite TV shows (mine were Friends, How I Met Your Mother and Happy Endings), some calming music or even guided meditation. Sleeping will help you heal and feel better faster, so it's better to over-prepare yourself by getting extra stuff you may not need than not having them and regretting it (like I did).
3. DON'T RUSH IT.
Take at LEAST three weeks off work/school/whatever, if not a month. The brain fog was horrendous for the first two weeks; there is no way I could have accomplished any work. I started feeling like a semi-normal human being by week three, but even then, I tired easily. I wish I had taken four weeks because I definitely could have used the extra sleep. Week 3-4 is when I could sleep better, and that's when you can finally catch up by taking naps. Obviously, everyone is different, but if you can afford it, take a month off. If you feel completely back to normal by week 3, good for you! Use that time to do something for yourself for once.
4. KEEP IT CLEAN.
You won't be able to brush your teeth for a while. I mean, yeah, after a week or so you can brush a few of them with a baby toothbrush (if your surgeon says it's OK), but it'll still be too big to fit between your swollen inner cheeks and your teeth, and it'll hurt. Also, the inside of your teeth will be inaccessible for WEEKS. So do yourself a favor and get a Waterpik (#notsponsored). But be very careful with it; always keep it at the lowest setting and make sure to aim the spout towards your teeth, NOT your cheek (where the stitches will be). I'm convinced the Waterpik saved my teeth. Also, try to get some interdental brushes. Once you can open your mouth by like one millimeter, you can use them to scrape some of the gunk from your inner teeth until you can fit a toothbrush in there.
5. BE PATIENT.
This is the most important tip I can give you. Be patient with your body and your mind. You will most likely hate your face at first, but be patient. The swelling will take forever to go away. You may think it's gone, but it's not. It took me 7 months to like my face. Everything will seem bigger/uglier in the mirror just because you're not used to it. Trust me, your nose/chin/whatever is not that big. It's all in your head. Just be patient. You will also want to go back to your normal life after a week of bed rest, but be patient. Give yourself some time to recuperate. Take naps if you feel tired. Take the time to care for yourself. You will also absolutely want to start chewing food before your surgeon gives you the OK, but be patient. Don't risk it, it's not worth it. Sooner than you think, it'll be a year later, and a few extra weeks of liquid diet will be a blip in your timeline in retrospect. You will be frustrated when you start chewing, too. You'll think you'll never be able to chew normally again. You'll be angry at your tongue for not knowing what to do anymore. But be patient. It'll come back to you. Your muscles will adapt and figure it out. Almost everything you are frustrated about just takes time, so being patient is the key to getting through this surgery.
Good luck on your journey, and please never hesitate to leave a comment if you have any questions or concerns!
Friday, December 15, 2017
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Updates on Random Issues
Once again, I wrote such a long post last time that I had to break up my thoughts into three posts. Sorry about that! I swear if you read all my posts without quickly scanning through them, you are a saint and the reason why I write so much 😅. I know I was starved for any detail before my surgery.
But anyway, I just thought I would update you on a few random issues I brought up in my posts over the year but never quite addressed fully later on, just in case you're interested (you can scan quickly through this post, I won't hold it against you).
But anyway, I just thought I would update you on a few random issues I brought up in my posts over the year but never quite addressed fully later on, just in case you're interested (you can scan quickly through this post, I won't hold it against you).
- Gum recession. The recession at the back of my front lower teeth never got worse. I saw a periodontist and he said it was definitely not a big deal and no grafting would be necessary. Just to remind you guys, the orthodontist had recommended a costly gum graft before the surgery to avoid the risk of gum recession, but I declined because I could not find information about such an intensive gum graft for preventive reasons. I'm glad I did, but maybe I tempted fate and got lucky? I do have a little more recession on the upper molars, but nothing dramatic.
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| The recession looks exactly the same today. |
- Pimples/oiliness. I had a major case of oily skin and oily hair that eventually developed into Pimpleland on my face for MONTHS, but it eventually cleared up completely. The oiliness went away fairly fast, I would say in the first 3 months, but the acne stuck around for longer than I expected. I'd say it was completely gone by month 5. Don't despair if you're struggling with acne for so long; I'm 100% sure it was related to the surgery in my case, and it did go away and didn't come back.
- Nighttime slack-jaw. I mentioned before that when I fall asleep, my jaw has a tendency to open up super wide. I'm happy to report that this has improved a lot since month 10! I still sometimes sleep with my mouth open according to my husband, but not as wide, and I don't breathe through my mouth. I asked the surgeon about it and he said it's completely normal. Everyone's jaw slacks open when they're in deep sleep. So there you go!
- Pain when pressing on a specific spot on my right bottom jaw. This never went away. The surgeon thought it was a knot in my muscle, and maybe it is, but it's still there. There is no bump or anything weird in that spot, it just hurts when I place a finger there and push. It's not an issue though, and hasn't gotten worse, so I'm just going to chalk it up to a quirk. It only ever hurts when I press there, and I never need to press there, so I just... don't?
- Nighttime slack-jaw. I mentioned before that when I fall asleep, my jaw has a tendency to open up super wide. I'm happy to report that this has improved a lot since month 10! I still sometimes sleep with my mouth open according to my husband, but not as wide, and I don't breathe through my mouth. I asked the surgeon about it and he said it's completely normal. Everyone's jaw slacks open when they're in deep sleep. So there you go!
- Pain when pressing on a specific spot on my right bottom jaw. This never went away. The surgeon thought it was a knot in my muscle, and maybe it is, but it's still there. There is no bump or anything weird in that spot, it just hurts when I place a finger there and push. It's not an issue though, and hasn't gotten worse, so I'm just going to chalk it up to a quirk. It only ever hurts when I press there, and I never need to press there, so I just... don't?
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| The spot. |
- Lisp. That's pretty much gone. My tongue is finally used to my new mouth!
- New glasses. I finally did get new frames, and it's a totally different shape to what I would normally buy pre-surgery. I've gotten tons of compliments on them, so it must mean that they fit my new face! Although to be fair, I first bought a pair with very round lenses, and it DID NOT fit my face at all. I was thankfully able to switch frames, and went with a subtle cat-eye, but still much bigger than I'm used to. I love them!
- Salivary stone. Thankfully, I did not have any other salivary stone since that one occurrence during month 5. I recently started getting a weird cramping feeling near the left ear whenever I put food in my mouth for the first time after a few hours without any food. It's very similar to when I eat something sour, but only on the left and even if the food is not sour. It's been happening for three months now and it does it every time, but it only lasts a split second and goes away. At first, I thought it was another salivary stone, but nothing came of it. I asked my dentist and the surgeon, and they both have no idea what it is, but they don't think it's anything bad or a salivary stone so... good? I'm used to it now and barely notice it. Not a big deal!
