Re: Diane in Oregon, Orthognathic Surgery

[Guest guest]

Diane in Oregon,

I know others, including Shirley, have already replied to your post,

but thought I'd reply too since I had basically the same surgery

Shirley did just four days before her. It was for the same exact

reason as well: sleep apnea.

I'm 41 - and have been chronically tired for years, at least 11 that

I can think back to! I also had the retrognathic mandible (recessed

lower jaw); plus a bit of mid-face hypoplasia as well. I also have

a very small mouth, and for some reason ended up with way too many

teeth to fit my mouth properly, so when I was younger I had the

extra teeth extracted, with braces to follow to pull all the teeth

together properly.

My craniofacial structure is something that runs on my father's side

of the family, and so far - I am the first person to have it

corrected.

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea just a little over a year ago.

Like Shirley - I couldn't use the CPAP machine either. I live in

Minnesota and had one sleep study (with a CPAP) in St. about 14

months ago, which indeed showed sleep apnea. Because the CPAP mask

didn't fit my face properly, and I also couldn't breathe through my

nose because of four previous nasal surgeries (long story there, but

my first nasal surgery was age 16 to correct breathing problems, and

they were totally addressing the wrong issue to begin with at that

time). Because I live within an hour of the Mayo clinic in

Rochester, I decided to see a specialist there and they wanted to re-

do the sleep study. I did that and it actually came back worse than

the first one, so they immediately recommended the orthognathic

surgery. Without it, they told me I would be at a higher risk for

developing more problems later down the road (hypertension, heart

problems, etc.) I didn't want that, so chose to have the surgery

done, which I did on June 20th.

I had upper and lower jaw advancement (reconstruction mid face

Lefort 1, plus reconstruction mandibular ramus, plus genioplasty).

On top of all that, they also fixed my deviated septum, removed the

uvula from my upper back palate, plus removed an impacted wisdom

tooth. I think I had the works done ;-)

I am now 17 days post op, and much better than before. It's no walk

in the park to get through this, but healing does occur pretty

quickly once you get past that first week or two. Even though I

still have swelling and some discomfort, I feel it's worth it to go

through this so one doesn't face more problems later down the road.

Like Shirley, I get tired very easily. I've actually been off the

computer for a couple of days, because I desperately needed to get

some things done around my house that I've been neglecting. I've got

a 5 bedroom home, 3 kids, a hubby and a dog, and after doing

a 'little bit of this - a little bit of that' around the house, I'm

just wiped out, and needing to lay down for a nap. So, that's what

I've been doing. I just listen to my body and when it says 'stop', I

do. I feel like I've passed the point of true 'pain', now it's more

just a tight, swollen feeling. It's getting better for me everyday,

and will for you too :-)

Each of us have different reasons for doing such a drastic

surgery...for me, it was highly necessary. I was injured badly

several years ago, and I simply couldn't tolerate the pain I've had

PLUS being so exhausted all the time. I didn't feel my body would

have a chance at repairing itself if I couldn't get any really good

sleep. Now, I feel I'm already sleeping better, even with some

swelling still present. I'm only waking up once a night on average,

so for me that is already a miracle, and it's just been 17 days

since my surgery.

Another thing I agree with Shirley on is getting a sleep study done.

My insurance approved my surgery based on my having sleep apnea.

I wish you the best with your OS visits and any questions, just ask.

Take care,

Judy

[Guest guest]

Judy - I'm the one who posted the " downer " of a message on Tuesday

evening about my OMS Consult & I'm the Diane from Boise. I'm trying

to get used to the fact that I will probably be having the LeFort

that my Surgeon says he would really like to perform on me if I will

let him. I knew that I would be having the BSSO set-back for my

underbite, but I never expected my Surgeon to tell me that I would

need the LeFort too. I don't have sleep apnea but I do suffer from

insomnia, and I'm a chronic Nite Owl too. I have a question: when you

woke up after the surgery, how did it feel to have a

different " arrangement " ? I'm wondering how strange it will feel for

me to wake up in recovery without an underbite. I don't remember when

I first had gotten the underbite; I might have been around eight or

so. Anyway, I asked the same question to my Surgeon on Tuesday and he

feels it will feel VERY strange at first, but he feels that I will

get used to the new bite fairly fast. I guess I will just have to

patiently wait and see - my surgery won't be until next summer. My

braces go in on July 26th (spacers and brackets) and August 9th

(spacers out/bands on/archwires on/power chain on top in). Thank you

for your support. ~~~~~~ Diane (Boise)

