Day 42: 6weeks and finally some energy!

Day 42:

Sorry, totally skipping days here and there. This past weekend was my husband and I's 6 year anniversary. We spent the day out and about, and then went to San Francisco for a giants game. Had amazing seats right next to home plate! We originally wanted to spend the weekend in Carmel, Ca, but we didn't want to book anything weeks ago incase I wasn't feeling up to it. By the time we knew I could handle the trip nothing was available : ( Oh, well maybe in the fall we will spend a weekend on the coast!

Well, at this point in the surgery most things are about the same. It seems like this is the point where things will gradually get easier, and better. My jaw muscles are slowly relaxing allowing me to open just a tiny bit more. Still not enough to make eating like it was before surgery. I still have to cut up food into small bites to make it manageable to fit in my mouth. I am a little terrible at doing the jaw exercises the Surgeon told me to do. I need to get better at doing it 6 times a day, not 3 times a day. Slacker over here!

Numbness seems to be getting a little better, I am starting to get a little bit of feeling starting on the outsides of the chin and a little on my lip. The feeling seems to be creeping it's way toward the center between my chin and lip, or at least I am hoping that is what is happening. : )

My Jaw only really aches a little after the exercises, and after a really long day. The most annoying thing is my bottom teeth are hurting again. It feels like the Orthodontist adjusted my braces and my teeth are moving, which they probably are moving and not in a good way. Luckily this next Thursday I get to go to my Orthodontist and he is taking off the surgical hooks, and most likely putting on all new clear braces. Basically starting all over with a fresh set! : ) What no more yellow braces? Excited to get rid of the hooks. My bottom lip is so torn up.

Singing isn't difficult anymore, well at least the notes below high C. Anything higher than that it is hard to open my mouth to really open the back of my throat to not strain. The one thing I notice that makes me want to immediately stop stinging is the vibrations that hit my teeth when I sing loud, because I can't open my mouth. Oh man is it terrible! It feels like my teeth are going to fall out or something. It is the weirdest feeling.

Energy is starting to come back. I don't feel as tired any more, or I should say my tiredness comes in waves. I no longer feel exhausted 24/7. So that is amazing, and great since I have 3 glee clubs starting next week, where the kids sing and dance. I was worried I would be dead, and wouldn't be up to teaching the choreography. So excited to be active again!! I am at the 6 weeks marker, which if my memory serves me correctly I CAN FINALLY DO STUFF! Well, as long as it is things that won't hit me in the face, or anything to rough! : )

I might try to work out tomorrow! I say "try" because I have gotten a little lazy over the past 6 weeks of taking it easy : ) Who wants to do anything, when you can sit around and read a book?


I should say at this point the only thing I really don't like is when I put my lips together I still feel like they don't touch naturally, which causes weird lines across my chin. However, I have noticed in the past 3 weeks the lines are starting to change and hopefully soon will fade as everything heals.

6 weeks post-op

That is how far I can open with bands...I can open farther w/out bands.

Day 37: My smile finally looks normal!

I am happy that my smile finally looks pretty normal to me. It's like the same smile I had before, but a million times better. It's the same little heart shape on top, but without miles of gums showing. I am actually feeling really good about everything now. My profile I love, my chin is becoming more normal to me, and the smile well I REALLY LOVE! I hope it stays just like this. I like it just the way it is now. Now if the lingering swelling can go away, I will be really happy. I just feel a little uneven right now. My right side is more swollen, I am sure most people don't notice it, but it bugs me. 

Off to go work my jaw by singing for the next 6 hours! I am feeling much better today. My jaw is getting used to talking, and singing. It's not so bad any more. I feel the energy coming back, or maybe it was the extra bold freddo I had this morning from peets. Either way I am feeling better! 

Smile

Relaxed 

Day 36: Photos

BEFORE PHOTOS

                     

 Day 36 Photos:

                                                                              

I am definitely feeling more confident about my appearance now. My Smile is starting to feel a bit more normal now that the swelling has gone down. I still feel a bit swollen in my cheeks, especially my right side, and maybe a little in my chin. However, maybe this is what my face will look like from now on. A little fuller in the cheeks/chin area. My face was always extremely thin before.

