One Week Post-Op

Amazing, I made it through the first week! Aside from my mouth being banded completely shut preventing me from me able to put anything in my mouth other than liquid, everything has been pretty seemless. The recovery process has been a lot better than I ever imagined.

I should have blogged the night before surgery, so I will back up to then. I was not altogether that nervous going in until about 11 p.m. on Friday night when I could no longer eat or drink, then it became a reality that I would be having this surgery that I have been talking for so long that I am sure so many of you were tired of hearing about. I originally planned to go out to a BIG dinner with all the food I could possibly eat. Unfortunately, I ended up with pizza at Boomers. But, I can't complain, I spent the evening with Kailey and CJ at Boomers. We didn't get home until well after midnight, so I had exactly 4 hours to sleep before the BIG day!

I woke at 4 am to get ready to head to the hospital. I wanted to make sure that I took a shower and got to do all the stuff like shaving my legs and flossing since I was not sure when I would get to again. I headed to the hospital and arrived by my check-in time at 5:30 and reality was setting in. I started getting a little jittery, but still excited and thrilled to finally be having the surgery. I got all checked-in and the taken to the surgical prep area (SPA) where there got me changed and did all the pre-op paperwork. And, then it was time for the part that I dreaded most: the I.V.I am not sure if the crying was more from the IV that was about to be inserted into my arm or the fact that my surgery was to begin in the next twenty minutes. I am pretty sure it was a combination of both. Well, it was a very dramatic process getting the IV. They put some numbing medicine on first and I freaked out because it stung so much and I thought that was the needle, however, the needle was still to come. I tried to remain calm and held my breath while the nurse inserted the needle and catheter for the IV. Thank God, she was really good and it was not as bad as I imagined.

Once all the commotion from the I.V. was over the anesthesiologist arrived to talk about pain control and what was to come in the next few minutes and after surgery. I get a bit emotional again when he told me about the tube they would be putting down my nose because he mentioned that I may be awake when they remove it, but most likely would not really feel it be taken out. (Boy, when I woke up, I was happy that I didn't feel or remember any tube being removed from my nose). After the anesthesiologist talked to me, my surgeon Dr. Tawfilis arrived to talk with me. Of course, I should mention, this was just a few minutes before I was supposed to go into the operating room and realized that I still had my contacts in. I was trying to remove them and in doing so, I ended up losing one, so not sure if it was still in my eye or if it had fallen out (I'm pretty sure I got out).

Then it was time to go to surgery and the anesthesiologist (a wonderful person who did a great job medicating me) provided me with some Versed as I was whisked away to the OR. Once I was in the OR, I am pretty sure I was out within 60 seconds of arriving. Surgery in total took about two and a half hours. When I woke up from surgery, it was awkward because I couldn't open my mouth at all and started freaking out a bit as I was "coming out of it". The nurse kept telling me I needed to relax, but it was hard. Once I was fully coherent though, I was fine. I was taken to the room and from there everything was pretty uneventful. I was quite swollen (pictures to come The next day was a little more difficult for me, as I started to wonder why I put myself through this, but each day since I am thankful that I did go through with the surgery. I stayed in the hospital until Monday morning.

I have been staying at my aunt's all week and just taking it easy because even the smallest tasks take so much energy, which I don't have much of. Kailey came to visit me on Monday night but was afraid to see me. Once she saw that I wasn't that bad she warmed up and actually came to give me a hug and kiss. She left with her friend who brought her over to visit, but returned an hour later to stay with me. I was so happy to have her there with me! The first four days I mostly slept and ate very little. I realized that I had not been taking my thyroid medication and had to figure out how I was going to since I could open my mouth to "pop a pill". So once again, I got pretty emotional after a couple of days and a little depressed since I had not been able to take my thyroid medication. I have now figured out how to take it and am doing much better.

All in all, I have been pleased with the recovery and feel that I have made significant progress. The worst part is not being able to eat. I am lucky if I get 500 calories a day. I drink as many shakes and smoothies as I can. I am not in much pain and for the last two days have only been taking pain meds before bed to be able to sleep more comfortably. I have gone out in public a couple of times and people look at me a little strange, but I suppose it's okay since they don't really know what's up with my face and it's only natural to stare at someone who looks different.

I go to the doctor on Monday and I am hoping that he will take some of these bands off, but I won't hold my breath since I was told that I will have them on for at least 4-6 weeks. The swelling is looking much better today and each day is going down more and more.

Well, this is the latest on me and my progress. I will try to be more diligent in posting updates. And, for those of you who have asked for pictures, I refuse to post pictures until it is over with =)

6 weeks until the BIG day!

Hi, my name is Lynnette and I am 32 years old. I live in San Diego, CA. In 6 weeks, I will have jaw surgery to correct the way it functions. I hope this blog will serve as a way for me to update my friends on my condition post-op (since I won't be able to talk very much) and also as a place for me to log my frustrations and triumphs.

I had orthodontics during my late teenage years and it was then that my doctor recommended I have oral surgery to correct my bite since braces could only do so much. At that time, I decided to forego surgery and instead got braces to correct my bite as much as possible the "non-surgical" way. Upon getting the braces off I was instructed to wear my retainer as often as possible. Well, unfortunately, I wore it less due to the fact that I was pregnant and very ill every single day (ie. vomiting). While the braces did a beautiful job straightening my teeth, my teeth shifted (slightly) over the years.

In early 2008, I went to the dentist asking what could be done to correct the minor shifts of my teeth. After doing x-rays and impressions, and consulting with an oral surgeon, he recommended I be a candidate for orthognathic surgery. Being that he was the second dentist to recommend surgery to correct my teeth and jaws, I thought it was worthwhile to entertain the idea of having oral surgery.

Basically, my lower jaw doesn't align with my top jaw, I have very few chewing surfaces (can only chew on my left molars), I can't bite into anything because the area between my top and bottom teeth is open, and I have TMJ. I know all of this sounds miserable. Trust me, it is. The funny thing is, most of my close friends and family never noticed my jaw problem. But I can see it, and feel it, and it makes talking and eating quite difficult, and so here I am, counting down the days until I get my face broken.

I did some comprehensive research about the surgery and weighed the pros and cons when I FINALLY decided to go through with it. However, I would soon learn how much time and frustration would go into the process. My mother hated the idea of me having this surgery, knowing my jaws would be wired shut, I will not be eating for 2 months, likely to loose weight (expect to loose 15-20 lbs.), etc.

When I told my family and friends, they didn't quite understand why I would do such a thing. I explained to them that I NEEDED the surgery, it wasn't merely for cosmetic reasons. Sure my teeth were slightly turned and my jaws were misaligned, but honestly I could've lived with that. The problem was that my jaws weren't functioning.

And thus the journey begins...