Re: Struggling from surgery Sept10th

[Guest guest]

Wow Caroleanne. Youve had a rough time medically. You've been

through more than most people here. Four weeks for recovering what

you've been through isnt long. I think most people on this board were

still getting back to their regular selves at 4 weeks. You're not

alone there. Most people probably werent eating their usual diets

either. And I'd bet most people still felt more fatigue than they'd

usually have at four weeks. I know I was still tired--and I didnt

have little ones to take care of.

But depression is another thing. An important question is - Are you

still taking beta blockers? Because those dont agree with everyone.

They can cause tiredness and depression. If you're taking beta

blockers and you feel like youre getting more depressed, you really

need to get to a doctor and ask about trying a different class of

drugs. There ARE different drugs and just because one has a bad

effect on you doesnt mean another one will do the same thing. It may

be that a simple change of prescription will change things around for

you.

I know you asked 4 questions, but Im probably nto the best to answer

them--I didnt have a surgery like yours. I'll take a stab at

questions #1 - I didnt feel quite like my regular self until I could

eat more regular foods and get more exercise. When eating wasnt hard

work anymore, thats what did it for me, when I felt better.

Anae

>

> This is my first posting. I had upper/lower and chin surgery done

> at Stanford, CA on Sept 10th and I've had my braces on since May

03.

> I went in to my orthodontist to have my teeth straightened and

> because my lower jaw was underdeveloped, the option of surgery was

> presented to me and I opted for it. Now I am 4 weeks post-op and

> struggling emotionally with the change and my inability to get

> myself back to normal. I have two little ones, 4.5 and 3 and while

> my husband has been working from home since this happened, he'll be

> travelling again and I'm trying to find the strength to get back

> into the routine of life but can't seem to get there.

>

> My surgery ended up being a little more complicated due to a

> hairline fracture in my left jaw and lasted 5 hours, I had heart

> palpatations in the hospital with a heart rate of 200 but my blood

> pressure bottomed at 60/30 they rushed me to the CCU and had me on

> heart and oxygen machines...I was so stressed. My oxygen levels

> were low the

> machines kept going off, it was horrible. The CCU weren't used to

> people with their mouth wired shut and they tried to get me to take

> pills, I was going crazy. When they finally administered a bata

> blocker for my heart, things started to quiet down a bit and the

> next day they moved me to another floor. I was on morphine for 3

> days and then vicodin, now bextra (I think that's how you spell

> it). The nightmares from the drugs were horrible and I was relived

> to stop the heavy drugs. One doc even ordered a blood transfusion

> and didn't consult my surgeon who arrived the next morning and

> cancelled the second transfusion and finally pulled me off the

> morphine. After 4 days I was released and glad to go home. I

never

> imagined such a struggle lay ahead. Normally, I'm a busy active

> person

>

> My little ones will be coming in soon fresh from their bath so here

> are a few questions... 1. Can anyone out there offer any advice on

> how to get myself re-engaged? Will this depression lift? 2.

> Dealing with the numbness, when does it go away? 3. I can only

> open my mouth one finger, besides opening and holding my mouth for

3

> seconds and repeating this for a total of 5 minutes...what else can

> I do? 4. I have a splint and bands but I can take them out for

> periods of time, what schedules do other people have? I just want

> to take the bands off because I can hardly open my mouth in the

> morning.

>

> Help...I've rambled, my husband is getting frustrated with my slow

> recovery and I just want to curl up in bed.

>

> Thank you for any advice...

[Guest guest]

Wow Caroleanne. Youve had a rough time medically. You've been

through more than most people here. Four weeks for recovering what

you've been through isnt long. I think most people on this board were

still getting back to their regular selves at 4 weeks. You're not

alone there. Most people probably werent eating their usual diets

either. And I'd bet most people still felt more fatigue than they'd

usually have at four weeks. I know I was still tired--and I didnt

have little ones to take care of.

But depression is another thing. An important question is - Are you

still taking beta blockers? Because those dont agree with everyone.

They can cause tiredness and depression. If you're taking beta

blockers and you feel like youre getting more depressed, you really

need to get to a doctor and ask about trying a different class of

drugs. There ARE different drugs and just because one has a bad

effect on you doesnt mean another one will do the same thing. It may

be that a simple change of prescription will change things around for

you.

