Re: (Caboose)

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Your night sounds like mine. I took my hydrocodone and finally fell

asleep around 1:30. It must have been starting to wear off because

at 3:30 I woke my husband up by pounding on his back crying that I

needed more ice. My left side still really hurts a lot and is

swollen. The right side feels fine.

Like you, I also keep sliding my jaw around to find a comfortable

position. It keeps wanting to slide over to the left. Old habits die

hard. It actually felt a little better with the bands on because it

felt more stable. Now I usually let my mouth hang open because it

feels weird to bite down. I'm almost looking forward to going to the

orthodontist so they can make my teeth fit together better. Let me

know what your OD says today.

That's good that you have some help for the first few weeks back at

work. I'm only working two shifts next week and then I have another

two days off. I haven't looked at my August schedule yet but I have

a feeling that payback is going to be h***. But I need the work to

pay off all these medical bills.

I hope you have a great day, too and get a good night's sleep

tonight!

> Good Morning ,

>

> I sure hope you had a better night than me last night. I had a

> little bit more pain than normal and couldn't sleep even after

taking

> a Percocet for the pain. ARGHHH!!! Then I kept sliding my jaw

> around trying to find the position where it is supposed to be. I

> sure hope those bands train this jaw to readjust to its new

> position. For the first 2 weeks after surgery I had no problem

> biting down correctly. Now for some reason I am trying to bite

down

> back into my old position.

>

> Yes, I do have dental insurance, but it surely doesn't cover much

as

> far as crowns go. I think it only covers about 70% of one crown a

> year. Hello insurance company, I need 8 crowns, not only 1 a

year...

> (haha)

>

> I go back to work on Tuesday. I decided to take Monday off

because I

> didn't want to work a full week my first week back. So I will see

> how it goes and at least I will have a summer intern who will be

able

> to help me out until August 11th when he goes back to school. My

> weekly OS appts. for the next 4 to 6 weeks will kind of give me a

> little break from the office which will be nice.

>

> I know what you mean about catching up on the housework. Being

that

> my kids are still in Louisiana, I have been able to keep up with

most

> of the laundry which is good news. But that flower garden outside

> needs about a week of weed picking..(haha) This is when I need my

> kids here to help out!

>

> Anyway, today I am going to stop by for a visit with my OD. A

> coworker of mine is bringing her daugther in to see him this

> afternoon for a monthly checkup, so I thought I would stop in and

> visit with my coworker and OD. It will be interesting to see what

he

> thinks because I am sure he is going to want to take a quick peak

at

> my mouth. My OS told me that I will not be going back to my OD

for

> at least another 4 to 6 weeks.

>

> Have a Great Day,

> --Caboose

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

When I had my lefort done, my surgeon did something to my upper lip,

I don't remember what it was called, but it was to make it stick out

more. He said otherwise the way he positioned my upper jaw, my lip

would just curl under instead of out. Maybe you had something like

that done as well. My worst swelling was after the lefort as well. I

have pictures of me six weeks post-op where I'm still really puffy.

My upper lip still ended up looking really thin but my OS reassures

me that it will look more normal once the braces come off.

I finally got some sleep this morning. I fell asleep at 8:00 and

slept off and on until noon. I'm sure the pain was because of the

bands I had put back on to try to shift my lower jaw back to the

midline. I'll put some lighter bands on tonight and see if they're

more tolerable. For some reason, this time my OS and my physical

therapists are wanting me to keep using the ice instead of heat for

now. The ice does help in that it numbs everything but the hot

shower feels good too.

Enjoy your day!

-minirascal

> > > > > > Hi everyone.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Well, it's officially Friday, which means I am now 4

weeks

> > post-

> > > > op.

> > > > > > Everything is great. No swelling, no bruising, feeling

is

> > > > beginning

> > > > > > to return....Unfortunately so is my overbite and I seem

to

> > also

> > > > > have

> > > > > > developed a small crossbite. I never had a splint, just

> > > > elastics. I

> > > > > > feel like my bite is good untill I remove the bands to

eat

> > or

> > > > > brush.

> > > > > > Then my jaw joint relaxes into a more functional

position,

> > and

> > > > my

> > > > > > teeth no longer meet as well.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > So grrrrrr! I have an appointment tomorrow morning with

my

> > OD.

> > > I

> > > > am

> > > > > > frustrated with the elastics because I feel like they

are

> > just

> > > > > > tugging my jaw out of its best position (for the joint).

> > > > > >

> > > > > > I was pretty depressed today about it. So much so that I

> > > haven't

> > > > > > discussed it with anyone. I just feel a bit raw about

it,

> > and I

> > > > > > don't want anyone to see how upset I really am. Could it

> > just

> > > be

> > > > > the

> > > > > > full moon that has me all worked up??? I didn't cry even

> > once

> > > > > during

> > > > > > my recovery. I guess I should have known it was a bit

too

> > easy.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > I'll post about what my OD says in the morning. Grrrr.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Fay

[Guest guest]

Hi Rudolph!