> Diane in Oregon,

> I know others, including Shirley, have already replied to your

post,

> but thought I'd reply too since I had basically the same surgery

> Shirley did just four days before her. It was for the same exact

> reason as well: sleep apnea.

> I'm 41 - and have been chronically tired for years, at least 11

that

> I can think back to! I also had the retrognathic mandible

(recessed

> lower jaw); plus a bit of mid-face hypoplasia as well. I also have

> a very small mouth, and for some reason ended up with way too many

> teeth to fit my mouth properly, so when I was younger I had the

> extra teeth extracted, with braces to follow to pull all the teeth

> together properly.

> My craniofacial structure is something that runs on my father's

side

> of the family, and so far - I am the first person to have it

> corrected.

> I was diagnosed with sleep apnea just a little over a year ago.

> Like Shirley - I couldn't use the CPAP machine either. I live in

> Minnesota and had one sleep study (with a CPAP) in St. about

14

> months ago, which indeed showed sleep apnea. Because the CPAP mask

> didn't fit my face properly, and I also couldn't breathe through my

> nose because of four previous nasal surgeries (long story there,

but

> my first nasal surgery was age 16 to correct breathing problems,

and

> they were totally addressing the wrong issue to begin with at that

> time). Because I live within an hour of the Mayo clinic in

> Rochester, I decided to see a specialist there and they wanted to

re-

> do the sleep study. I did that and it actually came back worse

than

> the first one, so they immediately recommended the orthognathic

> surgery. Without it, they told me I would be at a higher risk for

> developing more problems later down the road (hypertension, heart

> problems, etc.) I didn't want that, so chose to have the surgery

> done, which I did on June 20th.

> I had upper and lower jaw advancement (reconstruction mid face

> Lefort 1, plus reconstruction mandibular ramus, plus genioplasty).

> On top of all that, they also fixed my deviated septum, removed the

> uvula from my upper back palate, plus removed an impacted wisdom

> tooth. I think I had the works done ;-)

> I am now 17 days post op, and much better than before. It's no walk

> in the park to get through this, but healing does occur pretty

> quickly once you get past that first week or two. Even though I

> still have swelling and some discomfort, I feel it's worth it to go

> through this so one doesn't face more problems later down the road.

> Like Shirley, I get tired very easily. I've actually been off the

> computer for a couple of days, because I desperately needed to get

> some things done around my house that I've been neglecting. I've

got

> a 5 bedroom home, 3 kids, a hubby and a dog, and after doing

> a 'little bit of this - a little bit of that' around the house, I'm

> just wiped out, and needing to lay down for a nap. So, that's what

> I've been doing. I just listen to my body and when it says 'stop',

I

> do. I feel like I've passed the point of true 'pain', now it's more

> just a tight, swollen feeling. It's getting better for me everyday,

> and will for you too :-)

> Each of us have different reasons for doing such a drastic

> surgery...for me, it was highly necessary. I was injured badly

> several years ago, and I simply couldn't tolerate the pain I've had

> PLUS being so exhausted all the time. I didn't feel my body would

> have a chance at repairing itself if I couldn't get any really good

> sleep. Now, I feel I'm already sleeping better, even with some

> swelling still present. I'm only waking up once a night on average,

> so for me that is already a miracle, and it's just been 17 days

> since my surgery.

> Another thing I agree with Shirley on is getting a sleep study

done.

> My insurance approved my surgery based on my having sleep apnea.

