Jaw Surgery Day 26

Ok, first I just want to shout out to some of my fellow jaw surgery bloggers who I have been following. They have all had double jaw surgery, they have been wired or banded shut, and one has dealt with an infection. As difficult as everything has been for me they have had it worse! So, I just want to say that each of you have been an amazing inspiration and encouragement to me! Thank you so much for sharing your stories!!!

I intended to make a 3 week update last Thursday, but I have been so exhausted the past few days I really haven't had the energy. I knew this recovery was going to take a long time, but sometimes I get impatient and frustrated with the reality of how slow it is.

Common Questions I am Asked:

Are you in pain?
No, generally I am not pain. Sometimes I sleep too much on one side or use my jaw a lot it will get sore and hurt a little, but overall I am just quite uncomfortable. Even in the first week (which was the worst) I would have described myself as more uncomfortable rather than in pain.

Have you lost weight?
I don't own a scale and I haven't been weighed anywhere else since before surgery, so I don't know.  My clothes are fitting just slightly looser around the waistline. I don't know if that means I have actually lost weight or is just a consequence of the liquid diet not filling me up the same. Frankly, being so thin has always been a really sensitive issue for me so I'd rather not know the numbers.

Can you eat?
This coming Thursday (Nov. 15th) I am allowed to start eating soft foods! I asked if I could have a fast food burger (those are soft, right?) and was told no. Boo! Oh well. I am really excited for scrambled eggs, and macaroni and cheese. I don't have any idea when I will get to move on to more than just soft foods.

Other things:
Swelling has reached a point where it isn't changing much from day to day. I really am still quite swollen while at the same time looking a lot more "normal". I probably see the swelling more than anybody else and even I get tricked in to thinking I am looking quite well. Which, it is true I am looking much better! I am even somewhat comfortable with how I look. But the problem is that it makes me think I should be doing a lot better physically than I am. I have been really really low energy. Right now if I get up, get dressed, and unload the dishwasher that is productive day. I have to actively remind myself that it really wasn't that long ago that I had major surgery (it weird how your mind deals with traumatic events. My surgery feels like a distant memory) and I am right on track with where I should be physically.

Numbness is probably the most mentally/emotionally challenging thing for me to deal with. I don't even really know how to explain how distressing it is. I don't think if anyone had tried to explain it to me beforehand that I would have understood. My entire lower lip and chin are still basically numb. I think sliiight feeling is coming back in tiny little spots, but it is really hard to tell. Most of the time the lower lip and chin tingle (like if you sat on your foot and it fell asleep) and while that is really annoying it is also somewhat comforting because it means the nerves are trying to heal themselves. If I don't feel any tingles for awhile I start to get paranoid.

Breakouts! This is kind of a gross one, but I want to mention it for people behind me who are going through this. Another girl mentioned her face was really oily after surgery and she was breaking out. Well, when I read that I thought since it hadn't happened to me that I was in the clear. Wrong! Since my last post my face has decided to be quite oily and my chin especially has been breaking out awfully! Normally I have really dry skin, so this is odd for me and I am not quite sure how to handle it. My regular face wash is too gentle. My husband's face wash is too harsh. I am going to be treating it with a homemade coconut oil and salt scrub (that is literally all it is. mix some oil and salt together. scrub on face) that my sister recommended to me. Cleansing, moisturizing, and healing all in one! So we will see how that goes.

I am really self conscious of my smile. Since my lower lip and chin are not only numb, but also stiff my smile is really goofy. My husband says that when I am happy and smiling without realizing it that my smile does look natural. But I haven't seen that! I used to get compliments on my smile. Add that to the list of things I didn't realize were so important to me until after surgery. I hope I get my smile back!

How about some pictures! Since swelling hasn't been changing much and I have been really tired I haven't been taking a lot of photos.

Day 18

Day 24
See! Almost a week between and no discernible difference.  I think it is hard to tell in photos (especially when I do my make-up so nice and pick the best photos.) but I am really am still very swollen. And the right side is more swollen the left. I am not sure why. 

Profile day 25
I have a chin! It makes my nose fit better on my face.

I am not at the point yet where I am happy that I went through with this. If my lower lip and chin stay numb I feel that would in no way be a good trade off for a correct bite. In fact I would probably end up depressed. The thing that keeps me going right now is hope that the feeling will come back. I can say now that even though I am not in love with how I look, I can live with it (just as a point of clarification I would like to stress that I went through this surgery to correct a medical deformity with my jaw, not for cosmetic reasons). And really, since I am still quite swollen that should only get better. So, if my feeling does return then I do I think I will be able to say that I am glad I went through this.

Wow! This turned out a lot longer than I expected! Kudos to you if you read all the way through! Also, thank you so much to everyone who comments on my blog. Your kind words are really appreciated!

I don't go back to see my surgeon again until after Thanksgiving so unless anything major happens I don't think I will be updating again till then.

Jaw Surgery Day 15

It has been two weeks! I am done with antibiotics and I haven't had any pain killers in a few days! My mood is still down, but improving.

I was supposed to have my two week post-op today, but I went in on Monday since I had been running a low fever. I checked out fine, so I don't know what the fever is about.

Anyway, how about some pics!

Day 10. 

Went to the mall with my little sis to get a new bottle of foundation. She got her first bottle of foundation and a tube of concealer while we were there! 

Day 11.

Day 14.

My little sis left early in the morning. So I am taking care of myself now. Managed to do some yoga. Starting to feel a little more human!

Big messy sock bun! So awesome for dirty hair. ;)

Profile. I thought this sorta half silhouette effect was neat

Day 15. Today. 

I do feel pretty with make-up on.

Swelling has reached a point where it going down really slowly, but you can see a little definition there between my cheekbone and my cheek! 

Thank so much to everyone who has given me an encouraging comment either here or on my facebook. This has been the most difficult thing I have ever gone through and each one of your comments really mean a lot to me!