Update 2 weeks post op

Just an update! I went to my 2 week post op appointment today. My surgeon said I still have 4 weeks until I can chew..and by chew he means soft foods. Ugh I miss hamburgers and Chipotle. He put my in rubber bands. I am so tired of rubber bands. For those who haven't seen my older post I've had braces for 6 consecutive years then had them off for 2 years then got them back on this past September for this surgery so I've had my fair share of rubber bands. But it's a process I'm working towards getting through it. One thing I have been so surprised with is how understanding restaurants have been. They have all been so nice and have helped as best they can by specializing my orders. The only restaurant I had a issue with my Cantina Laredo, but that was more of the server I had rather than the restaurant. I've been very active these past few days. Last night I saw Disney on Ice with some friends and my stepmother and sister. It was so good to be out. Tonight I am going to see Tomorrow Land and tomorrow I have a job interview! Very busy! I got cleared to go to work today so this interview came at the perfect time. I wanted to thank you all for reading my blog. As I go farther in this recovery I will be writing less, but I hope this has helped someone somewhere. If you have any questions comment and I will try to respond as quickly as possible!

Bellow is my xray if anyone is interesred. It's creepy to see all the screws and bolts, but man do my teeth look perfect! Very excited!

For those considering jaw surgery

For all those out there that have stumbled upon my blog and are considering jaw surgery.... here are a few things to know that I wish I could have prepared for going into surgery.

1. You will miss food more then you think you will.
          I have not had food in 2 weeks. Yes I've had mashed potatoes and that is food but it starts to get really gross after 5 days of eating it. The first week you will be on a strict liquid only diet. And trust me it is as awful as you imagine it to be. You start to crave foods you've always hated. Prepare to lose weight and to be incredibly weak, nauseous and dizzy at all times. You are starving so your body will try to conserve it's energy by you sleeping 24/7. Doing simple things like showering and walking to the bathroom will feel like you just ran a mile. Take it easy. I am 2 weeks post op and I still have trouble walking and going places. You're just so weak that it's hard to move around.

2. The pain is intense.
          Have you ever had those painful growing pains in your legs? The ones that kept you up all night? Well that is kind of how your jaw will feel when you wake up in the hospital. Its that deep bone ache. Try to stay above the pain as much as possible. Take your pain meds around the clock the first week. You will defiantly need it. Don't think that after the first week the pain will go away. I still have pain in my jaw, it has dimmed down a lot to the point where now its more of a bother than actual pain pain.

3. You cannot blow your nose for weeks.
          I am sure this will not bother some of you like it has me, but not blowing my nose has been driving me crazy. It makes my ears all stuffy. I am still not allowed to blow it and its been 2 weeks. My surgeon said that if I were to blow my nose it would cause air to get into my sinuses and make my cheeks bigger. So I guess it's better safe than sorry.

4. Constipation is a thing.
          I am not a fan of spreading my dirty laundry all over the internet but this is a serious issue that you need to be aware of. Because this surgery requires you to only eat liquids your bowls will shut down for a while, but when they start back up again prepare for intense pain and yes I mean REALLY intense pain. Prepare to be constipated for a few days. I was for 4 days and it was a extremely painful experience. You will have stomach aches and probably bloat, milk of magnesia may work. I just tried stool softeners and waited. Defiantly buy Pepto you will probably go through like 2 whole bottles of it.

5. It is hard to keep a positive outlook.
           This is something I have suffered with this past week. It is hard to keep a positive outlook and to stay confident. All I want to do is to stop feeling sick and be able to get back to life, but my body is still not ready. It is hard to be patient and to remind yourself it is worth it, but I know it is. Surround yourself with people that can help you stay positive. It goes a long way.

6. You can't laugh or cry.
          When getting top jaw or double jaw surgery your surgeon will most likely cut the muscle above your top lip. Because the muscle is so big they will have to use a big stitch to stitch it back together. This makes it impossible to laugh or cry. Through my experience crying with that muscle stitched is incredibly painful and laughing is even worse. Just be aware.

7. The Dreaded 4th day.
          While considering this surgery you will hear a lot about the 4th day. It is suppose to be the worst. Your swelling and pain levels are suppose to peak on this day. The 4th day is no joke. Mine was spent in the bathroom throwing up and passing out. I am sure that is not very common but trust your surgeon when he says it will be the hardest day.

