Post Band Photo Day 29

Photo taken by my almost 7 year old. It's his new thing. My mouth looks a little crooked on one side and should resolve itself when I regain full feeling in my chin and bottom lip.

The Drill Bit

Here is my postop panorax with the drill bit. At first it was belived to be in the soft tissue, now it has been said its in the bone. My surgeon has offered to take this out with the plates in a couple months however I am not big on going under again. This is not super common with jaw surgery but supposedly more common with knee surgery. Hmmmm. Ironic that the left side hurts more, especially when I slightly open it.

Before I had braces

These are the "before I had braces" photos. Notice that my overbite was not as bad since my teeth were shoved back from my 3rd grade retainer. In my "after" pictures, my chin is moved slightly forward (added bonus) but this has made all the difference from the inside of my mouth. I can relax my tounge when I bite down instead of rolling it back.

Day 18...Ladies make-up is good for healing

The swelling is almost gone...just some hard knots around where my jaw is plated...and where my drill bit is. Every time I touch the side of my face, I can feel this area where I am sure that darned thing is. It makes me mad every time I think about it and it kept me up most of last night. I try to be sarcastic about it, but really I am fuming. What a lame ending to an otherwise successful surgery. My yellow neck is finally going away and if I keep my mouth closed, no one would know I just had surgery. Yesterday I hit the mall with mom and my daughter and it was nice to make the time pass away. My little girl had to stop at every jewelry window, store, display, ect. to view the jewels and comment on what she liked about them. Buying make-up is also helpful and although we are having a great summer in Cali, the fall eyeshadows are looking fun!

PS. I love Bobbi Brown. Her concealer is awesome for the "I just had plastic surgery look." Bare Minerals has an awesome minty gloss that helps with that "my lips are numb and they need to be awaken feeling."

PPS. Do not wear any shoes with heals while shopping and your jaw is healing. You never know when you might get clumsy and almost fall on your face. I guess this is why bike riding is out of the question for now.

Day 17...I hate beans

I used to love beans. I'd make soup with lentils or some other bean at least once a week. I am finding that they get a little starchy when blended and form this great paste behind your teeth which is not so tasty when you can't brush back there. Veggie soup with red potatoes is awesome! It blends great with no sticky feeling when you drink it. Last night my hubby grilled some chicken sausage and I made grilled potato wedges with peppers and onions and steamed broccoli. This was the best dinner ever when blended with chicken stock...No joke! Costco (my favorite place other than Trader Joe's) has some great sausages and are great blended (just peel the casing off first). Tonight I will make some potato and leek soup....maybe add some ham for flavor (yes ham to my non pork eating friend in the south).

PS I used to love lentils with lamb. Lamb is one meat I find gross in pureed form. Chicken, beef, ham and sausage is great. Lamb, not so tasty.

PPS Coconut milk is my new favorite addition to smoothies and banana and mango are so great with it.

PPSS Hot sause is a good addition to soup to make it less boring to drink.

Thank-you!!

I just want to thank my friends who brought meals the first week! It was a huge help to me and probably more so, my hubby! His new job became medicine dispencer and full-time mixmaster at the Vita Mix. Blending and washing took a lot of time and I know he was glad he didn't have to worry about cooking for he and the kids.

Day 14

Things are looking up. I have minimal swelling, the brusing is almost gone, stitches have dissolved, and I can drink through a straw. Oh, and the 5 lbs. I lost are an added bonus. The Zip and Squeeze bags and syringes are no longer a part of my life. Today mom and dad took the kids so I can hang out at home and rest overnight. Since most people don't even go back to work for 2-3 weeks, I want to make sure I am taking time to rest.

I love my fruit smoothies and coffee drinks, but soup is getting old. I have alternated red lentils with ham and mexican/chicken/veggie soups and dinner blended with chicken stock. Chicken, brocolli and potato blend up well in the Vita Mix. Time to move on to lamb and lentil with some spice!

Tonight hubby and I are going to p/u some local clam chowder and see how clams blend in the Vita Mix....

Day 11

Today I went to Costco, the health food store and Trader Joe's to stock up on my food supplies. I have already gone through a case of Organic Chicken Broth and it has been very essential in diluting my meals (hubby took the kids out for the afternoon since they needed some much needed fun). My mom came to do all the loading and unloading.

That night I slept 12 hours. Although I feel good, I probably overdid it.

Day 10-I love my Vita Mix

I just want to tell you about one of my most important post-opgadgets (other than the paper coffee cups and lids instead of strawsand sippy cups, Waterpic and my Sonicare with a kid-brush attachment-also super helpful in getting those back molars 7 days after surgery)is the Vita Mix Blender.Some of you may have seen it demoed at Costco and I know the newmodel is pricey at $400 but you can find older and used models on E-bay or other online Best Juicers and it was shipped to me in threedays. Anyhow it COMPLETELY blends every food I have consumed sofar. Lentils with ham (the ham disappears) and veggies, smoothieswith berries, whole apple, peaches, (the strawberry seeds and fruitskin disappear), last night I blended grilled chicken, broccoli,potato and organic chicken broth (I am on my second case of that fromCostco) and there are no traces of little food bits. This is helpfulfor those of you who don't want to pick out food from your bands,brackets and stitches. I think this has been very beneficial in myhealing as it has allowed me to take in excellent nutrition.I know I sound like the demo girl at Costco, but I considered this aninvestment in my healing process and am looking to see if I can usethis a medical write-off on my taxes along with the zip-and-squeezeproducts. If not, oh well….Food essentials: there are awesome protein powder/supplement shakemixes at the health food store,Probiotics!!! A must since we are taking antibioticsOmega 3 Oil-add to shakes since I am not eating fish and eggsBrown rice proteinFlax-need the fiber!!!soft tofu-good source of proteinCoconut milk or coconut oil-add some good fat and tropical flavor tosmoothiesrice/soy milk: milk made me phlemyyogurt,fruit,carrots, fresh ginger, green apples-makes a good smoothieHappy Healing!Amie-the girl with the drill bit in her head

