i had my surgery 6 days ago i have a question someone help?

[Guest guest]

I had upper and lower jaw surgery as well as chin and neck

liposuction. It has been so painful and my face is still very

swollen. I was told to take 2 weeks off work and i did, but the doctor

just told me that this plastic thing i have in my mouth( which precents

me from closing and speaking very well) wont be taken off until 3-4

weeks! What should i do? Anyone who has had this surgery please tell me

how were you doing 2 weeks later? When does the pain and the swelling

go away? I was told this surgery would help but the pain that I'm in?!

and i could lose my job if i dont go back in two weeks? Someone give me

some insight Thanks

Yuly

[Guest guest]

Yuly

I am 12 days post op from a lower jaw advancement. My OS has told me

that I would be off work for 4 to 6 weeks (basically the entire time

I am wired shut). I can tell you that I can talk a little (and I do

mean a little) better than I could 1 week ago, but there is no way

that I could go back to work while being wired shut. My job requires

that I do a LOT of talking, so that is why I can't imagine going

back wired shut. If you don't have to talk a lot at work, or if you

can avoid it for a while, then you might be okay.

I definitely have more energy than I had 1 week post op, and I feel

a little better each day. I still have some swelling, but not enough

that I feel like my appearance would keep me from going back to

work. Even though I have more energy, I still get tired very fast. I

tried cutting my lawn today...big mistake. It is just to soon to be

doing that much work. I can do short walks, and mild activity, but

anything moderate to heavy is still too much. Prior to surgery, I

jogged 2 miles every day and lifted weights, and I don't think I'll

be ready for that for another week or 2.

> I had upper and lower jaw surgery as well as chin and neck

> liposuction. It has been so painful and my face is still very

> swollen. I was told to take 2 weeks off work and i did, but the

doctor

> just told me that this plastic thing i have in my mouth( which

precents

> me from closing and speaking very well) wont be taken off until 3-

4

> weeks! What should i do? Anyone who has had this surgery please

tell me

> how were you doing 2 weeks later? When does the pain and the

swelling

> go away? I was told this surgery would help but the pain that I'm

in?!

> and i could lose my job if i dont go back in two weeks? Someone

give me

> some insight Thanks

> Yuly

[Guest guest]

Hi Yuly,

It's unusual for anyone to have that much work done, normally we

just have the jaw surgeries but not liposuction. Usually the jaw

surgery numbs things so there isn't pain, although that's not always

the case. Have you talked to your surgeon about it?

I had MLD (manual lymph drainage) therapy which is a light touch

therapy specifically for swelling. I do not know whether or not this

can be done in cases where you've had liposuction, though, so if you

consider this, please check with your surgeon or let the therapist

know exactly what you've had done. This therapy is specifically for

opening up the lymph network so fluids & toxins can drain from

swollen tissue. If you're interested, you can go to the geocities

site and click on MLD THERAPY at

http://www.geocities.com/orthognathicinfo/ - at the bottom of the

MLD screen there are links to find a therapist in your area.

Is there a human resources department that you could speak to at

work? I find it hard to believe that someone would consider you as

abandoning your job and firing you after having major surgery. Could

you not speak to your surgeon and ask him/her to write you a note

stating that you need to be off longer, or at least if you have to

go back, what restrictions there should be on your work (no heavy

lifting, minimize talking, or whatever).

People have gone back after 1 or 2 weeks, it's not the best for a

good recovery, but it can be done. Just don't overdo it and listen

to your body.

> I had upper and lower jaw surgery as well as chin and neck

> liposuction. It has been so painful and my face is still very

> swollen. I was told to take 2 weeks off work and i did, but the

doctor

> just told me that this plastic thing i have in my mouth( which

precents

> me from closing and speaking very well) wont be taken off until 3-

4

> weeks! What should i do? Anyone who has had this surgery please

tell me

> how were you doing 2 weeks later? When does the pain and the

swelling

> go away? I was told this surgery would help but the pain that I'm

in?!

> and i could lose my job if i dont go back in two weeks? Someone

give me

> some insight Thanks

> Yuly

[Guest guest]

Hi Yuly - it's certainly not uncommon to keep the plastic splint for

3 to 4 weeks. I wore mine for 5 weeks. It depends on the methods

they used, what had to be done, how significant the changes were,

and on any prior relapse history you may have.

The pain gradually passes though. Has your doctor prescribed any

pain medication? My surgeon suggested I keep taking a 400mg Advil

every 4 hours for the first 2 weeks and longer if needed. It seemed

to work as I didn't have much pain aside from my constantly

throbbing chin. Nights are usually worse.

The splint can be uncomfortable. I couldn't completely bite with it

either... I seemed to clench on it at night. I couldn't wait to

have it off! But the longer you wear it, the less likely you'll

experience relapse, so you don't want it off too soon!

I suggest you call your OS and ask about the pain. It's different

for everyone. A simple Advil or Tylenol might be enough. If

there's severe swelling and pain, then you should certainly talk to

him/her.