Oh, and just two days into my exercises with stretching my jaw and I feel like I can open a bit wider all ready. : ) So happy about that. It is not much wider, but I will take anything as a positive.

My bottom lip is starting to regain feeling! I can feel when I am putting chap stick on. It's not quite a "normal" feeling, but feeling none the less and that has me feeling very optimistic that I will regain 100% of my feeling back!

3 more work days and then weekend. Who can't wait for that...THIS GIRL!

Day 34/35: First day back to work.

Day 34/35:

So I skipped the weekend. Busy doing stuff getting ready for my first week back to work!

Well my Monday started off extremely early. I had an appointment with my surgeon yesterday morning at 8:30a in Oakland. Mind you I live in the East bay area, and lucky me got to commute with the thousands of people going to work in Oakland or San Francisco. So what should be a 45 minute drive, was about 2 hours. I shouldn't complain. I commute to my front door for most of my work. So the surgeon was impressed with the swelling, how I looked and was talking. He looked at all the incisions, which are healing nicely, and my bite also looks great. So thats the good news. Things had been feeling like they were shifting, he said it is just my teeth, not the jaw, and things will get better once the orthodontist can align the back teeth and everything touches properly. So that is a relief. He said my jaw muscles are more tense than most patients at this point, which are inhibiting my mouth from opening very wide. So to help work the muscles I can now start exercising my jaw. As in I need to pry it open 5-6 times a day. He demonstrated on me. OUCH! I can tell you what I am going to hate doing 5-6 times a day. The exercise I get to do is to put a finger or knuckle between my teeth and press my upper jaw apart from my lower jaw using my thumb, and massage my jaw with the other hand. Oh and hold that for 15 or more seconds. He said I would need to be aggressive due to my muscles being so tight. Make sure I feel the tension. Well, on a positive note this means sooner than later I will be able to open a little wider so food can get in without falling everywhere. So it's not all bad.

So work. Let me just start by saying boy is it hard to get back into the swing of things after being off 4 1/2 weeks. It was so good to see all of my Monday students, yet exhausting. I had a lot of piano students yesterday thankfully. Talking after about 2 hours was starting to make my jaw have a dull ache. Singing was interesting. I didn't sound terrible, except my lisp and the fact I can't pronounce as well as before, oh and the fact I can't open my mouth very wide. How did I almost forget that small detail? Well, the kids were all happy to be back and didn't seem to mind my mouth. I worked a total of 5 hours, due to some people still being on summer vacation and I was so tired when I got off. My whole body felt like jelly. I forgot how much energy it takes to keep kids engaged in something.

Well today, Tuesday, I teach 8 hours. My jaw is already a little achy from the jaw exercises I did this morning. So took some motrin knowing that it might get worse as the day goes on. I teach in 30 minutes at 10am and get off at 7:30p. I do get an hour break in there. I just desperately need/want my energy back.

I have not been following my normal diet that I was on prior to surgery. I ate very organic, whole foods, and very minimal grains and sugars. I have not been following that at all the past 35 days. So now that I can start chewing a little, I need to get back to that. I always felt good eating healthy. Maybe part of my sluggishness is due to my diet. Tonight for dinner fish, and veggies (soft veggies). Lunch organic pea soup! I need to find some good soft healthy snack foods. I used to eat a lot of lara bars, I wonder if I can eat those again? I won't know until I try right?

Swelling is about the same. I still feel like my cheeks are a little puffy and my chin area. Still numb on my chin, but I can kinda feel things now. I at least know when most things are touching that area. So that is a huge positive knowing that my feeling is starting to come back! I am happy about that!



Happy Tuesday. Here's to eating healthy, and getting this mouth more open!