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| I chose these; it's the Scarla model from Oliver Peoples. |
- Bite. My bite is "perfect" in theory, but my teeth haven't settled completely yet. I would say almost all of my teeth are touching on the right, but on the left, only two or three teeth are touching near the front. I feel like this could be one of the reasons why my left joint is so unhappy, but my surgeon doesn't seem convinced it is. I just stopped wearing my retainer during the day (I only wear it at night). I'm hoping it'll help my teeth settle in a natural position, as the retainer forces my bite into a weird position because it's so thick. I might also have to visit the dentist because I think one of the teeth that touches is the brand new filling I recently got, so maybe it's just a bit too high and it needs to be adjusted. I couldn't tell when the dentist did it because of the retainer, but now is a great time to fix it.
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| My upper retainer. |
- Palate bump. This hasn't gone away and even grew a little more. Before I stopped wearing my retainer during the day, it was starting to hurt again. I saw my dentist and he thinks it's an exostosis, which is the formation of extra bone material on top of the bone. He said it can sometimes happen with trauma or irritation, so we're pretty sure it's from the upper retainer. My dentist wondered why the retainer was so thick and so high, so it seems like it's not normally like that. We're guessing the retainer put too much pressure on my healing bone, and to protect itself, it just grew a bit more bone in that spot. However, I also asked my surgeon, who seems to think it's just tissue irritation and not bone, but also believes it's from the retainer. We'll see if it goes away after months of only wearing the retainer at night.
- Bone "dents". The notches are still there. The bone filled up completely on the side, but there is still that small dent when I pull the skin tight underneath or feel it with my fingers. Not a big deal and nothing to worry about; just thought I'd mention it!
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| Bone dent. |
So that's it for the random updates! Let me know in the comments if there's anything else I brought up that I never resolved.
I have one more post prepared, which will be my last tips & tricks for those of you about to undertake this journey. I'll for sure update you on the status of my left joint as well, but I don't know when that will be. Probably a couple of months at least.
Friday, December 8, 2017
One Year Later
Last week marked the one-year anniversary of my double jaw surgery and septoplasty. I can't believe it's been that long, but I also can't believe it hasn't been seven years because it simultaneously feels like it happened yesterday but it's been ages. I feel like I've said this a million times before, but it's hard to explain!
I've also prepared two other separate posts, one updating you on random issues that I brought up but never resolved, and one giving you my last tips & tricks if you're about to have jaw surgery. They should be posted within the next week.
I just have so much to say every time, even though "not much has happened"... 😒
I really wanted to write a post on the day of my surgery, but I had my one-year checkup with the surgeon today, and I had a bunch of questions to ask him that I thought would be important to include in this update, so I decided to wait.
I did, however, spent the evening on the 1-year mark reading through the first 30 days of my blog, and oh my god, there were so many typos and nonsensical sentences. I still haven't fixed them because I was reading the blog on my phone at night and couldn't be bothered to log in and take care of it, but I will fix them soon. I know I can blame the surgery brain fog for the first like 20 days, but after that, it's just laziness and not reading back what I wrote before posting it. I'm sure I'll find plenty of mistakes in my monthly updates too (and in this one...).
But let's get on with the update, shall we?
Sleep apnea
The reason why I had this surgery was primarily for sleep apnea. I can happily say that it has been a success! I'm sleeping through the night without waking up, I don't need one or two naps a day to function and I no longer wake up gasping for air. I can't say that I'm 100% back to normal fatigue-wise, but I suspect there is something else at play. I mentioned before that I was trying to get my ferritin, which is my storage of iron, up to a level of 50 ng/mL or more, but I can't seem to achieve it and I'm having lots of problems with the iron supplements causing me digestive issues. Still working on that, but that's a whole other issue unrelated to the surgery at this point.
Numbness
A lot of surgeons or websites will tell you that whatever sensitivity you have at the 6-month mark is what you'll be stuck with, but I disagree completely. Just in the past 2 months, I have seen a difference in the patch of numbness on the left side of my lower lip and chin. I would say the feeling is now at 85%, and I'm confident that it will keep getting better. My own surgeon said it could take years, so don't despair too much at the 6-month mark if you're still in the pins and needle stage. Of course, I'm only speaking from my experience, and if you have absolutely no feeling after 6 months, it's probably a different story.
Joint pain
This is the "bummer" part of my recovery, to be perfectly honest. I've struggled with joint pain, spasms, popping, grinding since the beginning of my recovery, and it's been very up and down. Sadly, even though it got better after removing the rubber bands, my left joint has gotten way worse over the past 2 months now that I'm braces free. I was wondering if it's because I'm wearing my retainer 24/7 (only one more week before I can wear it only at night), but my surgeon doesn't seem convinced. He said today that sometimes the cartilage and bones in the joint can rub against each other and cause inflammation, which will then cause pain. He explained that it was similar to a knee injury, and he thinks that if I take ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation, as well as chew softer foods for a while, it will help. We'll be trying that for 3 weeks, and if it seems to work, he might keep me on it for a little while longer. If not, he said we would have to do an injection directly in the joint (*shudder*) to reduce the inflammation locally. I'm seeing him again after the holidays for a follow-up on how that regimen works out. I'm a little weary of it though because I know ibuprofen is hard on the stomach, and he wants me to take 600 mg every 6-8 hours, which is quite a lot. I also tend to have a sensitive stomach to begin with. Hopefully I won't be spending the holidays with stomach pain and nausea. But if it works and it heals my joint for good, it'll be worth it.
I asked the surgeon what was the risk of this becoming a permanent issue, and he said that there was a study done in Japan where they treated half of a big pool of women with TMJ, and didn't treat the other half at all, and apparently even the women who did not receive treatment got better within a year or two. He seems to think that this is temporary and that if we treat it like an injury, it will heal itself. I'm hoping he's right, and I will follow his instructions to fix it.
Another thing I discussed with my surgeon is the laugh lines. I've mentioned it a lot in the past, and I was always hoping they'd go away as the months progressed, but sadly they haven't. Both the surgeon and my husband think I'm making a big deal out of it and it's not very apparent. I think they make me look old when my face is at rest, but I also don't think I want to do any fillers or plastic surgery. For now, I decided to let it go and live with it, but it definitely bothers me. I know I had them before the surgery, but they have significantly deepened. Whether or not it makes me look older/less attractive is up for debate, but in my mind it does. Hopefully I will get over it at some point.
Obviously, with any big surgery like this, you always end up with pros and cons, either as imminent risks during the surgery, or lasting effects after the surgery. Here's a list of my current pros and cons:
Pros
- No more sleep apnea; less fatigue
- Bigger airway; easier to breathe
- Better-looking profile
- Better-looking smile; less gummy
Cons
- Jaw joint pain, grinding, popping; possible worsening of TMJ
- Deeper laugh lines
If I end up with permanent jaw joint pain or if it gets even worse, honestly, I probably will regret the surgery. I would rather be tired than in pain. For now, the pain isn't constant; it's only when I move my jaw, so it's not SO bad. I'll keep you guys updated as the situation progresses.
