Re: Talking with the darn splint and preparing for surgery

[Guest guest]

I'm going to be wired with a splint too (along with the

screws/plates) . No braces, so this is going to be interesting

because I am a talker too! I bought a write on/wipe off message

board - and some notebooks too, so I guess I am ready as much as I

can be for not being able to talk for a while.

I'm the only female in the house besides my dog (I have a husband

and three sons!) so this is going to be rather interesting and I am

sure frustrating for me. My guys however, are probably going to

love me being not able to talk!

I am wondering how easy is it to breath through the mouth with the

splint on though? Is it utterly impossible? I'm a mouth breather

by nature, because I've had four nasal surgeries already. The first

nose surgery was to give me a smaller cuter nose, but it got pretty

botched up and I ended up needing two surgeries to just fix what the

first doctor did. One of my surgeries was to correct a deviated

septum but now the darn thing is deviated again, so that will be

another surgery - at a later time though.

How do I prepare to 'feed' myself after this surgery is over? I

don't know whether to buy the zip-n-squeeze, or use a cup or straw

or what? It seems like conflicting opinions on those things. Is

there one thing better than another or should I just wait to see

what the doctor says on Friday when I see him for my last pre-op

visit?

Also, how long does it take to get something like one can of Ensure

or Boost down after this surgery?

What are the pain levels like from having this done? I've got a

pretty high pain tolerace, but have never had any kind of surgery

done on my bones before. Lots of other surgeries like two c-

sections, carpal tunnel surgery, breast reduction, etc. I've also

had lots of mouth surgery before; i.e. I've had extra teeth so

they've had to come out (practically an entire extra set of them to

be exact), plus I've had impacted wisdom teeth removed etc.

Can a person be doing fairly good after a few days or is that too

much to hope and wish for?

Are headaches common after this surgery? (I'm having a Lefort 1

reconstruction mid face, reconstruction mandibular ramus, and

genioplasty, sliding osteotomy - my upper and lower jaws moved

forward and the chin brought forward also).

I have sleep apnea which has been determined to be only fixable by

having this surgery - so I am looking forward to being able to

actually know what REAL sleep is after this is over with. The plus

is going to be being able to wake up and actually feel rested after

laying in bed all night. The bonus is that I will have a more normal

profile too, although I'm certainly not having it just because of

that. I really just want to FEEL better.

Has anyone else had it done for the purpose of sleep apnea? Just

curious! If so, how long before you felt like you really did sleep?

Thanks for any and all replies!

Judy

[Guest guest]

Judy

I am a mouth breather, and I was surprised to wake up in recovery

breathing through my nose. I think your body just compensates when

it needs to, and whne forced to breathe through your nose, you will

be surprised how well you can do it. Now that my wires are cut, and

I can open a little, I find that I am still breathing through my

nose. Strange because I never could before.

My doc said I didn't need the zip-n-squeeze bags, and he was right.

I really had no need for them.

It took me a good hour or more to get a cna of Ensure down the 1st

couple of days after surgery. After about a week, I could drink them

fairly quickly. Once the swelling goes down, you get better at

drinking.

I think I have a fairly high pain tolerance also, and I had never

had any broken bones, so I was worried it would hurt real bad. To my

surprise, I had very little pain. Fortunately, there is alot of

numbness right after the surgery, so that helps with the pain.

I felt really good afte about day 4 or 5, but I only had the lower

done. I am not sure how the upper feels, but Carol and Sara can

probably fill you in on that.

> I'm going to be wired with a splint too (along with the

> screws/plates) . No braces, so this is going to be interesting

> because I am a talker too! I bought a write on/wipe off message

> board - and some notebooks too, so I guess I am ready as much as I

> can be for not being able to talk for a while.

> I'm the only female in the house besides my dog (I have a husband

> and three sons!) so this is going to be rather interesting and I

am

> sure frustrating for me. My guys however, are probably going to

> love me being not able to talk!

> I am wondering how easy is it to breath through the mouth with the

> splint on though? Is it utterly impossible? I'm a mouth breather

> by nature, because I've had four nasal surgeries already. The

first

> nose surgery was to give me a smaller cuter nose, but it got

pretty

> botched up and I ended up needing two surgeries to just fix what

the

> first doctor did. One of my surgeries was to correct a deviated

> septum but now the darn thing is deviated again, so that will be

> another surgery - at a later time though.

> How do I prepare to 'feed' myself after this surgery is over? I

> don't know whether to buy the zip-n-squeeze, or use a cup or straw

> or what? It seems like conflicting opinions on those things. Is

> there one thing better than another or should I just wait to see

> what the doctor says on Friday when I see him for my last pre-op

> visit?

