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Showing posts with label pain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pain. Show all posts

Friday, July 12, 2013

13 weeks post op Update

Great news everyone! (You definitely read that in Professor Farnsworth's voice)

So I had my appointment with my surgeon on Tuesday. Nothing new had been going on until that point... well, actually one thing. But I'll mention that in a second.

I went to see him and he told me that he's pretty much done with any adjustments he had to do and that it's all up to my orthodontist now! I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I told him about the pain in the side of my head, and he said it was all muscle tension, and that, as time goes on, it should go away. I'm skeptical but somewhat relieved. And for the best news... I can finally chew!!!

However... as much as this was great news, I wasn't nearly as happy as I should have been. Sunday morning I woke up to immediately find out that a boy I know well, who knew and was friends with almost everyone in town, was hit by a taxi around 3 am and died. Jake was only exactly a month away from being 20.

It's been a horrible week. I've cried every single day and I can't stop thinking about him. It's wonderful that I can chew again, but I'd give up chewing for another 3 months to have him back. We weren't even close these last few years, and it's devastated me. All I hope is that he's in a better place now, and that he didn't suffer any pain. 

Anyways, back to my appointment. You read this blog for my updates on my post op progress, not to hear about people who have passed away. So I have about a 90% diet now, which means I can eat almost anything. I can't remember what I first chewed... all I remember is telling myself that I'm probably gonna forget what I first chewed lmfao. However later that day my next full meal was Quesadillas and salad. 

My teeth have been super sensitive these past couple weeks, so it was hard to chew at first. A lot of what I was eating was cold and it was a bit of a struggle, but it's gotten significantly better. My jaw hurts after I chew a lot though, so I try not to overdo it. The funny thing is that my left jaw is starting to do very small clicks. It used to be my right jaw that clicked! Too weird.  

So I went after my appointment with my surgeon and saw my ortho, and since he can do whatever he needs to do, he took off my surgical hooks!!!! I'm really happy about that, my teeth look so much better, I can't wait until my braces come off. I am still wearing elastics in a triangle shape, I need to start wearing them more so I get my braces off quicker.

Nothing much has happened since I last posted, just some personal things. Saw my nana, did some shopping, put out resumes cause i'm broke and in need of a job, etc. I hope to before and after pictures in the next couple days!!

As for my future plans.. I'm going to my cottage for a week at the end of July, and I'm going to stock up on stuff for residence :) we rent this cottage out but we're thinking this is gonna be our last year, for a lot of reasons. I think I already mentioned this before.. or maybe not. I don't know.

That's about it! I don't see my surgeon for 2 months and I don't see my ortho for a month, so this blog is probably going to become more personal :) I'm gonna stop rambling now, talk to you all soon :)

Friday, June 21, 2013

69/70 days post op

Thought I'd do an update for you all since... Well... I'm bored out of my mind.
It's 2 am so technically it's 70 days post op but since I haven't slept yet I'm just gonna say it's 69 days post op! I'd be happy about this, except for the fact that's its been 10 weeks post op and I have another 2 weeks to go before I can chew... not that that's stopped me. I feel so horrible but I can't help but chew my food. It's just a reaction I instantly have. I've chewed almost everything I've ate. And yes, I've ate meat and foods that require chewing. I've been bad. I feel bad. So I'm gonna dedicate the last 2 weeks to not chewing.

I see my ortho Tuesday. Last time I was there, a week and a half ago, we took my elastics off fully for 2 weeks, and if nothing moves, I keep the elastics off until I see my surgeon 2 weeks later. Then, whatever he says, goes. I am praying that nothing moved. But knowing my luck with all this bullshit, I'm sure something did move.

I'm still having pain in the left side of my head. It's really irritating, and this last week I've been getting headaches, which is normal for some people, but I never get headaches. Ever.

I'm still not sure if this was worth it. I didn't get much, if anything, out of it. The only good thing about it so far is that it's a great conversation starter or a good topic to talk about. "So... I have a bunch of titanium plates and screws in my face". I actually met some of Evan's family the other day, his Grandmother, Aunt and Cousin. His aunt has had a horrible time this past year, a doctor accidentally poked holes in both her lungs and she went through multiple surgeries to fix it, including a month long artificial coma. She's recovering well, but it's been almost 10 months since and she's just starting to walk unassisted. She was a huge inspiration for me, knowing that she went through and survived what she did, it kept me strong through the last few days pre-op and gave me hope since being post op. But they are lovely people and I'm glad I met them.