I'm kind of ending on a depressing note for my one-year anniversary post; my apologies! I want to reiterate that I absolutely love my smile and my profile. I think I look overall much better than before, and, of course, the sleep apnea is gone, which is amazing! But I always strive to be honest on this blog, so I had to bring up the jaw pain and the laugh lines.
I'm kind of ending on a depressing note for my one-year anniversary post; my apologies! I want to reiterate that I absolutely love my smile and my profile. I think I look overall much better than before, and, of course, the sleep apnea is gone, which is amazing! But I always strive to be honest on this blog, so I had to bring up the jaw pain and the laugh lines.
I've also prepared two other separate posts, one updating you on random issues that I brought up but never resolved, and one giving you my last tips & tricks if you're about to have jaw surgery. They should be posted within the next week.
I just have so much to say every time, even though "not much has happened"... 😒
Friday, September 29, 2017
Month 10
Since my debracing post was pretty long, I figured I'd give you an overall update in a separate post. The last five months were fairly uneventful save for the debracing, but I did have a few things I wanted to mention.
Swelling
Around the 7-month mark, my features started looking sharper, as if another chunk of swelling disappeared rapidly. My chin and jaw are more defined now, and my face looks slimmer. I just look like a better version of my old self, not an entirely different person anymore.
Maybe you won't see it in the pictures, but I definitely noticed a difference. However, sometimes I wonder if it's just the way I saw myself that changed. When I look at my nose now, I can't believe I thought it looked massive after the surgery. Even when I look at old pictures from day 3-5, I still don't understand why I thought it was so big. It's incredible how much your brain can affect the perception you have of your appearance. This is some real body dysmorphia if you ask me. I distinctly remember seeing my nose twice as big as it really was.
So if there's anything to take away from this, and I know I've mentioned it in other posts but this is very important: you need to be patient. It took me SEVEN months to like my face and see it as it really was. And even now, when I see myself in video clips (which I rarely take), I hate the way I speak and the way my face moves. I now know that it's probably because I have to get used to it, so I don't worry about it. Give yourself time. A LOT of time. Don't make any judgment on your face until you've seen it under all angles for months and months. Trust me on this one!
Joint cracking
The joint cracking and soreness/pain that started after surgery has gotten better over time, but it's still happening even after 10 months. However, it's very inconsistent now. Certain days, everything is fine, and others I can barely open my mouth more than two fingers wide (I can usually do three fingers now) without one side hurting too much. Usually it's linked to something I ate that was too hard. However, towards the end of my brace treatment, my orthodontist instructed me to wear rubber bands 24/7. During that time, my joints were doing really poorly. They kept cracking and popping every time I bit into something, no matter how soft, almost as if they were popping out of the joint. It felt awful. Not really painful, although sometimes it did hurt, but the feeling was just... ugh. Like nails on a chalkboard. My joints just felt unstable and I was afraid of eating.
I got really scared and googled it, which plunged me into a spiral of anxiety because I thought I was getting condylar resorption post-surgery. So I went to see my surgeon, who said I most likely did not have condylar resorption, and told me to give it a bit more time and see how I feel when the braces are off. He said it might be a worsening of my TMJ, but it was too early to tell, and if it were, I would just have to wear a splint at night. He said it was normal to have cracking and popping, but it should be getting better, not worse.
The good news is that it got WAY better once I started wearing the rubber bands only at night. Now that my braces are off, I still get some popping, but a lot less. My left joint is stiffer and sometimes hurt, but it's back to being inconsistent. I do feel like it's getting better, and I attribute some of it to eating harder food now that I can. I'm going to give it a few months and see if it gets better and better. I'm hoping it's just part of the healing process and not TMJ, because that would suck. However, I knew it was part of the risks of the surgery, so if it is TMJ, we'll deal with it when the time comes.
Nighttime slack-jaw
One of the most annoying things in the last five months was that every single night, when I'd fall asleep, my mouth would hang WIDE open. Like three-fingers-wide open! I have no idea why. This started happening after I stopped wearing rubber bands at night, and it was driving me crazy. I could feel my bottom jaw relax and slide waaay down while I drifted off to sleep. And I wasn't even breathing through my mouth! Thankfully, after the second round of rubber bands, it seemed to have gotten better. It still happens sometimes, but it's not quite as wide. I did make a conscious effort to keep it closed whenever I would wake up slightly in-between sleeping stages, so maybe that did the trick. I thought I'd mention it because I looked it up online and no one ever said anything about this 😅.
Numbness
Sadly, my numbness is still there. I swear it's better though, but honestly it's so hard to tell at this point. I would say the feeling is back to about 80%. I feel pressure, temperatures, light touch and everything, but it's still not "full," and there's still a slight tingle whenever there's anything touching the area. I only notice it when I think about it. It definitely feels stiffer than the rest of my face, but I know it's not. I have a full range of motions, it's just the feeling that seems "stiff." At this point, I'd be fine with it staying the same. It's not a bother AT ALL, except if I have crumbs or maybe a little bit of water dripping that I can't quite feel. However, I heard that nerves can still repair themselves years later, so maybe things will be different in a couple of years.
Diet
I got my braces off about two weeks ago, and since then, I've been eating increasingly hard things, including almonds, hard candies, popcorn, etc. As I mentioned earlier, this seemed to increase some of the joint aches and pops, but it's getting slightly better. I'm still a little wary of it because whenever I bite something hard, the popping/instability is worse, as if I'm not biting down correctly. I try to readjust my bite to see if I can position my bottom jaw a little more towards the back, but it doesn't seem to help. I think I just need practice. I remember three months ago I couldn't even take a bite of a sandwich and it felt like I never could again, but now I have no problem with it. So I'm not too worried about it for now (or at least I'm trying not to). I'll keep on eating harder stuff and reassess in a few months!
So that's it for the 10-month update! It took so long to get my braces off that now the 1-year mark is super close. I'll still write a small update because it's a big milestone, but I'm assuming not much will change until then 😅.
See you then!
Swelling
Around the 7-month mark, my features started looking sharper, as if another chunk of swelling disappeared rapidly. My chin and jaw are more defined now, and my face looks slimmer. I just look like a better version of my old self, not an entirely different person anymore.
So if there's anything to take away from this, and I know I've mentioned it in other posts but this is very important: you need to be patient. It took me SEVEN months to like my face and see it as it really was. And even now, when I see myself in video clips (which I rarely take), I hate the way I speak and the way my face moves. I now know that it's probably because I have to get used to it, so I don't worry about it. Give yourself time. A LOT of time. Don't make any judgment on your face until you've seen it under all angles for months and months. Trust me on this one!
Joint cracking
The joint cracking and soreness/pain that started after surgery has gotten better over time, but it's still happening even after 10 months. However, it's very inconsistent now. Certain days, everything is fine, and others I can barely open my mouth more than two fingers wide (I can usually do three fingers now) without one side hurting too much. Usually it's linked to something I ate that was too hard. However, towards the end of my brace treatment, my orthodontist instructed me to wear rubber bands 24/7. During that time, my joints were doing really poorly. They kept cracking and popping every time I bit into something, no matter how soft, almost as if they were popping out of the joint. It felt awful. Not really painful, although sometimes it did hurt, but the feeling was just... ugh. Like nails on a chalkboard. My joints just felt unstable and I was afraid of eating.
