This past Friday night I decided to test out my jaw by eating my first steak since my surgery. Actually I wasn't really trying to test the jaw out, but steak was the only thing on the menu that I could actually eat since I do not eat fish or pork. I actually was able to eat the steak and had very little pain or issue chewing. I was so excited about being able to eat steak that I ordered it again the next night at Restaurant Iris in Memphis. The food at Iris was really great and the chef Kelly English was recently named Food and Wine's Best New Chef. I had bread pudding to wash it down and left feeling really happy.
One thing I forgot to mention was that last week when I went to the surgeon I told him about the pain I had been having in my jaw. He examined me and said he suspected it was just a muscle strain that was causing the pain and soreness and he gave me some muscle relaxers to take at night before I go to bed. I have actually only taken it once since he prescribed it but it really did help to alleviate the pain I had been feeling.
In some other good news, I finally have a week where I have no doctors appointments. Last week was killer with the orthodontist appointment, my annual physical and my surgeon appointment. I am glad to finally have a break from having to sit in a doctors office.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Achy Breaky Jaw
Today marks the 5 week since surgery mark. This past Monday I had my first real orthodontist appointment since surgery (the first one was simply an appointment so they could take some new x-rays). They took one x-ray and changed the bottom wires on my braces, but more importantly they took over control of the rubber bands on my teeth. The rubber bands they gave me were much less rigid than the ones the surgeon had been using and so it is a bit easier to talk and even to eat a little with the bands still on my teeth. The only thing that is kind of annoying is that the bands are placed on different teeth than before and it makes my teeth really achy and uncomfortable.
The other thing that has been achy is my jaw. I do not know if it is the fact that I am becoming less numb or all of the running I have been doing, or maybe just a combination of both, but my jaw has been really sore over the past week. I get pain up high in my jaw and it radiates down to my chin. I have a surgeon appointment today so hopefully he can give me an idea of why this is happening and maybe some ways to alleviate it (I am under the impression, however, that he is just going to tell my not to run).
Here are the week 5 pictures. My jaw is a bit more swollen than usual and I still have no feeling in my lower lip, chin or the insides of my mouth. Also below are the September 2007 and September 2009 x-rays of my mouth.
The other thing that has been achy is my jaw. I do not know if it is the fact that I am becoming less numb or all of the running I have been doing, or maybe just a combination of both, but my jaw has been really sore over the past week. I get pain up high in my jaw and it radiates down to my chin. I have a surgeon appointment today so hopefully he can give me an idea of why this is happening and maybe some ways to alleviate it (I am under the impression, however, that he is just going to tell my not to run).
Here are the week 5 pictures. My jaw is a bit more swollen than usual and I still have no feeling in my lower lip, chin or the insides of my mouth. Also below are the September 2007 and September 2009 x-rays of my mouth.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
One month
Yesterday marked one month since my surgery. It was also the first week since I had surgery that I had no doctors appointments whatsoever. I will, however, more than make up for it with 3 next week.Not so much to report. The insides of my mouth are still getting irritated and really swollen from the braces and bands and it is has caused some noticeable swelling on along my jawline, particularly on the right-hand side. Still numb on the insides of my mouth, my bottom lip and chin and I have been having more frequent pins and needles feelings and warm sensations in my lip.
One thing that did occur in the past week was my orthodontist uploaded my original records to my online account so I have access to how things looked prior to even having braces. This should give people a pretty good idea of why I needed braces and then jaw surgery once the braces had done their job. As you can see from the first picture, I always had a pretty bad overbite so much so that my front teeth completely covered my bottom teeth when I bit down. For those who do not know any better, this should not happen. In addition to that my front teeth were not standing up straight, but instead were slanted back toward my bottom teeth as seen in the second picture. This slant combined with the overbite would have eventually cause erosion of my lower gums. The third picture is post iBraces. As you can see my teeth were straighter but my overbite had been accentuated by the fact that my top teeth no longer slanted back towards my lower teeth. And thus, the jaw surgery was needed to advance my lower jaw and teeth and correct my bite.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sores
There have been few developments since I went to the surgeon last week. Since he okayed me to run I have been running/walking about an hour and a half everyday which has greatly improved my appetite but also caused my jaw to swell slightly. I haven't been so good about doing my heat compresses but hopefully being more diligent about that will cause the swelling to subside.