I'm almost completely numbness-free and my bite still looks fab. Lately I've been able to fit 3 fingers in my mouth instead of 2, which I think is awesome progress.
Other that that I've just been trying to live my life. I've been taking Sasha for long walks, every time upping it a kilometer. So far we're at 4.5 km but I'm trying to go higher, it's good for both me and her. I took Chloe to the park today and she was quite content :)
I'm trying to get schooling stuff together. It's frustrating because we're paying tuition through an education fund but I need someone from the registrar to fill out some forms, but I can't find the # for the registrar? Payment is due on the 5th of July, where as Rez fees are due on the 1st and I haven't received an email with the fees statement and whatnot. It's kind of hectic because my A.D.D. numbs my brain and makes me feel retarded when I try to do this stuff alone, I need serious help understanding this stuff and it's really the simplest thing to understand. I hate how my brain doesn't just intake information like most people's do. It's like there are guards blocking my brain and any information that wants to be absorbed needs the fucking password.

I will for sure update after I see my orthodontist on Tuesday. Hope you guys have been having a better couple weeks than I have lmfao :)

Friday, June 7, 2013

Tomorrow is 8 weeks post-op!!!

Hey everyone!

So so sorry that I haven't been posting lately. I don't actually remember the last time I posted... How sad is that?

Anyways I wanted to do an update because up until the last couple days, everything has been normal with my jaw and my life. But since a few things have arisen with both my jaw and my day-to-day life, I figured it was time to make an update. So yes, this will be an update on both my Jaw Surgery progress and my general life happenings.

So first I'll start by saying that tomorrow I will be exactly 8 weeks post-op!! And everyone knows what that means... I finalllllyyyy get to chew!
I've been pretty bad when it comes to eating though. I've literally ate everything I'm not supposed to. Bread, Meat, big chunky pasta, you name it. Well... I haven't ate crackers or pizza, so I guess I haven't been too bad. And I never actually chewed any of this... except the bread. I took little pieces and mushed it behind my back molars where my wisdom teeth used to be, the gummy part. So actually I have been pretty bad.
My next appointment with my surgeon isn't until Tuesday and I know that most people would wait until they see their surgeon to start chewing food but when I saw him last week I said "So I can start chewing 2 Fridays from now?" and he replied "Yes, but start off with the soft foods you've been just swallowing. You can't go straight to meat and raw veggies. Cooked veggies and pasta are a good starter." So That's exactly what I'm doing. Tomorrow Evan is coming down and we're having lunch together so he can see me chew my first meal since surgery. I'm so excited it's not even funny.

Now onto pain. The last couple days have been weird... I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but after surgery I developed pain on the left side of my head, right above my ear and in my temple. It was never that big of an issue for me, because I only felt the pain if there was any pressure on that side - if I leaned on my hand with it, if I pushed it, etc. But today has been strange... I've been getting bad pain in my temple / side of head, and I can even feel it behind my eyeball. It's more irritating than painful, but it still bothers me that there's something wrong there and I don't know what it is. I kind of consider myself a... Hypochondriac? If that's the name of someone who thinks they have every disease and issue in the world then that's definitely me. I don't think looking at this screen is helping either. When I see my surgeon I'll bring it up and maybe he'll do a 3D scan of my head. Who knows.

Numbness! I'm actually really excited to talk about the numbness in my face and I don't really know why. Over the last couple weeks there has been a dramatic difference in numbness. Originally my lower lip and my chin were completely numb. Now, I would say I have about 90% feeling back in my lower lip, and 80% back in my chin. There is a spot right in the middle of my chin that's at about 30% but it's getting higher every week. I have an optimistic feeling that I'm not going to have any numbness in my face in a few months. But here's the really cool part - I was putting on lip balm the other day and every time I got to this one spot on my lip, a hair that had fallen off my head and gotten stick to my lipbalm kept tickling the same spot in my chin... or so I thought. Turns out that it wasn't a hair at all, it was just my nerves! It was the coolest feeling, and since then the feeling has intensified, every time I touch that spot on my lip the nerves in this one little spot on my chin go crazy! They go even more crazy when I rub the edge of my lower lip under that one spot. Oh, and I put something cold on that spot on my lip the other day? I felt the coldness in that spot on my CHIN, not on my lip! It's amazing.