Only kidding, I can say that since I look like Quasimodo right

now. ;-)

I'm not going back to work until Thursday night shift. I work Friday

night as well. I just found out that I'm off for a whole week after

that which is good and bad. Good because it gives me another week to

recover but bad because I need the $$$. My hospital bill for the

first day alone was $93,000 ($78,000 of which were the joints).

Gulp! I don't know how much insurance is going to pay so I don't

know what we're going to owe. I just don't understand insurance and

I am in a health care profession although I don't do any billing.

The last letter from my insurance said I haven't met any of my

$10,000 deductible yet. I guess they don't count the $3000 of botox

x2 or the $15,000 for the CT with 3D reconstruction to make the

model of my skull. Ugh. Forget about sending my kids to college.

I'll be paying medical bills for the rest of my life. I'm grateful

that my surgeon waived his customary $18,000 fee.

I can't imagine what people at work are going to say either. People

who have worked in an ER for a while definitely are warped (we need

to be after all we've seen!) After one of my previous surgeries, a

consulting physician asked me if I'd done something differently with

my hair. One of the nurses replied, " No, she just rearraned her face

again! " We all laughed hysterically and the poor guy just looked at

us like we were crazy (we are) and walked off.

The Bell's palsy really looks worse than it is. It's just annoying

because my left eye stays dry and irritated so I can't wear my

contacts. I hate wearing glasses because I have a really strong

prescription and can actually see better with contacts. I'm really

going to inspire confidence in my patients now!

Enjoy your last day off tomorrow!

minirascal (Picasso face as my husband calls me)-

> > > Thanks my fav nurse !

> > >

> > > The rash is only in the area of my nose and cheeks which is

where

> > the

> > > swelling still is. I would say the swelling is still the same

> > maybe

> > > a little bit more in the lip area. I really haven't used

> anything

> > on

> > > the face except warm water and a moisturizer for sensitive

skin

> > which

> > > I have been using for years. I haven't been wearing any

makeup

> > > because it still hurts like heck trying to put it on. I will

try

> > the

> > > Benadryl to see if that helps.

> > >

> > > Yes my OS is on vacation this week, but I surely won't

hesitate

> to

> > > call the other OS in his office who assisted during my

surgery.

> > Just

> > > my luck I start having all these problems and my OS heads out

on

> > > vacation..(haha) It's funny how I sailed by the first 3 weeks

> with

> > > minimal problems thinking I was going to get through this post

op

> > > recovery with ease. Boy was I wrong, 1 step forward and 2

steps

> > > back...(haha)

> > >

> > > Thanks a bunch like always for your help,

> > > --Caboose

[Guest guest]

Hi Caboose!

I guess I can't call you Rudolph anymore. How about Angelina Jolie?

Remember, women pay big bucks to get those big lips. Ha, ha. My

swelling is going down, too. Finally, I look less like Quasimodo but

I'm still Picasso face since the left side of my face still isn't

moving. My OS told me it would probably take 3-6 months for the

Bell's Palsy to go away.

I'm glad to hear your first week back at work wasn't too bad and

you're finally feeling better. I went back to work Thursday night

and it wasn't too bad. It felt kind of nice to get back to a more

normal routine. Friday night was a different story. It was a typical

Friday night in the ER with plenty of belligerent drunks. At least I

didn't kill anybody although it was tempting at times ;-). By the

time my shift was over, I was ready to rip my face off. Work and

three days without my muscle relaxants and nothing stronger than

Advil took its toll. My maximum opening had gone from 27 mm on

Tuesday to 13 mm by Saturday morning. I wasn't quite ready to go

back to work so it's a good thing I have this entire week off. By

then I should be in much better shape.

Today, I'm feeling a lot better. My husband helped with my

stretching exercises by prying my mouth open. He got me back to 19

mm. I've been working my jaw really hard today so my OS doesn't have

to stretch me again. I also took a nice long nap this afternoon.

Ahhh, that felt good.

Have a great week and I hope neither of us needs that bulldozer

anymore.

minirascal-

> Hi ,

>

> I have been thinking about you the past few days wondering how

your

> return back to work went.

>

> I was so glad to see Friday roll around this week. It sure has

been

> a long week being that it was my first week back to work. I did

> start feeling a little better by Friday...(of course who doesn't

feel

> better on Friday's after working all week..haha)

>

> My red nosed rash does seem to be disappearing. The Benadryl

seemed

> to have cleared it right up. Now if only I could find something

to

> clear this lip swelling up then I would be set..(haha) I go back

to

> the OS on Thursday, not sure if he is going to band me up or not.

I

> would say since the swelling has gone down he probably will.

>

> Anyway, I hope you are feeling better, if not, let me get that

> bulldozer out and plow those bad feelings away! That works

> everytime..haha

>

> Hugs to ya,

> -Caboose