One thing that is new is sores inside my mouth from the rubbing of my bands and my braces against my lips. I have these sores on my lip and on the inside of my right cheek. It actually doesn't bother me too much because I am still numb in these areas but I do notice that much of my swelling is in the areas where I have these sores.
As I mentioned above, the return to more vigorous exercise has caused me to be constantly hungry. I can open my mouth pretty wide without the bands and can chew a bit too so I have been eating like a pig. I have gained a couple of pounds back and hopefully I can get a few more on in the coming weeks.
One thing that is new is sores inside my mouth from the rubbing of my bands and my braces against my lips. I have these sores on my lip and on the inside of my right cheek. It actually doesn't bother me too much because I am still numb in these areas but I do notice that much of my swelling is in the areas where I have these sores.
As I mentioned above, the return to more vigorous exercise has caused me to be constantly hungry. I can open my mouth pretty wide without the bands and can chew a bit too so I have been eating like a pig. I have gained a couple of pounds back and hopefully I can get a few more on in the coming weeks.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Post-Op Surgeon Visit #4
Today was my fourth post-op visit with the surgeon and three weeks and a day since my surgery. As you can see below the swelling is pretty much gone and I have been feeling really great. The surgeon gave me the okay to start running again (I had been running a little bit for the the past week on the sly, but not more than like 2-3 minutes at a time in the middle of my walks) which made me really excited. I think he could tell how psyched I was when he gave me the okay, and he made sure to quickly remind me not to overdue it and he warned me again that I may begin to swell again the first week or so when I begin running. This evening I went to the gym and ran and walked for an hour, getting in around 7 miles. It felt good to run again and two hours later I do not appear to be swollen at all. My next surgeon appointment is in 2 weeks.
I still have no feeling in my bottom lip, chin or on the insides of my mouth and gums. A few times in the past week I have accidentally chewed on my lip or the sides of my mouth when I am eating causing them to bleed so I have to be mindful of this when I start really eating again. I have been able to eat more soft foods lately but I can only open my mouth a few centimeters and I have to cut my food up so small to get it in my mouth which it really time consuming. It literally takes me about 4 times as long as normal to eat a meal. I also get very sore if I open my mouth too much and sometimes it is just easier to drink my meals, but I try to get in at least one non-liquid meal a day.
I still have no feeling in my bottom lip, chin or on the insides of my mouth and gums. A few times in the past week I have accidentally chewed on my lip or the sides of my mouth when I am eating causing them to bleed so I have to be mindful of this when I start really eating again. I have been able to eat more soft foods lately but I can only open my mouth a few centimeters and I have to cut my food up so small to get it in my mouth which it really time consuming. It literally takes me about 4 times as long as normal to eat a meal. I also get very sore if I open my mouth too much and sometimes it is just easier to drink my meals, but I try to get in at least one non-liquid meal a day.
Friday, August 28, 2009
So Gross
I kind of wish I had taken a picture of this, but it was so gross it might have made those with weak stomachs vomit. Last night after dinner we came back to the house we are renting and I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Since dinner was the first time I had taken my bands off this was to be the first time I was able to brush my tongue since I had surgery. Because I was only able to open my mouth a tiny bit even to eat I could not stick my tongue out very far to brush it but what I could get through my teeth contained one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen. I think the only way to describe it was to say that it looked like a very thick layer of mold was growing on my tongue. It took much scraping and a ton of brushing to remove it. Perhaps when I can finally open wide and brush the back of my tongue I will take a picture so you can see the nastiness that is a tongue that has not seen the light of day nor a toothbrush in weeks.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Post Op Surgeon Visit #3 and the Vineyard
Yesterday was my 3rd post-op visit with the surgeon. Overall he was really pleased. He said he was amazed that all of my swelling was almost gone only 2 weeks after surgery and everyone in the office was really shocked at how quickly I had healed. The surgeon said I could now begin to take the bands off when I ate and he taught me how to remove them. I thought that when I removed the bands I would be able to open fairly wide, however, I could barely open wide enough to get a spoon in. I asked the surgeon if he thought it would be okay for me to start running again and he said that because I had the infection last week he wanted to wait at least another week before he gave me the green light to resume running. Hopefully when I see him again next week he will give me the okay because I am getting a bit tired of walking for an hour and a half everyday to accomplish what I could with just 40 minutes of running.As part of our anniversary, Jonathan and I are spending a long weekend in Martha's Vineyard. We got to the island at 7PM last night and decided to go out to dinner to see what kinds of foods I could eat. We ended up driving to Edgartown and eating at an Italian place called Chesca's. I removed my bands and ordered polenta and was able to use a fork in order to put some of it into my mouth. The biggest problem is opening my mouth wide enough to get the fork in which is fairly painful and causes me to get most of my food on my lip (which can't feel and thus do not know is there). So basically I put some food on a fork, try to get it in my mouth and then quickly with my other hand run a napkin over my lip to make sure I do not have food everywhere. It is really time consuming and requires a good deal of effort to get even a little bit of food in my mouth and ensure I don't look like a hot mess.