I know you asked 4 questions, but Im probably nto the best to answer

them--I didnt have a surgery like yours. I'll take a stab at

questions #1 - I didnt feel quite like my regular self until I could

eat more regular foods and get more exercise. When eating wasnt hard

work anymore, thats what did it for me, when I felt better.

Anae

>

> This is my first posting. I had upper/lower and chin surgery done

> at Stanford, CA on Sept 10th and I've had my braces on since May

03.

> I went in to my orthodontist to have my teeth straightened and

> because my lower jaw was underdeveloped, the option of surgery was

> presented to me and I opted for it. Now I am 4 weeks post-op and

> struggling emotionally with the change and my inability to get

> myself back to normal. I have two little ones, 4.5 and 3 and while

> my husband has been working from home since this happened, he'll be

> travelling again and I'm trying to find the strength to get back

> into the routine of life but can't seem to get there.

>

> My surgery ended up being a little more complicated due to a

> hairline fracture in my left jaw and lasted 5 hours, I had heart

> palpatations in the hospital with a heart rate of 200 but my blood

> pressure bottomed at 60/30 they rushed me to the CCU and had me on

> heart and oxygen machines...I was so stressed. My oxygen levels

> were low the

> machines kept going off, it was horrible. The CCU weren't used to

> people with their mouth wired shut and they tried to get me to take

> pills, I was going crazy. When they finally administered a bata

> blocker for my heart, things started to quiet down a bit and the

> next day they moved me to another floor. I was on morphine for 3

> days and then vicodin, now bextra (I think that's how you spell

> it). The nightmares from the drugs were horrible and I was relived

> to stop the heavy drugs. One doc even ordered a blood transfusion

> and didn't consult my surgeon who arrived the next morning and

> cancelled the second transfusion and finally pulled me off the

> morphine. After 4 days I was released and glad to go home. I

never

> imagined such a struggle lay ahead. Normally, I'm a busy active

> person

>

> My little ones will be coming in soon fresh from their bath so here

> are a few questions... 1. Can anyone out there offer any advice on

> how to get myself re-engaged? Will this depression lift? 2.

> Dealing with the numbness, when does it go away? 3. I can only

> open my mouth one finger, besides opening and holding my mouth for

3

> seconds and repeating this for a total of 5 minutes...what else can

> I do? 4. I have a splint and bands but I can take them out for

> periods of time, what schedules do other people have? I just want

> to take the bands off because I can hardly open my mouth in the

> morning.

>

> Help...I've rambled, my husband is getting frustrated with my slow

> recovery and I just want to curl up in bed.

>

> Thank you for any advice...

[Guest guest]

Good to hear from you...I'm not on the beta blockers now, only one

bextra a day for the pain and swelling, I supplement that with lots

of ibuprofen. Today, my splint broke, guess it's pretty brittle so

I'll phone the doc in the morning to see what he can do. I'm trying

to eat more regular foods but my mouth can only open the width of

one finger and I'm not chewing yet, only smashing the food on the

roof of my mouth. I'm exercising my jaws to open wider but it's a

slow process. Where's the lady with the magic wand when you need

her...lol

CA

> >

> > This is my first posting. I had upper/lower and chin surgery

done

> > at Stanford, CA on Sept 10th and I've had my braces on since May

> 03.

> > I went in to my orthodontist to have my teeth straightened and

> > because my lower jaw was underdeveloped, the option of surgery

was

> > presented to me and I opted for it. Now I am 4 weeks post-op

and

> > struggling emotionally with the change and my inability to get

> > myself back to normal. I have two little ones, 4.5 and 3 and

while

> > my husband has been working from home since this happened, he'll

be

> > travelling again and I'm trying to find the strength to get back

> > into the routine of life but can't seem to get there.