I got really scared and googled it, which plunged me into a spiral of anxiety because I thought I was getting condylar resorption post-surgery. So I went to see my surgeon, who said I most likely did not have condylar resorption, and told me to give it a bit more time and see how I feel when the braces are off. He said it might be a worsening of my TMJ, but it was too early to tell, and if it were, I would just have to wear a splint at night. He said it was normal to have cracking and popping, but it should be getting better, not worse.
The good news is that it got WAY better once I started wearing the rubber bands only at night. Now that my braces are off, I still get some popping, but a lot less. My left joint is stiffer and sometimes hurt, but it's back to being inconsistent. I do feel like it's getting better, and I attribute some of it to eating harder food now that I can. I'm going to give it a few months and see if it gets better and better. I'm hoping it's just part of the healing process and not TMJ, because that would suck. However, I knew it was part of the risks of the surgery, so if it is TMJ, we'll deal with it when the time comes.
Nighttime slack-jaw
One of the most annoying things in the last five months was that every single night, when I'd fall asleep, my mouth would hang WIDE open. Like three-fingers-wide open! I have no idea why. This started happening after I stopped wearing rubber bands at night, and it was driving me crazy. I could feel my bottom jaw relax and slide waaay down while I drifted off to sleep. And I wasn't even breathing through my mouth! Thankfully, after the second round of rubber bands, it seemed to have gotten better. It still happens sometimes, but it's not quite as wide. I did make a conscious effort to keep it closed whenever I would wake up slightly in-between sleeping stages, so maybe that did the trick. I thought I'd mention it because I looked it up online and no one ever said anything about this 😅.
Numbness
Sadly, my numbness is still there. I swear it's better though, but honestly it's so hard to tell at this point. I would say the feeling is back to about 80%. I feel pressure, temperatures, light touch and everything, but it's still not "full," and there's still a slight tingle whenever there's anything touching the area. I only notice it when I think about it. It definitely feels stiffer than the rest of my face, but I know it's not. I have a full range of motions, it's just the feeling that seems "stiff." At this point, I'd be fine with it staying the same. It's not a bother AT ALL, except if I have crumbs or maybe a little bit of water dripping that I can't quite feel. However, I heard that nerves can still repair themselves years later, so maybe things will be different in a couple of years.
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| Slightly numb area in red. |
I got my braces off about two weeks ago, and since then, I've been eating increasingly hard things, including almonds, hard candies, popcorn, etc. As I mentioned earlier, this seemed to increase some of the joint aches and pops, but it's getting slightly better. I'm still a little wary of it because whenever I bite something hard, the popping/instability is worse, as if I'm not biting down correctly. I try to readjust my bite to see if I can position my bottom jaw a little more towards the back, but it doesn't seem to help. I think I just need practice. I remember three months ago I couldn't even take a bite of a sandwich and it felt like I never could again, but now I have no problem with it. So I'm not too worried about it for now (or at least I'm trying not to). I'll keep on eating harder stuff and reassess in a few months!
So that's it for the 10-month update! It took so long to get my braces off that now the 1-year mark is super close. I'll still write a small update because it's a big milestone, but I'm assuming not much will change until then 😅.
See you then!
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Debracing
GUYS!
I FINALLY GOT MY BRACES OFF! You would not believe the JOY it brings.
This is actually the second debracing of my adult life, but the ecstasy of getting this metal prison out of my mouth was just as strong as the first time.
The appointment lasted two hours, but getting the brackets and the rings off only took about five minutes. It didn't really hurt; they just snapped off easily. The assistant then spent some time crafting a little metal bar to fit at the back of my bottom teeth, from canine to canine, and glued it on.
After that, the orthodontist sanded off the chunks of glue remaining on my teeth, and his assistant polished off the rest, cleaning any stains on my teeth that were previously unreachable because of the brackets. Once this was done, I brushed my teeth and spent the next ten minutes running my tongue on my smooth, slimy teeth and looking at my new smile in the handheld mirror they gave me.
They then took an impression of my upper teeth to create the retainer that I would pick up a week later, did some X-rays and took the "after" photos. I was supposed to get an impression of my bottom teeth as well, but unfortunately, an old filling chipped off and I need to get it fixed before they take the impression.
I'm incredibly happy with how my teeth look. My smile is so perfect that it looks almost fake (in a good way)!
I had one week of complete mouth freedom until I had to pick up the upper retainer, and I now have to wear it 24/7 for the next three months—a small price to pay for a nice smile. After that, I will only have to wear it at night.
I did have three "problems" after the debracing:
1. The aforementioned chipped filling. It happened a week before I got the braces off, but everyone decided it would be better to wait until debracing to fix it. However, since I'm getting it fixed in gold so that I don't have to ever redo that filling again, it'll take two different appointments with two weeks in-between, which means my orthodontist won't be able to take the bottom teeth impression for another three weeks. He didn't seem too worried about it, which is good, but I'm actually wondering why I even need a bottom retainer. I have the metal bar after all, so why would I need a full retainer? I forgot to ask him about it... [Edit from the future: It's to keep the molars from moving.]
I had the first appointment at my dentist and let me tell you, it was not fun. I'm already really anxious about fillings because I don't numb well, and the anesthetic makes me shake (thanks a lot, adrenaline). They usually have to give me 2-3 needles of it, which means I'm shaking and feeling dizzy/anxious for quite a while. And they won't give it to me in one go; they have to test it in between, which means I feel the pain and have to ask them to stop. Ugh. I hate it. Luckily, the filling wasn't very deep so one needle was enough this time!
However, my jaw was VERY unhappy about the whole thing. The dentist used the smallest rubber thingy that keeps your mouth open, but my joints were killing me about two minutes in. I was worried that my mouth would be locked in that position, but I didn't want to say anything until the procedure was done just in case. I'd rather not panic until it's over! It did get extremely stiff, and I needed a few minutes to "reset" my jaw whenever the dentist asked me to close my mouth towards the end, but it didn't lock. My jaw was sore all day after that, and the day after.
I'm really hoping this is not a sign that I have TMJ. I've been having some jaw pains/pops/cracks for the past month; I'll talk about it a bit more in the next post I'm planning to publish soon. I'm definitely not looking forward to the second appointment where they'll be replacing the temporary filling with the gold onlay, but if that means I won't have to replace that filling ever again, I'm all for it.
