Re: TO: CLARE Re: new member, new question

[Guest guest]

Clare,

How my name is Jill and like you I had lefort done 2 weeks ago..October 6th this

make my 4th one (long story) in a little over a year... how r u feeling now...I

was wondering can you smile and if so does it look normal...after every one of

my surgeries when I smile it looks very animated...I am still swollen some and

numb in some places..around nose area, under eyes, and top lip and under nose

area and upper gums..I was just getting my feeling back somewhat in my upper

gums from the last 3 surgeries..the 3rd one was Jan 3 2005 so it took 10 months

for me to start getting any feeling back only to have them numb again after this

surgery...maybe all the numbness, and swelling, tightness is why its hard for me

to smile.

I see other peoples pictures on the this web site and every after 2 weeks post

op there smile looks normal...THis really scares and bothers me..

I will alslo prob have to have lip augmentation due to small lips and mouth..I

would just like some feed back on what you are going through and feeling....over

all I feel better this time than I did #1 and 2 surgery..which wer 2 weeks

apart from one another this surgery is about like number 3 surgery..

Mu husband isnt really supportive of all these surgeries..he thinks I did it for

cosmetic reasons.. however I was told by numerous surgeons, dentist, and ortho's

that due to my out of line bite that could not be corrected with braces alone...

I was grinding my teeth down at night and would prob have problems when I got

older..I have had TMJ problems since my late teen so about 17-18+ years...my

jaws actually used to get locked some..I had braces when I was about 17 but it

did not help the bite problems...my teeth looked striaight..I had a class 2

overjet, with somewhat of a gummy smile when I smiled...no one every made a

comment on my teeth and I was even told I had pretty teeth..Yes but if I smiled

too big you could see my gums and my teeth stuck out too far..

anyway, any feed back on how you are feeling, and experiencing would be

helpful..I guess I am skeptical of what will happen and what is normal due to

all that I have been through...

Thanks Jill

Clare Creelman wrote:

Hi Elliot,

2 weeks ago, I had upper jaw surgery (3-piece lefort, and palate expansion),

and also had all 4 of my wisdom teeth taken out. To be honest, besides the

obvious swelling, the wisdom teeth on the bottom were the only part that was

uncomfortable, because it was the only part of my jaw that was not numb. All

of my bruising and a lot of my swelling on the bottom half of my jaw was

entirely due to the wisdom teeth. Getting it all done was nice because I

didn't even notice the wisdom teeth gone on the top of my mouth. I only had

one impacted, which I also heard impacted wisdom teeth are also very

uncomfortable and make things a little more difficult. I had upper jaw

surgery, and in my experience, I had virtually no pain. I took the pain

medication for a while mostly just for peace of mind. I didnt want to get

caught somehow in a lot of pain, but everything is numb! So no real pain at

all. I heard the same thing about wisdom teeth extractions being more

painful than jaw surgery, and I believe it. Sorry to hear that you are in

pain now, hopefully in a few days you will feel back to new. Best of Luck!

Clare

>

> Hello everyone! I'm just now starting the whole process on what seems

> to be a long journey ahead. I had a quick question for anyone willing

> to offer some info. I only yesterday had my wisdom teeth extracted,

> and I was wondering what the pain comparison is like to orthognathic

> surgery. I know that there are many different types of surgery, Im

> just trying to get an idea of what to expect..........because Im in

> pretty severe pain right now. I can't sleep, eat, barely open my

> mouth.........My surgeon told me some people complain more about their

> wisdom teeth than they do about jaw surgery. Anyway, again, hello to

> everyone........and I appreciate anyones help.

> Thanks,

> Elliot

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jill,

I am actually very suprised about my recovery rate. I was told that it would

be shorter than most because I am still young, and the bones and swelling

will recover from this a little quicker. I had my surgery the morning of

10/5, so just a day before you. I notice now that every day I see more

improvement, so even one day can make a difference.

I posted about a week ago, that I was very upset that I could not smile at

all. I was too numb. However, I was able to smile a very little at about a

week and a half, and each day gets a little better. I also think that my

smile looks very animated, and I feel uncomfortable smiling usually because

I cannot feel it, and dont know what it looks like (if I am lop-sided, etc

I think if I posted a picture on the website now (I don't have access to

a camera anymore), most people would probably think my smile looks fine, but

to me I am still a far way from normal. I am not sure what you look like

now, but it may be a little bit of that, and also, I am no doctor, but it

sounds like you have been through a lot already with jaw surgeries, that

might delay some results.

I am still entirely numb from right under my eyes, all the way through my

top lip! So I do smile, but I definitely can't feel it! A lot of the

numbness went away quickly. I can feel the sides of my face, right up to my

cheeks, and on the outside of my mouth, but now I do not notice so much that

the numbness is going away. That is a little frustrating. My surgeon told me

3-6 months, but I think I just don't want to believe him... Also, most of

the swelling has gone away, but I still notice that my cheeks are still a

little puffy, and right under my eyes. But it is really not so bad. I used a

heat pad, and most of the swelling went away almost immediately.

