Re: 6 weeks post-op (numbness and swelling)

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Your pictures were a great help to me. I have exactly the same

surgery (upper/lower/chin done on Tuesday 7th and got home yestrday.

It's rough but I guess it was always going to be

My questions for you if you wouldn't mind

1. When were you first on your own with no-one else in the house for

a stretch of time

2. I am on 6 hourly ibuprofen elixir which doesn't quite cover the

pain. What worked for you? In hospital I was on liquid tylenol which

at least did not burn

3/ Any tips/tricks for sleeping?

4. How long were you really out of action? (are you back at work now?)

5. How did you cope with the talking/not talking thing? i can make a

few grunts which I my friends can interpret but I think my quality of

life will increase when I can speak acceptably. When did that happen

for you?

Thanks for your post. it really helped me.

-- In orthognathicsurgerysupport , bebertq

<no_reply@y...> wrote:

>

> Hello!

>

> I have been lurking on these forums here and there for the past

> year, prior to my surgery. Now that my surgery is done, I am coming

> back for a debriefing ;-)

>

> I'm a 29 years old male, 5'9 " , 215 lbs. I had upper advancement,

> lower moved back and chin advancement on oct. 25. They also

> extracted my remaining wisdom tooth while they were at it.

>

> I am doing pretty good, I am taking a while to swell down according

> to my surgeon... I still have a lot of numbness around my chin and

> lower lip, even after 6 weeks.

>

> I am a little worried about my new look, the upper jaw moved

forward

> causes the upper lip to be a little more " supported " , which I am

not

> sure I like 100 %.

>

> The whole recovery was relatively painless, the only things I

> disliked were the Dilaudid (morphine?) shots in my arms or thighs

> every 4 hours for about two days, post-op. Other than this, no

> problem at all. Everyone wondering about the pain should jump right

> in and have the surgery! Strangely, the thing I was the most

worried

> about was the initial injection on the OR table where they start

the

> IV : it was painless since the anesthesiologist used a super-tiny

> needle to numb the area before inserting the larger thing.

>

> I'm on the other side and proud of it! A whole lot of pics can be

> found here :

>

> http://www.fireindahole.com/surgery/Page.html

>

>

> Bebert

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Your pictures were a great help to me. I have exactly the same

surgery (upper/lower/chin done on Tuesday 7th and got home yestrday.

It's rough but I guess it was always going to be

My questions for you if you wouldn't mind

1. When were you first on your own with no-one else in the house for

a stretch of time

2. I am on 6 hourly ibuprofen elixir which doesn't quite cover the

pain. What worked for you? In hospital I was on liquid tylenol which

at least did not burn

3/ Any tips/tricks for sleeping?

4. How long were you really out of action? (are you back at work now?)

5. How did you cope with the talking/not talking thing? i can make a

few grunts which I my friends can interpret but I think my quality of

life will increase when I can speak acceptably. When did that happen

for you?

Thanks for your post. it really helped me.

-- In orthognathicsurgerysupport , bebertq

<no_reply@y...> wrote:

>

> Hello!

>

> I have been lurking on these forums here and there for the past

> year, prior to my surgery. Now that my surgery is done, I am coming

> back for a debriefing ;-)

>

> I'm a 29 years old male, 5'9 " , 215 lbs. I had upper advancement,

> lower moved back and chin advancement on oct. 25. They also

> extracted my remaining wisdom tooth while they were at it.

>

> I am doing pretty good, I am taking a while to swell down according

> to my surgeon... I still have a lot of numbness around my chin and

> lower lip, even after 6 weeks.

>

> I am a little worried about my new look, the upper jaw moved

forward

> causes the upper lip to be a little more " supported " , which I am

not

> sure I like 100 %.