2. After wearing the upper retainer for about two days, I started getting pain on the left side of my palate, above my molar. I tried to figure out if there was anything sticking out on the plastic part of the retainer, but it seemed completely smooth. I touched the area a few times with my tongue and my finger, looked in the mirror, but other than some redness, I couldn't see anything. I decided to wait a few days in case I just needed to get used to the retainer, but after three days, the pain had gotten worse, and a small bump appeared. It was super hard, kinda like bone, so I went to see my orthodontist. He said he didn't know what it was. He sanded down the retainer so that it would stop touching it, which completely fixed the pain. He did mention that irritation sometimes happens with new retainers, but when I pointed out that it was hard as bone, he touched it again and seemed perplexed.
He wants me to wait a week and see if it goes away, then check with the surgeon just to be sure. He doesn't think it's anything to worry about, and I don't think it is either, but it's just weird. It's been over a week now and it's still there, so I'll be making an appointment with the surgeon soon.
Not to gross anyone out, but I keep wondering if it's a small shard of bone that's making its way out? Maybe a screw, but it doesn't make sense that it's on the inside, right? It might be just the bones settling after the braces are off, but it just seems so odd. The orthodontist said the surgeon could "open it up" to see what it is, which makes me NOT want to go to my surgeon... But I also want to make sure it's nothing bad.
3. This isn't really a "problem" but more of a concern that I had addressed by my orthodontist, so I thought I'd mention it for those of you going through it as well. Before debracing, my molars still weren't touching. I was concerned that we'd debrace and get retainers that would hold a bad bite, but my orthodontist assured me that the teeth would still settle because I'd eventually only wear the retainer at night, and you'd need to wear it for at least 18 hours a day to get full teeth movements. So basically, my molars should shift up and down to meet each other, and the retainers won't undo the settling once I wear the retainer at night. I find this very odd but I trust him, so we'll see!
Also, the upper retainer messed up my bite at the front as well, but the orthodontist assured me that it would get back to a good position eventually. Weird! He seems to be right about that, because it's been two weeks and it's already getting better.
Other than that, everything has been going on smoothly. I love that I can smile naturally without my lips getting stuck on my braces. I don't have sores from the brackets anymore and no longer need wax. Flossing is SO much easier! For the bottom teeth, I use a small interdental brush since I can't floss in-between anymore, and I'll still use my Waterpik every day to keep it extra clean.
I ended up wearing braces for a year and three months. And that's even though I had braces before, which means my teeth were already straight. I really thought I would get them off much sooner after the surgery, but the results are totally worth it!
If I'm completely honest though, I'm a bit disappointed with the lip incompetence at rest. It's much better than before, but I thought removing the braces would lower my upper lip a little bit more. It didn't at all. At first I thought my mouth at rest looked weird with the teeth showing, almost chipmunk-like, but I've gotten used to it now. The surgery wasn't done for aesthetic reasons, so I have to accept the fact that it didn't fix every single problem that I had. It did improve it a little bit, so I'm thankful for that.
Also, the laugh lines are still a little too deep for my liking. I haven't gone to the dermatologist because I'm afraid that they will tell me I'll need injections to fix it. I don't want to do that and I don't want to be tempted to do it either. Maybe it's another thing I'll need to get used to.
So there you have it, my thoughts on the whole debracing process and final results. I'll be posting a full 10 months update with comparison pictures soon, along with an updated Photos section. The next post after that should come at the 1-year mark!
I FINALLY GOT MY BRACES OFF! You would not believe the JOY it brings.
This is actually the second debracing of my adult life, but the ecstasy of getting this metal prison out of my mouth was just as strong as the first time.
The appointment lasted two hours, but getting the brackets and the rings off only took about five minutes. It didn't really hurt; they just snapped off easily. The assistant then spent some time crafting a little metal bar to fit at the back of my bottom teeth, from canine to canine, and glued it on.
After that, the orthodontist sanded off the chunks of glue remaining on my teeth, and his assistant polished off the rest, cleaning any stains on my teeth that were previously unreachable because of the brackets. Once this was done, I brushed my teeth and spent the next ten minutes running my tongue on my smooth, slimy teeth and looking at my new smile in the handheld mirror they gave me.
They then took an impression of my upper teeth to create the retainer that I would pick up a week later, did some X-rays and took the "after" photos. I was supposed to get an impression of my bottom teeth as well, but unfortunately, an old filling chipped off and I need to get it fixed before they take the impression.
I'm incredibly happy with how my teeth look. My smile is so perfect that it looks almost fake (in a good way)!
 |
| It looks like the lip incompetence is the same when I smile, but in the before pic, I'm actually fake smiling to keep my upper lip from going up too much, and in the after, I'm laughing from a joke the assistant told me right before taking the picture. |
I had one week of complete mouth freedom until I had to pick up the upper retainer, and I now have to wear it 24/7 for the next three months—a small price to pay for a nice smile. After that, I will only have to wear it at night.
 |
1. The aforementioned chipped filling. It happened a week before I got the braces off, but everyone decided it would be better to wait until debracing to fix it. However, since I'm getting it fixed in gold so that I don't have to ever redo that filling again, it'll take two different appointments with two weeks in-between, which means my orthodontist won't be able to take the bottom teeth impression for another three weeks. He didn't seem too worried about it, which is good, but I'm actually wondering why I even need a bottom retainer. I have the metal bar after all, so why would I need a full retainer? I forgot to ask him about it... [Edit from the future: It's to keep the molars from moving.]
I had the first appointment at my dentist and let me tell you, it was not fun. I'm already really anxious about fillings because I don't numb well, and the anesthetic makes me shake (thanks a lot, adrenaline). They usually have to give me 2-3 needles of it, which means I'm shaking and feeling dizzy/anxious for quite a while. And they won't give it to me in one go; they have to test it in between, which means I feel the pain and have to ask them to stop. Ugh. I hate it. Luckily, the filling wasn't very deep so one needle was enough this time!
However, my jaw was VERY unhappy about the whole thing. The dentist used the smallest rubber thingy that keeps your mouth open, but my joints were killing me about two minutes in. I was worried that my mouth would be locked in that position, but I didn't want to say anything until the procedure was done just in case. I'd rather not panic until it's over! It did get extremely stiff, and I needed a few minutes to "reset" my jaw whenever the dentist asked me to close my mouth towards the end, but it didn't lock. My jaw was sore all day after that, and the day after.
I'm really hoping this is not a sign that I have TMJ. I've been having some jaw pains/pops/cracks for the past month; I'll talk about it a bit more in the next post I'm planning to publish soon. I'm definitely not looking forward to the second appointment where they'll be replacing the temporary filling with the gold onlay, but if that means I won't have to replace that filling ever again, I'm all for it.
2. After wearing the upper retainer for about two days, I started getting pain on the left side of my palate, above my molar. I tried to figure out if there was anything sticking out on the plastic part of the retainer, but it seemed completely smooth. I touched the area a few times with my tongue and my finger, looked in the mirror, but other than some redness, I couldn't see anything. I decided to wait a few days in case I just needed to get used to the retainer, but after three days, the pain had gotten worse, and a small bump appeared. It was super hard, kinda like bone, so I went to see my orthodontist. He said he didn't know what it was. He sanded down the retainer so that it would stop touching it, which completely fixed the pain. He did mention that irritation sometimes happens with new retainers, but when I pointed out that it was hard as bone, he touched it again and seemed perplexed.
 |
| This is what the upper retainer looks like. |
Not to gross anyone out, but I keep wondering if it's a small shard of bone that's making its way out? Maybe a screw, but it doesn't make sense that it's on the inside, right? It might be just the bones settling after the braces are off, but it just seems so odd. The orthodontist said the surgeon could "open it up" to see what it is, which makes me NOT want to go to my surgeon... But I also want to make sure it's nothing bad.
