T-7 Days

This morning I woke up with pain in my left jaw from stress clenching my teeth all night.  I am definitely getting nervous about this operation.  (Actually I am not all that nervous about the operation itself, I'll be happily sedated for that portion!) I'm really getting worried about the recovery process and how rough the next 6 months- 1 year will be for my mouth/face/life.

I will meet with the surgeon for my pre-op appointment tomorrow.  Tom will be coming with me so that he can get all my post-op instructions and details on how he can/ will need to take care of me.  I truly have the best, most supportive husband, but it is downright terrifying to me to think that I will be completely dependent on others for 1-2 weeks.

Tomorrow the surgeon will go into detail of exactly how many times and in how many places will be breaking my jaw and realigning it to correct all its imbalances.  I have a good idea of what to expect, but I will find out in gross detail just how extensive this will be.  Also he promised me a computer simulation of what my face will look like post-surgery.  I have to admit this is pretty intimidating!  I try not to be vain, but its so weird to think that the face that has stared back at me in the mirror for 32 years will be different. I'm trying to believe that I'll still look largely like me, this isn't after all a cosmetic surgery, and the doc did promise to make everything look as aesthetically pleasing as possible. However it is a huge unknown and I'm a little nervous to see that image on the screen. 

So to sum it up, I have a empty pit in the middle of my stomach, when I think about tomorrow's appointment.... Wish me luck!



I'm still not very good with the selfies, but in case I forget later here are a couple "before" pics. 1/6/2015

Hello from snowy Virginia!

Hello from snowy Virginia!

Sorry I haven't written in a few months. My orthodontist decided not to change my wires in December which has actually lead to a wonderful 15- weeks of no changes to my mouth. Well any relative changes... I have noticed that my teeth have gotten straighter on the bottom and I am starting to get some gaps between a few teeth on the top.   Not hillbilly gaps yet, but I believe I will get there before this stage is done!

The headaches are starting to return a bit, I never thought for a minute I would miss that chunk of plastic splint, but I guess I didn't appreciate it enough until I had my first 3-day migraine in a year.  Too bad it wasn't a permanent fix!

But truly the best part in the last 15 months has been these past 3 weeks, my teeth have really dialed down on the soreness and I have been able to chew many more foods that have been challenging for the past year.  My front teeth still do not touch (and I don't expect them too until after the surgery) so there is no biting into a sandwich, but I've really been able to chew again with my back right teeth.  I've even been able to eat lettuce/salads and pizza this week!  Unfortunately its back to the orthodontist in another week, so I plan to eat everything under the sun in case the teeth sensitivity flare up again.  But I'm hopeful that maybe it was just so awful because it was the initial 6 months of braces and that the rest of this year will be a cakewalk...well that is until THE surgery.

1st meeting with surgeon

September 23

Yesterday I had my first consultation with my maxillofacial surgeon.  I know its early out!  I just got my braces on 2 months ago and I was told to expect at least 1 -1.5 years before my teeth/bite/mouth are ready for surgery.  BUT... I just needed to talk to him.  All the website, journal articles, and blog research has only left me with more questions about what exactly will be happening to me personally and what I can expect as my prognosis.  I also really feel that its important to encourage my healthcare providers to act as a team.  To further that, I feel like if I'm on everyone's radar (or just somewhere in their patient files) they are going to watch out for me and something I may need is less likely to slip through the cracks.

So I met with the surgeon who actually put on gloves and looked at my mouth and my bite.  He then sat down and reviewed my x-rays with me.  And wow was that a shocker!  I knew I had a dental malocclusion and I thought that I had understood why this malocclusion led to my TMJ dysfunction. But what a difference an educated discussion made on my understanding!

Turns out I will need double jaw surgery.

There are typically 4 reasons someone needs this surgery (a part from trauma) and I've got 3 of the 4!  I've got the overbite, the overjet/open bite, and the asymmetry....wheee!  The only one I am missing is the underbite, which would be awfully hard to have at the same time as an overbite. The Dr gave me a brochure that looks like its from the 1980's "Your Orthognathic Surgery" I'll have to upload some pages next chance I get.  Essentially:
1. Serious Operation with all inherent risks
2. Inpatient hospital stay ~ 2-3 nights
3. I'll be out of work for 2-3 weeks
4. Liquid -> soft food diet for several months
5. My face/profile will change

Apparently I am still rather upset about the double jaw surgery, because I am really struggling and find myself reluctant to write tonight.  But I have about 1 year to a 1.5 years before the orthodontics will have done their work and my teeth will be where they should be for the surgery, so that should be plenty of time to come to terms with everything.