I am sure there are 1000 things I missed but honestly I am too tired to write anymore. This surgery is hard. The recovery is brutal. But it is worth it. If you are considering having this done just remember these points and also know that you will AT LEAST need to take 2 weeks off of work and/or school. And trust me 2 weeks does not seem like enough time.

Day 9

Today has been a mixed day. I have had my tough moments as well as my "I feel like a million bucks" moments. Its a process. I keep getting angry and I have to stop and remind myself that this was a major surgery and it will take a while for my body to heal. I am staying on narcotic pain pills throughout this coming weekend. I was nervous that I was staying on them too long but I called my nurse today and she said that is perfectly normal to still be taking them. I got up, blow dried my hair, put make up on and went to lunch and the grocery store. I over did it a little but it was great being out. I went to Panera Bread for lunch and after explaining my situation to the cashier she was nice enough to pure my broccoli and cheddar soup for me. By the time I got to the grocery store I was worn out and ready for a nap. On a very happy note I am starting to see a difference. My profile looks amazing and my face looks very different. I even have people comment on the difference. I am so ecstatic with the results and I cannot wait for my jaw to heal and these stupid braces to be off once and for all!

Here are some pictures of my face and my profile. I still cannot smile very much.

Day 8

And back down the "hump" I go.
Today was awful, and thats putting it lightly. I woke up with a 8 on the pain scale and had to go back to taking my narcotic pain pills. My stomach was hurting and I had a massive headache. It was just a tough day. I spent the morning packing up all my stuff to go home. I am excited to go home but also sad to leave my mom and stepdad. They have been so amazing and it has been so nice to hang out with them and strengthen our relationship, but It is defiantly time for me to get home and see my little furry four legged hamster child. I have always loved having hamsters and have really noticed that all hamsters are different with different personalities. Before you start laughing at me ask any hamster lover. I'm serious. To some they may mean nothing but to me they are defiantly as important and a dog or any other pet. I recently got my new hamster, Zelda, in December from my boyfriend. She is dark grey and believe it or not she has crystal blue eyes. It's weird. Anyway when I am not there and I send my boyfriend to feed her she gets angry and starts to bite people. Needless to say I was needed back home. Throughout the day my pain seemed to escalade making me miserable. It was discouraging. I did get to eat some Jim N' Nicks baked beans and mac and cheese. The baked beans were actually super easy to eat. The mac and cheese wasn't so bad! My surgeon has suggested I eat Kraft Mac and Cheese, but I found it way to hard to eat. I had to literally swallow it whole because I could not tear it apart with my tongue, but the Jim N' Nicks were much easier and I do recommend them. I am hoping I will start feeling a little better soon!

Day 7

Finally the amazing day 7. Through all of my research I did before surgery I found that day 7 was suppose to be this amazing day that meant you were over the "hump." My day was just that...amazing. My pain was so low that I was able to be on just ibuprofen and I had no nausea or dizziness. My boyfriend came over and spent the day watching Alaska State Troopers, our new addiction. We hung out until it was time to head out to my first surgeon appointment. I was super excited because I really had not seen much of the outside since before my surgery. It was defiantly hot. I live in Alabama so by now its in the high 80's and low 90's. My surgeon was very pleased with my progress, he said I looked great and that my swelling was good. This is a little personal but I am writing this blog for people having surgery so...one big problem I have come across the last few days is my ability to use the restroom. To put it nicely, it just hasn't happened. That is leaving me bloated and with stomach aches so my surgeon told me to take milk magnesia. Which is very chalky and disgusting. But it works. He said that is a common issue as your body is still trying to get rid of the anesthesia. My surgeon put rubber bands in my mouth to help stop my muscles from trying to move my jaw bone back, and trust me they are defiantly trying. Since I was in braces for so long I am defiantly use to rubber bands so I know that tomorrow my mouth will be so incredibly sore. On a sad note my surgeon said I am still on a liquid diet for another week. He said I can add mac and cheese but absolutely no chewing....ugh I guess its time to go get more boost.