3. This isn't really a "problem" but more of a concern that I had addressed by my orthodontist, so I thought I'd mention it for those of you going through it as well. Before debracing, my molars still weren't touching. I was concerned that we'd debrace and get retainers that would hold a bad bite, but my orthodontist assured me that the teeth would still settle because I'd eventually only wear the retainer at night, and you'd need to wear it for at least 18 hours a day to get full teeth movements. So basically, my molars should shift up and down to meet each other, and the retainers won't undo the settling once I wear the retainer at night. I find this very odd but I trust him, so we'll see!
Also, the upper retainer messed up my bite at the front as well, but the orthodontist assured me that it would get back to a good position eventually. Weird! He seems to be right about that, because it's been two weeks and it's already getting better.
Other than that, everything has been going on smoothly. I love that I can smile naturally without my lips getting stuck on my braces. I don't have sores from the brackets anymore and no longer need wax. Flossing is SO much easier! For the bottom teeth, I use a small interdental brush since I can't floss in-between anymore, and I'll still use my Waterpik every day to keep it extra clean.
 |
| These are the interdental brushes I use. |
If I'm completely honest though, I'm a bit disappointed with the lip incompetence at rest. It's much better than before, but I thought removing the braces would lower my upper lip a little bit more. It didn't at all. At first I thought my mouth at rest looked weird with the teeth showing, almost chipmunk-like, but I've gotten used to it now. The surgery wasn't done for aesthetic reasons, so I have to accept the fact that it didn't fix every single problem that I had. It did improve it a little bit, so I'm thankful for that.
Also, the laugh lines are still a little too deep for my liking. I haven't gone to the dermatologist because I'm afraid that they will tell me I'll need injections to fix it. I don't want to do that and I don't want to be tempted to do it either. Maybe it's another thing I'll need to get used to.
So there you have it, my thoughts on the whole debracing process and final results. I'll be posting a full 10 months update with comparison pictures soon, along with an updated Photos section. The next post after that should come at the 1-year mark!
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Month 5
Welcome to month 5!
This month, I saw my surgeon for what turned out to be the second to last time! He said everything was healing perfectly, and that he'd like to see me once the braces are off. I think he partly wants to see the finished product he's worked so hard to make 😉. I totally understand; I can't WAIT to see the finished product...
Here are current pictures. I've also updated the Photos section with comparisons.
Last month, I mentioned that I thought my jaw was slanted. I asked the surgeon, but he assured me that it was the teeth themselves, and not the jaw, that weren't yet settled in the correct position. He said the orthodontist would take care of that. He also said that it was totally normal for the jaw to open kinda janky and veer to one side. Apparently, even normal people who haven't gone through a jaw surgery have this, which made me feel relieved! So no need to panic, my jaw is not uneven. Yay!
I also asked him about the deepening laugh lines on either side of my mouth. He said he's surprised by this because if anything, they should lessen based on the jaw movement he did. He said there's a possibility that it's just remaining swelling, but I'm trying not to hope too much. I'm assuming that it will remain like this. However, he said the rest of the swelling would take 6 to 9 months to disappear, so I'll give myself another few months before I see a dermatologist and consider my options. I do feel like it's worse than before the surgery now, and I think it makes me look older. I don't like it at all. I'm still not open to fillers or some kind of face lift, but if we can treat it with laser or microdermabrasion, I'll try it out. Or maybe my skin just needs to tighten up after being so swollen? Who knows.
Also, the wrinkles around my eyes were much worse after the surgery, but it did improve over the months. It's still not back to what it was before though. Sometimes I wonder if surgery in general ages us. It is very taxing on the body after all.
I also had a really weird occurrence this month, which may or may not be linked to the surgery... I had a salivary stone?! I didn't even know it existed. I woke up one morning and the salivary gland under my jaw on the right was swollen and crampy. I also had what I thought was a pimple under my tongue. It felt hard and had a small white head. I figured maybe the small pimple was making my gland go nuts, so I washed my hands and squeezed it out. Immediately, the pain eased and after about an hour, my gland was back to normal size. I later searched online out of curiosity, and discovered that what I thought was a white head was actually a little stone poking out of my salivary duct and blocking it completely. I hope it was a one-time thing. I hear they can block much deeper in the duct and those are harder to deal with. I wonder if the surgery had something to do with it. Maybe something blocked my duct during surgery, allowing sediments to form? But the surgeon said it wasn't related. What a weird situation...
I also saw my orthodontist, who removed 8 brackets and repositioned them to straighten some roots. My bite was getting better, although I was still touching a lot more on the right than the left, but obviously after moving the brackets, everything is messed up again. I had pain when biting for about 3-4 days, so I reverted to a soft diet. It wasn't too bad though. I had some delicious Panera Bread mac & cheese.
I asked my orthodontist when he thinks I'll be done with braces, and he said 5 to 6 months. I don't know if you remember, but last month, he told me 4 to 5 months, and that was a month ago! I laughed and I told him what he'd said, and he kind of chuckled and admitted that it was hard to tell. It all depends on how fast my teeth move. If they move fast, he thinks we can halve that time. I've been told that my teeth move pretty fast (during this treatment and the first one when I was younger), so I'm hoping I still have only about 4 months left. Crossing fingers. I'm itching to see my teeth again, and I'm tired of taking 30 minutes every night to do my teeth cleaning routine. I can't wait to be free!
Oh, and I finally got to eat some of those Combos snacks I was craving on day 28!
They were actually not as amazing as I remembered somehow 😅.
Alright, let's get into the categories that still matter (I'm removing Swelling and Pain because they no longer apply):
Numbness
Still the same as last month. Actually, for the past few days, it almost feels like it's a bit stiffer than it used to? I don't know if it's because it's getting better and I'm just noticing a difference that I interpret as "stiffness". I have to say though, it's not really bothering me anymore. I can definitely feel everything, it's just not a "full" feeling, and it's accompanied by some tingling. It's mostly on the lip that it's noticeable. I don't care much about the chin.
Diet
I'm officially back to normal! I can eat whatever I want, except the normal stuff you can't have with braces such as almonds, hard candies, etc. It's getting easier and easier to chew. I still struggle a bit with thick chips but I can manage. I even ate a piece of bacon yesterday! It was hard, but I chewed through it. My joints sometimes "crunch" and stuff, but they don't hurt anymore at all.
I had some delicious Easter brunch with friends a few weeks ago, and it felt great not to have so many restrictions on what I could eat.
