Re: Permanent Numbness and Life Going Back To Normal Forever After?????

[Guest guest]

I think you nailed it on the head with this post katja! here here sister!

cori

upper/2-piece Lefort 7/20

[Guest guest]

Katja,

A very well thought out and eloquent response. You go girl!

Connie

> To all discussing permanent numbness and life after surgery,

another

> perspective....

>

> To be pragmatic, it doesn't matter what experiences others have

had

> regarding permanent numbness, because numbness IS a VERY REAL RISK

to

> each and every person that undergoes this surgery. If half the

people

> on this website reported that they didn't have permanent numbness,

> that would be wonderful for them, but would not change the reality

> that each person's body and response to the surgery is different.

> Except for considering the supposed " odds " , people surviving

through

> the surgery without permanent numbness is irrelevant. There is

still

> the possiblity that the next person will have permanent numbness

> regardless of all the others.That is the nature of the surgey and

> it's accompanying risks. We just don't share bodies. We are stuck

> with our own. Our own body will do its own thing... READ: if you

> cannot live with the idea that you may sustain permanent numbness

in

> just a tiny spot or over half your face... then you should not

> undergo the risk of the surgery. You have to be comfortable living

> with that consequence. PERIOD. If you are not, then do not have

the

> surgery. That simply means that the possible costs outweigh the

> possible benefits for that specific person. For those who decide

to

> have the surgery done, the possible benefits do outweigh the

possible

> costs (risks).

>

> Most of us undergo the surgery because we have such compelling

> motivations to make it worth it... Most are willing to trade a

little

> numbness or long recovery to live without pain or less pain, to be

> able to eat, to save their teeth, and save their joints, to be

able

> to literaly stick out their chin and grin.... to feel that much

> better about their appearance. The risks for those individuals are

> worth it. I think it has been reiterated OVER AND OVER that the

risks

> have to be worth it to decide to have the surgery done- or you

face a

> different risk- Regret. Acutally, you face the risk of regret with

> either decision. My surgeon told me point blank that if I cannot

live

> with the possible risks, then I should not have the surgery done.

> That is regardless of his personal statistics that most of his

> patients have recovered all of their feeling and numbness,

bouncing

> back to " normal " or better than prior " normal " .

>

> With 4000+ total members (past and present),I doubt all jaw

surgery

> patients in the world are using this site. So, I would hardly

> consider the members here representative of the overall

demographic

> of jaw surgery patients and/or candidates, nor would " statistics "

> garnered from here be accurate. And that still wouldn't matter

when

> it comes back to the reality of the risks. The exception neither

> creates a rule nor disproves the rule. And look at it the other

way

> around too... due to the nature of jaw surgery, there is always

the

> exception. Count on that if you count on anything. I'd wager that

> most everyone here has not had the same experience as anyone

else....

> Each of us has a different case-mouth/bones/teeth.... and a

different

> surgery and a lot of different surgeons, and thus many, many

> different experiences of recovery-from 2 days out to 12 years out.

> That is the guarantee!

>

> About life going back to normal after surgery. Most people undergo

> surgery because they want the CHANGE!!!! I don't want my life to

> return to what it was... back when I couldn't eat a lot of things,

> more things I couldn't chew, grinding my teeth down, migraines,

> drooling, not to mention I hated my appearance, had no self

> confidence, and no pictures, please. THANK GOODNESS MY LIFE IS

> DIFFERENT AFTER MY SURGERY!!!!!! I celebrate the change!! READ:

> ELATION! Thank goodness my problem was fixable (and covered by

> insurance!). I can't imagine those that live and suffer with

problems

> that cannot be fixed, for which there is no hope or cure, and for

> those whose problems are that much more serious.

>

> Furthermore, back to pragmatism. What choice is out there that

> doesn't impact the course of your life? Most decisions,

> particularly " major " decisions, mean inherently an alteration to

life

> as the decision maker knows it currently. In every decision.... by

> deciding for something, you are deciding against other things....

> There are always results and consequences. Most things have a

> cost/benefit ratio. And there are consequences for inaction....

doing

> nothing is also a decision. But, what doesn't change our lives? I

am

> constantly amazed and how much my life changes and how much I

change,

> and how different both can be from what I anticipated or planned.

> Hard to predict everything. Anyway, I HOPE that my life isn't the

> same as it is now for the rest of it. HOW BORING... If I didn't

have

> my surgery or braces, my life was still guaranteed to be different

> regardless... just by the passage of time and circumstance, life

> under goes change. We are animate beings and not static.... our

> bodies will change too. Independent of what decisions we make

about

> our bodies, they age and do not remain that of a 25year old

forever.

> Time will change you regardless. With or without surgery, braces,

or

> anything.

>

> Anyway, just adding a different perspective.

> Katja