Re: im undergoing surgery in 2 days

[Guest guest]

i know its hard but try not to be nervous... you have nothing to

worry about. i was so scared before my surgery (which was 3

weeks ago tomorrow!), and when it was over i found that it was not

nearly as scary as i thought it would be. in fact, it wasn't scary

at all!!

expect to have a sore throat after the surgery. i did not experience

much pain, however, i did have a lot of muscle tension which caused

me to have headaches a few days later. that only lasted a couple of

days. you will probably be extremely congested for at least the

first week... maybe plan on having some liquid sudafed on hand for

that. get lots of fluids and have some fresh fruits and vegetables

on hand to blend up for nutrition... i didn't do this and i'm

regretting it. the liquid diet didn't affect me until about a week

ago, when all i'd been drinking was slim fast and tomato soup

basically and my body got so worn down. but i'm back on track.

good luck! you will be fine!

heather

> hi..i wish i knew this site existed earlier...im getting my upper

> jaw surgey done in 2 days and im so nervous.any kind of advice

would

> be helpful. what to expect and what to do after surgery. does it

> hurt alot???

>

> thanks

> gauri

[Guest guest]

Hi Gauri. I haven't even skimmed down the list yet to see if anyone

responded to this already, but thought I'd give you my two cents

worth. I had my upper/lower done 7 days ago. It does not hurt a

lot. In fact, for a couple of days after the surgery, the only pain

I had anywhere was in my arm that had flopped over funny during the

surgery and had a sore muscle. I took the prescription pain killers

for two days until they made me sick and have taken Children's

Tylenol once or twice a day since then. There's a lot of discomfort--

pressure from the swelling, MAJOR congestion (that's what bugs me the

most) and weird twinges from your nerves waking up, but it's nothing

that you can't handle. My biggest piece of advice would be to have

someone there with you at the hospital the whole time you are there.

I asked for a pain killer the night of the surgery and, with my

husband going back and asking at the nurse's station every fifteen

minutes, it was an hour and a half before they even came in my room.

Had the same experience asking for ice for my jaw wrap--two hours

that time. Hopefully the nursing staff at your hospital will be

better, but I found it essential to have an advocate with you during

your stay. The recovery so far has not been fun, but I feel like

myself today (even did dishes and laundry and made lunch for my

kids!) and it's only been a week. You can do it! I'd also encourage

you to post on here if you have questions before or after the surgery-

-I did several times this week, and got very helpful advice that made

a big difference. Good luck!

> hi..i wish i knew this site existed earlier...im getting my upper

> jaw surgey done in 2 days and im so nervous.any kind of advice

would

> be helpful. what to expect and what to do after surgery. does it

> hurt alot???

>

> thanks

> gauri

[Guest guest]

don't be nervous! i know, easier said than done, right? i was

pretty nervous before my surgery too and nothing anyone said could

comfort me. now, three weeks later i have forgotten about the

pain. yes, there was some pain... but its manageable. my biggest

complaint was the sore throat following the surgery from the

breathing tube. that went away in about 3 days.

my advice to you is to have some meals planned. make sure you have

an understanding person to take care of you. have your fridge

stocked up with supplies for liquid meals. and don't fret! you

will do fine!

take care

> hi..i wish i knew this site existed earlier...im getting my upper

> jaw surgey done in 2 days and im so nervous.any kind of advice

would

> be helpful. what to expect and what to do after surgery. does it

> hurt alot???

>

> thanks

> gauri

[Guest guest]

Good luck with your surgery, i think i'm a bit late to be giving

advice now as I think your operation must be today! Wish you all

the best with your recovery.

Myself, I had upper jaw surgery 4 weeks ago and feel fine now. The

first few days after surgery I felt fuzzy and uncomfortable but I

have had no pain and have had no need to take any pain medication at

all. My face was swollen and felt really tight with the numbness -

it is still numb now on the upper lip area but not like it was in the

first week or so. My swelling and bruising seemed to go after 2 and

a half weeks and I am back at work, though i have a splint in place

but can talk, even though it sounds muffled. I used a hot water

bottle at home on the swelling as the surgeon told me this will help

it and to get rid of the bruises.

I am getting a bit fed up of the diet (soup, soup and more soup) but

I've only got a couple of more weeks until the splint is out so I

guess i will be able to eat more after that. Saying that I've been

blending and pureeing stuff and drinking a lot of fresh fruit juices

but i can't face drinking Ensure!

Let us know how you got on with your surgery, wishing you the best.

> hi..i wish i knew this site existed earlier...im getting my upper

> jaw surgey done in 2 days and im so nervous.any kind of advice

would

> be helpful. what to expect and what to do after surgery. does it

> hurt alot???

>

> thanks

> gauri

[Guest guest]

That's a pity that the folks in the hospital treated you in such a

fashion. My doc has this stuff down to a tee...

He has his patients check into a pediatric ward at 12:01 (to save one

day's hospital bill). The pediatric nurses know this stuff backward

and forward, and since that's where ALL his patients for these

surgeries go (and he does a lot of 'em) they even know exactly what

he wants, by heart.

Then post op, he sent me (and the rest of us) to a post-anesthesia

recovery unit, where each one or two of us had our very own nurse.

Not that the nurse didn't have other obligations, but there was

someone nearby if needed. And that loverly morphine drip with the

clicker, so if I needed pain stuff, I just pushed the button. (I did,

however, see some REALLY strange things that night).

I know there's a big shortage of nurses, and that they're underpaid

and overworked, but I'm glad my doc managed to get us the kind of

care we needed, and I wish all would.

Until that day, I agree with your advice, although I didn't have

anybody else with me. If I hadn't been reassured many times by my

surgeon, though, I would have.

Cammie

-- In orthognathicsurgerysupport , " almostdone5 "

wrote:

> Hi Gauri. I haven't even skimmed down the list yet to see if

anyone

> responded to this already, but thought I'd give you my two cents

> worth. I had my upper/lower done 7 days ago. It does not hurt a

> lot. In fact, for a couple of days after the surgery, the only

pain

> I had anywhere was in my arm that had flopped over funny during the

> surgery and had a sore muscle. I took the prescription pain

killers

> for two days until they made me sick and have taken Children's

> Tylenol once or twice a day since then. There's a lot of

discomfort--

> pressure from the swelling, MAJOR congestion (that's what bugs me

the

> most) and weird twinges from your nerves waking up, but it's

nothing

> that you can't handle. My biggest piece of advice would be to have

> someone there with you at the hospital the whole time you are

there.

> I asked for a pain killer the night of the surgery and, with my

> husband going back and asking at the nurse's station every fifteen

> minutes, it was an hour and a half before they even came in my

room.

> Had the same experience asking for ice for my jaw wrap--two hours

> that time. Hopefully the nursing staff at your hospital will be

> better, but I found it essential to have an advocate with you

during

> your stay. The recovery so far has not been fun, but I feel like

> myself today (even did dishes and laundry and made lunch for my

> kids!) and it's only been a week. You can do it! I'd also

encourage

> you to post on here if you have questions before or after the

surgery-

> -I did several times this week, and got very helpful advice that

made

> a big difference. Good luck!

>

>

>

> > hi..i wish i knew this site existed earlier...im getting my upper

> > jaw surgey done in 2 days and im so nervous.any kind of advice

> would

> > be helpful. what to expect and what to do after surgery. does it

> > hurt alot???

> >

> > thanks

> > gauri