Re: question regarding swelling

[Guest guest]

I still had a good amount of swelling at 4 weeks. I begged my OS

for some anti inflamitory medication, but he would just smile and

say " be patient " . He would say its only been ____ weeks and I would

say yes, but it feels like a life time! It really does because your

appearance is involved and so much of your lifestyle changes. At 11

weeks, I can say most all of my swelling is gone, but it went down

very slowly. Yours probably is too, but you don't notice so much

because you are looking in the mirror daily. If you have a digital

camera, try taking a picture a week of yourself so you can track you

progress and when you think you aren't making any, look at your last

few pictures. Before you know it, you'll look perfect and all this

will be behind you.

Pam

>

> 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else really

> swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

suggstions

> on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

I still had a good amount of swelling at 4 weeks. I begged my OS

for some anti inflamitory medication, but he would just smile and

say " be patient " . He would say its only been ____ weeks and I would

say yes, but it feels like a life time! It really does because your

appearance is involved and so much of your lifestyle changes. At 11

weeks, I can say most all of my swelling is gone, but it went down

very slowly. Yours probably is too, but you don't notice so much

because you are looking in the mirror daily. If you have a digital

camera, try taking a picture a week of yourself so you can track you

progress and when you think you aren't making any, look at your last

few pictures. Before you know it, you'll look perfect and all this

will be behind you.

Pam

>

> 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else really

> swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

suggstions

> on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

I had surgery September 2, upper jaw. I am still swollen and my nose

and upper lip are not the way they use to be. I hope it goes away

because I really liked the way I looked before, I just wanted to chew

properly. Can anyone tell me how long it take for ALLLLL the

swelling to go away?

> >

> > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else really

> > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> suggstions

> > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

I had surgery September 2, upper jaw. I am still swollen and my nose

and upper lip are not the way they use to be. I hope it goes away

because I really liked the way I looked before, I just wanted to chew

properly. Can anyone tell me how long it take for ALLLLL the

swelling to go away?

> >

> > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else really

> > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> suggstions

> > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

It takes quite a while for residual swelling to go down. It slows

down over time. You really do have to be patient with it. Think up to

a year.

Also, ask your surgeon if the changes you've noticed are likely

permanent or not. With any orthognathic surgery there is possiblity

of change, dependent on a number of things including how much

movement was required.

I had my surgery Aug 27th (but in 2002) and by December of that year,

I was still feeling stiffness in my upper lip. Both my ortho and my

massage therapist could see subtle swelling in my face, although I

couldn't.

Hope that helps,

> > >

> > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else really

> > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > suggstions

> > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

It takes quite a while for residual swelling to go down. It slows

down over time. You really do have to be patient with it. Think up to

a year.

Also, ask your surgeon if the changes you've noticed are likely

permanent or not. With any orthognathic surgery there is possiblity

of change, dependent on a number of things including how much

movement was required.

I had my surgery Aug 27th (but in 2002) and by December of that year,

I was still feeling stiffness in my upper lip. Both my ortho and my

massage therapist could see subtle swelling in my face, although I

couldn't.

Hope that helps,

> > >

> > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else really

> > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > suggstions

> > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

I had my surgery Nov. 17, but I feel the same way you do. My upper

lip, nose and cheeks are still stiff and swollen and I really hate

how it looks and I'm hoping they will go down and I will look

better, because I saw a picture of myself before and after and I

really think I look better before. I know this surgery is to help

the bite and corrected the teeth and jaw, but I did not want to look

worse after the surgery. I actually cried myself to sleep last

night, because I am not happy with the way I look now.

I can only hope things will get better soon,

> > >

> > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else

really

> > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > suggstions

> > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

I had my surgery Nov. 17, but I feel the same way you do. My upper

lip, nose and cheeks are still stiff and swollen and I really hate

how it looks and I'm hoping they will go down and I will look

better, because I saw a picture of myself before and after and I

really think I look better before. I know this surgery is to help

the bite and corrected the teeth and jaw, but I did not want to look

worse after the surgery. I actually cried myself to sleep last

night, because I am not happy with the way I look now.

