Post-op questions

[Guest guest]

Hello all you regulars. I am hoping I can get advice from some of

you who have been there done that.

I had upper, lower, and genio on April 21, so today I am about 3 1/2

weeks post op. Before surgery I read this site and others and felt

very confident about a speedy recovery. I am healthy, 36, nonsmoker,

and excercise daily. The surgery itself was noneventful and

everything went well. Recovery, however, is a different beast

entirely. I wear a splint on my upper teeth (and will for 8 weeks),

and my jaws are held together with elastics, which I can remove

three times a day to eat and clean my teeth. My questions are as

follows regarding swelling, pain, and healing:

I still have swelling. I have read that most swelling should subside

by 10 days. What is the longest I might expect to have swelling? It

doesn't appear to be going down on one side of my face at all!

Pain is intermittent, but when it comes it really comes on strong.

Mostly my chin hurts, as if I can feel exactly where the bone was

cut and reset. Does this just mean the the bones are healing and

regrowing? What is the best over-the-counter pain med to use? Most

of the pain is in the morning when I wake up. I seem to be very

stiff. My routine is to wake up, take some pain meds, and then start

the day. Drinking hot coffee or tea has been, for me, the best way

to loosen my stiff joints. Also, by the end of the day (I am back at

work full time) I am very sore. But I have to be strong and peppy

and take care of my two small children. It's very hard sometimes.

Finally, as far as healing, I keep reading some posts that every day

is better than the previous. Maybe I just don't have enough

patience, but is there really some point at which you feel like

yourself again? I was hoping that by four weeks I would be able to

resume my excercise and other activities, but I don't see that

happening anytime soon. Is there really light at the end of the

tunnel? Is there a point where are this early recovery stuff will be

forgotten?

Well, thanks for reading, and if possible, thanks for answering my

questions. My recovery is such that I have good days and bad days,

and today, I'm afraid, is a bad day. I will just hide myself in my

cubicle today and hope that by noon I will feel better.

Cheers,

Willa