Day 31

Day 31:

It has been a bittersweet day knowing that today is my last weekday off. I was finally able to enjoy the time off this past week, as I finally had some energy and I have felt pretty good! I have always loved reading, just never had the time for it. The past 3 days I have read and enjoyed my backyard, which I love so much. It has been great! I am excited and nervous going back to work. Only time will tell how I will do talking/singing  6-9 hours a day. I am just glad that this coming Monday I actually have 5 students who are on vacation, so I will only be teaching 7 kids piano and voice. So that won't be so bad I hope. Well, everyone knows I just had jaw surgery so I am sure they are expecting me to not be able to move my jaw. Little do they know I have a whole 8mm or something.

I go to see my surgeon Monday morning. I am making a list of questions for him now, because every time I go I forget all about my questions and get home and think crap, I didn't ask him about this, or that. Not this time folks. I am going to be prepared.

The last week or so when I move my lower jaw forward or move my lips around I really feel my chin, it feels so tight, and strange. Also. I am a little tender at the sides of my chin along my jaw line. It is a little uncomfortable to touch. I feel like I can feel where the bone's were cut and moved along my chin. It might be in my head as I never really felt my chin before to see if I could feel my bones. Not something you think about daily.

Have an amazing weekend everyone!

Day 30: Not much to report + before and after pics.

Nothing new to report I am still checking my bite constantly, as I keep thinking my lower jaw is moving back. I doubt it really is I do feel like my teeth are and have shifted a little do to being wired shut, the elastics, so I am sure once the orthodontist can start tweaking things my bite will feel better.

I have been working on and off this week returning phone calls, emails, texts. Boy, to be honest I don't know how I handled my crazy life before surgery. It's like this surgery gave me a personality change. I feel so laid back and relaxed (relaxed for me). So all in all this was a good thing. Having time off to reflect on life, and the things that are important. Time to see that while work is important, that making time for yourself is just as important. Something that I am going to do from now on. I might even cancel lessons on more holidays in the future, or take a little more time off because I can. I should make more time for not only myself but for my husband as well. Of course I will still be dependable and responsible, as I love my job and I love all of my students... so don't freak out students and parents who are reading this.

Numbness, mouth opening, soreness is all about the same. I want to say I can feel a little bit more of my chin and bottom lip, but at this point it's so normal for it to feel strange I don't know what normal is.

Just went through photos looking at my face before and after. It's pretty crazy. I do feel like my nose is turned up a little more, I don't not like it. My chin is def starting to pop out even more as the swelling goes down in my lips and chin. All in all I like the new look. I have only had one bad migraine since I have been unwired, and my neck pain is way less already. So fingers crossed once my jaw is back to relaxed the tension will be gone, as well as the popping! : )

 BEFORE surgery side profile:

After

BEFORE Surgery Smile:

30 Days Post-op smile:

Day 29: Day of relaxing

Day 29:

Today has been amazing. Yesterday afternoon I decided to see if I could get an appointment for a light massage this morning, and low and behold the place I wanted to go had a cancellation about 2 hours before I called so I was able to get in. It was amazing. It felt great even if it was a light massage. I was afraid to get anything to firm, or crazy due to my jaw. My neck and back have been feeling stiff from sleeping weird, I think I am afraid to get to comfortable and grind my teeth, or put to much pressure on my face. Even though the Doctor cleared me for sleeping on my sides. I am just being super careful! So this was nice. Though I was freaking out with having my head in the little hole, didn't want to put to much pressure on my jaw. So I carefully laid there, not completely relaxed. Typical me style.

Decided to come home and lounge in my backyard pool side, with a book in hand. I am finally reading all the Harry Potter books. I know I am way behind the times. They didn't really seem like my kind of books, I mean they are for children, right? Before the surgery I was reading "A Clash of Kings", (Game of Thrones), but I felt like I needed a book to read while recovering that was an easy read. Something that I could fall asleep reading, or be medicated and could still follow along. My husband knew I was thinking about reading the Harry Potter series so while I was recovering he went out and bought them for me. So thoughtful. So today it is all about RELAXING! Something I have a hard time doing. I decided to write this blog while I am making my lunch and then back outside I go to enjoy the beautiful 88 degree California sun. Only thing that would be better is the beach, in Kauai.

I wished my husband was able to take a few days off now that I am feeling better and getting my energy back. It would be nice to actually get out and do something together. Oh, well that's life.