Onto other surgery related things. I can fit 2 fingers in my mouth, and almost 3 if I really push it, which I don't want to do. I can easily move my jaw side to side, and I can shift my lower jaw forward enough that my lower teeth are actually significantly more forward than my upper teeth. I think I'm pushing it too much though, and that may be why I'm starting to get noticeable pain in the side of my head. My surgical hooks are still on but I'm praying they come off soon. I'm so done with these elastics, let me tell ya. Still wearing 4 of them, still wearing them when I'm asleep. The shitty part is, I don't even need my bottom surgical hooks so I don't even know why they're still on.

When it comes to my looks, I'm really on the fence. I love how I have a defined chin and it seems to fit my face well. I love how I have defined cheek bones as well. However I absolutely hate my nose. It's so upturned that it looks too short and very piggy. And I dislike that my lips aren't noticeably closer together. If you've read my old posts, you'd notice I talked about how my biggest desire out of this surgery was for my lips to close. I knew they couldn't be closed all the way without making myself look unattractive but I was hoping for a bit of a difference. Since I am able to pucker my chin muscles a little bit without making it noticeable, I can make it look like my lips are naturally closer together, when in reality I'm actually putting the same amount of force into it than I used to.
All in all, I'm on the fence about whether or not the surgery was worth it, but I'm leaning more to the "Yes" side. My bite is beautiful, I'm generally pleased with the "new" features of my face, and my numbness is almost 100% gone.

So that's pretty much it. I'm really lucky that the car accident didn't affect my jaw at all. Going through another surgery would be hell.

Other than that, life has been pretty basic, with a lot of random drama. For one, I was having a hell of a time with this gym membership. Not sure if I mentioned it already... but even if I have OH WELL. So I joined this gym 2 weeks before surgery.. they told me they could postpone my payments while I'm on medical leave. So I emailed the girl then night before surgery (like she told me to) never heard anything, and they were still charging me. So about 3 weeks after surgery I called and spoke to the manager, and she said she would postpone my payments for 2 months. I thought the situation was dealt with... and it wasn't. 3 weeks ago tomorrow, I noticed they were STILL charging me. So 2 weeks ago I walked into the gym and asked to speak to the manager. They called her down but she was just about to do a conference call or some BS so they took my number and said she would call me... she never did. So last week I got fed up and called. I spoke to the manager and although I was nice about it, I definitely made it clear that I was not happy. So once again she said she would deal with it... she said she would send me an email confirming that she did it, like she said she would last time and never did, so I hung up and waited for the email. Never got it. I was so mad at this point... I seriously thought I was gonna be charged again... So Friday came around and I checked my account... and so far they haven't charged me a thing! So glad that's dealt with.

Another issue is school... I've been trying to get in contact with someone for a bit about some accommodations. I have A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder, although now they classify is as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and after calling a couple times I finally spoke to someone about it and got the answers I needed.

And looking for a job! I messaged my boss a couple weeks ago about working... but she texted me back and said I wasn't needed for a while. Apparently things are slow at the Groomers and since I can't work with the dogs... I'm not really needed. So now I'm onto looking for a new job. I'm ridiculously picky when it comes to jobs. But I found my dream job... It's pretty much Pet Retail. The place is very laid back and it's not too far, it still concerns animals (the last time I was in there, there were cats chillin on random posts) and since I've had experience in retail I think I'd do well there... Except you have to apply online, and that location isn't hiring. The closest location is in Toronto. Hell. No. Nonetheless I'm going to walk in and hand in my resume one of these days.

Other than that, my life has been about, eating, sleeping, and watching make up tutorials on Youtube. Evan got a job working Night shift, it was supposed to be part time but since a couple people have left he's working 40 hrs a week. It would be easier if we were in the same town but since we're not, I never see him. Boo hoo. :(

Well, that's all the bitching I need to do for today! I hope you jaw surgery under-goers or survivers enjoyed this post and found it informative. And possibly found humor in my pathetic day to day life? Who knows.

