16 weeks

Today is 17 weeks since my surgery! Monday will be exactly 4 months!

I know this is ridiculously long, but I like details, and think this is important. Besides, it's been a few weeks. So you should read it all! :)

Last Monday I had an appointment with the oral surgeon, so he could make sure I had been doing my exercises. I passed! haha I had really been slacking, but I tried so hard to keep up with them. It would take exactly 50 minutes out of my day to do 10 sets of 10 reps, 3 times a day (Yes, I calculated). I don't have nearly an hour every day to devote to that! But I spend half my life driving, so I tried to do it then. Driving a stick shift, managing ATL traffic/bad drivers, doing jaw exercises and of course texting/updating facebook is hard to manage! Just kidding, I don't really do that. (Cause my mom is reading this (: ).
But he said I can open 36mm. He said he's sure I can very easily stretch it to 40 with my fingers, so he is pleased. I think I'm going to continue doing them though because 40mm is the minimum.
He said everything is wonderful/excellent/great and that I am a good healer. I think he's just an awesome surgeon! ...I was looking all over the inside of my mouth after brushing my teeth the other day, and I seriously have practically no scar tissue at all and you can't even tell where incisions were in there!
He asked about my numbness and said not to worry about it, because I am not even 4 months yet and nerve regeneration will take 6-9 months. Yesss! There's still hope! He also said that big nerve that runs basically ear to ear through the chin, wasn't severed during my surgery. He said he only stretched it out a lot. (I can't even imagine how that works/looks. Stretched? wtf?) So he has no doubt the feeling will come back. I don't knooooow.
But I guess my numbness that went away quite quickly wasn't related to that big "main" nerve. I don't know, I'm not a neurologist. But it's really interesting and cool. I still feel electric shocks and pinching all the time still, so it's trying to work!

So, that was my last visit to the surgeon, and I don't even have to go back until after I get my braces off! That is sooo crazy! How have I gotten this far already?? It doesn't even feel right because since December I have gone in there at a minimum of every few weeks. It's like a part of my life now haha. A year or so ago when this process really started moving along, there were several days where I got in my car from OS and OD appointments and just sat there and cried for 20 minutes because of the pain, confusion about what I should do, fear, etc. And now when I leave either office, I feel so happy about the direction I'm headed, and so thrilled with going through with this! Amazing.


Then last Friday I went to the orthodontist and he said over and over again how great everything looks! That makes me feel great because he is a total perfectionist and would not say that if he wasn't beyond pleased. He asked me to bite down on paper that made little black dots on my teeth so he could see my "wear patterns" he said a few dots weren't supposed to be there and said if he polished my back teeth just a little bit, my teeth would fit together even better. So he pulled out basically a sander haha and polished down a teeny bit of each molar. Then when I bit down again, my bite felt even better! Amazing what they can do! After that, he started putting something on two of my upper teeth and I heard him tell the assistant "Now, I may have made this an extreme step, so if it gives you a lot of resistance when you engage it, let me know!" When I heard that I thought "Shit...this is going to hurt really bad." Sure enough, it did. The assistant had her pliers or whatever haha and was bearing down like all her weight to get this thing to engage. The resistance alone was hurting and when it engaged...OWWWW! Then she did the other side and it was the same way. Apparently these two teeth were sitting at a little too much to one side or something so that will fix it. I hadn't had any extreme ortho stuff since like November so I guess I got spoiled with only little stuff that didn't hurt much. Other than that, he changed my rubber band configuration, which made my teeth look even more perfect like 2 days later! So crazy how quickly that works! My next appointment will be May 16th.

Life is so normal now. There are days I don't even think about jaw surgery! I eat whatever, do whatever, it's nothing. I'm so busy with school, work, and an honor society I'm participating in. Plus I've been going through a process since January to be accepted into a program that offers a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I was accepted! Only about 10 or 12 undergrads were chosen, so I'm really proud of myself. So I get to visit New York in the fall! :) I also started an internship with a cool company in the area yesterday, so I am really excited to gain some experience. Everything just seems to be falling into place. Like my jaw :). Okay, lame.

This is from last night:

 

I thought this would be a good comparison that shows the little changes:

3 Months After Surgery

Today, March 18, 2011, marks exactly three months since surgery!

First of all I'd like to say that if I can get through this, absolutely anyone can.

