Re: Pssstt, who was that? - to & a

[Guest guest]

& a,

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to this! It makes me

feel better that I'm not so alone in feeling this way.

It makes sense to have to mourn the loss of the old jaws. I'm 31 and

was also teased quite a bit as a kid too.

I guess in the grand scheme of things, 12 weeks is still early on in

the healing process (emotionally and somewhat physically).

And I too felt like a monkey! Thankfully I feel less 'monkey like'

now.

Thanks again....

-Britt

> > I'm 12 weeks post op from upper/lower advancement (20mm). My

> healing

> > from the surgery went very well. I knew exactly what to expect

> from

> > reading posts on this board for 2 years, so nothing really came

as

> a

> > surprise to me EXCEPT when I look in the mirror. I'm not quite

> sure

> > who that is looking back at me. Plus when I returned to work

many

> > people kept asking " who is that new employee? " . Add to that

family

> &

> > friends trying to adapt to the 'new look'. I'm getting tired of

> the

> > shocked look people give me when they see me again.

> > Wow....this part of the recovery process has been extremely

> difficult

> > for me (I'm now on an anti-depressant, which has helped

somewhat).

> > I know it's different for each person, but to those out there who

> had

> > a dramatic change in their appearance, how long did it take for

you

> > to get used to the person looking back at you?

> >

> > I mostly don't regret having the surgery done. I have to say

that

> I

> > had no idea that it was not normal to be able to breath through

> your

> > nose when exercising! A week after surgery I went for a walk and

> was

> > incredibly shocked that I could get air in through my mouth AND

> > nose. I had no clue that you could do that. Plus since I had my

> > lower advanced so far, my doc said I probably avoided getting

> > obstructive sleep apnea later in life. Ironically, 4 weeks after

> my

> > surgery, my mom (who has jaws very similar to how mine were) was

> > diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. I know that I did the

> right

> > thing by having the surgery. The positives have been amazing for

> me

> > (wow, I can actually bite things now!). But every time I look in

> the

> > mirror I think 'what have I done?' Will this get better?

> >

> > Here are a few pics: http://www.geocities.com/unjaniyebo/jaw

> >

> > Thanks in advance for any insight!

> >

> > -Britt

[Guest guest]

Hey Britt,

It helps if you can add a little humour to it! that helped for me.

Hang in there, you'll start to look more human and more like the

finished result soon enough. Patience is key.

> > > I'm 12 weeks post op from upper/lower advancement (20mm). My

> > healing

> > > from the surgery went very well. I knew exactly what to expect

> > from

> > > reading posts on this board for 2 years, so nothing really came

> as

> > a

> > > surprise to me EXCEPT when I look in the mirror. I'm not quite

> > sure

> > > who that is looking back at me. Plus when I returned to work

> many

> > > people kept asking " who is that new employee? " . Add to that

> family

> > &

> > > friends trying to adapt to the 'new look'. I'm getting tired

of

> > the

> > > shocked look people give me when they see me again.

> > > Wow....this part of the recovery process has been extremely

> > difficult

> > > for me (I'm now on an anti-depressant, which has helped

> somewhat).

> > > I know it's different for each person, but to those out there

who

> > had

> > > a dramatic change in their appearance, how long did it take for

> you

> > > to get used to the person looking back at you?

> > >

> > > I mostly don't regret having the surgery done. I have to say

> that

> > I

> > > had no idea that it was not normal to be able to breath through

> > your

> > > nose when exercising! A week after surgery I went for a walk

and

> > was

> > > incredibly shocked that I could get air in through my mouth AND

> > > nose. I had no clue that you could do that. Plus since I had

my

> > > lower advanced so far, my doc said I probably avoided getting

> > > obstructive sleep apnea later in life. Ironically, 4 weeks

after

> > my

> > > surgery, my mom (who has jaws very similar to how mine were)

was

> > > diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. I know that I did the

> > right

> > > thing by having the surgery. The positives have been amazing

for

> > me

> > > (wow, I can actually bite things now!). But every time I look

in

> > the

> > > mirror I think 'what have I done?' Will this get better?

> > >

> > > Here are a few pics: http://www.geocities.com/unjaniyebo/jaw

> > >

> > > Thanks in advance for any insight!

> > >

> > > -Britt