I'm making it my mission to post before and after pictures this week, but until then here are a couple recent pictures of myself! Talk to you soon xo

A day after the car accident


In the hospital after the car accident.

again

I got bored idk.


Sasha :)

Blurry but this my profile 6weeks postop.




camping right after the car accident

baby goat :)

probably my favourite picture of my profile.

he kept biting my fingers lol :)


Chloe :)

again :)

Sasha's silly face


<3

Evan <3

my favs



<3


Sunday, May 19, 2013

5 weeks post op / car accident!

Hey guys, I just had to make a post on my blog today as I just got back from camping, and something bad has happened.

And when I mean bad, I mean horrible.

Friday we left to go camping on my friend Baileys Uncle's property. He owns 116 acres so it's an incredible, gorgeous place to set up a tent and have a good party.

Anyways, we leave Evan's home (Evan and me in my car, Bailey and Brandon in Brandon's car) and we come up to a stop light. The light turned yellow, so Brandon came to a stop. Evan tried to break... but it wouldn't work. I screamed, but it was too late. The last thing I remember was trying to cover my face as we went 50 km/h into the back of brandons car.

Airbags came flying out, glass got smashed, and of course my face got smashed against the airbag. I was only out for a few seconds, but when I came to, I was face-deep in the airbag. I pushed it away, looked in the mirror and saw my face was badly cut up. That's when panic set in. I freaked, jumped out of the car, and started running around the road like a chicken with its head cut off. I grabbed my phone and called my mom, screaming about the accident. I was in a bad state of shock. A bystander came running over and got me onto the grass, we sat down and she rubbed my back while she called 911.

My car was totaled. The hood was bent, the windshield was damaged. It would cost the same price to fix just the airbags as it did to purchase the car itself just last year.

Everyone was worried about my face. I was terrified something happened to it. But I was speaking clearly, forming sentences, so obviously nothing absolutely terrible happened, but I didn't know that at the time. The police and ambulance showed up, and I got in the ambulance a few minutes later. We drove straight to the hospital where my parents were waiting, while Evan stayed back to deal with the police officer and the accident. The ambulance ride was kinda cool, and while I was there they cleaned out my cuts with sterile water. I was only in the hospital for about an hour and a half, I was in the fast track lane and so I saw a doctor pretty quick. He checked me out and said I was fine, that there was no concussion and I was free to go. Evan and his mom showed up just then, she came down to make sure I was okay cause she's the best.

And after all this... I decided to still go camping. I wasn't gonna let some surface cuts ruin my weekend! And luckily I had a great time. We spoke to my surgeon when I was at the hospital (my mom called) and he said that if I'm not in excruciating pain and my bite is still in the same place then I should be okay, but I'm going to go see him Tuesday just to double check.

The good thing is that Brandons car has the smallest, most unnoticeable crack in the rear bumper. But what really disturbed me about the whole thing, now that I think of it, is that people were driving by, sticking their head out the window, and laughing at us. Staring at me while I was sitting on the ground with a cut up face, laughing. I cannot fathom how fucked up this world is sometimes.

So since then, the only pain I have is right under my right nostril. It's either one of those under-the-skin pimples, or my plates there are damaged or irritated. Or, it's just irritated from the blunt force from the airbag.

And actually, that's probably the only thing that's happened lately worth sharing. Other than that I've been sleeping, eating, and sleeping even more. I'll definitely update after Tuesday... I really hope I don't have to have another surgery but who knows. I am just so lucky and so blessed that nothing more happened to me. Everyone else was okay, but unfortunately Bailey has horrible whiplash and Evan got some rashes and achy muscles. My car on the other hand... is not my car anymore. It was totaled, I signed it over to a towing company who's going to smash it. So now I'm wondering... When am I getting another car?

That's about it, I'll talk to you all Tuesday!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

day 12 post op

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to do a quick update on today because I've had a bit of a scare and now my jaw is all funny.

Earlier today my pup came home from her weekly wednesday doggy daycare day. I laid on the ground and played with her, while my elastics were off, and as I tried to get up, my other dog stepped on my hair, yanking my head back and jutting my lower jaw forward, causing stretching and bad pain. I ran and put on my elastics, but a few hours later took them off to eat some food.