I can only hope things will get better soon,

> > >

> > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else

really

> > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > suggstions

> > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

My OS has a picture in his office of Miss America (1995, I think, but

I don't remember). It is framed with a letter she wrote to him. He

did her surgery when she was 15. In the letter, she says it took

months and months, up to a year, for the swelling to be completely

gone and " the look " to be what she had expected. She says (somewhat

obviously) that it was worth it and gives encouragement to all OS

patients.

I had my surgery on 11/23. The visible swelling in my upper face is

mostly gone, but my bottom jaw is still quite swollen, and inside my

mouth, I can feel how swollen, still, my upper palate is. My sinuses

are also still quite swollen. I think (and my OS says) that it is

quite normal. His staff, and even one of my friends, say they can

tell already how much better my profile will look. I'm glad they

can, because I sure can't tell. I'm just trusting at this point.

Hang in there. If it worked for Miss America, it will work for us!

> > > >

> > > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else

> really

> > > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > > suggstions

> > > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

My OS has a picture in his office of Miss America (1995, I think, but

I don't remember). It is framed with a letter she wrote to him. He

did her surgery when she was 15. In the letter, she says it took

months and months, up to a year, for the swelling to be completely

gone and " the look " to be what she had expected. She says (somewhat

obviously) that it was worth it and gives encouragement to all OS

patients.

I had my surgery on 11/23. The visible swelling in my upper face is

mostly gone, but my bottom jaw is still quite swollen, and inside my

mouth, I can feel how swollen, still, my upper palate is. My sinuses

are also still quite swollen. I think (and my OS says) that it is

quite normal. His staff, and even one of my friends, say they can

tell already how much better my profile will look. I'm glad they

can, because I sure can't tell. I'm just trusting at this point.

Hang in there. If it worked for Miss America, it will work for us!

> > > >

> > > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else

> really

> > > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > > suggstions

> > > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

So there is someone out there who doesn't like the way they look so far. My

ortho said to me, so how do you like your new look, and I said I hate it, I like

the way I looked before. She said out of 15 years I am the only one who said

that. On the positive side, my face has gone down tremendously (did I spell

that right). I just hope it goes alllll the way back to the way I was. I heard

it will.

wrote:

I had my surgery Nov. 17, but I feel the same way you do. My upper

lip, nose and cheeks are still stiff and swollen and I really hate

how it looks and I'm hoping they will go down and I will look

better, because I saw a picture of myself before and after and I

really think I look better before. I know this surgery is to help

the bite and corrected the teeth and jaw, but I did not want to look

worse after the surgery. I actually cried myself to sleep last

night, because I am not happy with the way I look now.

I can only hope things will get better soon,

> > >

> > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else

really

> > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > suggstions

> > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

So there is someone out there who doesn't like the way they look so far. My

ortho said to me, so how do you like your new look, and I said I hate it, I like

the way I looked before. She said out of 15 years I am the only one who said

that. On the positive side, my face has gone down tremendously (did I spell

that right). I just hope it goes alllll the way back to the way I was. I heard

it will.

wrote:

I had my surgery Nov. 17, but I feel the same way you do. My upper

lip, nose and cheeks are still stiff and swollen and I really hate

how it looks and I'm hoping they will go down and I will look

better, because I saw a picture of myself before and after and I

really think I look better before. I know this surgery is to help

the bite and corrected the teeth and jaw, but I did not want to look

worse after the surgery. I actually cried myself to sleep last

night, because I am not happy with the way I look now.

I can only hope things will get better soon,

> > >

> > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else

really

> > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > suggstions

> > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

[Guest guest]

I posted about this a few days ago.... I am more than four months removed

from upper jaw surgery and am still swollen, especially in the jowls and the

cheek area around my nose. It's not drastic, but it means I have puffy cheeks

and a bit of a double chin still. As a result I had feeling pretty down about my

appearance, smile etc. But when I would bring it up with my ortho he seemed

surprised that I was anything less than ecstatic with how things were going.

