Hi Katja,

[Guest guest]

I do still have a numb lower lip and chin. The numbness had receded

the first few days after surgery until this was the only area that

remained numb, so I was optimistic that this too would quickly

disappear. Not so. If I could get the feeling back in my lip I

would be a happy camper, even if the feeling didn't return in my

chin.

I have noticed that others can see a difference. I live in a fairly

small town, and know most of the people that work in the grocery

stores, pharmacies, etc. I hadn't went food shopping for a while

and when I finally did people who worked in the store just stared.

Mind you, my swelling is gone most of the way and I had no bruising

at the time. Still, I thought I must have stuck out like a sore

thumb until two seperate people asked me if I had just got braces

on. I've had them for over a year, and told them I just had jaw

surgery. This seemed to make perfect sense to them, they would nod

as if to say " Oh, that's what it is. "

My orthodontist office was so excited about the results. This made

me feel better because even though my OS was very excited, and even

though I trust him, I still didn't think he was an impartial party

on my looks, considering he performed the surgery. The nurses at

the OD office all gathered around and said I looked great, and

remarked on my weight loss (23 lbs. to date), and said they were

happy for me. That made me feel much better.

Currently I am not banded or wired, not even light bands to guide my

jaw. I am having a weird problem with my gums in the back that I am

going to bring up to my OS when I see him on Friday. Between the

two back molars on the top there is a huge gap in my gums. Not

receding gumlines, which I know what that looks like, but an honest

to goodness hole in my gums between my teeth. I had lower jaw

surgery, not upper, so my upper gums were not touched during

surgery. I thought I was being a bit of a hypocondriac (how do you

spell that?) about it, after all, I can fit my pinkie finger into

the spot. But once I showed my husband, sister and mom, and they

had that look on their faces, you know the " Oh my God " look, I knew

it wasn't just me. We'll see if the OS is concerned on Friday.

Now, you said you are six months postop and have guiding bands. How

long before surgery did they say you would have braces on postop?

How long are they guessing now? Also, you mentioned that you are

still gradually introducing new foods. Was that frustrating? I

mean, have there been a lot of foods you wanted to eat but couldn't

yet? I wonder because on the one hand I just want to get back to

eating, but on the other I think that after my soft food diet for 6

weeks, that the easy to eat things will still be like heaven after

being so limited as to what I could eat.

I look forward to hearing from you. And as you can tell, I post

long messages too.

Connie