I noticed now that when i close my jaw, it doesn't... fit. The teeth beside my canine tooth on my left side kind of hit edges, instead of fitting into the grooves of each other like they used to.

Ever since I have been able to take off my elastics, I noticed that when my teeth are in elastics, they're much closer together than they are when the elastics are off. And to get my teeth that close together when the elastics are off, I have to... shift my lower jaw forward? It's strange. I'm not too concerned but at the same time I'm a little worried that my surgeon positioned my lower jaw while it was shifted forward and not when it was relaxed, so now it's all weird. I dunno.

If any of you guys who read my blog can relate and give me some info I would so appreciate it. Other than that it's been a lazy day with yummy food and now I'm about to make some ice cream mixed with Rolo milkshake mmmmmm

later sk8rs

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Day 11 post op: Surgeon's appointment

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeello everyone!!!!

I am in the best mood I've been in since before surgery. I saw my surgeon today and everything went FAB-TAB-U-LOUS

So I got to my surgeons office and barely waited 15 seconds before my surgeon came in. He took off my elastics and asked me to open and close my mouth, all the while smiling insanely. He said the healing looks great and that I'm healing on a faster rate than most people which was awesome to hear. He said my incisions look great, I am allowed using my regular toothpaste and mouthwash, and, the best news, I AM NO LONGER ON A LIQUID DIET!!!

That's right, I'm allowed to eat ANYTHING I want as long as it can be mashed down and able to eat without chewing. I was, I AM, soooo happy.

Now onto the pain. I told my surgeon about the pain in my temple. He pushed on the exact spots where it hurt which was not fun but he said it was because of tension since I'm squeezing my teeth together. He said that squeezing my teeth together is a really bad thing to do. It can shift the plates and cause a lot of tension. Ever since I've caught myself squeezing my teeth a lot and it's frustrating but I'm trying.

I am now only supposed to use one elastic in each spot instead of doubling up on them. He told me to take off my elastics a lot and move my jaw a lot to get the muscles to stretch.

Basically everything looks great and my healing is great and there are no worries. So I went to Nature's Emporium and got some Sweet Potato and Carrot, Shepards pie, and Coconut Oil***. Then I bought some pasta at my favourite Italian eatery and went home. The Sweet Potato and Carrot was mashed, the Shepards pie blended, and The pasta was put in the blender with more tomato sauce and blended up. It was all SO. GOOD. I've ate everything in the house that I can. Oh and I bought Avocados to make guacamole later. UHFDOFH so happy.

However once I got home I noticed 2 things:

One, my back molars on the upper right side are very weak. Even when I brush very gently against it, it feels like it's being pushed on hard. It's weird.

and Two, I took my elastics off for a while and after about half an hour, my joints really started to hurt on the right. But once I put my elastics back on, the pain went away instantly. Also, when my teeth are closed without elastics, there in a different position than when my elastics are on. I'm worried that when my elastics come off permanently, my jaw will stay in that position it's in when my elastics are off and I'll be in really bad pain in my joints. Only time will tell but who knows.

My best friends came and visited me today which was awesome because I haven't seen one of them in months! Other than that I took my dogs for a walk and that was about all I did today.

Since things are pretty much slowing down I'll probably start updating every other day, or any day anything significant happens.

Talk to you all soon!

*** My surgeon wants me to put Coconut Oil in any warm foods to keep my calories up... I've been eating Buttercream icing and ice cream since I got home, I don't think my calorie intake is too low at all :P

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Day 6 post op: Hungry and Anxious

So today marks day 6 post op and I must say, I AM MISERABLE.

My pain isn't so bad, it's bearable, but I've been having all my pain in my right cheek, by my joints and in my stitches. If I press along my cheek bone and my cheek, along towards the skin above my lips, it's very tender  and sore. But on the left side, there's no pain.

I've accidentally ate a few things that have seeds/seasoning/spices in it, and I'm afraid that they got in my incisions and are becoming an infection. I have antibiotics prescribed to me but I don't know if I'm supposed to take them before or after I get an infection. And of course, I didn't go to see my surgeons partner today, since I'm feeling better and the appointment was only to be kept if I was still in dire pain.

I'm very cranky and pissed off, I've never been so hungry in my entire life. All I want to do is fucking eat.