Everything is pretty much the same. I still have the tingles in my chin on and off. I feel like my bite is changing. Some of my back teeth are now touching on the left side and they were not touching at all when I was unwired. Which the Surgeon said would be an easy fix. So I guess the bands I am wearing are already working on that? I hope it doesn't mean my jaw is moving back into a bad position. I keep checking with my tongue to make sure my front teeth feel the same distance as when they unwired. At this point I am just paranoid. I want everything to stay perfect. I want to be able to bite into an apple, eat ribs, and bite directly into a hamburger and actually cut through everything! Well, my lunch is ready which means I am going back outside to enjoy this amazing Wednesday.

Sophie I have been thinking about you, hope your time back at work hasn't been to difficult and you are still feeling good! Katie, hope you have had a great first day back to school with your amazing new bite, and beautiful smile! Thanks you two (and Chloe) for your encouragement through this wonderful phase in my life. (I am just so positive today that I will even be positive about the outcome of this surgery). Okay, I should say thank you to EVERYONE friends, and family who I know are reading this and just not commenting. Your support and love means the world to me!

FYI-This is a no make-up pool kinda day so don't judge me. Def feel a little lopsided swelling is going on today. I am assuming from sitting out in the sun all day : ) Oh, well it's been totally worth it.

Lopsided smile...yikes!

Day 27: One week until I go back to work.

Day 27:

I woke up thinking that a week from today I will be waking up and getting ready for work. No, scratch that I forgot that next Monday I have an appointment with the surgeon first thing in the morning in Oakland, which means I have to sit in traffic for an hour and a half or more. Yay. I love California traffic. Oh, wait, I hate it.

Luckily, I have a few students who are on vacation next week so I won't start teaching until Noon, so I have plenty of time to get home for my first lesson. I have to tell you I am pretty anxious about teaching. As I have mentioned I am a voice and piano teacher, and well I talk & sing ALL day long. My three longest days I teach for about 8 hours. I am going to have to be really careful to not over due it and tell the kids what they need to do and not show them how to open. Well to be honest I can't show them anyways. I can only open a little over 1/2 an inch, and I def want them to open farther than that on certain notes. I have been singing and doing warm-ups the last few days to try to get my voice and jaw ready to get back into work mode. My jaw doesn't hurt after, more feels achy. I also feel a bit more swollen after singing.


Yesterday I was super annoyed with swelling. Today I have decided that it is what it is, and it's not all bad. I feel like it makes me look like I am a teenager again. Someone commented on Friday that I looked so much younger , um thank you, thank you, thank you. Not that I am OLD per say, but I am not in my beloved 20's anymore.

Sitting here thinking of things I am allowed to do, and what I want to do this week before I go back to work. I really want to clean out our closets, but I am afraid that will strain my jaw. Def need to get some reading in, and lounge in the pool. I am not a lounger. I prefer to be moving, but the RN told me no swimming for 6 week post surgery. I would like to go shopping for a few things we need. Maybe book a massage? I wished that my husband was off this week so we could go somewhere.

This morning my chin is still having non stop tingles, which I am not complaining better to feel something than nothing right? So what I can't feel food running down my chin, but I can feel tingles, and imaginary needles being stuck into my chin.

Can anyone tell me how long it took them to be able to drink out of a straw after surgery??? I am really getting frustrated. I seriously can not get the straw between my teeth and my lips closed to get suction without slurping. Or if I just barely get the straw in, teeth closed and suck liquid squirts everywhere as soon as it hits my teeth. I LOVE STRAWS. I drank my coffee with straws, tea, water, smoothies. Starting to get worried I will never be able to drink out of a straw.

Well that's all for today. Hope everyone who is recovering from jaw surgery has a great day chewing their baby bites, or sipping their liquid food. One day soon we will be biting into a juicy hamburger, and not even think twice about it.

Day 26: Swelling and clicking, and aches, oh my!