>

> The whole recovery was relatively painless, the only things I

> disliked were the Dilaudid (morphine?) shots in my arms or thighs

> every 4 hours for about two days, post-op. Other than this, no

> problem at all. Everyone wondering about the pain should jump right

> in and have the surgery! Strangely, the thing I was the most

worried

> about was the initial injection on the OR table where they start

the

> IV : it was painless since the anesthesiologist used a super-tiny

> needle to numb the area before inserting the larger thing.

>

> I'm on the other side and proud of it! A whole lot of pics can be

> found here :

>

> http://www.fireindahole.com/surgery/Page.html

>

>

> Bebert

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

It will get better in the next week or so. I hope my perspective to

your questions will help:

1. My surgery was 11/23. My first day on my own for part of the

time was Monday, 11/29. By then I could mix a shake or some soup for

myself and get my own medicines. The toughest part was getting tired

and frustrated. My husband helped a lot when he came home from work.

2. Personally, I don't think I would have done as well if I had not

had the generic equivalent of Lortab elixer, which is hydrocodone and

acetaminophen. It's a narcotic, and I used it judiciously, but it

was very helpful. It was what my OS recommended and I am glad he

did. I would not hesitate to ask.

3. I had to sleep with my head elevated. I won't be much help here,

because a few years ago I bought a bed that adjusts and it has been a

godsend. I am still sleeping more elevated than usual. My OS told

me to take a little extra Lortab before bed (he gave me my maximum

dosage, which I never took, and I just adjusted according to my pain

and time of day)---again, it helped. ALSO - you may be ready for

warm moist heat. Send someone to the drugstore for a moist heat pack-

--Bed Buddies is a good brand. They are near the heating pads and

you heat them in the microwave. That helped me drift off to sleep.

4. I am 19 days post-op. I can drive, grocery shop, manage my 4

teenagers, get ready for Christmas, etc. Last night, I went to our

high school football team's state championship game (we lost), which

was a two hour car ride (my husband drove), I ate at a restaurant (I

can remove my bands to eat and I can now open far enough to eat

little bites of soft things---I ate some clam chowder, some blackened

Mahi, and some mashed potatoes), and sat in 43 degree weather in a

football stadium for 3 hours). That was the first day in a while

that I resorted to the Lortab again. My biggest pain now is this

stupid stitch in the tissue above my front teeth, under my nose. I

see the OS again tomorrow. My husband and I practice law together,

and I have been in the office some, done some work, and plan on

getting a brief I had been working on and for which I got an

extension out the door by the end of this week. I still look like I

was in a barroom brawl---still some bruising and a swollen, but not

like day 5, bottom jaw, but most people don't care.

If someone had told me at day 5 that I would be doing this at day 19,

I'm not sure I would have believed them. It still takes me a long

time to manage things---cleaning my mouth, eating, dealing with the

bands, etc.

Have you tried sitting in the shower and letting hot water run over

you head and face? I think day 5 was when I fell in love with that.

Good luck.

---Kathleen

> >

> > Hello!

> >

> > I have been lurking on these forums here and there for the past

> > year, prior to my surgery. Now that my surgery is done, I am

coming

> > back for a debriefing ;-)

> >

> > I'm a 29 years old male, 5'9 " , 215 lbs. I had upper advancement,

> > lower moved back and chin advancement on oct. 25. They also

> > extracted my remaining wisdom tooth while they were at it.

> >

> > I am doing pretty good, I am taking a while to swell down

according

> > to my surgeon... I still have a lot of numbness around my chin

and

> > lower lip, even after 6 weeks.

> >

> > I am a little worried about my new look, the upper jaw moved

> forward

> > causes the upper lip to be a little more " supported " , which I am

> not

> > sure I like 100 %.

> >

> > The whole recovery was relatively painless, the only things I

> > disliked were the Dilaudid (morphine?) shots in my arms or thighs

> > every 4 hours for about two days, post-op. Other than this, no

> > problem at all. Everyone wondering about the pain should jump

right

> > in and have the surgery! Strangely, the thing I was the most

> worried

> > about was the initial injection on the OR table where they start

> the

> > IV : it was painless since the anesthesiologist used a super-tiny

> > needle to numb the area before inserting the larger thing.