> I wish you the best with your OS visits and any questions, just ask.

> Take care,

> Judy

[Guest guest]

Hi Diane (Boise),

It might take a little while for all the info that your surgeon told

you completely 'settles' with you. I know it's hard to think of

everything you need to have done; it was with me too. I was very

nervous about everything, but it does get easier to accept after a

while, and then you just get on with doing what needs to be done.

As far as your question about how it felt after surgery to have a

different " arrangement " ...well, yes it is a bit strange. My surgeon

told me I'd have to re-learn how to swallow again, and he was right -

I did. It was strange and 'different', but you do get used to it

pretty quick. I'm used to it already (surgery was June 20), so it

happens fairly quickly :-)

Feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

Judy

Diane in Oregon,

I know others, including Shirley, have already replied to your

post, but thought I'd reply too since I had basically the same

surgery Shirley did just four days before her. It was for the same

exact reason as well: sleep apnea.

I'm 41 - and have been chronically tired for years, at least 11

that I can think back to! I also had the retrognathic mandible

recessed lower jaw); plus a bit of mid-face hypoplasia as well. I

also have a very small mouth, and for some reason ended up with way

too many teeth to fit my mouth properly, so when I was younger I had

the extra teeth extracted, with braces to follow to pull all the

teeth together properly.

My craniofacial structure is something that runs on my father's

side of the family, and so far - I am the first person to have it

corrected.

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea just a little over a year ago.

Like Shirley - I couldn't use the CPAP machine either. I live in

Minnesota and had one sleep study (with a CPAP) in St. about

14 months ago, which indeed showed sleep apnea. Because the CPAP

mask didn't fit my face properly, and I also couldn't breathe

through my nose because of four previous nasal surgeries (long story

there, but my first nasal surgery was age 16 to correct breathing

problems, and they were totally addressing the wrong issue to begin

with at that time). Because I live within an hour of the Mayo

clinic in Rochester, I decided to see a specialist there and they

wanted to re-do the sleep study. I did that and it actually came

back worse than the first one, so they immediately recommended the

orthognathic surgery. Without it, they told me I would be at a

higher risk for developing more problems later down the road

(hypertension, heart problems, etc.) I didn't want that, so chose to

have the surgery done, which I did on June 20th.

I had upper and lower jaw advancement (reconstruction mid face

Lefort 1, plus reconstruction mandibular ramus, plus genioplasty).

On top of all that, they also fixed my deviated septum, removed the

uvula from my upper back palate, plus removed an impacted wisdom

tooth. I think I had the works done ;-)

I am now 17 days post op, and much better than before. It's no walk

in the park to get through this, but healing does occur pretty

quickly once you get past that first week or two. Even though I

still have swelling and some discomfort, I feel it's worth it to go

through this so one doesn't face more problems later down the road.

Like Shirley, I get tired very easily. I've actually been off the

computer for a couple of days, because I desperately needed to get

some things done around my house that I've been neglecting. I've

got a 5 bedroom home, 3 kids, a hubby and a dog, and after doing

a 'little bit of this - a little bit of that' around the house, I'm

just wiped out, and needing to lay down for a nap. So, that's what

I've been doing. I just listen to my body and when it says 'stop',

I do. I feel like I've passed the point of true 'pain', now it's

more just a tight, swollen feeling. It's getting better for me

everyday, and will for you too :-)

Each of us have different reasons for doing such a drastic

surgery...for me, it was highly necessary. I was injured badly

several years ago, and I simply couldn't tolerate the pain I've had

PLUS being so exhausted all the time. I didn't feel my body would

have a chance at repairing itself if I couldn't get any really good

sleep. Now, I feel I'm already sleeping better, even with some

swelling still present. I'm only waking up once a night on average,

so for me that is already a miracle, and it's just been 17 days

since my surgery.

Another thing I agree with Shirley on is getting a sleep study

done.

My insurance approved my surgery based on my having sleep apnea.

I wish you the best with your OS visits and any questions, just ask.

Take care,

Judy