> >

> > My surgery ended up being a little more complicated due to a

> > hairline fracture in my left jaw and lasted 5 hours, I had heart

> > palpatations in the hospital with a heart rate of 200 but my

blood

> > pressure bottomed at 60/30 they rushed me to the CCU and had me

on

> > heart and oxygen machines...I was so stressed. My oxygen levels

> > were low the

> > machines kept going off, it was horrible. The CCU weren't used

to

> > people with their mouth wired shut and they tried to get me to

take

> > pills, I was going crazy. When they finally administered a bata

> > blocker for my heart, things started to quiet down a bit and the

> > next day they moved me to another floor. I was on morphine for

3

> > days and then vicodin, now bextra (I think that's how you spell

> > it). The nightmares from the drugs were horrible and I was

relived

> > to stop the heavy drugs. One doc even ordered a blood

transfusion

> > and didn't consult my surgeon who arrived the next morning and

> > cancelled the second transfusion and finally pulled me off the

> > morphine. After 4 days I was released and glad to go home. I

> never

> > imagined such a struggle lay ahead. Normally, I'm a busy active

> > person

> >

> > My little ones will be coming in soon fresh from their bath so

here

> > are a few questions... 1. Can anyone out there offer any advice

on

> > how to get myself re-engaged? Will this depression lift? 2.

> > Dealing with the numbness, when does it go away? 3. I can only

> > open my mouth one finger, besides opening and holding my mouth

for

> 3

> > seconds and repeating this for a total of 5 minutes...what else

can

> > I do? 4. I have a splint and bands but I can take them out for

> > periods of time, what schedules do other people have? I just

want

> > to take the bands off because I can hardly open my mouth in the

> > morning.

> >

> > Help...I've rambled, my husband is getting frustrated with my

slow

> > recovery and I just want to curl up in bed.

> >

> > Thank you for any advice...

[Guest guest]

Good to hear from you...I'm not on the beta blockers now, only one

bextra a day for the pain and swelling, I supplement that with lots

of ibuprofen. Today, my splint broke, guess it's pretty brittle so

I'll phone the doc in the morning to see what he can do. I'm trying

to eat more regular foods but my mouth can only open the width of

one finger and I'm not chewing yet, only smashing the food on the

roof of my mouth. I'm exercising my jaws to open wider but it's a

slow process. Where's the lady with the magic wand when you need

her...lol

CA

> >

> > This is my first posting. I had upper/lower and chin surgery

done

> > at Stanford, CA on Sept 10th and I've had my braces on since May

> 03.

> > I went in to my orthodontist to have my teeth straightened and

> > because my lower jaw was underdeveloped, the option of surgery

was

> > presented to me and I opted for it. Now I am 4 weeks post-op

and

> > struggling emotionally with the change and my inability to get

> > myself back to normal. I have two little ones, 4.5 and 3 and

while

> > my husband has been working from home since this happened, he'll

be

> > travelling again and I'm trying to find the strength to get back

> > into the routine of life but can't seem to get there.

> >

> > My surgery ended up being a little more complicated due to a

> > hairline fracture in my left jaw and lasted 5 hours, I had heart

> > palpatations in the hospital with a heart rate of 200 but my

blood

> > pressure bottomed at 60/30 they rushed me to the CCU and had me

on

> > heart and oxygen machines...I was so stressed. My oxygen levels

> > were low the

> > machines kept going off, it was horrible. The CCU weren't used

to

> > people with their mouth wired shut and they tried to get me to

take

> > pills, I was going crazy. When they finally administered a bata

> > blocker for my heart, things started to quiet down a bit and the

> > next day they moved me to another floor. I was on morphine for

3

> > days and then vicodin, now bextra (I think that's how you spell

> > it). The nightmares from the drugs were horrible and I was

relived

> > to stop the heavy drugs. One doc even ordered a blood

transfusion

> > and didn't consult my surgeon who arrived the next morning and

> > cancelled the second transfusion and finally pulled me off the

> > morphine. After 4 days I was released and glad to go home. I

> never

> > imagined such a struggle lay ahead. Normally, I'm a busy active

> > person

> >

> > My little ones will be coming in soon fresh from their bath so

here

> > are a few questions... 1. Can anyone out there offer any advice

on

> > how to get myself re-engaged? Will this depression lift? 2.

> > Dealing with the numbness, when does it go away? 3. I can only

> > open my mouth one finger, besides opening and holding my mouth

for

> 3

> > seconds and repeating this for a total of 5 minutes...what else

can

> > I do? 4. I have a splint and bands but I can take them out for

> > periods of time, what schedules do other people have? I just

want

> > to take the bands off because I can hardly open my mouth in the

> > morning.

> >

> > Help...I've rambled, my husband is getting frustrated with my

slow

> > recovery and I just want to curl up in bed.

> >

> > Thank you for any advice...