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| before/after 3 months. |
OHH GUESS WHAT. I have an ortho appt a few weeks ago and asked him when he thought id get my braces off since i was debating when id take senior pictures etc. my ortho said i would get them off by january. so YAY. 3-4 more months from now isn't horrible :)
I still have clicking more than not in my left jaw joint when i eat which wasn't there before surgery... but we'll see. some days it isn't there at all, so maybe itll go away eventually? idk..
I finally feel more normal when i see my reflection and can accept that this is my face. i dont just see "puffy cheeks" when i look in a mirror anymore. woo! Sometimes i still feel a little stiff and swollen, but just depends on the day.
Numbness is bearable at this point. my top gums are still completely numb which is fairly annoying. but oh well. everything else has at least partial feeling.
Also.... i have this weird feeling between my left nostril and my left top tooth. if i blow my nose the tooth and jaw area above it kinda vibrates.. and i feel certain things in both spots... maybe the nerve healed weirdly? like if one area feels something.. the other does too. and when i have a stuffy nose and i talk loudly.. the tooth and that part of my jaw vibrates too. sigh... sorry that was not a good explanation. but it's just so gosh darn annoying! hope this isn't permanent :(
my biggest complaint though is the sensitivity. brushing with my sonicare hurts so badly!! i hate it :( sensitivity sucks let me tell you.
and now you get the loads of pictures. because jaw surgery is a good excuse to take many selfies and not feel (too) ashamed. hope all is well with you guys!!
-Katie:)
So glad to hear you are doing good, and chewing more! : ) I hear you on the sensitivity. I feel like my hands are touching chalk 24/7 and causes that weird gross sensation to your teeth? Or is that just me...lol Well whatever it is that I am feeling, I am about to lose it. It makes me cringe most of the day, and gives me shivers. Hopefully it will be gone soon! How is opening your mouth?? I can get 1 knuckle with a little space left over now. I am dying to open more so I can actually take real bites of something, mainly a hamburger! : ) Well, I hope things continue to heal. You look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteaw thank you so much!! i finally got to 35 mm for opening my mouth which is just barely my 3 fingers or 21 tongue depressors. my surgeon said he tries to get each patient to at least 35 mm and then doesnt worry about too much further... so i sometimes try to stretch it out more, but i can deal with it like this easily. my mouth always feels pretty gross! and with the lingering numbness, sometimes i dont even notice that i have food stuck places. and trying to brush thoroughly is NOT a fun experience yet. i took my first bite out of a hamburger a couple weeks ago, let me tell you.. it was great! still kinda painful to take bites out of things, so im sticking with ripping things apart and chewing.. but i feel like it completely depends on the day! one day i feel perfectly fine and can pretend i didn't have surgery... but then other days i go insane with the aching and excess pain and sensitivity.
Deletebut you look so gorgeous :) :) i hope you continue to feel better and better and are able to open your mouth wider!! it is not fun not being able to fit food in your mouth. do you have any pain still?
WOW! That is awesome you are at 35mm. I can get two fingers in... bleh. lol I don't remember how many tongue depressors that is, but I know I need more! I am glad to hear that eventually it happens, your mouth finally opens back to "normal" again. I was getting worried, thinking I should be able to open farther...that I haven't been pushing myself to open farther. JEALOUS, and happy for you about the biting into the hamburger. : )
DeleteThank you! I am feeling much more comfortable about everything except for the line under my bottom lip, but it's been moving and changing around so I am hoping that is just some swelling. Some days I feel like I look normal, and some days I feel like my face looks wide...and then I remember my face is wider. The pain I was having on my right side of my jaw is going away, I rarely have it and it's normally at night and after I have ate things that are difficult to chew both for lunch and dinner. Life seems to be returning to normal.... except for the biting into foods! I am like you, I am afraid to try. Well, let's be honest most things probably won't fit in there for me to bite down on anyways (hamburger). : ) Have an amazing week!!!
aw thank you so much, you too!! and i know what you mean depending on the day i feel like i have such a wide face but then the next i feel like i look more normal, and i can't decide if it is all in my head or not! chewing hard foods gives me a headache and makes my jaw ache but it is still worth it because food is too yummy!
DeleteHiya Katie, you look so gorgeous! Your profile is stunning and I love all the selfies (I've been doing a few myself lately). You said you haven't tried raw carrot or apple yet - I'm not surprised, the idea of eating them after jaw surgery scares the crap out of me!
ReplyDeleteHow have you been with the stitches - did they cause much 'tightening' or restriction on your lips? I find that when I haven't smiled or talked for a while that my mouth becomes tight and frozen from the wounds healing, and I have to pull funny faces to 'stretch' the skin out again.
Corrinne x
aw thank corrinne:):) i definitely have that feeling when i wake up in the morning!! my upper lip feels stiff and it is weird to try to fully smile until i kinda warm it up i guess. my stitches stayed in my upper lip for at least a whole month. but i still definitely have stiffness which is a bit annoying... but at least it isnt painful! i hope things just keep getting easier for you, you have made it through the worst at least :) and you look so beautiful, so yay for that! i just think that having all of my teeth touch afterwards made it all worth it, regardless of what physical changes occurred. But i hope your recovery keeps going fairly smoothly! :) keep updating, (and if you have anything else to ask, feel free, i could talk about my jaw surgery all day!)
Deletekatie:)