He did put me on a 20-day dose of anti-inflammatories, which only made a

minimal difference.

I finally made an appointment with my surgeon to talk about the swelling and

my smile, and was so glad I did. He was very responsive and very reassuring,

said that for some people you really do need to wait out the full year before

the swelling goes away completely, and that before that time, you really won't

have a proper sense of what the final result will be. The swelling can really

compromise your look, and the continued wearing of braces, rubber bands

etc. can cause residual swelling to hang around, exacerbating the problem.

As it happened, in the two weeks after I saw him, my swelling went down a bit

more, and I was shocked at what a difference it made. Suddenly my chin and

jawline was visibly stronger and everything looked more right. It was also

easier to smile " out " rather than " up, " if that makes any sense. I still have a

ways to go, but I feel heartened.

Before I went through this process, it seemed like every story I heard or read

about had the patient emerging from surgery and within weeks feeling

overjoyed with their new appearance and so happy they had chosen to go

through the process. That has not been my experience at all. Only now am I

finally starting to see asthetic benefits. So I think some of us are forced to

be a

lot more patient than others.

Meaghan

> > > >

> > > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else

> really

> > > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > > suggstions

> > > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I posted about this a few days ago.... I am more than four months removed

from upper jaw surgery and am still swollen, especially in the jowls and the

cheek area around my nose. It's not drastic, but it means I have puffy cheeks

and a bit of a double chin still. As a result I had feeling pretty down about my

appearance, smile etc. But when I would bring it up with my ortho he seemed

surprised that I was anything less than ecstatic with how things were going.

He did put me on a 20-day dose of anti-inflammatories, which only made a

minimal difference.

I finally made an appointment with my surgeon to talk about the swelling and

my smile, and was so glad I did. He was very responsive and very reassuring,

said that for some people you really do need to wait out the full year before

the swelling goes away completely, and that before that time, you really won't

have a proper sense of what the final result will be. The swelling can really

compromise your look, and the continued wearing of braces, rubber bands

etc. can cause residual swelling to hang around, exacerbating the problem.

As it happened, in the two weeks after I saw him, my swelling went down a bit

more, and I was shocked at what a difference it made. Suddenly my chin and

jawline was visibly stronger and everything looked more right. It was also

easier to smile " out " rather than " up, " if that makes any sense. I still have a

ways to go, but I feel heartened.

Before I went through this process, it seemed like every story I heard or read

about had the patient emerging from surgery and within weeks feeling

overjoyed with their new appearance and so happy they had chosen to go

through the process. That has not been my experience at all. Only now am I

finally starting to see asthetic benefits. So I think some of us are forced to

be a

lot more patient than others.

Meaghan

> > > >

> > > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else

> really

> > > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > > suggstions

> > > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

- I'm still swollen too (Nov. 18). So, if nothing else, we can

comiserate.

My nose is quite a bit wider than it used to be. And, when the

swelling goes up, I wind up with this sort of miserable expression.

But, I'm trying to console myself with thoughts of food - glorious

food! My surgeon says I'll be allowed to eat " anything I can get in my

mouth " next week (6 weeks post). (Hey, maybe some good chewing action

will help the swelling go down.... [or make it worse])

>

> I had my surgery Nov. 17, but I feel the same way you do. My upper

> lip, nose and cheeks are still stiff and swollen and I really hate

> how it looks and I'm hoping they will go down and I will look

> better, because I saw a picture of myself before and after and I

> really think I look better before. I know this surgery is to help

> the bite and corrected the teeth and jaw, but I did not want to look

> worse after the surgery. I actually cried myself to sleep last

> night, because I am not happy with the way I look now.

>

> I can only hope things will get better soon,

>

[Guest guest]

- I'm still swollen too (Nov. 18). So, if nothing else, we can

comiserate.

My nose is quite a bit wider than it used to be. And, when the

swelling goes up, I wind up with this sort of miserable expression.