However, I didn't touch the bacon because I hadn't been given the go ahead yet.
Oh that reminds me, I've regained all of my mobility now! I can fit 3 fingers in my mouth passed the second knuckles! It seems to be the norm, at least that's how far my husband can fit 3 fingers, so I'm pretty happy with it. There's also no trouble with movements side to side or forward and backward.
Fatigue
Getting better! I had to stop the iron supplement for about 1.5 weeks though. I was getting some digestive troubles. I'm not testing the iron levels for another few weeks so I don't have much news on that front. I can feel a difference in my level of fatigue though, so I'm still very hopeful! I also feel like I have less brain fog, which was my biggest complaint. Still chugging along!
Since I won't be seeing the surgeon for a few months and nothing new is going on these past few posts, I've decided to update only when my braces come off, and then at the 1-year mark. I feel like I'm pretty much back to normal and change is extremely slow at this point.
I do want to go through all of my posts and make a list of problems/worries that I never addressed again in later posts, such as gum recession, oiliness, etc. I'll work on that and publish it in the next few weeks.
Other than that, I'll see you guys when I get my teeth out of prison! 😊
This month, I saw my surgeon for what turned out to be the second to last time! He said everything was healing perfectly, and that he'd like to see me once the braces are off. I think he partly wants to see the finished product he's worked so hard to make 😉. I totally understand; I can't WAIT to see the finished product...
Here are current pictures. I've also updated the Photos section with comparisons.
Last month, I mentioned that I thought my jaw was slanted. I asked the surgeon, but he assured me that it was the teeth themselves, and not the jaw, that weren't yet settled in the correct position. He said the orthodontist would take care of that. He also said that it was totally normal for the jaw to open kinda janky and veer to one side. Apparently, even normal people who haven't gone through a jaw surgery have this, which made me feel relieved! So no need to panic, my jaw is not uneven. Yay!
I also asked him about the deepening laugh lines on either side of my mouth. He said he's surprised by this because if anything, they should lessen based on the jaw movement he did. He said there's a possibility that it's just remaining swelling, but I'm trying not to hope too much. I'm assuming that it will remain like this. However, he said the rest of the swelling would take 6 to 9 months to disappear, so I'll give myself another few months before I see a dermatologist and consider my options. I do feel like it's worse than before the surgery now, and I think it makes me look older. I don't like it at all. I'm still not open to fillers or some kind of face lift, but if we can treat it with laser or microdermabrasion, I'll try it out. Or maybe my skin just needs to tighten up after being so swollen? Who knows.
Also, the wrinkles around my eyes were much worse after the surgery, but it did improve over the months. It's still not back to what it was before though. Sometimes I wonder if surgery in general ages us. It is very taxing on the body after all.
I also had a really weird occurrence this month, which may or may not be linked to the surgery... I had a salivary stone?! I didn't even know it existed. I woke up one morning and the salivary gland under my jaw on the right was swollen and crampy. I also had what I thought was a pimple under my tongue. It felt hard and had a small white head. I figured maybe the small pimple was making my gland go nuts, so I washed my hands and squeezed it out. Immediately, the pain eased and after about an hour, my gland was back to normal size. I later searched online out of curiosity, and discovered that what I thought was a white head was actually a little stone poking out of my salivary duct and blocking it completely. I hope it was a one-time thing. I hear they can block much deeper in the duct and those are harder to deal with. I wonder if the surgery had something to do with it. Maybe something blocked my duct during surgery, allowing sediments to form? But the surgeon said it wasn't related. What a weird situation...
I also saw my orthodontist, who removed 8 brackets and repositioned them to straighten some roots. My bite was getting better, although I was still touching a lot more on the right than the left, but obviously after moving the brackets, everything is messed up again. I had pain when biting for about 3-4 days, so I reverted to a soft diet. It wasn't too bad though. I had some delicious Panera Bread mac & cheese.
I asked my orthodontist when he thinks I'll be done with braces, and he said 5 to 6 months. I don't know if you remember, but last month, he told me 4 to 5 months, and that was a month ago! I laughed and I told him what he'd said, and he kind of chuckled and admitted that it was hard to tell. It all depends on how fast my teeth move. If they move fast, he thinks we can halve that time. I've been told that my teeth move pretty fast (during this treatment and the first one when I was younger), so I'm hoping I still have only about 4 months left. Crossing fingers. I'm itching to see my teeth again, and I'm tired of taking 30 minutes every night to do my teeth cleaning routine. I can't wait to be free!
Oh, and I finally got to eat some of those Combos snacks I was craving on day 28!
They were actually not as amazing as I remembered somehow 😅.
Alright, let's get into the categories that still matter (I'm removing Swelling and Pain because they no longer apply):
Numbness
Still the same as last month. Actually, for the past few days, it almost feels like it's a bit stiffer than it used to? I don't know if it's because it's getting better and I'm just noticing a difference that I interpret as "stiffness". I have to say though, it's not really bothering me anymore. I can definitely feel everything, it's just not a "full" feeling, and it's accompanied by some tingling. It's mostly on the lip that it's noticeable. I don't care much about the chin.
Diet
I'm officially back to normal! I can eat whatever I want, except the normal stuff you can't have with braces such as almonds, hard candies, etc. It's getting easier and easier to chew. I still struggle a bit with thick chips but I can manage. I even ate a piece of bacon yesterday! It was hard, but I chewed through it. My joints sometimes "crunch" and stuff, but they don't hurt anymore at all.
I had some delicious Easter brunch with friends a few weeks ago, and it felt great not to have so many restrictions on what I could eat.
However, I didn't touch the bacon because I hadn't been given the go ahead yet.
Oh that reminds me, I've regained all of my mobility now! I can fit 3 fingers in my mouth passed the second knuckles! It seems to be the norm, at least that's how far my husband can fit 3 fingers, so I'm pretty happy with it. There's also no trouble with movements side to side or forward and backward.
Fatigue
Getting better! I had to stop the iron supplement for about 1.5 weeks though. I was getting some digestive troubles. I'm not testing the iron levels for another few weeks so I don't have much news on that front. I can feel a difference in my level of fatigue though, so I'm still very hopeful! I also feel like I have less brain fog, which was my biggest complaint. Still chugging along!
Since I won't be seeing the surgeon for a few months and nothing new is going on these past few posts, I've decided to update only when my braces come off, and then at the 1-year mark. I feel like I'm pretty much back to normal and change is extremely slow at this point.
I do want to go through all of my posts and make a list of problems/worries that I never addressed again in later posts, such as gum recession, oiliness, etc. I'll work on that and publish it in the next few weeks.
Other than that, I'll see you guys when I get my teeth out of prison! 😊
Monday, April 3, 2017
Month 4
Hey everyone, it's been a while! However, this monthly-only update is a good idea because not much has happened since my last post.