Day 6

Day 6 has been a quick and pretty painless day! My sister and best friend sleptover last night which helped lift my spirits. I had so much fun catching up with them a watching ridiculous stuff on TV. I did, however, over do it on the talking. By this morning my jaw was still sore. Hahaha but it was defiantly worth it. Today went pretty great. I had

UGH one step forward one step back

The roughest day of recovery... I did not post this yesterday because it was honesty such a rough day. I woke up feeling very nauseous and was given some of my nausea medicine. My boyfriend was feeding me boost when I just began throwing up. Something you may not know about me is that I am terrified of throwing up. Its like the worst thing in the world to me and add a broken jaw to that mix and its defiantly painful. But I got through it. I threw up once more and then I slept for a while. I'm not really sure what I had to throw up since I haven't had food in 5 days but my body managed haha. Around 5 that evening I went to the restroom because my stomach was upset, which once again I thought was strange since I haven't eaten anything in 5 days. I ended up screaming for my mom as I became very pale and began to pass out. Its been a quiet a day. We called the nurse and she changed my medicine and put me on a water and Gatorade only diet. It defiantly helped. I woke up today feeling incredible, I even walked to the mailbox and back. I feel like I have defiantly made it over the rough bump that comes along with this surgery. I was talking my head off all morning, joking around and laughing. Although the laughing part still hurts because of my muscle still being stitched the rest is awesome. The hunger is not that bad honestly. I was scared that I would be miserable not being able to eat for so long but it has not been that bad. I almost don't notice it. I mean I notice it when I stand up or like after a shower. I never really realized how much energy my body uses to do simple things like brushing my teeth, showering, even grabbing the remote. But man is it exhausting to do any of that. But all and all I feel great. It's hard for me to look at it as I still have a week of "hard core" recovery left because I feel so good today, but I also haven't done anything but sit in front of the TV. My goal is to be able to go out for the night on May 20th. My stepmom got us tickets to see Disney on Ice (my sister and I are big Disney fans) so I defiantly want to be able to get up and walk up and down stairs by then. I would also like to eat, I know I wont be able to eat "food food" for a few more weeks but by then I should be able to have noodles and hopefully bread! Speaking of food I have lost a lot of weight through all of this. I am not sure the amount I've lost all I know is my butt is like 3 times smaller. So there is a plus! Positive thoughts from now on! I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Since I cannot eat anything for a few weeks this has been my life saver! I have about 4 a day

My swelling is pretty much nonexistent which is amazing 

The Dreaded 4th Day

To say today has been my hardest day would be an understatement. When I found out I would be having jaw surgery I knew it would be tough and the recovery would be mind numbing but nothing could have prepared me for this. Today was awful and my spirits were so low. I woke up having had very little sleep because I just could not get comfortable and the rest of the day was pretty much the same thing. It all hit me at once. The hunger, nausea, pain and exhaustion bombarded me. I guess I did not realize just how hungry my body is, but this being my 4th day without food I am not surprised. Not all the bottles of boost in the world could curve this hunger. I want food, real good food. I think the hardest part of today was defiantly mental. It is seriously mentally exhausting sitting in a chair with this much pressure and pain around your face. I did have a few breakdowns. I tried my hardest to avoid them but they were unavoidable. It was extremely painful to cry because of the thick stitches above my top lip, so it just made me cry harder. Thank god for my amazing family though. They were all so patient with me today and just hugged me and reassured me that I could do this.  I also feel so blessed that everyone around me is understanding about my crappy attitude. Not eating is defiantly making me grumpy. And so very sore. My swelling has gone down a incredible amount, I am just ready to be up and moving but my body is strongly disagreeing with me. I am hoping tomorrow will be better. I am hoping my spirits will be lifted and my stomach will stop growling. Just a few more weeks. It will all be worth it.

Rough Night

I had a rough night last night. My jaw was throbbing and the medicine was taking it's sweet time kicking in. Which meant very little sleep. Also I defiantly pushed myself too far with the talking, so from now on the white board and dry erase markers are my best friends. I have a feeling today will be one of my worst days. While I am trying to keep my hopes up I just feel miserable.  One of the worst part to me is that they did not wire or rubber band my mouth shut. Which I know sounds like a good thing but for me its a pain. I am having a hard time figuring out how to hold my jaw. Like if I should keep it closed or let it stay a little open. So I haven't found the most comfortable way to hold my jaw, which stinks. If they were to rubber band I wouldn't have the choice which would have helped. My face feels like a balloon and I defiantly have those Kylie Jenner lips. My pain is manly on the lower jaw. I haven't had much trouble with my top, thank god. Last night my little brother came over and hung around for a little while which helped lift my spirits. I also got some flowers and balloons, which if you know me you understand how much I love flowers. They are so cheerful. Having people come around is making me feel a little better, seeing happy faces. My mom, stepdad and boyfriend have been a big help in taking care of me since I've gotten released from the hospital. They are all been so loving and sweet and that defiantly helps. My mom hugged up on me last night while I was in pain and I swear that took some of the pain away. Right now I am just trying to take this one day at a time. I am surprised at how fine my stomach feels. I figured I would be starving the whole time, but that just hasn't hit me yet. Thank you to everyone checking up on me and reading my blog.

Surgery Day/ Day 1 of Double Jaw Surgery

Surgery day was not as nerve racking as I was expecting it to be! I got to the hospital at 5:30 am. I was the first surgery of the day. The only tough time was getting my IV. I have very difficult veins, I have always had trouble with getting blood taken. I got pricked 6-7 times before they (it took 2 different men) just had to try my feet. After a few attempts they were able to get the IV into my left foot. So I am black and blue all over my body. They moved the IV to my arm after I was out. I guess they had to wait because of how aggressive they probably had to be. I woke up in recovery. My surgery was 2 hours and went smoothly. I had a difficult time waking up so I was in there for a while, they said once I was awake I could see my family and I really wanted to see some familiar faces. Once I was finally awake for more than 5 minutes they wheeled me to my private room. It was nice, they kept my on an oxygen mask to try to wake me up more and I stayed in it the whole time I was there. I slept some but found it difficult. I have a giant family and felt up too seeing everyone so sleep slipped my mind. I had my mom, dad, stepmom, stepdad, grandmother, great aunt, sister, boyfriend and my sister's boyfriend there. I also video chatted both of my brothers. I was too afraid to try to talk. I knew if I did it would hurt. Luckily my mom and I know sign language and I had a paper and pen so it was helpful. I was not in pain just numb everywhere. Especially inside my mouth. I drank 1 ounce of broth and that was it for the day. Today has been better. I did very good with liquids and was discharged from the hospital around 10:00 this morning. I've had a lot to drink! This morning was rough, I am not going to lie. I absolutely loved my nurses at the hospital they were very kind but they were not very good at staying above the pain. So this morning my meds dimmed and I was left with pain until my new ones kicked in and that was very painful. Like a deep bone ache. The pain is mainly on my right side of my jaw. And the sinus head aches are a pain. I also got very nausous with the steriods they gave me and had trouble using the bathroom. LUCKILY I did not throw up. I am exhausted but feel up to writing and socializing some (with a white board) But this recovery is so far not as bad as I thought it would be. I am not nieve though. I know it will get worse around day 3 and I will soon begin to feel the hunger but for now I am good. And man does chocolate boost taste like heaven. I miss food but boost defiantly feels me up! I am keeping on sleepy medicine which I am loving.

 Until tomorrow! Bye readers!

PS: I am on heavy meds so if none of this makes sense I apologize, also BIG shoutout to my family for being so supportive and such a big help. I love you all!

Here are some pictures from today

Me today, steroids helped swelling tremendously 

Me today, steroids helped swelling tremendously 

Right before being discharged this morning

My mom holding my hand as I slept yesterday

5 Days Away

Hey Readers! I went to see my surgeon this week. They have decided to do a double jaw surgery. I am a little nervous because they will not be wiring or rubber banding my jaw after surgery. So it will be up to me to not try to open my jaw. The pressure. I went to see him on Wednesday and then immediately went to get my blood work done. Let me start by saying I have always been really good with needles and blood, but for some reason I passed out. Which was embarrassing but the nursing staff was incredible. I am having a hard time focusing on my surgery next week as my best friend passed away Wednesday morning. She had a heart transplant 8 1/2 years ago and starting in December she went into rejection. She got better but then her kidneys started going down hill. Its very difficult to lose someone I love so much but I know she is in a better place. Well I will not post again until the night before!