> >

> > I'm on the other side and proud of it! A whole lot of pics can be

> > found here :

> >

> > http://www.fireindahole.com/surgery/Page.html

> >

> >

> > Bebert

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

It will get better in the next week or so. I hope my perspective to

your questions will help:

1. My surgery was 11/23. My first day on my own for part of the

time was Monday, 11/29. By then I could mix a shake or some soup for

myself and get my own medicines. The toughest part was getting tired

and frustrated. My husband helped a lot when he came home from work.

2. Personally, I don't think I would have done as well if I had not

had the generic equivalent of Lortab elixer, which is hydrocodone and

acetaminophen. It's a narcotic, and I used it judiciously, but it

was very helpful. It was what my OS recommended and I am glad he

did. I would not hesitate to ask.

3. I had to sleep with my head elevated. I won't be much help here,

because a few years ago I bought a bed that adjusts and it has been a

godsend. I am still sleeping more elevated than usual. My OS told

me to take a little extra Lortab before bed (he gave me my maximum

dosage, which I never took, and I just adjusted according to my pain

and time of day)---again, it helped. ALSO - you may be ready for

warm moist heat. Send someone to the drugstore for a moist heat pack-

--Bed Buddies is a good brand. They are near the heating pads and

you heat them in the microwave. That helped me drift off to sleep.

4. I am 19 days post-op. I can drive, grocery shop, manage my 4

teenagers, get ready for Christmas, etc. Last night, I went to our

high school football team's state championship game (we lost), which

was a two hour car ride (my husband drove), I ate at a restaurant (I

can remove my bands to eat and I can now open far enough to eat

little bites of soft things---I ate some clam chowder, some blackened

Mahi, and some mashed potatoes), and sat in 43 degree weather in a

football stadium for 3 hours). That was the first day in a while

that I resorted to the Lortab again. My biggest pain now is this

stupid stitch in the tissue above my front teeth, under my nose. I

see the OS again tomorrow. My husband and I practice law together,

and I have been in the office some, done some work, and plan on

getting a brief I had been working on and for which I got an

extension out the door by the end of this week. I still look like I

was in a barroom brawl---still some bruising and a swollen, but not

like day 5, bottom jaw, but most people don't care.

If someone had told me at day 5 that I would be doing this at day 19,

I'm not sure I would have believed them. It still takes me a long

time to manage things---cleaning my mouth, eating, dealing with the

bands, etc.

Have you tried sitting in the shower and letting hot water run over

you head and face? I think day 5 was when I fell in love with that.

Good luck.

---Kathleen

> >

> > Hello!

> >

> > I have been lurking on these forums here and there for the past

> > year, prior to my surgery. Now that my surgery is done, I am

coming

> > back for a debriefing ;-)

> >

> > I'm a 29 years old male, 5'9 " , 215 lbs. I had upper advancement,

> > lower moved back and chin advancement on oct. 25. They also

> > extracted my remaining wisdom tooth while they were at it.

> >

> > I am doing pretty good, I am taking a while to swell down

according

> > to my surgeon... I still have a lot of numbness around my chin

and

> > lower lip, even after 6 weeks.

> >

> > I am a little worried about my new look, the upper jaw moved

> forward

> > causes the upper lip to be a little more " supported " , which I am

> not

> > sure I like 100 %.

> >

> > The whole recovery was relatively painless, the only things I

> > disliked were the Dilaudid (morphine?) shots in my arms or thighs

> > every 4 hours for about two days, post-op. Other than this, no

> > problem at all. Everyone wondering about the pain should jump

right

> > in and have the surgery! Strangely, the thing I was the most

> worried

> > about was the initial injection on the OR table where they start

> the

> > IV : it was painless since the anesthesiologist used a super-tiny

> > needle to numb the area before inserting the larger thing.