> Also, how long does it take to get something like one can of

Ensure

> or Boost down after this surgery?

> What are the pain levels like from having this done? I've got a

> pretty high pain tolerace, but have never had any kind of surgery

> done on my bones before. Lots of other surgeries like two c-

> sections, carpal tunnel surgery, breast reduction, etc. I've also

> had lots of mouth surgery before; i.e. I've had extra teeth so

> they've had to come out (practically an entire extra set of them

to

> be exact), plus I've had impacted wisdom teeth removed etc.

> Can a person be doing fairly good after a few days or is that too

> much to hope and wish for?

> Are headaches common after this surgery? (I'm having a Lefort 1

> reconstruction mid face, reconstruction mandibular ramus, and

> genioplasty, sliding osteotomy - my upper and lower jaws moved

> forward and the chin brought forward also).

> I have sleep apnea which has been determined to be only fixable by

> having this surgery - so I am looking forward to being able to

> actually know what REAL sleep is after this is over with. The

plus

> is going to be being able to wake up and actually feel rested

after

> laying in bed all night. The bonus is that I will have a more

normal

> profile too, although I'm certainly not having it just because of

> that. I really just want to FEEL better.

> Has anyone else had it done for the purpose of sleep apnea? Just

> curious! If so, how long before you felt like you really did

sleep?

> Thanks for any and all replies!

> Judy

[Guest guest]

Judy/,

The upper leaves you pretty numb, so the pain is really minimal. The

swelling is a bit much at first, though. I'm a mouth breather too -

and had uppper & lower and haven't really had any difficulty

breathing through my nose. I think is right about how your

body just compensates. I'm about 5 weeks post-op now and still can't

really feel my upper lip or lower nose ... I think that's normal for

the upper surgery.

Best of luck,

Carol

> > I'm going to be wired with a splint too (along with the

> > screws/plates) . No braces, so this is going to be interesting

> > because I am a talker too! I bought a write on/wipe off message

> > board - and some notebooks too, so I guess I am ready as much as

I

> > can be for not being able to talk for a while.

> > I'm the only female in the house besides my dog (I have a husband

> > and three sons!) so this is going to be rather interesting and I

> am

> > sure frustrating for me. My guys however, are probably going to

> > love me being not able to talk!

> > I am wondering how easy is it to breath through the mouth with

the

> > splint on though? Is it utterly impossible? I'm a mouth

breather

> > by nature, because I've had four nasal surgeries already. The

> first

> > nose surgery was to give me a smaller cuter nose, but it got

> pretty

> > botched up and I ended up needing two surgeries to just fix what

> the

> > first doctor did. One of my surgeries was to correct a deviated

> > septum but now the darn thing is deviated again, so that will be

> > another surgery - at a later time though.

> > How do I prepare to 'feed' myself after this surgery is over? I

> > don't know whether to buy the zip-n-squeeze, or use a cup or

straw

> > or what? It seems like conflicting opinions on those things. Is

> > there one thing better than another or should I just wait to see

> > what the doctor says on Friday when I see him for my last pre-op

> > visit?

> > Also, how long does it take to get something like one can of

> Ensure

> > or Boost down after this surgery?

> > What are the pain levels like from having this done? I've got a

> > pretty high pain tolerace, but have never had any kind of surgery

> > done on my bones before. Lots of other surgeries like two c-

> > sections, carpal tunnel surgery, breast reduction, etc. I've also

> > had lots of mouth surgery before; i.e. I've had extra teeth so

> > they've had to come out (practically an entire extra set of them

> to

> > be exact), plus I've had impacted wisdom teeth removed etc.

> > Can a person be doing fairly good after a few days or is that too

> > much to hope and wish for?

> > Are headaches common after this surgery? (I'm having a Lefort 1

> > reconstruction mid face, reconstruction mandibular ramus, and

> > genioplasty, sliding osteotomy - my upper and lower jaws moved

> > forward and the chin brought forward also).

> > I have sleep apnea which has been determined to be only fixable

by

> > having this surgery - so I am looking forward to being able to

> > actually know what REAL sleep is after this is over with. The

> plus

> > is going to be being able to wake up and actually feel rested

> after

> > laying in bed all night. The bonus is that I will have a more

> normal

> > profile too, although I'm certainly not having it just because of

> > that. I really just want to FEEL better.

> > Has anyone else had it done for the purpose of sleep apnea? Just

> > curious! If so, how long before you felt like you really did

> sleep?

> > Thanks for any and all replies!

> > Judy