Day 9

Today I took the kids to swim lessons and mom met me there for reinforcement. This was my first time driving in over a week and it felt nice to get out. Tonight I took my old liquid Vicadin before bed. Sleeping seems to make my upper jaw feel tight and it helped relax the muscles.

Day 7

Today I am almost off my meds and acutally put on some make-up. I feel pretty good. My husband "goes back to work" today (he works from home) so its back to full time mommy duties. Parenting with three kids is quite challenging and now my 5 year old likes to talk with a clenched jaw.

The swelling is minimal. Just little chipmunk cheeks, more so on the side with the DRILL BIT....oh yeah, they concluded it was a drill bit. As soon as my copy of the xray arrives, I will add it to my blog.

I had my post-op check up today as well. I was seen by another doctor in the practice and my mouth is healing up nicely. My husband got to see the drill bit xray for the first time. It looks to be an inch long.

Here I am, swollen and a little yellow on day 4. The pain is not too bad, more stiffness than anything. My energy level is good. The swelling had gone down dramatically!!! I look like the "What Not To Wear" people need to kidnap me and take me to New York for a makeover.

First Night at Home

I am home and can rest in my own bed without the noises and disturbances of the hospital. My hubby blended me some soup I made before I went in. Ahhhhh, real food! That night I nodded off an on on the couch, sleeping off the surgery and the liquid Vicadin.

Day 2-July 10

Today I get to go home. I still have not seen my surgeon and it looks like I never will however I have been checked out by lots of residents. So much for the special treatment. This morning I am not in much pain at all, but have a slight resemblance to Jay Leno's sister. The swelling is so bad it almost reaches my eyes and it feels like my breathing is restricted around my neck. The doctor gave me some steroids which helped reduce the swelling and discomfort.

Breakfast consisted of melted sherbet, vanilla Ensure, a glass of non-dairy creamer, milk, juice (complete with corn syrup), coffee and watery Malt-O-Meal. The cereal was the only thing that consisted of a food group so I squirted that down, diluted with some non-dairy-trans-fat-creamer. When I had my kids I couldn't believe the crap they feed you in hospitals and being on a liquid diet I was even more amazed. Nothing with nutrition, no real food group...just junk.

Later that morning I went downstairs with my escort (who also had upper and lower jaw surgery) for my post-op Panorax. Afterwards I asked to view it and when the tech turned the screen around, I saw a long "stick like" thing glowing on the screen...next to my upper left molar. I asked the tech, "What the *&*& is that?" He replied,"I think its hardware." When I explained in my new muffled voice that I had lower jaw surgery and there shouldn't be any "hardware" up there he said, "You need to talk to your doctor." He and I both knew something was left behind after surgery.

When I arrived back upstairs I asked the nurse to see the doctor right away. When the resident finally arrived after lunch (no surgeon again), he said it looked like a piece of the SAW broke off and was left behind. He also said he consulted with my phantom surgeon and it would be OK if it stayed there...FOREVER. I muffled that this was completely unacceptable.

Later I demanded I be discharged when they told me I had to wait until 6 to eat again. I explained that people on liquid diets needed to eat more than 3 times a day and the crap they gave me didn't qualify as nutrition. She finally scrounged around for some pediatric Ensure (more horrific tasting than the regular kind) and I demanded to be sent home. There I could bond with my new friend, The Vita Mix.

Day 1-July 9th

This morning I arrived at the hospital at 5:45 to check in for surgery. I am a little nervous but look forward to getting through today and on the road to recovery. The nurse asked me a million questions and then I changed into my new outfit, hospital garb complete with hairnet. I never saw the surgeon which made me nervous but was told he would see me in the OR. I received a little IV Cocktail that almost completely knocked me out by the time they moved me to the operating table at about 7:45. I was out!

I came out of surgery around 10:30 and awoke at 11:10 with the oxygen mask on my face. It was hot and I "signed" to the nurse that I was hot and she replaced it with the nose tube. My husband came in shortly after and my breathing was stabilized (my pulse ox was a little low), they moved me to my room.

The pain was minimal perhaps since they kept giving me the lovely IV Cocktail of something with an "L." For the rest of the day I sipped juice from a syringe and nodded in and out of consciousness. That night I drank some chocolate Ensure and later threw it up. Throwing up while wired shut isn't so bad since it was a thin liquid.

P.S. I can fully relax my tounge in my mouth...It's great!

Amie's Jaw

Hello,

Here is a journal of my jaw surgery experience in hopes to enlighten those who plan to go under the knife. After 3 1/2 years in braces I am having my lower jaw moved forward to close my large overbite and slight cross bite. As you can see, when I bite down, you cannot see my bottom teeth and I also need to roll my tounge back in my mouth.