Day 26:

While I have come a long way in 26 days (it will be 4 weeks post surgery on Tuesday), I also feel like I have a long way to go. I have been experiencing this clicking sound in my ears when I swallow, which after reading on the internet that seems to be "normal" for many people and it is just a little fluid in the ears. Which doesn't seem to be anything to be alarmed about and has nothing to do directly with the surgery. So thats reassuring, however I plan on talking to my surgeon when I see him next week. It is annoying.

 The swelling in my cheeks is getting annoying, it hasn't went down since last week. I feel like swelling is at a complete stand still. I was hoping it would be almost gone since my swelling really didn't get that bad compared to most. My lower teeth have been super achy today, similar to how they felt when I was wired shut. It feels as though my braces were adjusted and things are shifting, but the ortho has not adjusted anything.  : (

I can only open my mouth slightly wider than my index finger. I wish I could open it just a little bit wider. Hopefully soon. I start work a week from tomorrow, so I am thinking once I start teaching again and really working my jaw it will start loosening up after a few days. I am planning on it being terribly achy for the first week. I am prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best.

Chewing is getting easier, probably because I am better about not trying to over due it. Sticking to softer foods, though my paper Kaiser gave me says after 2 weeks being unwired I can gradually increase the consistency of my diet to include items such as chicken, tender red meat, salads, and fresh fruits. Though it does mention I will most likely need to cut up the food into small pieces.

My chin and lip have been experiencing some crazy feelings. One minute my lip feels like it is burning, and then my chin gets a sharp pain almost like someone poked a needle into it. Needless to say it is distracting and annoying.

Sleeping is getting better. I feel like every night I wake up less and less due to being afraid of crushing my jaw. I am also afraid I am grinding my teeth in the middle of the night. I wake up to a little tension in the jaw, so something else I want to address with my surgeon. I am sure I can't clench with to much force at the moment due to the weak muscles but you never know. I would rather not have to re-do this surgery... ever again.

Sorry about the mess. Laundry day. Cleaning the sheets, and duvet cover... 

I really like this side of my face, more than the other side. 

Day 24: Just another day.

Day 24:

Well it's been another day down. I've had a lot of little zings in my chin today, some not so great. Also, I am feeling my chin like the bone or something when I make faces that pull that area. It feels tight, and strange. Hopefully all of that means I am getting feeling back. I would love to have feeling back so I at least know when I have food running down my chin.

Last night I made gluten free pasta and thought I cooked it long enough to make it soft similar to the consistency of pancakes, okay I know it would never be that soft, I was breaking the rules a little. I ate it, but I am paying the price today. My jaw is so stiff today. I feel like I can barely open it, as in back to where I started after I was unwired. Sad day. I was just starting to feel like I could get food into my mouth without it falling off the spoon or fork due to hitting my teeth.

Swelling is a roller coaster. One day I feel like it has gone down, the next day I feel puffy in my lips, cheeks and chin. Today is one of those days where I just feel swollen. I guess this is just how it goes. I do feel that I am less puffy when I drink a TON of water for a few days in a row. I have slacked a little the last 2 days. Normally I have been drinking about 110oz a day. The last two days I think I only did about 75oz. So I guess I need to be better about that. Even if it's all in my mind, lots of water is a good thing.

My bite seems to be getting better just with the bands they are making me wear. They seem to be closing the open bite issue going on in my back teeth. So that's exciting, maybe I won't have to wear the braces as long. One can dream right?

Well here's to another weekend. For those of you who had surgery following, I love reading all of your blogs and feeling like there is someone else out there that understands my zings, and eating issues. : ) Hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Day 23: Whoops skipped a few.

Day 23:

Not sure why I skipped a few days of blogging. I have had time to do it, there just really has not been anything exciting to report the past few days.

Swelling: It seems to be worse when I wake up and goes down as the day goes on, which I would imagine is probably pretty normal. I am sleeping on my side now, I called a few days ago to ask when I could do that and the RN said "Oh, you can do that now"... well thanks for letting me know.*Sarcasm*

Numbness: I still can't feel my chin and above, but I think I am getting a little feeling back in my lip and the sides of my chin area below my lips. I say think, because that whole area just feels strange to me. When I touch my lip I feel a little, but it doesn't feel normal.

