Month Two update, better late than never :)

Hello jaw friends , this post is going up VERY late, Month 2 was end of June!!

There has been NO rhythm to this month. Blogging has been put on the backburner and I’ve been distracted by a number of personal things going on.

Week 4 & 5-I’ve been dealing with a sizable dilemma. When my bite was going through the decompensation period, I started clenching- something I never did before. I would be woken up several times a night with my teeth throbbing in pain and clearly hitting wrong. Anyhow post op I’m noticing some clenching, and my surgeon prescribed a medicine for me to take.

I have always had mixed feelings about these types of medication.

After surgery I was given Tramadol for my pain, and took it 1-2x per day for the first 3 weeks... It helped, tremendously AND when I attempted to stop taking it I could not sleep. Period.  I became dependent. My sleep was no more than 2-4 hours a night, very shallow and I could feel everything in my face. After two nights I went back on it.

The other med that was prescribed to me, has some really really nasty side effects. I’ll list them here: withdrawal syndrome, impaired motor function, cognitive impairments, personality/behavioral disturbances. Withdrawal can entail higher levels of anxiety, depression, hallucinations and aggressiveness... Sounds fun right?  Maybe Im blowing this up out of proportion BUT it seems the side effects are a bit much, I was hoping to find a natural ‘relaxant’ but it seems the most common one is illegal and this stuff, is well legal. Makes sense, right?, Im still deliberating what to do.

So far I’ve decided to not take it unless my jaw pain is around, so far, so good.

Week 6- I decided I had to stop talking the Tramadol, cold turkey. I flew back to SB to see my surgeon!

QUICK DIVERSION-So I've lost 22 lbs at this point, I've become heaping pile of bones, especially in the upper half of my body. When I was going through security at the airport the woman was like, ”ARE YOU NOT EATING HUNNIE, YOU ARE ALL SKIN AND BONES!” I just burst out laughing, how could you not? Haha

I had to explain that I had double jaw surgery that's why you could feel almost every bone in my torso. She half kiddingly responds “ I probably need my jaw broken for a bit too” . Oh women lol.

I love California. My face gets plastered with a smile every time I get out here. Its beautiful, somewhat surreal, and it makes Chicago seem like a snoozefest, yes I said it! I'd move out here in a heartbeat.

Eating this time around was a bit difficult as I was in and out in under 48 hours and didnt have a blender... I attempted to find soups without bits and high calorie drinks to down! Im discovering first hand that traveling for long distances at this point, is difficult, they really wear me down.

Anyways, it had been 3ish weeks since my last meeting with Dr.G, and he was happy with how the swelling was going down even though it was uneven. He inspected my bite and incisions to see how everything was going. My midlines are off- there was uneven spacing that was made in my upper jaw pre-surgery, he said it was easily correctable with orthodontics. Now three things at this point worry me: my range, my numbness, and how little/weird my smile is.

My range is kind of abysmal for 6 weeks out, can barely get one fingers width- and immediately Dr.G told me no more elastics during the day only 12 hours at night! Secondly with regards to my numbness, he said its way way too early to say what will be- sometimes I feel nothing at all (lower lip/chin area), other times some bubbly feeling thats it. He told me to give it time, okay I’ll wait a few more weeks! Im so impatient so this is not easy for me lol. Third my smile is kind of weird or it feels like I show little/no upper teeth... Now who knows at this point, could be the uneven swelling, or the fact that when I try to smile I look severely constipated, each lip running in a different direction. Its hard to say, but I HOPE it gets better as the residual swelling subsides.

week 7- So there have been some changes this week with regards to sensation ! EXCITING!

I’ve been experiencing shooting pains in my mouth like someone with a lazer zapping away! PEW PEW!!! Mostly around my  lower lip/ chin area *genioplasty incisions* it is very random and is quite painful. There is constant tingling in my lower lip, which I **pray** is a sign that I will regain full sensation. It feels like little champagne bubbles are hitting the surface of my lips over and over. When I run my fingers over my lower lip and slightly below it is sensitive, slightly painful to touch. My chin on the right and left side feels like fizzy bubbles but in the middle, nothing. To be honest, my chin doesn't do very much for me, so I wouldn't be too upset if sensation never returned fully there. My lower lip *I hope* is showing promising signs by the tingling and shooting pains, and I need my lips to function to make sure I dont drool, to talk properly, and yes kiss.

My skin is a mess!!! I look like I’ve been attacked by wild African mosquitos- and I’ve had pretty decent skin before surgery. Im getting mostly clogged pores, white/black heads and some acne! I’m like come on face, COOPERATE! After talking to a bunch of jaw buddies- THIS seems to only happen to women a few weeks post op and can last till month 3, a side effect of the anesthesia, morphine- who knows.

The only thing that has helped is oil cleansing which you would think would be clogging actually helps draw out oils from the pores and secondly BHA toner which has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties !

 

-Swelling has gone down quite a bit, but I am still very lopsided. My left side is far more swollen than my right. When looking at progress photos, I see the swelling coming down but its very slow.

-My ears at times do seal off and I have to ‘pop’ them open. There is no bruising. I am experiencing cracking noises on my left side anytime I open and do my stretches or such- probably from the new positioning of the joint and some inflammation.

-Range of motion is still very poor 1 finger max- maybe Im not stretching enough.

-Pain, it depends on how much I talk that day and how much sleep I’ve gotten the night before. Lack of sleep and talking my mouth off usually puts me to suffer the following day.

-With regards to numbness the region in red still stands, there is tingling, bubbling, zapping feelings. Hopefully get some pictures up in the next post, hope everyone in the jaw realm is doing well xx