After the polenta we ordered a chocolate cake with mocha buttercream and ice cream for dessert. It was still difficult to get the food in my mouth but we ended up finishing the whole thing together and I, for the first time in two weeks, felt full, happy and completely satisfied.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Anniversary
Today actually marks the anniversary of 2 events in my life, one much more important than the other, but an anniversary nonetheless. Lets save the important anniversary for last. Today is two weeks since my surgery. I am now back to going into the office and most of the swelling in my face is gone. I am down another pound since last week, so I have lost a total of 7 lbs since the surgery and my wedding and engagement rings are super loose on my finger. I still have no feeling in my lower lip or my chin and the side of my jaw that had the infection still feels lumpy compared to the other side of my jaw.
Today is also my and Jonathan's wedding anniversary. To celebrate I got some cupcakes from a great bakery in Boston called Sweet and was hoping to put them in the blender with some ice cream and milk and have a great shake. The only problem is that when I blended the cupcake it didn't taste any different than a normal vanilla shake and I was really disappointed. Since we couldn't go out to eat, Jonathan and I went to see 500 Days of Summer. On the ride home Jonathan asked if I was craving certain foods and I said I really wanted cheese and pizza but in general I just wanted to be able to not have to work for my food. I just wanted to pop one of the pieces of the mango I was cutting this evening right after I cut them, or lick the icing off those cupcakes instead of having to wait to add all the other ingredients and make a salsa I could drink. Maybe I am just impatient, but I like to taste the ingredients of things I am making as I make them and not being able to do that makes me unhappy.
Below are the two week pictures. Jaw is much less swollen.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
X-rays-Pre and Post Op
My orthodontist finally loaded the x-rays taken last week to my online account so now you can see the difference in my bite that the surgery created. On the top is my x-ray one week before surgery. You can really see my overbite on that one. On the bottom is the x-ray from a week after the surgery. A few things to note: obviously the pins in my jaw. When I blew up the photo it looked like there were 6 pins in my jaw and I believe there are 3 on each side of the jaw. Another thing is that my bite is now aligned and if you look at the curve of my chin (not the bones but the soft tissue) you will see that the curve/depression is much less severe in the post-op x-ray. It is a subtle change that is probably not detectable by anyone but my surgeon, but an improvement nonetheless.
Back to work
One positive thing about the surgeon's visit yesterday was that he said I could go back to work. I am very excited about this because even though I was only working from home for about 6 days, I was starting to really get sick of having no interaction with any other human beings everyday save for the contractors working on the bathroom (them and my cats, of course). I hated being inside and having to communicate everything over email and using the remote desktop system our work has set up because it is painfully slow and tends to go down quite frequently. I had taken to emailing all the documents I needed to my personal account so I could avoid working on the remote desktop but it was really tedious and I was constantly having to flip back and forth between my home desktop and the remote desktop in order to find documents and files. I know a good deal of people who work from home, but I honestly cannot see how they do it without going absolutely insane. In the same way you sometimes get sick of your office or you dread going into work, I was starting to get kind of sick of my own house. By the time Jonathan came home every night I was climbing the walls wanting to just get out of the house, even if it was only to go to the gym. This was actually kind of a good thing for us because we started doing things we usually don't do during weekday evenings, like going out to the movies. In the past 2 weeks we have gone out to see 4 movies (Inglorious Basterds, Time Travelers Wife, In the Loop, and the Hurt Locker) and it has been really great and I hope it is something that we can keep up even though I am returning to work.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Post-op surgeon visit #2
Actually it is my third appointment with the surgeon since my surgery because I had to go in when I had that infection, but it was my second scheduled visit. During me first visit the surgeon told me that during this appointment they would teach me how to take the bands that are holding my jaw/teeth together. I was super excited about this because that would mean I would get to use a spoon and my tongue and could eat some soft foods. Wednesday night is Jonathan and my wedding anniversary and I was excited that we would be able to go out to eat. I had it all planned out, we would go to Al Forno and I would order gnocchi and soup and I would feel full and satisfied.
