8 weeks

So, at my appt. Thursday he said everything looks good. I said that my jaw looked "heavier/bulkier" still on my right side, but that I didn't think it was swelling. He told me it was normal, because of the rotation. The heavier part of my jaw on that side was brought forward. He said that things will continue to settle for the next YEAR AND A HALF! At that point, if I still think it looks too uneven, I can get "fillers" put in the left side to even it out. My fingers are crossed that it "settles" as evenly as possible, but I hope I can deal with pictures and life in general with this asymmetry for the next (at least) 18 months. At least I'll be able to chew, eventually! When I get back from my cruise, my ortho will be rubber-banding the left side of my mouth to close my open bite, but he's optimistic that I'll have them off by Thanksgiving! Yesss! Bring on the rubber bands. I did it for 6 weeks already - I can handle 6 more!

Updated pics. You can see the crookedness (thickness of each side of my jaw) in these pics. Hoping, praying it evens out. Guess what I discovered? Everything looks better in black and white!



Uneven jaw. Oh well.


This is how far I can open my mouth right now. I can successfully eat (bite into) a McDonald's cheeseburger if it doesn't have the pickles on it. Progress! Still have a long way to go, but doing my physical therapy every day is helping!


Overall - I'm glad I did the surgery to have a straight midline and be able to chew/eat better. I'm h0ping everything else (that I'm not thrilled with) will work itself out over time. My jaw still aches after eating or talking/singing/laughing a lot - but I'm not taking pain meds on a regular basis or anything. Usually stopping talking for a while works.

Speaking of which - I'm off to bed!

6 weeks post op - the cheeseburger.

6 weeks. I made it. I am allowed to eat whatever I want. The problem is, I still can't. Well, not easily. I can nibble at just about anything (I had a cheeto) but it's very slow going. I can't imagine eating something like a carrot or steak - and couldn't even make it through my steamed green beans tonight. I no longer have to wear rubber bands related to my surgery - although I will begin a new rubber band regiment according to my ortho. How exciting.

This is today. Still crooked. I supposed there is still some swelling in my right cheek - although now I wish my left cheek looked the same, to fill it out evenly..and permanently. I know that won't happen - but I don't know what 6 more months will do to everything either. Time will tell.

Showing my teeth. Still hoping to have the braces off around Christmas.

Right profile.

Left profile.

I was determined to eat a cheeseburger today...but that initially posted some problems...such as my mouth not opening wide enough.

So, I cut it in half (gave that to Jared) and cut the rest into about 16 pieces which I ate just fine. It was very yummy. I am happy to not have to worry about what I can eat anymore.

Tonight I went to the Mikado with some friends and couldn't eat most of what was on my plate. I brought some sushi home for Jared and decided that's what I should have ordered! It was soft, easy to eat and yummy!

I'll update some before/after pictures when there is more of a difference. Until then...keep smiling!

I only have to wear rubber bands at night!

The title says it all....hallelujah!

Here are the official 5 week post-op pics. First - I just have to put in a shameless plug for the new headband from our product line. I stuck one of our brooches in the middle. Isn't it stinking cute? I look terrible with headbands typically - but this one is alright!

Right profile. Almost no swelling!

Left profile. My nostril still pulls up too much but I guess I'll get used to it!

This lovely picture shows how far I can open my mouth now. Looks are deceiving though - because although I can open the front of my teeth that far, between my back molars barely fits my thumb. I'm supposed to start doing "scissor" exercises today to continue widening my jaw. They hurt. I have almost zero side-to-side mobility as well, which makes chewing tricky. Practice makes perfect though - so I'm off to eat a piece of cake! :)

Lortab

So, can anyone tell me the difference between Lortab suspension (liquid) and Lortab tablets? I took the suspension the first week of post-op and did just fine on it. Then, after getting my splint off and being in a tremendous amount of pain, Dr. Egbert prescribed it again last week. I took 1 pill, and was sick (nauseated, throwing up and dizzy) for the next 8 hours. So...there has to be a difference, and I'm just wondering what it is? Since that experience, I've found a cocktail that works for me...namely 800 mgs of Ibuprofin, with a 1000 mg. Tylenol chaser 3-4 hours later. Combine that with heat packs and complete relaxation and I can manage. My mom and sis came in to town for THREE weddings this weekend and I wanted my house to look pretty. (The reason I'm dressed up and they aren't is because I was headed out the door to church, and they were headed out the door to road trip back to CO this morning).

I started a big project and it about killed me to finish it, but I did! I painted some accent walls in my bedroom and bathroom and did some redecorating. My office is red/black/white - power colors for getting good work done. My bedroom is the opposite - soothing beach tones for relaxing. Although I alternated between my project and lying prostrate on my bed in a pain-induced stupor - I got it done. It helped to focus on something (the project) other then the pain for as long as I could stand it - so at least the pain made me productive!

Some pictures (click to enlarge)

I love the combo of our cherry furniture with antique creams and vintage sea-blue's. In the second pic -the flash wouldn't go off due to the sun coming in the window. Oh well.

The pic on the left is a much truer color then on the right. It is a blue-green color, not straight blue. The vinyl says "We will have these moments to remember" and then I put pics of our family in the frames from fond moments throughout the last 8 years. It's the first thing I look at when I wake up in the morning, and it's a great way to start my day.

So - on to face pics. It's been almost 5 weeks now (Tues) and I'm still taking off my rubber bands for 8 hours a day. My schedule is roughly taking them off from 9-11am, 1-3pm, 5-7pm, 9-11pm. That is perfect for all 3 meals plus ice cream at night. My meals have been upgraded. For breakfast I still have cream of wheat usually, but I did eat some Life cereal (thoroughly soggy) the other day. For lunch it's usually Pei Wei noodles (or Noodles & Co.) and dinner is usually an omelet. Last night I broke down and ate refried beans for the first time in a week. It's such a great protein boost!

Swelling is still lingering slightly but is noticeably worse in the morning when I wake up.

Showing my rubber bands...they make me look like a vampire.

Left profile. I hate that you can see all the way up my nostril. I think I'll check into botox to just relax that muscle a little. It pulls up so much more then the other side that it continues to make my smile extremely lopsided unless I am very cognisant of how I'm smiling. Annoying.

Left profile. The swelling under my chin is getting less, and my cheek is only slightly puffy.

All in all - I'm getting there. Chewing continues to be slow going. The right half of my tongue is still numb, so I'm still crunching on it at every meal. I end up swallowing most of my food whole - but at least it's filling! I'm worried now about our cruise in 3 weeks. I'm thinking I won't gain back the weight I lost (which is fine) but I'm still hoping to be able to sample all the cuisine available - even if it takes me a while to actually consume it.

Speaking "normally" takes effort. There is still a slight whistle on certain words due to the open bite, and I now have to form words differently due to my tongue filling in the roof of my mouth different (since my upper pallet is now so much bigger then it used to be). Combine that with numbness and I think I look pretty funny (and sound funny) when I speak. I'm forever learning patience with myself.

I'm hoping on Tuesday that I'll be told I only need to wear the rubber bands for a short period of time each afternoon, and then all night. That will be fantastic and I can answer the phone again! Until then...