> >

> > I'm on the other side and proud of it! A whole lot of pics can be

> > found here :

> >

> > http://www.fireindahole.com/surgery/Page.html

> >

> >

> > Bebert

[Guest guest]

> My questions for you if you wouldn't mind

> 1. When were you first on your own with no-one else in the house

for

> a stretch of time

Hi , actually being home alone was a non-issue... I could blend

stuff myself and shoot it in my mouth with the plastic syringe.

After I got my Zip-And-Squeeze in the mail, I started using those

but they are not absolutely required. I ordered the liquid bags as

well as puree bags, but I should've ordered only puree bags : they

are more useful.

> 2. I am on 6 hourly ibuprofen elixir which doesn't quite cover the

> pain. What worked for you? In hospital I was on liquid tylenol

which

> at least did not burn

I took some Empracet (?), which is acetamino + codeine... I

alternated with 400 mg Motrin, and had some anti-inflammatory (sp)

suppositories also that I used every night before going to bed.

Whenever I felt pain, in the later weeks, I would just take 2 Advils.

> 3/ Any tips/tricks for sleeping?

I had a hard time sleeping... I put a ton of pillows and I remember

moving them around for a half-hour before finally going to sleep.

> 4. How long were you really out of action? (are you back at work

now?)

I took 4 weeks off... but after two weeks I could've gotten back to

work for sure.

> 5. How did you cope with the talking/not talking thing? i can make

a

> few grunts which I my friends can interpret but I think my quality

of

> life will increase when I can speak acceptably. When did that

happen

> for you?

I had no trouble talking. Of course, people had a hard time

understand everything I said in the first few days, but that too was

a non-issue really. I had a pad of paper with a pen, but I didn't

use it... You know what? I was overprepared for this surgery... I

bought a wireless card for my laptop thinking I would have a hard

time moving around. It wasn't the case. You will take your time and

do everything you want.

This whole surgery wasn't such a big deal, at least, for me... ;-)

> Thanks for your post. it really helped me.

>

>

>

> You're welcome!

Enjoy your free time... use it wisely!

[Guest guest]

> My questions for you if you wouldn't mind

> 1. When were you first on your own with no-one else in the house

for

> a stretch of time

Hi , actually being home alone was a non-issue... I could blend

stuff myself and shoot it in my mouth with the plastic syringe.

After I got my Zip-And-Squeeze in the mail, I started using those

but they are not absolutely required. I ordered the liquid bags as

well as puree bags, but I should've ordered only puree bags : they

are more useful.

> 2. I am on 6 hourly ibuprofen elixir which doesn't quite cover the

> pain. What worked for you? In hospital I was on liquid tylenol

which

> at least did not burn

I took some Empracet (?), which is acetamino + codeine... I

alternated with 400 mg Motrin, and had some anti-inflammatory (sp)

suppositories also that I used every night before going to bed.

Whenever I felt pain, in the later weeks, I would just take 2 Advils.

> 3/ Any tips/tricks for sleeping?

I had a hard time sleeping... I put a ton of pillows and I remember

moving them around for a half-hour before finally going to sleep.

> 4. How long were you really out of action? (are you back at work

now?)

I took 4 weeks off... but after two weeks I could've gotten back to

work for sure.

> 5. How did you cope with the talking/not talking thing? i can make

a

> few grunts which I my friends can interpret but I think my quality

of

> life will increase when I can speak acceptably. When did that

happen

> for you?

I had no trouble talking. Of course, people had a hard time

understand everything I said in the first few days, but that too was

a non-issue really. I had a pad of paper with a pen, but I didn't

use it... You know what? I was overprepared for this surgery... I

bought a wireless card for my laptop thinking I would have a hard

time moving around. It wasn't the case. You will take your time and

do everything you want.

This whole surgery wasn't such a big deal, at least, for me... ;-)

> Thanks for your post. it really helped me.

>

>

>

> You're welcome!

Enjoy your free time... use it wisely!