Re: Survived my Jan 17 upper lower chin surgery

[Guest guest]

Wow, it sounds like you're having a very rough time, I'm sorry to

hear that. You seem to have made a lot of improvement already

though, so hang on to that, and hopefully you'll keep feeling a

little bit better every day! Keep us all posted though!

I can definitely relate to the breathing thing, I felt the exact same

way for the first little while. I got to work with q-tips and

decongestant spray, and nasal strips on my nose, becaues I felt it

was really hard to breathe through my mouth; I was less worried about

breathing when I could breathe easily through my nose. Also I drink

a ton of water after Ensure's because I used to find the Ensure made

all the phlegm in my throat worse, and I was more worried I would

choke on it. I don't know if any of that would help you worry less

about your breathing?

My doctor also suggested I take gravol as a suppository if I felt

nauseous (unpleasant, but if I'd felt sick it would have been a good

option) since I wouldn't have to worry about keeping it down. Not

feeling nauseous also has the added benefit of making food a little

more attractive

I don't know if any of those suggestions will help, but definitely

let us all know how things go. Keep your chin up, I'm sure things

will start to get better soon!!

-

>

> Hi all. I am almost a week post op. I feel not so great. My

> surgery was 1pm on the 17th. I couldn't stop crying at the

hospital

> and almost chickened out. The hospital staff was nice and seemed

> surprised that I was so upset. When I woke up I had trouble

> breathing and don't remember being in recovery much. When in my

> room I was told by my surgeon that I was wired shut. I had upper

> and lower and wasn't supposed to be wired or splinted but he said

he

> has never seen an upper jaw so thin. He said when he cut it it was

> like an eggshell and he could see through it and it started

> crumbling (just what I wanted to hear) so now I have larger

plates,

> more screws and am not wired shut with a splint (I think I'll be

> wired for 2 weeks, god I hope not longer). I had a nasogastric

tube

> which didnt' help with the vomiting b/c I vomited for hours and

they

> had to call the dr. to come see me and they had to remove the

tube.

> The vomiting was a nightmare, my husband I was told had to walk

down

> the hall away from me b/c he couldn't handle it. Once I finally

> stopped I was so dizzy, couldn't keep my eyes open till the next

> afternoon. Had to go down for xrays the next morning in the

> wheelchair and that was horrible, felt so sick, and could barely

> stand up for the xrays. Started trying to use the syringe and

drink

> Tues. afternoon and then felt a little better. It was very hard to

> breathe and I kept pressing the nurse call button. By Wed. I was a

> little better and they sent me home. Of course we had snow in D.C.

> this day and a 30 minute ride home took 4 hours so I was not happy

> about sitting in the car this long. So have been mainly resting,

> watching tv. Can't really sleep at all and I'm exhausted. I have

> been trying to eat but it is so hard and tiring. Was taking me 2

> days to finish one can of Ensure or Boost. I am getting a little

> better now as I am hungry and I can see my ribs sticking out now so

> this scares me that I am losing too much weight. I now like a

> package of the instant breakfast, 1 cup of milk, scoop of ice cream

> and half a banana blended up. The swelling has gone down some, I

> was sooooooooo swollen. I am now a greenish yellowish color on

most

> of my face and neck. I can't talk at all with being wired. I am

> trying to keep my teeth/mouth clean but not sure if I am doing it

> right. I can kind of lift up my lips a little to brush some of the

> front teeth and then use the syringe to squirt in saltwater and the

> rinse the dr. gave me. Can't see anything else. I now have a chin

> which is nice, he slided my bone forward, no implant. It is

swollen

> but I can see the chin. My nose looks different, my hump seems to

> be gone and my nose looks smaller (had a jewish nose). My nose is

> crooked though which I assume is from the swelling (I can most of

> the time breathe out of the right nostril but not the left). My

> face seems to not be as long too. I am numb but I think I am

> getting alot of feeling back. The pain medicine (tyleonol codeine)

> doesn't help much). Didn't want anything stronger since I was so

> sick in the hospital. I feel alot of tingles, twinges, can feel

> when I touch my face, thought I felt some tooth pain yesterday, can

> feel my tongue which feels beat up. I go to see my surgeon

> tomorrow. I am looking forward to it (guess to make sure things

are

> ok and to ask him some more questions). I worry alot.

> God I can't wait to be normal again, it is hard to relax. I freak

> out about breathing and swallowing, sometimes start coughing b/c

> guess didn't swallow right then find it hard to stop and breathe

and

> it scares me alot. I hate being wired shut. I keep thinking why

> did I do this to myself I must be nuts to have done this surgery.

> Guess someday it will seem worth it but definitely not right now.

> My kids who are 6 and 7 asked my mom if I will ever look like their

> mom again. How sad.