Re: My update at 4 weeks post op - Cammie

[Guest guest]

Hi Cammie,

Thanks for your message. I posted about my doctor visit this

afternoon; which explains why I've felt so rotten. I have an ear

infection in both ears; left ear is worse than right and that is the

side that bothers me A LOT. Plus the doctor feels strongly that I

also have a sinus infection too.

I never had any antibiotics after surgery, or at least none after I

left the hospital, and I think these infections have been working up

to this level for a while.

I'm just looking forward to the antibiotics working at clearing this

up, and hopefully I will start to feel better within the next few

days.

As far as it being unusual for me to be wired shut for 12 weeks;

well that's what I think too! My doctor said that I have to be wired

longer than 6 weeks because I didn't have braces before having this

surgery. He said at my next visit on August 3rd, when I'm 6 weeks

and two days post op, then and only then will he have a better idea

of how long he wants to keep these wires in me. The way he talked

was that it would be at least a total of 8 weeks, with the

possibility of up to 12 weeks wired. I said I hoped it was only 8

weeks which is still 2 weeks longer than I'd planned! He said he

wanted to make sure everything is stable before removing the wires,

but 12 weeks seems really, really long at this point.

No, I don't want to jeopardize everything I've already been through,

so I know I don't have much choice in the matter but to go with what

he decides.

If I had it to do over again, I would probably go with the braces

instead of these wires going though the inside of my mouth. I opted

not to have braces because I had them when I was a teenager and felt

my teeth were really pretty straight as they were, so at that point

(pre-surgery) I thought that spending the extra money on the braces

was an unnecessary expense.

Regarding decongestants; my OS told me to take Actifed, which I have

been and it really didn't help. My family doctor told me to take

Sudafed and the antibiotic and that should help out.

And on the humidifier issue, that's a really good idea but where I

live it's not really necessary. I live in Minnesota and we have a

lot of humidity in the air naturally.

Thanks again for your message, and I am really glad that I did vent

in that first post, because it got me upset enough to go in and see

my family doctor and get some help.

I'm still feeling crummy from the ear/sinus infections, but am in a

much better mood now that I can do something to help myself :-)

Take care,

Judy