But, I'm trying to console myself with thoughts of food - glorious

food! My surgeon says I'll be allowed to eat " anything I can get in my

mouth " next week (6 weeks post). (Hey, maybe some good chewing action

will help the swelling go down.... [or make it worse])

>

> I had my surgery Nov. 17, but I feel the same way you do. My upper

> lip, nose and cheeks are still stiff and swollen and I really hate

> how it looks and I'm hoping they will go down and I will look

> better, because I saw a picture of myself before and after and I

> really think I look better before. I know this surgery is to help

> the bite and corrected the teeth and jaw, but I did not want to look

> worse after the surgery. I actually cried myself to sleep last

> night, because I am not happy with the way I look now.

>

> I can only hope things will get better soon,

>

[Guest guest]

joeselch-

Glad to hear I'm not alone, not glad that your swollen too, but glad

it's normal. I look at some of the pictures posted and a lot of

them look back to normal after 4 weeks. I can say my swelling is

leaving everyday, but very, very slowly. My main swelling is my

nose and upper lip. Although most people say they can't tell I'm

swollen and I wonder what they are looking at and what I'm looking

at and how they cannot see the swelling.

I saw my OS today and asked him about eating and he wasn't as

optimistic as your OS My OS told me only soft foods and when I

told him I ate lasagna, he told me that was too hard of a food to

eat, so I asked him if I ate it without meat if that was ok and we

compromised.

Hope the swelling goes down soon and I'll be dreaming of eating

while your actually doing it

> >

> > I had my surgery Nov. 17, but I feel the same way you do. My

upper

> > lip, nose and cheeks are still stiff and swollen and I really

hate

> > how it looks and I'm hoping they will go down and I will look

> > better, because I saw a picture of myself before and after and I

> > really think I look better before. I know this surgery is to

help

> > the bite and corrected the teeth and jaw, but I did not want to

look

> > worse after the surgery. I actually cried myself to sleep last

> > night, because I am not happy with the way I look now.

> >

> > I can only hope things will get better soon,

> >

[Guest guest]

joeselch-

Glad to hear I'm not alone, not glad that your swollen too, but glad

it's normal. I look at some of the pictures posted and a lot of

them look back to normal after 4 weeks. I can say my swelling is

leaving everyday, but very, very slowly. My main swelling is my

nose and upper lip. Although most people say they can't tell I'm

swollen and I wonder what they are looking at and what I'm looking

at and how they cannot see the swelling.

I saw my OS today and asked him about eating and he wasn't as

optimistic as your OS My OS told me only soft foods and when I

told him I ate lasagna, he told me that was too hard of a food to

eat, so I asked him if I ate it without meat if that was ok and we

compromised.

Hope the swelling goes down soon and I'll be dreaming of eating

while your actually doing it

> >

> > I had my surgery Nov. 17, but I feel the same way you do. My

upper

> > lip, nose and cheeks are still stiff and swollen and I really

hate

> > how it looks and I'm hoping they will go down and I will look

> > better, because I saw a picture of myself before and after and I

> > really think I look better before. I know this surgery is to

help

> > the bite and corrected the teeth and jaw, but I did not want to

look

> > worse after the surgery. I actually cried myself to sleep last

> > night, because I am not happy with the way I look now.

> >

> > I can only hope things will get better soon,

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi Diedre,

I am 6 months post op and there are days that I love the way my face

looks and days that I hate it, I still get some swelling now and

fully expect it to continue for a while yet.

All I can say is be patient and hopefully some day you will look in

the mirror and love your new look.

Marsha

> > > >

> > > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else

> really

> > > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > > suggstions

> > > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Diedre,

I am 6 months post op and there are days that I love the way my face

looks and days that I hate it, I still get some swelling now and

fully expect it to continue for a while yet.

All I can say is be patient and hopefully some day you will look in

the mirror and love your new look.

Marsha

> > > >

> > > > 4 wks post-op and iam still very swollen.was anyone else

> really

> > > > swollen so long after the surgery????does anyone have any

> > > suggstions

> > > > on how to reduce the swelling???thank you.

>

>

>

>

>