I've even broke the rules a few times and fit in tiny tiny tiny pieces of cupcake, cooked onion, jello... I didn't have to chew these pieces, but I still feel bad for doing it.

Also I'm second guessing everything I'm doing. Apparently my surgeons partner told my dad I can keep my elastics off for a couple days if I want, and my dad doesn't seem to think I need to take the antibiotics until I actually get an infection, which I don't know is right, but of course I can't call and ask my surgeons partner cause he's taken on double the clients with my surgeon being on vacation and so he's very busy. Also I don't know if I'm eating properly. Like, everything is still liquids, but this is how I eat:

open my mouth
take food in my mouth
close my mouth
swallow
open mouth
repeat

Doesn't that sound like chewing to you?
And I'm not allowed to chew.
I am so full of anxiety that I'm doing this wrong that I can't relax.


On top of all that, everyone that I speak to, either on my blog or instagram or Youtube, all has surgeons that have given them specific instructions. For example, sleep propped up, or Don't take off your elastics. So I don't know what I'm doing right or wrong. So overwhelmed right now.

Luckily my mom just came home with a lot of V8 drinks and cocktails, and my favourite Sweet potato and leek soup, which has been blended and is going into my tummy as I'm typing.

So a quick update on my swelling and bruising and whatnot:
Swelling: Has come down dramatically. I basically look back to normal, which makes me even more excited to see these 2/3/6 month results.
Bruising: Still very yellow, still very obvious.
Pain: Most of my pain is on the right side, in my joints and stitches, and short bursts of pain in my lower plate and screws (still right side)
Hunger: 100000/10
Inconvienience: over 9000
Energy: Very low

Updates tomorrow

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Day 5 post op

Today was the bast day I've had so far, besides the fact that I have a bit of an episode a couple hours after I woke up.

So I'll start from the beginning: I woke up around 7:30 today, giving me 6 and a half hours of sleep! Much of an improvement considering I'd sleep for 4 hours and then wake up in agony. I gave myself some medication and fell back asleep around 8 to 12, when Evan came in.

We decided to watch a movie right away, however I was really dehydrated and not knowing it. By the end of the movie I was hot, uncomfortable, and struggling to breathe. Had a bit of a panic attack, but finally got some medication in and a lot of apple sauce and water.

Evan then took me for a walk around the block, which was okay for about half of it, but going uphill on the way back was too much and I became too weak. Evan basically had to carry me back to the house.

When I came back I ate a lot of sorbet, which actually ended up having seeds in it... I swear it was just the colouring. During this time I watched Reba on DVD and was trying so hard not to laugh or smile, but a couple times I accidentally snorted or blew a bit through my nose while trying to keep myself from laughing. It freaked me out a bit, but I was still able to breathe through my nose, so I thought I was fine. But when I went to rinse out my mouth and brush my teeth, a HUGE chunk of blood made it's way out of my mouth. Scary shit. Now I'm struggling to breathe out of one nostril.
The good news about that is that I can actually open my mouth enough to get my toothbrush in and brush my tongue and the inside of my teeth.

Overall I think I'm healing much faster than intended. The only pain I've had today was in my joints, and once I took my pain medication the only soreness has been in my stitches, as I'm actually able to smile quite well and open my mouth quite a bit. I spent most of the day without elastics on, since my surgeons said I could, but I'm keeping them on now in fear that it will change my bite if I don't. 

My pain level has gone up and down, but lately has stayed at a 4/10. My discomfort has been about a 5/10. 

My swelling has gone down so much I can't believe it. I almost look the way I did before surgery. I have a bit of puffyness in the bottom of the right side of my cheek, and some on the side of my nose on the left. But other than that, everything looks pretty symmetrical. Also, 80% of the swelling under my chin has disappeared.

My numbness has basically become nothing. It's in my lower lip and chin and under my left eye, but that's it.

My bruising is still very yellow, and very obvious. That will probably go away in a few days though.

I've had lots of ice cream and apple sauce so my energy hasn't been too bad since I went for a walk.

I'm hoping that I just heal quite fast and that this isn't a sign that anything bad is actually happening, and I hope I didn't screw up my new sinuses by blowing a bit through them.

I don't think I ever mentioned what they found in my nasal passage did I?
Well even if I did, I'll explain it again.