I am very sorry that your husband does not understand your motives for going

through this. I also had an overbite, my teeth stuck out, like ... instead

of lying straight up and down, they were angled outward from my gums. I had

a little bit of a gummy smile, and overall was unhappy w/ my smile in

general. I had TMJ problems that had gotten worse with braces. I would get

very bad headaches and sometimes my jaw would lock in place. I had constant

ear infections, and breathing through my nose was very difficult. I didnt

realize that all of these problems were connected, and hoped that this jaw

surgery would fix most of them. I had this surgery for both cosmetic and

functional reasons. You've been going through this for quite a long time

(4th surgery!), and the risks of each surgery are high. I would be suprised

if anyone went through all of that purely for cosmetic reasons! I think this

surgery is difficult to understand for people who have never had these

problems. Most people are looking at both functional and cosmetic

improvement, and don't really separate the two.

Anyway, I really did have a turning point in my recovery at the 1.5-2 week

mark, and every day I start to feel a little better. I am still very tired

all the time, numb, and have a little swelling left, so things are still a

long way from " normal " . I actually still use the heat to help some of the

swelling, and my surgeon told me that taking motrin/advil also helps the

swelling. Getting through the day is still tough, but I'm trying to keep a

positive attitude about everything, and I think that helps!

This email was long, and I hope I answered the questions you had. Feel free

to get in touch with me about anything! Best of Luck!

Clare

>

> Clare,

> How my name is Jill and like you I had lefort done 2 weeks ago..October

> 6th this make my 4th one (long story) in a little over a year... how r u

> feeling now...I was wondering can you smile and if so does it look

> normal...after every one of my surgeries when I smile it looks very

> animated...I am still swollen some and numb in some places..around nose

> area, under eyes, and top lip and under nose area and upper gums..I was just

> getting my feeling back somewhat in my upper gums from the last 3

> surgeries..the 3rd one was Jan 3 2005 so it took 10 months for me to start

> getting any feeling back only to have them numb again after this

> surgery...maybe all the numbness, and swelling, tightness is why its hard

> for me to smile.

> I see other peoples pictures on the this web site and every after 2 weeks

> post op there smile looks normal...THis really scares and bothers me..

>

> I will alslo prob have to have lip augmentation due to small lips and

> mouth..I would just like some feed back on what you are going through and

> feeling....over all I feel better this time than I did #1 and 2

> surgery..which wer 2 weeks apart from one another this surgery is about like

> number 3 surgery..

>

> Mu husband isnt really supportive of all these surgeries..he thinks I did

> it for cosmetic reasons.. however I was told by numerous surgeons, dentist,

> and ortho's that due to my out of line bite that could not be corrected with

> braces alone... I was grinding my teeth down at night and would prob have

> problems when I got older..I have had TMJ problems since my late teen so

> about 17-18+ years...my jaws actually used to get locked some..I had braces

> when I was about 17 but it did not help the bite problems...my teeth looked

> striaight..I had a class 2 overjet, with somewhat of a gummy smile when I

> smiled...no one every made a comment on my teeth and I was even told I had

> pretty teeth..Yes but if I smiled too big you could see my gums and my teeth

> stuck out too far..

>

> anyway, any feed back on how you are feeling, and experiencing would be

> helpful..I guess I am skeptical of what will happen and what is normal due

> to all that I have been through...

>

> Thanks Jill

>

>

> Clare Creelman wrote:

> Hi Elliot,

>

> 2 weeks ago, I had upper jaw surgery (3-piece lefort, and palate

> expansion),

> and also had all 4 of my wisdom teeth taken out. To be honest, besides the

> obvious swelling, the wisdom teeth on the bottom were the only part that

> was

> uncomfortable, because it was the only part of my jaw that was not numb.

> All

> of my bruising and a lot of my swelling on the bottom half of my jaw was

> entirely due to the wisdom teeth. Getting it all done was nice because I

> didn't even notice the wisdom teeth gone on the top of my mouth. I only

> had

> one impacted, which I also heard impacted wisdom teeth are also very

> uncomfortable and make things a little more difficult. I had upper jaw

> surgery, and in my experience, I had virtually no pain. I took the pain

> medication for a while mostly just for peace of mind. I didnt want to get

> caught somehow in a lot of pain, but everything is numb! So no real pain

> at

> all. I heard the same thing about wisdom teeth extractions being more

> painful than jaw surgery, and I believe it. Sorry to hear that you are in

> pain now, hopefully in a few days you will feel back to new. Best of Luck!

>

> Clare

>

>

>

> >

> > Hello everyone! I'm just now starting the whole process on what seems

> > to be a long journey ahead. I had a quick question for anyone willing

> > to offer some info. I only yesterday had my wisdom teeth extracted,

> > and I was wondering what the pain comparison is like to orthognathic

> > surgery. I know that there are many different types of surgery, Im

> > just trying to get an idea of what to expect..........because Im in

> > pretty severe pain right now. I can't sleep, eat, barely open my

> > mouth.........My surgeon told me some people complain more about their

> > wisdom teeth than they do about jaw surgery. Anyway, again, hello to

> > everyone........and I appreciate anyones help.

> > Thanks,

> > Elliot

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >