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 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'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"... 😒