Guest guest Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 I would like to know if it is very difficult to breath after having surgery, Lower advancement inparticular. I have been thinking alot about this part of recovery and was curious about it. I never realized how much I actually breath though my mouth instead of my nose. I have always been kinda nasal and when I try to pretend that I have to breath through my nose only I feel very confined. Will I be able to breath through my mouth after surgery and is there anything they can give me to open my nasal passages. In the event I am wired shut, will I be able to breath through my mouth too. Also has anyone had a panic attack over this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 I would like to know if it is very difficult to breath after having surgery, Lower advancement inparticular. I have been thinking alot about this part of recovery and was curious about it. I never realized how much I actually breath though my mouth instead of my nose. I have always been kinda nasal and when I try to pretend that I have to breath through my nose only I feel very confined. Will I be able to breath through my mouth after surgery and is there anything they can give me to open my nasal passages. In the event I am wired shut, will I be able to breath through my mouth too. Also has anyone had a panic attack over this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 I had upper/lower/genio last Tuesday. Breathing is OK but it can get labored and deliberate. At times it's the equivalent of a heavy cold. I was concerned that I would get panicky over it but there's nothing much you can do. I think what is odd is having to think about something that is automatic. This issue is also made worse by the fact that you are thinking about the whole operation etc constantly so again emphasis gets put onto it. I take Sudafed once a day. i am holding off on using my nasal sprays until i really need them as i have been told the more you use them (and sudafed) the less contribution they make. I am not sure about what surgery you are having but I have ben told that upper surgery causes more disruption to breathing etc so if yours is lower only perhaps it will be better. I am fairly paranoid about getting a cold so the house is warm, i avoid enclosed public places (in week one you would anyway) and I ask people to wash their hands when they come visit. Also, you have to accept fairly low activity levels - climbing a lot of stairs would get me out of breath and make breathing more difficult. But in general, I am managing. D -- In orthognathicsurgerysupport , " DWILZEN " <dwilzen@y...> wrote: > > I would like to know if it is very difficult to breath after having > surgery, Lower advancement inparticular. I have been thinking alot > about this part of recovery and was curious about it. I never > realized how much I actually breath though my mouth instead of my > nose. I have always been kinda nasal and when I try to pretend that I > have to breath through my nose only I feel very confined. Will I be > able to breath through my mouth after surgery and is there anything > they can give me to open my nasal passages. In the event I am wired > shut, will I be able to breath through my mouth too. Also has anyone > had a panic attack over this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 I had upper/lower/genio last Tuesday. Breathing is OK but it can get labored and deliberate. At times it's the equivalent of a heavy cold. I was concerned that I would get panicky over it but there's nothing much you can do. I think what is odd is having to think about something that is automatic. This issue is also made worse by the fact that you are thinking about the whole operation etc constantly so again emphasis gets put onto it. I take Sudafed once a day. i am holding off on using my nasal sprays until i really need them as i have been told the more you use them (and sudafed) the less contribution they make. I am not sure about what surgery you are having but I have ben told that upper surgery causes more disruption to breathing etc so if yours is lower only perhaps it will be better. I am fairly paranoid about getting a cold so the house is warm, i avoid enclosed public places (in week one you would anyway) and I ask people to wash their hands when they come visit. Also, you have to accept fairly low activity levels - climbing a lot of stairs would get me out of breath and make breathing more difficult. But in general, I am managing. D -- In orthognathicsurgerysupport , " DWILZEN " <dwilzen@y...> wrote: > > I would like to know if it is very difficult to breath after having > surgery, Lower advancement inparticular. I have been thinking alot > about this part of recovery and was curious about it. I never > realized how much I actually breath though my mouth instead of my > nose. I have always been kinda nasal and when I try to pretend that I > have to breath through my nose only I feel very confined. Will I be > able to breath through my mouth after surgery and is there anything > they can give me to open my nasal passages. In the event I am wired > shut, will I be able to breath through my mouth too. Also has anyone > had a panic attack over this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 I had upper only, so I'm not sure my experience applies to you, but I had surgery last Wednesday and have found breathing and congestion to be the hardest thing. I came home on Thursday and totally freaked out. My nose was all stuffed, and I'm tightly banded shut, and there was junk and slime in my throat and I totally panicked. (Because I'm sure crying and all the extra saliva and congestion it causes really helps when you can't breathe!) I'm not sure what constitutes a panic attack per se, but I know I almost told my mom to take me back to the hospital because I was pretty sure I was going to choke and not be able to breathe at all. Sure felt like I wasn't getting enough air. I have always been a mouth breather too, and find that breathing through my mouth is difficult right now, but I think if it came right down to it, I could breathe through my mouth enough to be alright. At least that's what I keep telling myself I think the key really is to not panic, and to take deep, deliberate breaths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 I had upper only, so I'm not sure my experience applies to you, but I