Drinking from a straw: I was told I can start doing that, so I tried. I can't do it. I just can't figure out how that is supposed to work without getting whatever I am drinking all over the place. It feels so un-natural. I have forgotten how to drink from a straw. Nothing feels right. Such a strange feeling. Hopefully one day I will get the hang of that again. I miss straws right now. I should probably try again, it has been a week since I last tried. I just gave up hope on them I guess.

Energy: I feel like I had more energy last week than this week. I don't know what that means as far as recovery. Maybe the bones are starting to heal more so they are sucking the life from me? Or maybe I have just become lazy? Who knows at this point.

One thing that is bothering me is that I had expected my jaw to open farther than it currently does. My surgeon at my unwiring appointment did not tell me to do jaw exercises or anything. Unfortunately, my next appointment was moved back due to him being on vacation to a week from this Monday. I guess I should call the RN or him and ask if there is something I can or should be doing. Not being able to open very wide makes it difficult to get food in. I open and most of it falls off the fork or spoon as it hits my teeth. So I have to smash the food down to make it fit.

This whole recovery process is strange to me. After reading so many blogs its crazy how so many people get this surgery and the recovery timeline is so different. Some are wired shut, while others are banded. Some can start eating soft foods immediately, while others obviously can not due to being wired shut. Some are chewing at 2 weeks post op, others are chewing 5 weeks or more after post op. Some start doing jaw exercises immediately while others wait 6 weeks post op or longer. It's just insane that the process after surgery is so different. I know with this surgery there are no two surgeries that are the same due to each person being different, but you would think most surgeons would have a common recovery method.

Day 19/20:

Day 19 (Sunday 8/4)):

Well I have been bad about blogging the last few days. I feel like I am always a day behind. So after Saturday's party I took motrin when I got home for the sore jaw, which worked and all was fine by Sunday morning.

My husband and I went to see Wolverine on Sunday. I love all the x-men movies, so even though yes it was a little cheesy I loved it. After that we came home and rested. I was still pretty tired from the day before. I feel like my schedule needs to be do a lot one day, stay home and rest the next. I get energy so I feel up to getting out and going places, and then get super exhausted and don't want to move the next day.

Chewing is getting a little easier. I have ate pizza, muffins, rice, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, refried beans, oatmeal, cereal (just let it get a little mushy), soup, chipotle veggie bowl (no lettuce). Just to mention a few. I promise I have ate more than that in the last week.

Day 20 (Monday 8/5):

I saw my orthodontist who was extremely pleased with the way everything lined up, and said that he would need to fix the open bite happening in my back molar. The teeth do not all touch at the moment. The next time I see him he will be taking off my surgical hooks, and all of the braces and putting new everything back on. So I will have clear braces once again. I can't wait for him to start adjusting and moving things around. I want these braces off!

So after that appointment I ran a few errands and then back home to get ready for the San Francisco Giants game! One of my amazing friends, Elissa, works in San Francisco and her work from time to time gives her a few of their season tickets and so she invited us. The seats are amazing, 5 rows behind the Giants dugout, can't get much better than that! I was so excited to get out of the house and do something that felt "normal". Loved hanging out with her, catching up one last time before she has her baby. Yes, I am surrounded by people having babies right now. My sister in law has a 7 day old baby, and our best friend Elissa is due in a week or so.  Elissa and her husband left at the 7th inning stretch as her back was killing her, and my husband and I stayed. Which turned out the 8th inning was the most exciting. Giants scored 3 runs. I am just glad they won the game we were at, they've been pretty terrible this season. I started getting cold top of the 8th, and started to tense up. My jaw started to achy, as my teeth started chattering. So we ended up leaving right after the 8th inning. I could feel the muscle in my jaw protruding, I was worried I was straining my jaw. Came home and took motrin, and all seemed to be okay in the morning. I was just SUPER tired. I walked more than I have in weeks from the parking lot to the game, and then back to the parking lot.

So the moral of that story is if it is cold where you live and you have jaw surgery bundle up because shivering and teeth chattering is not a pleasant experience after jaw surgery.

SUNDAY

MONDAY