At the appointment the surgeon said everything looked great, but that he did not want me taking the bands off just yet. So now I have to wait until Thursday until I will be able to put a spoon in my mouth and try eating soft foods. I am really bummed and disappointed but I guess it is only 3 more days. Looks like on our anniversary I will be eating cake blenderized into a milkshake.
Even more than the food, however, I was looking forward to being able to brush the insides of my teeth and my tongue for the first time in 2 weeks. I can only imagine how good it is going to feel when I can finally open my mouth and put a tooth brush inside and get my mouth and teeth super clean.
At the appointment the surgeon said everything looked great, but that he did not want me taking the bands off just yet. So now I have to wait until Thursday until I will be able to put a spoon in my mouth and try eating soft foods. I am really bummed and disappointed but I guess it is only 3 more days. Looks like on our anniversary I will be eating cake blenderized into a milkshake.
Even more than the food, however, I was looking forward to being able to brush the insides of my teeth and my tongue for the first time in 2 weeks. I can only imagine how good it is going to feel when I can finally open my mouth and put a tooth brush inside and get my mouth and teeth super clean.
Food cravings
Not until this weekend had I really been craving any foods. As I mentioned earlier, my liquid diet is very flavorful (thanks in large part to the folks at Gracies) and I feel like I am getting the nutrients and calories I need to work, exercise (walking only) and be fairly productive. However I am starting to get sick of drinks with various combinations of ice cream, milk, peanut butter and chocolate and there is only so many strawberries, raspberries, mangoes and bananas I can take in one day. And even though the food is flavorful and makes me full, it does not make me all that satisfied. Even though a banana or a piece of cake or chips and salsa (one of my new favorites in the blender) taste the same in liquid form as they do in their 'real' form, it is much less satisfying to drink them than it is to eat them.
Case in point. Last evening after drinking a glass of salsa I decided to blenderize a piece of Italian Marscapone Torte from Pastiche, an awesome bakery and cafe in Providence, with some milk and vanilla ice cream. The result was a shake that tasted amazing, but left me feeling really unsatisfied. There is really something missing when you are drinking a piece of cake. You miss being able to taste cream and then vanilla cake and then espresso as opposed to all of those flavors blended together. Plus, and probably most importantly, you miss the textures. No spongy cake or smooth marscapone, just liquid. That for me is one of the worst things about the liquid diet.
The other terrible thing about having your jaw and teeth banded shut is the inability to use your tongue. One of my favorite things when I am cooking is licking the spoon or my fingers when I get food on them. There really is nothing better than running your finger along the edge of a mixing bowl after you have mixed up a batch of brownies and stealing a taste of the chocolaty batter. Your tongue is also very useful because it allows you to taste the things you are cooking while you are cooking them so that you can adjust the seasonings if need be. Not being able to open your mouth prevents you from engaging in this type of activity. You basically cook, blenderize and then taste and try to make adjustments from there. The most infuriating thing, however, is seeing cream, ice cream or yogurt right in front of your face and just wanting to put your finger in and taste them, but being unable to do so. Such is life, I guess.
Here are a few of the things I have been craving: popcorn, a baguette with butter on it, pizza bagels, a bagel with cream cheese, donuts and hot dogs. Almost all of these things my husband has eaten in front of me in the past week (excluding the hot dogs and donuts) and I have been really jealous when I watch him eat them. I have been trying hard not to watch when he eats so I won't crave those things as much and feel upset that I cannot eat them, but it is not always that easy.
Case in point. Last evening after drinking a glass of salsa I decided to blenderize a piece of Italian Marscapone Torte from Pastiche, an awesome bakery and cafe in Providence, with some milk and vanilla ice cream. The result was a shake that tasted amazing, but left me feeling really unsatisfied. There is really something missing when you are drinking a piece of cake. You miss being able to taste cream and then vanilla cake and then espresso as opposed to all of those flavors blended together. Plus, and probably most importantly, you miss the textures. No spongy cake or smooth marscapone, just liquid. That for me is one of the worst things about the liquid diet.
