Week 1 post op!! Here we go!

Monday morning 4 days post-op, I went to see Dr.G! He took a look here and there and was quite happy with my bite. He then proceeded to cut my elastics that were holding my jaw shut. *snip*..... *snip snip*....*snip*. You know how you wind up a jack in the box and at that final moment he springs up annoyingly to hit you in the face? Yes that happened, with the final snip of the elastics holding my jaws. The union between my upper and lower jaw split and my mouth felt like a bear trap. What the hell just happened?  Did my jaws snap back into their old place? Am I okay? My surgeon seemed to get a chuckle out of my confusion, and reassured me that nothing would happen to my jaw. He wanted me to practice open and closing for a few minutes, give my joints a break before cleaning more gunk out and rebanding me.

So over the last few days, I've been struggling with talking, specifically trying to get my mom to understand what I am saying. Unfortunately I've had to repeat myself 3-4 times and it turns out I've been overtalking and not drinking enough fluids. Wednesday morning I went back to see Dr.Arnett since I had this weird (to me at least) lump on my right jaw line that felt somewhat hard. At first thought it was an infection, but no pain or fever coincided with the bump. He looked around and said it was normal that my swelling what somewhat lopsided, swelling can subside or spring up unevenly. He also said that if I still felt uncomfortable to come back Friday to see him. I appreciate that he is taking good care of me even though he is not my surgeon.

Besides that nothing new has happened. I've been trying to take little walks in a garden nearby for 5-10 minutes. I get frustrated because I want to take long walks and do more than my body will allow me. For example I climbed a set of steps to get to this park nearby and felt my heart pounding out of my chest. I had to sit down for awhile and respect my body.
On the food front- I think I'm getting fed up with the liquid diet already... Unfortunately I have at least another 6 weeks of this to go! I really enjoy Gatorade, Izze fizzy drinks, grape juice, broths, roasted red pepper soup, blended ice cream and that's about it. I'm open to any suggestions/advice for things to eat or drink as I'm getting super bored!

Everyday since surgery I've been taking sudafed, tramadol, antibiotic and saline nasal sprays. My ears have been painfully blocked since surgery- and I hope that this will go away as the swelling subsides. If not I am in trouble lol. 

These pictures were taken a few hours after my surgery. They are the only ones I feel comfortable posting at this time, but I plan on posting daily pics in the coming weeks. I was quite exhausted and drugged up here.






Week 1 Summary!

• Swelling: 9/10 I look like a cross between Quagmire and a basketball. Its really attractive lol. I reached my peak swelling on day 5, and I've noticed my right side is starting to go down. The swelling has also made it hard for me to hear clearly.
• Pain: 2/10 so long as I remember to take my tramadol 1-3 a day I'm fine. If I do forget my face feels like its burning up with sparks. 
• Bruising 7/10 - mostly under my eyes and cheeks, has started as green then yellow and now is a purpley/black color. 
• Tenderness/Soreness: 9/10 Its very hard to move my lips or animate any other part of my face besides my eyes at this point. I am also NOT allowed to touch my face at all or put cold/heat packs because of the grafting that I have.
• Sensation: Hmmm this is a tough one. The only place I am completely numb is my lower lip to my chin. Everything else has either full or some sensation (tingling). I hope that with time it all will come back
• Energy: Depends some hours its 2/10 and at others 9/10- I have most of my energy in the middle of the night which is very frustrating because I cant go anywhere!