Re: New pic of my perfect bite...or almost perfect:-)JUDY

[Guest guest]

Judy,

I'm so glad the mouth cleaning packets helped. Yeaaahhh!! And thanks

for the compliments on my new bite:-) I'm very pleased. Well my

swelling is going down nicely. I've actually discovered that arnica

comes in liquid and have been taking 10 drops of it with water every

night before I go to bed and it has been doing wonders for the

swelling. Also, I lost a huge chunk of one my stitches from my upper

gum area and ever since then I find that my lip has really softened

finally and I am able to smile a little better. Now at 5 weeks post-

op I am still amazed by how well I am doing. I feel great. I just got

back from 3 days in Tuscany where I was visiting my boyfriend and

redecorating an apartment we have there. He had to keep on reminding

me that I was not allowed to move big pieces of furniture or pick up

heavy stuff because of the surgery. Sometimes I forget that I've had

the surgery. Who ever thought I would say that?! Eating wise I'm

finding it easier and easier even though I'm still on a soft no chew

diet and I'm always the last person to finish eating at the table. Oh

well, it means I eat a lot less than every one else because I

actually take the time to eat and digest my food properly so I have

been able not to gain back any weight post-op.

The only downer during my recovery has been that I have not gotten my

period. Sorry guys but ladies' details here! Has any one else gone

into amenorea (sp?) post-op? What's more is that I went to see my

gyno on Thursday and he found a lesion on my uterus which really

freaked me out so now I am waiting on the results from the biopsy he

took. The waiting has really been draining but I am confident all

will work out well fingers crossed. My gyno said that all the

antibiotics I took might have weakened my system and caused a

bacterial infection that led to the lesion. Has any one else had this

problem post-op? It's really starting to freak me out but I am trying

to stay calm.

Sorry for the sad ending to the email. I really am feeling very

positive about having done the surgery though!:-) Judy, keep up the

good recovery and you'll see you'll get your energy back bit by bit.

Sara

[Guest guest]

Sara,

We missed you this weekend. I guess we have to learn to share you

with your fiance. LOL.. Please try not to worry about your test.

I'm sure you will hear good results soon. Take some of that

positive vibe you share with us and turn it your way. Think good

thoughts!!

Checked on your new pictures. You are getting cutter everyday. It

is amazing how little sweeling you have. I'm thinking of starting

a journal to keep track of all the great advice I have been reading

here. The advice on the liquid arnica is a good one for sweeling.

Thanks for all the tips... Cathy

> Judy,

> I'm so glad the mouth cleaning packets helped. Yeaaahhh!! And

thanks

> for the compliments on my new bite:-) I'm very pleased. Well my

> swelling is going down nicely. I've actually discovered that

arnica

> comes in liquid and have been taking 10 drops of it with water

every

> night before I go to bed and it has been doing wonders for the

> swelling. Also, I lost a huge chunk of one my stitches from my

upper

> gum area and ever since then I find that my lip has really

softened

> finally and I am able to smile a little better. Now at 5 weeks

post-

> op I am still amazed by how well I am doing. I feel great. I just

got

> back from 3 days in Tuscany where I was visiting my boyfriend and

> redecorating an apartment we have there. He had to keep on

reminding

> me that I was not allowed to move big pieces of furniture or pick

up

> heavy stuff because of the surgery. Sometimes I forget that I've

had

> the surgery. Who ever thought I would say that?! Eating wise I'm

> finding it easier and easier even though I'm still on a soft no

chew

> diet and I'm always the last person to finish eating at the table.

Oh

> well, it means I eat a lot less than every one else because I

> actually take the time to eat and digest my food properly so I

have

> been able not to gain back any weight post-op.

>

> The only downer during my recovery has been that I have not gotten

my

> period. Sorry guys but ladies' details here! Has any one else gone

> into amenorea (sp?) post-op? What's more is that I went to see my

> gyno on Thursday and he found a lesion on my uterus which really

> freaked me out so now I am waiting on the results from the biopsy

he

> took. The waiting has really been draining but I am confident all

> will work out well fingers crossed. My gyno said that all the

> antibiotics I took might have weakened my system and caused a

> bacterial infection that led to the lesion. Has any one else had

this

> problem post-op? It's really starting to freak me out but I am

trying

> to stay calm.

>

> Sorry for the sad ending to the email. I really am feeling very

> positive about having done the surgery though!:-) Judy, keep up

the

> good recovery and you'll see you'll get your energy back bit by

bit.

>

> Sara

[Guest guest]

Sara,

I hope everything comes out perfectly fine with the biopsy you had

done. I'm sure all will be fine though, try not to worry too much -

although I know that's easier said than done. I hope it will not be

too long of a wait to find out the results for you.

It sounds like you're still having a great recovery from surgery,

which is great to hear. I'm three weeks post op today, and doing

better...although I still have that 'pressure' feeling under my

eyes, in my cheeks, and in my ears from the remaining swelling. I

can't decide if that's more uncomfortable than the super-tight

feeling I have inside my mouth from the wiring though. After three

weeks of being wired shut, it's starting to get on my nerves more

than a little bit. I know I just have to put up with it a while

longer but the time is starting to feel like it's dragging pretty

bad. I can't smile yet no matter how hard I try and when I go places

and people see me and smile and wave, they give me a strange look

when I don't smile back. Then I feel obligated to explain everything

I went through and then my mouth, jaw and face hurt more from trying

to talk too much...ugh. I'm sorry, it's just a little bit of my

impatience showing through.

I have an appointment with my OS tomorrow for my first official post

op visit...and I have a long list of questions ready for him to look

at and hopefully answer. I'm hoping he says my recovery is going as

planned and that I can get these wires removed in another three

weeks. They're highly uncomfortable and I have a wire (or wires)

poking me on the inside of my mouth to the right. I have no dental

wax or anything similar to put on the area so I'm just trying to

tolerate it until tomorrow. I haven't wanted to mess too much with

it because it's very close to where one of the bands are placed and

I don't want to risk that breaking.

Ah - the trials of recovering, huh?!

Take care and I'm sending positive thoughts your way regarding your

test results.

Judy

[Guest guest]

Judy,

You have every right to feel impatient and frustrated. I know I would

be too if my mouth had been wired shut for over 3 weeks and even if I

had still been banded tightly shut. I feel so lucky to have gotten

off easy by being desplinted after 3 weeks and being down to elastics

only at night after 5 weeks.

I'm sure you'll feel better after your doctor visit tomorrow. I

always felt more hopeful after seeing my OS. Seeing him and talking

about how I was doing somehow always made me feel reassured and as if

I was making progress. Sometimes during the recovery for this type of

surgery time seems to stop or drag on. I promise it is passing and

soon you'll be liberated from those hateful wires!

I am doing well surgery recovery wise. I am still eating without

chewing and by cutting everything into v. little pieces I am able to

eat a lot of stuff. My doctor (gyno) told me that I needed to

increase the amount of protein especially meat that I have in my diet

and also start to exericise as soon as I can because he feels that

this may have caused some of my problems with the amenorea. Lack of

protein and exericise apparently is very bad for someone such as

myself who has suffered from polycystic ovaries. Unfortunately I just

found out yesterday that I have to go back into the hospital on

Wednesday for another biopsy, this time under local anesthesia. And

there I was hoping that after the jaw surgery I would never have to

deal with the darn anesthesia again. Oh well. Anyway, I'll have the

results of this second biopsy by the 18th and I am hopeful that all

will be fine and readily resolved. Thanks for enquiring!

Keep up your good recovery:-)

Sara

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