The other terrible thing about having your jaw and teeth banded shut is the inability to use your tongue. One of my favorite things when I am cooking is licking the spoon or my fingers when I get food on them. There really is nothing better than running your finger along the edge of a mixing bowl after you have mixed up a batch of brownies and stealing a taste of the chocolaty batter. Your tongue is also very useful because it allows you to taste the things you are cooking while you are cooking them so that you can adjust the seasonings if need be. Not being able to open your mouth prevents you from engaging in this type of activity. You basically cook, blenderize and then taste and try to make adjustments from there. The most infuriating thing, however, is seeing cream, ice cream or yogurt right in front of your face and just wanting to put your finger in and taste them, but being unable to do so. Such is life, I guess.
Here are a few of the things I have been craving: popcorn, a baguette with butter on it, pizza bagels, a bagel with cream cheese, donuts and hot dogs. Almost all of these things my husband has eaten in front of me in the past week (excluding the hot dogs and donuts) and I have been really jealous when I watch him eat them. I have been trying hard not to watch when he eats so I won't crave those things as much and feel upset that I cannot eat them, but it is not always that easy.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Post-op orthodontic appointment #1
Yesterday was my first post-op appointment with my orthodontist. They took some x-rays which I will post as soon as they are loaded into my online account, but other than that nothing really to report. My orthodontist (who actually had the same surgery herself 10 years ago) told me that the numbness in my lip and chin could take up to 6 months to subside and that she still has a tiny spot on her face that failed to regain feeling. She also told me that I should be eating solid food again in about 3 weeks. We took a look at the x-rays and did a side by side with the pre-surgery x-rays. My bite looks almost perfect and she showed me how repositioning the bones will end up giving me a much nicer shape to my chin in the long-term.
One thing I did not know is that there is actually more than 1 screw on each side of my jaw. There appear to be three on the right side and I can only imagine a similar number on the left. Someone asked me the other day what the actual surgery was and instead of trying to explain it I have put a picture above. (I had the mandibular saggital split only, not a lefort osteotomy or a genioplasty). They essentially split the lower jaw right near where your wisdom teeth are (or should be), advance the jaw and then fix the bone in the proper position with screws. The only cuts that are made are tiny incisions on the jawline.
Other than that, not much else. The infection seems to be clearing up and the swelling has gone way down. I have an appointment with the surgeon on Monday and am going to ask him if it will be okay for me to go back to work sometime this coming week.
One thing I did not know is that there is actually more than 1 screw on each side of my jaw. There appear to be three on the right side and I can only imagine a similar number on the left. Someone asked me the other day what the actual surgery was and instead of trying to explain it I have put a picture above. (I had the mandibular saggital split only, not a lefort osteotomy or a genioplasty). They essentially split the lower jaw right near where your wisdom teeth are (or should be), advance the jaw and then fix the bone in the proper position with screws. The only cuts that are made are tiny incisions on the jawline.
Other than that, not much else. The infection seems to be clearing up and the swelling has gone way down. I have an appointment with the surgeon on Monday and am going to ask him if it will be okay for me to go back to work sometime this coming week.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Infection and a needle to the jaw--Make that 2 needles to the jaw
If you looked closely at yesterday's pics you could probably see that the left hand side of my face was much more swollen than the right. Or perhaps it isn't as noticeable as I think and since the profile pictures are of the right hand side of my face it may have appeared that most of my swelling was gone. Regardless, I woke up this morning and the left hand side of my face was very swollen and the right was not swollen at all. The doctor had told my that asymmetric swelling is typically a sign of infection and coupled with the fact that I had those fevers the other night and pain in my jaw and cheekbone two evenings ago I suspected I had an infection. Additionally, that side of my face felt very hard and the doctor has said that the jaw area should be fairly soft. I was thinking I might wait till tomorrow when I went to the orthodontist to see what she thought before I called the surgeon, but the shooting pain in that side of my face returned and they told me to come in and have it checked out.
When I got to the surgeon they took me right in to one of the exam rooms. Since I had my surgery that do not make me wait in the waiting area when I arrive because they said they did not want me to feel uncomfortable about other patients staring at my face, but I also imagine it is to prevent other patients from seeing me, freaking out and thinking poorly of the surgeon. I made a joke to Jonathan that I should go in to the waiting area and when a person stares at me I should point to my face and say 'Botched botox job' because there are many patients there simply to get their botox injections.