I read on several blogs that you shouldn't expect to feel normal until the 3 month mark, and I definitely agree.Of course I thought I would be different, and would just get through this and it would be no big deal. But my surgeon reminded me at my last appointment that this is still the early part of recovery, and it's hard to remember that. It's especially hard for people that aren't going through it, because 3 months is quite a while. But unless you have gone through this surgery, you don't realize what a toll this takes on your body.
But I feel normal 99% of the time. There are still some moments where I think about it, but most of the time I actually forget I had surgery. Every now and then, my jaw pops if I bite down (which is normal) or some mornings the muscles in my face feel really stiff, but none of that is even a big deal. I am a little bothered by the numbness I still have in my chin and lip and all of my upper jaw/gums/teeth. But since I don't have the feeling back at this point, it is likely permanent, and I'm just going to learn to live with it I guess :/ When I was reading about surgery, one of my biggest concerns was numbness, and I know someone is reading this right now thinking "okay there's ANOTHER person that is still numb after surgery, to hell with this." But the benefits that I have gotten from having surgery (a bite I am in love with, I can breathe, I feel rested and energized all the time, I don't look like a grandma from the side anymore, etc.) are well worth it. I don't know how I lived my life so freakin ridiculously tired and miserable ALL THE TIME before surgery. I am so thankful to feel normal.

OKAY MAJOR BREAKING NEWS:
My grandpa and I are totally obsessed with Steak and Shake, and I always make time for him and my dad during my insane week and we usually go there. For 21 years, I have pulled my food apart and broken it up and eaten it, rather than biting into it. WELL, on Tuesday, I BIT INTO MY CHEESEBURGER! And not only that...I also bit into the lettuce. THE LETTUCE! The. Lettuce. It was so awesome! All my "normal" readers are thinking"Wow, really? You're that excited about biting into a f-ing cheeseburger?" YES I AM. And I know all my pre-surgery readers are thinking "Wow, I cannot wait to do that!" I am so happy to bite into food!!! Now I just have to break that habit of pulling my food apart into bites, because I found myself still trying to do that just because I have done it for so many years.

Last night I had an awful dream that I woke up and, for whatever reason, my teeth were all screwed up and turned around the wrong way, some were completely backwards and behind other teeth, and some were loose, and some brackets and parts of wires had fallen off. It was a total mess and I was horrified. I was beyond relieved when I woke up and saw my teeth were exactly where they were when I went to bed haha

That's my big update for you guys for now. I have to go back to the surgeon at the end of this month, and to the orthodontist at the beginning of April. So there will definitely be updates then. I open a little wider, but I seriously need to start doing more exercises next week, or my doctor is going to kick my ass.

Pictures from this past week:

 

 

Orthodontist's Forecast Compared Against The Actual Result

Those of you reading this that are going to be having surgery soon will probably get a "forecast" from your orthodontist or oral surgeon about your expected outcome. My orthodontist did mine, and I found it earlier and thought it might be interesting to compare it to my after picture, so here it is:

I adjusted the contrast and brightness on the after image because it's really light and I thought it might be easier to see. I'm not really sure what I think about this to be honest. I'm very happy with my actual result, and relieved I don't look exactly like the forecast (that is a SERIOUS chin). First of all, I don't think the original image really looks/looked like me to begin with. The software used to create these images are very limited anyway. So I think they're good to get an idea about what to expect, but don't expect exactly that. Mine obviously isn't the same. But you can still see the difference in the weak look of my jaw and chin and how long my face looked because of my jaw position. And I think that's the point. I think a forecast is worth getting so you can get an idea, but don't expect to look exactly like that image. I just thought you guys might be interested in this if you got a forecast and weren't sure what to expect.

Day 74 / More Before and After Pictures

It's my spring break this week (even though it's still winter). This weekend I was able to go visit one of my best friend's from high school at USC, Caroline! Our other best friend, Alora was able to come as well! We call ourselves the Variety Pack because...we are! Haha you have a blonde, a brunette, and a red head! Although Alora isn't technically a blonde anymore, we will always remember her with that bleach blonde hair from high school! It was so great to get all three of us together, because we have some seriously hectic lives and Alora lives in Alaska now with her husband who is in the Army. So this definitely doesn't happen all the time and it was so great to get to catch up! Caroline also lives with 4 of the sweetest girls ever!
I had no jaw issues which was great and it survived a night of pineapple vodkas, everclear slushies and a bunch of crazy girls running wild all over Columbia!
I actually had an appointment with my OS on Monday, but I was out of town. Today I called to reschedule, and it turned out I could either come in today, or a week from today...I chose today!
He said everything looks great and he is still very very happy! Yay! I don't worry anywhere near as much as I used to about all this, but today I was feeling like my bite was off and my muscle was acting up, so it is such a relief to hear everything is still great! Every time I leave that office, I feel like I'm on top of the world because I am always so happy to hear we are on the right track still, and every day I feel a little happier I did this!
He's a little concerned about me not doing my opening exercises though. He said this is the critical point to be sure to soften up the scar tissue, so later I can open as wide as I'm supposed to! He progressed me to finger exercises, which means I am supposed to open and push down my lower jaw with my index finger, while pushing my upper jaw up with my thumb. I know that sounds weird, I guess I would have to show you for you to understand.
Anyway, I'm going back in a month so he can check that, and then I don't have to go back to see him again until after I get my braces off! Whatttt? That really makes it set in.....this is almost over! Okay, maybe I have several months left, but really...that's nothing.
Now I'm back at work for the rest of the week, and weekend, with lots of homework, then back to school on Monday. Growing up sucks.