had surgery last Wednesday and have found breathing and congestion to be the hardest thing. I came home on Thursday and totally freaked out. My nose was all stuffed, and I'm tightly banded shut, and there was junk and slime in my throat and I totally panicked. (Because I'm sure crying and all the extra saliva and congestion it causes really helps when you can't breathe!) I'm not sure what constitutes a panic attack per se, but I know I almost told my mom to take me back to the hospital because I was pretty sure I was going to choke and not be able to breathe at all. Sure felt like I wasn't getting enough air. I have always been a mouth breather too, and find that breathing through my mouth is difficult right now, but I think if it came right down to it, I could breathe through my mouth enough to be alright. At least that's what I keep telling myself I think the key really is to not panic, and to take deep, deliberate breaths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 I had upper/lower/genio (lower advancement, upper impacted) and had a similar concern. Someone said " don't panic when you wake up " , so when I got back to my room from recovery, I sat up and checked out my breathing. It wasn't as easy as I thought, I could breathe a little bit through my mouth (banded but not wired, I honestly thought I had a splint because my upper palate was sooooo numb), I could breathe a little through my nose, and between the two, I figured I'd do ok. If I was having trouble breathing, they wouldn't have taken the tubes out. And if I did have trouble, I was in a good place to be well taken care of! Try Breathe-Right strips, they will help open up your nostrils physically. 2% hydrogen-peroxide solution and q-tips are the best bet for cleaning your nose, but CAREFULLY, don't go too deep. They basically loosen up the gunk and let you carefully take it out with more q-tips (I used over 600 q-tips in my recovery, didn't blow my nose for about 8 weeks). It's possible that you might find it easier to breathe through your nose as you will possibly be able to close your mouth - I could never close my lips naturally and was a life-long mouth breather (my sister used to try to close my lips to prevent the noisy breathing when I was a child). My lips didn't close due to post-op swelling, but eventually they did and I surprised myself by waking up one morning with my lips tightly sealed shut. Of course, then I worried about not being able to breathe through my nose and suffocating in my sleep. " Not to worry " , said my husband, " you will wake yourself up before you suffocate, you'll start to breath " . Just the same, I tried to sleep with my mouth slightly open just in case. A humidifier running in the room you sleep in might help. I hope that helps. Don't be frightened, don't panic, take stock of your situation, and if you think something's wrong or you're uncomfortable, get that white board out and write a note to the nurse or your family member. > > I would like to know if it is very difficult to breath after having > surgery, Lower advancement inparticular. I have been thinking alot > about this part of recovery and was curious about it. I never > realized how much I actually breath though my mouth instead of my > nose. I have always been kinda nasal and when I try to pretend that I > have to breath through my nose only I feel very confined. Will I be > able to breath through my mouth after surgery and is there anything > they can give me to open my nasal passages. In the event I am wired > shut, will I be able to breath through my mouth too. Also has anyone > had a panic attack over this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 I had upper/lower/genio (lower advancement, upper impacted) and had a similar concern. Someone said " don't panic when you wake up " , so when I got back to my room from recovery, I sat up and checked out my breathing. It wasn't as easy as I thought, I could breathe a little bit through my mouth (banded but not wired, I honestly thought I had a splint because my upper palate was sooooo numb), I could breathe a little through my nose, and between the two, I figured I'd do ok. If I was having trouble breathing, they wouldn't have taken the tubes out. And if I did have trouble, I was in a good place to be well taken care of! Try Breathe-Right strips, they will help open up your nostrils physically. 2% hydrogen-peroxide solution and q-tips are the best bet for cleaning your nose, but CAREFULLY, don't go too deep. They basically loosen up the gunk and let you carefully take it out with more q-tips (I used over 600 q-tips in my recovery, didn't blow my nose for about 8 weeks). It's possible that you might find it easier to breathe through your nose as you will possibly be able to close your mouth - I could never close my lips naturally and was a life-long mouth breather (my sister used to try to close my lips to prevent the noisy breathing when I was a child). My lips didn't close due to post-op swelling, but eventually they did and I surprised myself by waking up one morning with my lips tightly sealed shut. Of course, then I worried about not being able to breathe through my nose and suffocating in my sleep. " Not to worry " , said my husband, " you will wake yourself up before you suffocate, you'll start to breath " . Just the same, I tried to sleep with my mouth slightly open just in case. A humidifier running in the room you sleep in might help. I hope that helps. Don't be frightened, don't panic, take stock of your situation, and if you think something's wrong or you're uncomfortable, get that white board out and write a note to the nurse or your family member. > > I would like to know if it is very difficult to breath after having > surgery, Lower advancement inparticular. I have been thinking alot > about this part of recovery and was curious about it. I never > realized how much I actually breath though my mouth instead of my > nose. I have always been kinda nasal and when I try to pretend that I > have to breath through my nose only I feel very confined. Will I be > able to breath through my mouth after surgery and is there anything > they can give me to open my nasal passages. In the event I am wired > shut, will I be able to breath through my mouth too. Also has anyone > had a panic attack over this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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