Yann

> I had upper and lower jaw surgery as well as chin and neck

> liposuction. It has been so painful and my face is still very

> swollen. I was told to take 2 weeks off work and i did, but the

doctor

> just told me that this plastic thing i have in my mouth( which

precents

> me from closing and speaking very well) wont be taken off until 3-

4

> weeks! What should i do? Anyone who has had this surgery please

tell me

> how were you doing 2 weeks later? When does the pain and the

swelling

> go away? I was told this surgery would help but the pain that I'm

in?!

> and i could lose my job if i dont go back in two weeks? Someone

give me

> some insight Thanks

> Yuly

[Guest guest]

Hi Yuli, I had surgery last month on the 19th of April to be exact I

had upper and lower because of an under bite and I'm still wearing

the splint, " that plastic thing you're talking about " . I only took a

week off from work because really I don't have to do any heavy work

or don't really have to interact with my other co-workers or be on

the phone if I don't want to, Plus I made sure to explain to my boss

of the type of procedure I was going to have so that she would be

prepared for the outcome of the situation. The pain for me went away

after the 8th day but then I again I didn't have lipo done therefore

I wouldn't know what the pain difference is. This is my third week

with my mouth wired shut and I guess I learned how to deal with it.

Although I'm excited that I will be unwired tomorrow YEY! I know if

frustrating and sometimes you wish to take everything off… I was

feeling little overwhelmed at first because I couldn't eat the

delicious food my mother cooks for dinner every night, but I would

go in to my room and would do other things to keep my mind of the

situation. Don't worry about having that splint on it will be okay,

just think about how beautiful you're going to look once it's done

and over with. Wish you the best of luck. Oh! And most of the

swelling went away by the 14th day. I iced my face for the first 48

hours rested for three days and then started to use heat so the

fluids that were retained would start to flow and it worked for me.

-

> I had upper and lower jaw surgery as well as chin and neck

> liposuction. It has been so painful and my face is still very

> swollen. I was told to take 2 weeks off work and i did, but the

doctor

> just told me that this plastic thing i have in my mouth( which

precents

> me from closing and speaking very well) wont be taken off until 3-

4

> weeks! What should i do? Anyone who has had this surgery please

tell me

> how were you doing 2 weeks later? When does the pain and the

swelling

> go away? I was told this surgery would help but the pain that I'm

in?!

> and i could lose my job if i dont go back in two weeks? Someone

give me

> some insight Thanks

> Yuly

[Guest guest]

Yuly -

I had upper/lower on the 19th and my recovery has been

rough, and slooooow. You are not abnormal in the

sense that you are still in pain and swollen at two

weeks. Today I make 3 weeks post op and while the

pain and swelling have singficicantly decreased, I

still have some of each. Each person is different,

some people take longer to get back to normal.

I had short-term disability and this is my 4th week

(and last week) off. I cannot imagine going back after

two weeks - I was seriously still struggling at that

point. Can you claim short-term disability or is it

too late?

The good news is that it does get better, much better.

I have started to do things daily, and finally have my

energy back. Hang in there!

:-) tania

--- yuly0705 wrote:

> I had upper and lower jaw surgery as well as chin

> and neck

> liposuction. It has been so painful and my face is

> still very

> swollen. I was told to take 2 weeks off work and i

> did, but the doctor

> just told me that this plastic thing i have in my

> mouth( which precents

> me from closing and speaking very well) wont be

> taken off until 3-4

> weeks! What should i do? Anyone who has had this

> surgery please tell me

> how were you doing 2 weeks later? When does the pain

> and the swelling

> go away? I was told this surgery would help but the

> pain that I'm in?!

> and i could lose my job if i dont go back in two

> weeks? Someone give me

> some insight Thanks

> Yuly

>

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi Yuli,

I also had my upper and lower sugery. That was on April 11th and I am

still in my splint, the plastic thing. I had to have mine for 6

weeks. I get it out in 10days. I went back to work just under 2 weeks

later. I was talking porrly and didn't feel real great, but I found I

could make it thru the day on ibuprofen. I had most of my pain in the

3rd and 4th weeks. I have had heat on every night befor bed since one

week after the surgery and it has helped alot. I found that the

sooner I forced myself to eat something and felt better. Mashed

potatoes are great. I added non-flavored protein powder to mine and

that helped with the energy. I also found that " Boost " which is alot

like Ensure Helped me to make it thru the day. This has to be one of

the hardest things I have been thru. Just know that everyday will

always be better and you will make it. Good luck.

Todd

> > I had upper and lower jaw surgery as well as chin and neck

> > liposuction. It has been so painful and my face is still very

> > swollen. I was told to take 2 weeks off work and i did, but the

> doctor

> > just told me that this plastic thing i have in my mouth( which

> precents

> > me from closing and speaking very well) wont be taken off until 3-

> 4

> > weeks! What should i do? Anyone who has had this surgery please

> tell me

> > how were you doing 2 weeks later? When does the pain and the

> swelling

> > go away? I was told this surgery would help but the pain that I'm

> in?!

> > and i could lose my job if i dont go back in two weeks? Someone

> give me

> > some insight Thanks

> > Yuly