So while they were doing the surgery, they opened up my nasal passage and found a bone spur. Basically, my surgeon thinks that when I was very young, the bones around my nasal cavity just started growing this little piece of bone - I guess you could call it a deformity. So when you see a skull, and you see 2 holes where your nose is, my left(?) nose hole had a piece of bone growing through my sinuses. Weird.
Also, apparently my sinuses were "really messed up" as my surgeon put it. All twisted and weird, which my mom thinks is hereditary, as she has horrible sinuses. She gets sinus infections 3 times a year.

So he fixed it all up and I have brand new sinuses! Woohoo.
I'm still suprised I can breathe through them so early in the healing process. 

I'm seeing my surgeons partner again tomorrow, to ask him a few questions and tell him about how I can breathe so soon, and if I can eat mashed potatoes yet and bla bla bla. So I shall update tomorrow!!

I've been horrible with pictures, and I can't find my good webcam, but I managed to take front view and side profile pictures on my shitty webcam. Here's to being almost a week post op!

5 Days post op Front View

Right side of my profile

Left side of my profile

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Day 4 post op

So today has been as big of a struggle as the last couple days. My energy is so low because of the fact that anything with protein in it makes me violently ill, so I've barely been walking around.

The pain has decreased though, even if it's just a little bit. Most of my pain has moved towards my joints and my temples. However, I still get pretty severe pain in my stitches and where they cut my bone.

I somehow managed today to take a shower, which was actually quite horrible because I had no energy to even lift my arms. I had to sit in the shower and it took me 40 minutes to wash my hair and shave under my arms.

Then I got dressed and went to see my surgeons partner. He said everything was going good, he says I'm doing a good job at brushing my teeth and taking my elastics on and off. He says that I need to walk around more though, and that everything I'm feeling is perfectly natural.

And then on the way home my mom closed the car window on my wrist. OUCH.

My bruising has peaked today, it's basically just yellow. Not much bruising. And my swelling has gone down tremendously since yesterday.

I weighed myself today, as I did 2 days ago, and I've lost 5 pounds already. I am now 110 pounds. I look anorexic.

Evan is finally coming home tomorrow, even if it's only for a couple days. He's going to take me for a walk around my street, since I need to get walking more.

My pain level is about a 6/10 and my discomfort is a 8/10.

The only 3 words I keep saying over and over again is: Kill Me Now.

Day 2 and 3 post op

I'm sorry I haven't been updating as frequently as I should, but the last 2 days have kind of melted together.

First off I'd like to say that I regret this a lot. I can feel tension and pain in my joints, which, I could be wrong, but indicates TMJ, which I didn't have before. It's probably just my muscles tensing up, but I'm really on edge about everything.

The last 2 days have been unbelievably hard. Most of my time I've spent crying because I've been in so much pain. My medication I have to crush up, dissolve, and then mix with something and drink it. But the Ibuprofen and percs taste absolutely horrible, and 90% of the time I've been unbearably nauseous. The only thing to mask the taste is thick yogurt or apple sauce, which is incredibly hard to take with your jaw basically wired shut, so I've been having to take off my elastics and open my mouth a little bit (not much though cause my face is too tensed up) and that hurts a lot.

When I manage to take my medication though, I become so out of it, so sleepy, that I'm in and out of consciousness for hours. It takes me about 2 hours to fully regain consciousness after I wake up. I hate being like that. But, I'd rather be like that then dealing with this pain.

My parents called my surgeons partner today, he helped my surgeon with the surgery. He faxed over a prescription for a heavy heavy anti - nausea drug, and so far I'm loving it. It's the kind that you get prescribed when you have cancer and going through Chemotherapy. I'm actually managing to eat yogurt and jello and all kinds of food. It's difficult but I feel a lot better than I have been the last few days.

Numbness
I'm actually surprised at how much I'm not numb. I have feeling in my upper lip, my nose, most of my cheeks, under one eye, the only place there's noticeable numbness is my chin and lower lip, but even in my lower lip it just feels like I bit it and have been holding onto it for a few hours. So, kind of a tingly painful numb.

I just can't wait for Week One to be over. I've been grumpy, in a lot of pain and nausea, and I definitely wish I didn't do this.
I'm seeing my surgeons partner tomorrow so I'll update then.
TTFN