Anyway, the surgeon came in to see me and agreed that this looked like an infection. Then he turned to the nurse and said 'You know what, I think we should drain it". I am no doctor but I knew that meant only one thing, needles to the face. Since we all know what a great fan of needles I am (you know, almost passing out from getting my blood drawn and all) I instantly felt sick to my stomach but tried to play it cool and keep a positive attitude. They cleaned my face and the doctor stuck a needle right into my jaw. It was excruciatingly painful but I did not cry or pass out or even make a noise and the surgeon kept asking me if I was in pain and I said a little but not too bad. I was so relieved when he finally took the needle which was filled with pus and blood out (more pus than blood) and congratulated myself on being such a hard-ass. Then he said "I am going to do that one more time" and I thought I was going to pass out right there. The second needle hurt so much more than the first but I took really deep breathes and closed my eyes and was able to stop the tears from coming.
He gave me a prescription of another antibacterial drug and told me to get it filled and begin taking it immediately. I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but since I am allergic to penicillin, I was taking Cleocin after I had the surgery. Cleocin comes in liquid form, this is the one that smells and tastes like cat litter and that I had gotten so used to chasing with chocolate milkshakes. Apparently outside of cleocin and penicillin, there are not any other antibacterial medications that come in liquid form, so he wrote me a prescription for the drug Avelox and told me to crush the pills and mix them with my food. This sounded reasonable and a nice alternative to drinking that cat litter. Well, its not much better. Instead of cat litter, crushed Avelox, even in a milkshake tastes metallic but the worst part is that the taste stays in your mouth even after you eat and brush. 3 hours after I took the meds I could still taste them in my mouth. Luckily I only need to take it once a day so that is a plus.
The surgeon said to call over the weekend if the swelling got any worse, told me to come back on Monday and sent me on my way.
After I left the office I had pretty bad pain in my face, so bad that I started crying while driving home. I went and got my prescription filled, came home, crushed my pill and mixed it with milkshake, gave in and took some of the pain medication and got into bed. A little sleep (and the pain meds) helped a bit and now when I look in the mirror my face looks a little less swollen, but not much.
I was thinking that since I am now a week out, I would only do pictures on a weekly basis, but I think this warrants a picture so you can see what the swelling and infection look like.
When I got to the surgeon they took me right in to one of the exam rooms. Since I had my surgery that do not make me wait in the waiting area when I arrive because they said they did not want me to feel uncomfortable about other patients staring at my face, but I also imagine it is to prevent other patients from seeing me, freaking out and thinking poorly of the surgeon. I made a joke to Jonathan that I should go in to the waiting area and when a person stares at me I should point to my face and say 'Botched botox job' because there are many patients there simply to get their botox injections.
Anyway, the surgeon came in to see me and agreed that this looked like an infection. Then he turned to the nurse and said 'You know what, I think we should drain it". I am no doctor but I knew that meant only one thing, needles to the face. Since we all know what a great fan of needles I am (you know, almost passing out from getting my blood drawn and all) I instantly felt sick to my stomach but tried to play it cool and keep a positive attitude. They cleaned my face and the doctor stuck a needle right into my jaw. It was excruciatingly painful but I did not cry or pass out or even make a noise and the surgeon kept asking me if I was in pain and I said a little but not too bad. I was so relieved when he finally took the needle which was filled with pus and blood out (more pus than blood) and congratulated myself on being such a hard-ass. Then he said "I am going to do that one more time" and I thought I was going to pass out right there. The second needle hurt so much more than the first but I took really deep breathes and closed my eyes and was able to stop the tears from coming.
He gave me a prescription of another antibacterial drug and told me to get it filled and begin taking it immediately. I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but since I am allergic to penicillin, I was taking Cleocin after I had the surgery. Cleocin comes in liquid form, this is the one that smells and tastes like cat litter and that I had gotten so used to chasing with chocolate milkshakes. Apparently outside of cleocin and penicillin, there are not any other antibacterial medications that come in liquid form, so he wrote me a prescription for the drug Avelox and told me to crush the pills and mix them with my food. This sounded reasonable and a nice alternative to drinking that cat litter. Well, its not much better. Instead of cat litter, crushed Avelox, even in a milkshake tastes metallic but the worst part is that the taste stays in your mouth even after you eat and brush. 3 hours after I took the meds I could still taste them in my mouth. Luckily I only need to take it once a day so that is a plus.
The surgeon said to call over the weekend if the swelling got any worse, told me to come back on Monday and sent me on my way.