I'm also having some difficulty with very thin or stringy foods, like celery, asparagus, oranges, etc. I think part of the issue is that my bite is still uneven. Most of the teeth on the right are touching, but almost none of the teeth on the left touch. Even the ones that are touching are quite uneven in how much they touch, so anything very thin and stringy just doesn't get grounded, and it's a real pain. Plus, they get stuck in the braces and uugh. I still eat oranges and clementines because I love them, but I've given up on the rest until my bite is fixed.
Let's see...
Pain
I haven't had any throbbing after eating in the last month, which is awesome. The only remaining slight pain is in my left joint when I open very wide, but it's not THAT painful. Otherwise, pain is gone! I might actually remove this section in my next update, as it's no longer necessary 😊.
Swelling
I think that at this point, the swelling is pretty much 95% gone. When I touch my face, I can feel bones right underneath, while before, I could feel a little cushion of swelling. I'm pretty happy with my face now! I'm finally used to it, to the point where old pictures now make me go, "hey, that's not me!" My profile is the thing I'm most happy about. To me, it's a huge difference (you can see an updated before and after here). I no longer feel self-conscious and ugly when people look at me from the side. I used to try to turn my head away from people when I could tell they were looking towards my profile. I still do it sometimes and then realize "hey, my profile is normal now, no need for that!" It feels great!
My smile is also MUCH improved, even if I still show a small amount of gum when laughing. My normal smile doesn't show much at all, which is better than what the surgeon had expected. The only issue I have with my appearance is the two lines on either side of my lips (I think it still counts as nasolabial folds/laugh lines, but it's only very visible at the corners of my mouth). I always had those, but I do feel like they are more apparent, maybe a little deeper. I'm wondering if the skin just needs to tighten back up after so much swelling, or if the movement of my jaw is what caused the deepening of those lines. I'm going to ask my surgeon, and probably go see a dermatologist at the 6-month mark or earlier. I wonder if I can just do some microdermabrasion or maybe a laser treatment. The lines seem kind of superficial to me, so if either of those treatments can take care of it, I'm all for it. I don't want to do any kind of injections or Botox or whatever though. I'll live with it if that's the only thing that can fix it.
 |
| A zoomed-in view of the lines at the corner of my mouth. |
Also, my acne has FINALLY resolved. I still have some faint scars from the last outbreak, but they are starting to fade, and I had no new eruption since. I do still get a few pimples here and there, but they are no longer very deep and painful. I'm back to normal! It did help a lot with feeling pretty again. Acne was definitely a factor in my struggle to love my face, so I'd say that if you have acne after the surgery (which is very common), remember that this also plays a role in accepting your new appearance in general. Just give it some time.
I haven't decided on frames for a new pair of glasses. I've been pretty busy and kept putting it off. I really need to get on that soon!
Numbness
Nerve regeneration has definitely improved over the last month! I now get the "normal" feeling when I touch any of the numb area. The only difference is that I also still get the tingling on top of it. I get some weird pinching feelings every once in a while too, probably signs of the nerves waking up even more. Very happy and relieved about this! I knew it would take long, but I didn't think it would be THAT slow. I'm 4 months in, and I'm guessing it'll still take a few more months before everything is back to 100% normal.
Diet
I continue to eat almost everything I want, and it's amazing. There are some things that are still out of the question like bacon, bagels, chewy candies, etc.
 |
| One of the delicious meals I can now eat. I wish I had more to show, but I was too busy scarfing down food to take pictures. |
Some of the stuff I don't even know will be a problem until it's in my mouth, and then I have to spit it out, but it's pretty rare. For example, I tried some seaweed salad, and I just could not for the life of me chew through it.
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| This, I could not chew through, no matter how hard I tried. |
I'm also having some difficulty with very thin or stringy foods, like celery, asparagus, oranges, etc. I think part of the issue is that my bite is still uneven. Most of the teeth on the right are touching, but almost none of the teeth on the left touch. Even the ones that are touching are quite uneven in how much they touch, so anything very thin and stringy just doesn't get grounded, and it's a real pain. Plus, they get stuck in the braces and uugh. I still eat oranges and clementines because I love them, but I've given up on the rest until my bite is fixed.
Speaking of bite, I'm starting to feel like my jaw is uneven. It's like the right side of the bottom jaw is higher than the left, which might explain why the teeth touch on the right but not the left. When I look in the mirror, I feel like I can tell that it's a bit slanted, and when I open my mouth, my jaw also veers to the left for some reason. I don't know if the two problems are related, or if my jaw even IS slanted. It's possible that the teeth themselves are just not at the same height for other reasons. I know the orthodontist said the teeth will settle, so maybe it's all a normal part of recovery, but I'll definitely ask next time I see him, and I'll ask the surgeon. As far as my jaw veering to the left when I open, I wonder if it's because my left joint is tight or something like that. I'll have to ask.
Also, I've been doing exercises to increase my jaw opening, but I'm stuck at three finger tips. I know three fingers is supposed to be normal, but I can tell I used to have a bigger opening. I'm having a hard time fitting sandwiches in my mouth and dealing with larger bites that need to be pushed around with the tongue (not enough space in my mouth sometimes). I'll ask my surgeon about that too. I've heard about using popsicle sticks to help; I'm wondering what he thinks of that method.
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| Sorry about the tea-stained teeth, but this is what I mean by "slanted lower jaw". This is mirrored, so the left side seems higher. |
Fatigue
It's getting better I think! My iron levels are finally back in the normal range, but still low, so we're going to keep supplementing iron until my ferritin reaches at least 50 ng/ml. I don't remember if I've talked about it in a previous blog post, but I found a couple of research where they showed that non-anemic women (i.e. with normal hemoglobin levels) that have levels of ferritin below 50 ng/ml who were given iron supplements for 6 weeks saw an improvement in their fatigue. To give you an idea, the "normal" range for ferritin is 24 to 336 ng/ml. This is a HUGE range. I've read tons of posts where women said that increasing their ferritin to above 50 ng/ml helped them considerably. It's such a simple fix that I don't see why I wouldn't at least try to get to that number and see how I feel. I've already noticed an improvement: I no longer need to take 1-2 naps a day, and I feel a little less foggy. I don't know if this is just because of normal progression in my healing and better sleep, or the iron, but I'll continue taking the iron anyway.
An important note: Don't jump into iron supplementing without consulting a doctor, because there is such a thing as iron overload and it's very bad for you. Make sure that you do this under the care of your doctor and that you check your levels regularly while you're taking the supplements.
EDIT: Forgot to add... The gaps in the middle of my bottom jaw are almost all filled in! It's so weird how quickly it happened. I kind of thought this would take a year at least. I still have dents on the underside like I showed off here, but the actual gaps on the sides are almost gone.
EDIT: Forgot to add... The gaps in the middle of my bottom jaw are almost all filled in! It's so weird how quickly it happened. I kind of thought this would take a year at least. I still have dents on the underside like I showed off here, but the actual gaps on the sides are almost gone.
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| These gaps. |
So that's it for this month! Well, I guess I had lots of tell after all... 😉
I'll see you guys at the 5-month mark!
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