Today my OS gave me copies of the after photos he took at my last visit, and they are pretty exciting comparisons!

 

Pictures from the weekend:

10 weeks

Okay, I've been MIA...sorry about that. I have been SO BUSY and happily not thinking about my jaw every 2 and a half seconds.
Let's seeeeeee...it's hard to think about what's been going on in the past two weeks since my last post, because I'm always doing something.
I'm still LOVING the benefit of not being totally exhausted every day of my life. So awesome! This is what normal feels like!
I've looked at a few old pictures lately, and I still think I look like me...just a little more improved. This is what I was supposed to look like all along, but my jaw was too dumb to know that and sucked at growing. I always had a little bit of what looks like a double chin in 90% of my pictures cause everything was just not in the right place. Not anymore!
Chewing food is a little different sometimes, but I'm used to it for the most part. Now that all my teeth fit together, I think I chew things much less just because all my teeth are working together...not just four. I still don't bite into food because I'm not positive I'm supposed to (I never asked, but my surgeon never said anything about not doing it). Either way it isn't necessary, and honestly I'm not sure that I could open wide enough to do so. I can nly open enough to fit two fingers in still because I suck at remembering to do exercises and my surgeon is probably going to be pissed when I go back, so I really need to make an effort to work on it.
I have some news! Aid and I went to Fogo De Chao for our third anniversary, and I got to eat STEAK!!! Fogo de Chao is a Churrascaria restaurant. They have a HUGE salad, sides, cheeses, meats and vegetables bar. Then when you are ready for your meal, you flip a little green card over and all these men run over with huge skewers of 14 kinds of meat and cut it practically off the cow right there at your table. It was SO GOOD. We absolutely loved it! I was a little slow at eating the steak, but it was easily manageable. Oh I also just remembered...on Valentine's Day, I chose a lobster and pasta dish, since I knew I could eat that. But I had a bite of Aid's steak and could eat it then too!
I guess now the only thing I can't eat is really hard stuff like peanuts or walnuts. Not like I'm dying to eat that anyway haha. I can't really think of anything else that I know I can't eat.
My chin and lip numbness is much better! The feeling isn't totally back, but it's nothing like it was. I noticed a week or so ago that I could feel temperature there again, and now a little bit of feeling. I love when I feel electric shocks in there..I think it's so cool how nerves regenerate like that. When I feel that pinch it makes me happy it's working to try to get the feeling back! But my upper jaw is still totally numb...which I don't like at all. I really hope that comes back soon! But at least the roof of my mouth has feeling...I've heard some people don't even have that.
I think I have swallowed about 10 rubber bands now haha. My ortho told me to leave them in when I eat, and they don't bother me, so I do...but they ALWAYS break while I'm eating. If I'm in public, I don't think it'd be very lady like to dig out that rubber band and all the food that gets stuck everywhere, while at the table. So I just leave it until I can take care of it. Most of the time they stay stuck around the back of my braces, but sometimes when I go to put new ones in....the broken one has disappeared. There is only one place for it to go. Oh well.
My left side kind of pops or something every now and then, or sometimes I feel the muscle do something weird. I think it's just that muscle being stubborn and trying to resist a new position. l only feel it if I have been a really really bad girl and had no rubber bands in for a couple of hours. So it seems like the muscle works it's way back into it's old habits and then gets pissed when I put rubber bands on again.

I've gained back the 8 lbs I lost, but that's okay. I don't know why anyone would expect to leave most of that off after not eating hardly anything and then eating your normal diet again.

I always manage to write a short story with my posts, but I want to be really detailed about what's going on for those of you going through surgery and wondering how things progress and change.

I have really been slacking on taking pictures of my face/jaw specifically, so the pictures from Valentine's Day and our anniversary will have to do this time.