After I left the office I had pretty bad pain in my face, so bad that I started crying while driving home. I went and got my prescription filled, came home, crushed my pill and mixed it with milkshake, gave in and took some of the pain medication and got into bed. A little sleep (and the pain meds) helped a bit and now when I look in the mirror my face looks a little less swollen, but not much.
I was thinking that since I am now a week out, I would only do pictures on a weekly basis, but I think this warrants a picture so you can see what the swelling and infection look like.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
I am in heaven
After a quick 2 mile walk on the treadmill this evening, Jonathan and I headed over to Gracies for dinner. I have been feeling bad about the fact that Jonathan hasn't been out to eat in over a week and knowing that is his favorite thing in the world to do, I suggested we have a little date night. When I was getting dressed I began to realize just how skinny I had gotten. We do not have a full length mirror in the house and since I have been wearing only running shorts or sweats around the house I had really been unable to really gauge what the weight loss had done to my body. I put my skinny jeans on and they were quite a bit baggy in the waist, the butt and in my thighs.
Luckily, this evening I really pigged out and should be regaining those pounds very shortly. I 'ate' cucumber soup, native corn soup and some strawberry lemonade. And the it was time for dessert. Joe sent out the most unreal and delicious liquid dessert. Essentially it looked like a huge milkshake and it had caramel on the bottom, a layer of creme brulee and was topped off by this chocolate milkshake tart concoction (with cream of course!). I think I polished it off in less than a minute. Needless to say I was in heaven. If my pants had fit like they were supposed to I may have had to unbutton my top button to prevent my stomach from hanging out over my pants.
Okay, here are the pics for today. The left hand side of my face is now more swollen than the right, but the bruising is going away. The chin is looking pretty good in the profile.
Luckily, this evening I really pigged out and should be regaining those pounds very shortly. I 'ate' cucumber soup, native corn soup and some strawberry lemonade. And the it was time for dessert. Joe sent out the most unreal and delicious liquid dessert. Essentially it looked like a huge milkshake and it had caramel on the bottom, a layer of creme brulee and was topped off by this chocolate milkshake tart concoction (with cream of course!). I think I polished it off in less than a minute. Needless to say I was in heaven. If my pants had fit like they were supposed to I may have had to unbutton my top button to prevent my stomach from hanging out over my pants.
Okay, here are the pics for today. The left hand side of my face is now more swollen than the right, but the bruising is going away. The chin is looking pretty good in the profile.
The pain arrives
It is finally here. After a week of being virtually pain free, the pain has finally arrived. It started last evening when Jonathan and I went out to take a walk. I have been walking about an hour or so in the mornings just to keep my legs moving and to give myself a reason to get out of the house. Typically I go out around 6:30AM or so while the sun is still coming up and it it is still cool out. I try to pick routes that have benches along the way in case I get tired and need to sit down and rest.
Last evening, however, Jonathan and I set out to walk and at only 10 minutes in I began to feel exhausted and my chin and jaw were tingling. Not only that but the sun was giving me a headache and I kept having to close my eyes when we walked so that I wouldn't be in so much pain. When we got home I sat down on the stairs to rest for a bit and then went inside and put the TV on. I don't know if it was the light from the TV or the combination of the light and the sound, but I began to get a shooting headache. I turned the TV and the lights off and lay down on my back on the couch. I tried to lay on my side, but then the sides of my face began to ache and the pain began running up the sides of my face from my jaw line all the way up toward my cheekbones (the left side much more than the right side). I think because the numbness is beginning to subside around my jawline I am finally beginning to feel this pain (still no feeling in my chin or lip, however). I went up to bed and had a very difficult time falling asleep even though my body was utterly exhausted. I woke up at around 3AM with a sharp pain in my left cheek and near my left ear. Jonathan wanted me to take some pain medication but I felt like I could do without. I woke up this morning with not too much pain, but just some dull aching in the sides of my face.
On my walk this morning (3.5 miles), I felt good and swung by the gym to weigh myself. Despite drinking like a pig yesterday I am down another lb. Looks like more ice cream and whipped cream are needed in the diet :).
Last evening, however, Jonathan and I set out to walk and at only 10 minutes in I began to feel exhausted and my chin and jaw were tingling. Not only that but the sun was giving me a headache and I kept having to close my eyes when we walked so that I wouldn't be in so much pain. When we got home I sat down on the stairs to rest for a bit and then went inside and put the TV on. I don't know if it was the light from the TV or the combination of the light and the sound, but I began to get a shooting headache. I turned the TV and the lights off and lay down on my back on the couch. I tried to lay on my side, but then the sides of my face began to ache and the pain began running up the sides of my face from my jaw line all the way up toward my cheekbones (the left side much more than the right side). I think because the numbness is beginning to subside around my jawline I am finally beginning to feel this pain (still no feeling in my chin or lip, however). I went up to bed and had a very difficult time falling asleep even though my body was utterly exhausted. I woke up at around 3AM with a sharp pain in my left cheek and near my left ear. Jonathan wanted me to take some pain medication but I felt like I could do without. I woke up this morning with not too much pain, but just some dull aching in the sides of my face.
On my walk this morning (3.5 miles), I felt good and swung by the gym to weigh myself. Despite drinking like a pig yesterday I am down another lb. Looks like more ice cream and whipped cream are needed in the diet :).
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Day 6 Pictures
Getting a little less swollen. You can't really see, but my entire neck is bruised and yellow. I can almost smile fully now, but still numb from my bottom lip down to my neck.
Fever and bleeding
Last evening Jonathan and I went to the movies because I again was about to go insane from being in the house all day. We saw the movie 'In the Loop' which was hysterical and not in that penis-joke kind of way but in that smart, intellectual way. I was completely exhausted by the time we got home and went right to bed. I woke up 2 hours later drenched in sweat. My t-shirt was saturated as were my sweat pants (we were sleeping with the air conditioning on). I am guessing I had been running a fever earlier in the evening and didn't know it. I changed my clothes and went back to sleep only to awaken a couple of hours later with this metallic taste in my mouth. Because my jaw is banded shut my only real choice is to swallow whatever it is that is in my mouth or on my tongue, or to try and thin it out with mouthwash or water and hope I can get it to seep through my front teeth so I can then spit it out or brush it away with a toothbrush. When I woke up this AM I still had that metallic taste so I went downstairs, gargled with mouthwash and saw blood coming through my front teeth. I am thinking that the area where they removed my wisdom teeth must have started bleeding during the night, but I was told to expect some bleeding the first couple of weeks so I am not too concerned yet.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Post-op visit and weight loss
I had my first post-op visit with the surgeon today. He said I looked great and that he was very happy with the way I was progressing. He said he would like to see the swelling go down a bit more, and that tomorrow I can stop taking that awful anti-bacterial medicine that tastes and smells like dirty cat litter. The one thing I liked about that medicine is that I had taken to chasing it with a chocolate creme mix which instantly made me feel great. He removed my stitches and scheduled me to come back in a week at which time he will teach me how to remove the bands so that I can begin to use a spoon to eat. That will mean I can add mashed potatoes and really soft pasta to my diet, however, that doesn't really excite me much cause those things are much more bland than the food I have been eating. I actually kind of like eating all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables blended into soups and smoothies.
But then again there is the downside of all these veggies and fruits: the weight loss. They had indicated to me prior to the surgery that I should expect to lose anywhere between 5-8 lbs during my recovery. The surgeon suggested today that I weigh myself to be sure that I was getting enough calories so after I came home Jonathan drove me to the gym to check my weight. We had a little bet going about what my weight was going to be and since I have been winning quite a few bets with him these days (we bet on the PGA yesterday and on the men's 10K at the track and field championships today) I thought I would win this one for sure. Turns out we were both very wrong. He bet a 4 lb weight drop while I was a bit more conservative and bet 2 lbs. The actual loss: 5.5 lbs. That gives me a BMI of 18.6, just borderline underweight. So now I am trying to come up with ways to make milkshakes even more fattening for fear of dropping anymore lbs.
But then again there is the downside of all these veggies and fruits: the weight loss. They had indicated to me prior to the surgery that I should expect to lose anywhere between 5-8 lbs during my recovery. The surgeon suggested today that I weigh myself to be sure that I was getting enough calories so after I came home Jonathan drove me to the gym to check my weight. We had a little bet going about what my weight was going to be and since I have been winning quite a few bets with him these days (we bet on the PGA yesterday and on the men's 10K at the track and field championships today) I thought I would win this one for sure. Turns out we were both very wrong. He bet a 4 lb weight drop while I was a bit more conservative and bet 2 lbs. The actual loss: 5.5 lbs. That gives me a BMI of 18.6, just borderline underweight. So now I am trying to come up with ways to make milkshakes even more fattening for fear of dropping anymore lbs.
