Chances of Relapse?

Alright, so, strangely, the only scary part of all this for me is the chance of relapse. I should have asked my surgeon this. It seems like I have a new question for him everyday. I don't mind going through all this, it was my choice, and I'm not really nervous, I'm actually excited. What I don't want though is to go through all this and then have it not work. What are the odds? Does anyone know? Has this happened to you or someone you know? Also, I can't afford to go through it again, or my parents can't. They are paying out of pocket for this surgery because it is an exclusion on our insurance plan. They don't even consider these kind of surgeries....no matter how much you need it. This means my parents are paying 50 thousand dollars for all of this to go down. They rock. I don't want to go into my surgery with any fears though. I'm the kind of person that thinks a positive attitude and outlook will carry me a long way. I don't want any bad energy in the room the day of. I want to feel calm.

Relapse just seems like such a funny thing to me. I mean, how is this possible really? They are putting screws in my mouth to hold my new jaw in place, so how in the world could I revert back to my old bite? They said the bone would grow over where they are sliding it....but what if it doesn't? Is this when relapse happens? All I know is that I will not be straining my jaw in the slightest, even if I have to be mute! I don't want to take the chances.

Surgery is so soooon

Well, July 22nd, so I still have a couple more weeks to go, but seriously it needs to get here, now! I do have a lot to do between now and then though. I need to go pick up all my prescriptions, get my stuff ready that I am going to want at the hospital, set up stuff for me to do when I get home from surgery-books, movies,CDS, and whatnot, stock up my fridge with things I can actually eat.....

I just had my pre-op yesterday and we covered everything! I met with my surgeon, saw my nutritionist and it got me so excited. I am going to have to wear a splint for 8 weeks, which means, no chewing, sucking, swishing, any of that, for 8 weeks. So, I will be on a liquid/soft food diet for that time. The nutritionist said I should lose no more than 3 or 4 lbs but yeah right, i'm sure I'll lose more than that. I picked out my jaw bra, it's Hawaiian theme :) I still need to go to the hospital to get my physical, because of my asthma they just want o make sure they have all their bases covered, and this is my first time undergoing anesthesia. I'll post pictures and video if I can manage it. Hope everyone is doing well~ :)

One month to go.....

It's hard to believe that in just a month I will have just had surgery, and will be in my first few days of recovery. I can't wait! Well, recovery will suck but it's hard to believe that this is happening. This year has gone by so fast. I had my last cleaning with my dentist yesterday and I meet with my surgeon next week to go over pre op stuff. Time to get my questions ready! What questions do you have? What questions do you wish you had asked?

Here are some of mine:

Will I vomit up blood after the surgery? If so, how much? Will this put strain on my jaw?....because it seems like it would.

How much pain can I expect in the first week, level 1-10?

What are my chances of never getting feeling back in parts of my face?

How long will it take to get feeling back throughout my face?

What can I do to help myself recover faster? Any tips anyone? What helped you get through your first few weeks?

How long before I can eat steak and stuff like that?.....I heard this story about a guy who bit into a steak a little too early and he had to get the surgery again!

What will they use to extend my lower jaw forward?

What will my recovery time look like? 2 weeks? 4 weeks? 6 weeks? .....mostly, when will I be able to go back to work?! I will have to wear a splint....

What will my emotional state be like?

Can I shower right after?

What are the signs of infection?

That's all I got so far!

Detox Starts Today!

Alright party people, today marks day 1 of detox. My surgery is in two months and I am going to be super healthy going into it. Any advice one certain foods I should be loading up on, or certain exercises you recommend? I hear that the better shape you are in going in, the faster your recovery is. I don't meet with my nutritionist until later this month, and would love to show her that I have this covered.

Also, what is brushing and flossing like after the surgery? I'm going to be wearing a splint, not sure for how long but I've been wondering how this will effect my dental hygiene. I go in for a cleaning this month so at least I'll be really clean going in.

And one more question. What was the one thing that happened post-op that you wish you had been more prepared for, or something you would have done differently maybe to help yourself get through it? I'm a little freaked out about possibly vomiting blood after surgery and about feeling like I can't breath.

Hope everyone is well~

READY FOR SURGERY!!!!

Okay. So it's been a really really long time! For the longest time nothing was happening....I'd go in for a "tune up" and then I'd be good to go for another 4-6 weeks but the time has come....SURGERY!!!! I wasn't suppose to be ready until like September but I'm a little ahead of schedule. I met with my surgeon yesterday and we set the date for July 22nd. I go in next month to meet with a nutritionist, and do all the work up-history and physical- make sure I'm healthy. I'm so happy and so excited. I want to be really positive going into this because I know it's going to be a tough recovery. I'm taking off 2 weeks from work but it may need to be more??? All these blogs say 4-6 weeks but my ortho was like Oh yeah, you could go back in a week. Yeah right. Let's wait and see what my surgeon says. For all you just now reading my blog I will be having upper and lower jaw surgery to correct an over bite and open bite. I will also be having my chin reshaped. Time to get smart. Eat right, drink less, work out....I want to make sure I'm super healthy going into this. DETOX! For all you out there just now starting this process, stick with it! And for all of you out there who are also about to have surgery, best of luck!

Been A While

First of all I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It wasn't the best Holiday season for me. I've been kind of bummed since I graduated.... being back home, trying to work out the 'work' situation and of course having braces again :) The braces aren't so bad except they still make me feel super self conscience when it comes to boys. I just feel like relationships aren't going to happen while I'm going through this process. It's unfortunate because I'm so ready to start dating again but yeahhh it is what it is. I'm also really starting to freak out about recovery time. I know it differs person to person but I ran in to someone today and their sister had gone through jaw surgery and she told me it took her 10 years until everything felt okay again. 10 years!!! WTF, like seriously? Maybe she had a more serious surgery than what I'm having but it really freaked me out. I start a new job in 2 weeks. I told them about my surgery and that I would need to take some time off but that it shouldn't be a problem. Honestly I totally sugar-coated it though because I have NO IDEA how much time I will need to take off. For those of you out there going through a similar surgery (upper and lower to correct over bite/open bite) do you know much time you will need before you can go outside and be a more or less normal person? My surgery is suppose to happen sometime in September....but I feel kind of lost. I haven't seen my actual orthodontist since I went in to meet with him at the beginning and get my original scans. Every time I go in for a tune up they have some other guy working on me. He's really nice and in part I don't mind but, and I know he's just following my ortho's plan for me but, I dunno, I'd like to see him every once in a while ya know? I finally asked last time I was in if I should be talking to my surgeon, "do I need to go in for a check up?" They told me no. They said we were on schedule and that there was no need to talk to my surgeon until we were closer to the actual surgery date- also he said that they would take care of everything. I'm like okayyy, that's nice but I'd really love to be included. How is everyone else feeling about their status? Anyone else experiencing a lack of communication like myself? I hope everything is going well for everyone and if anyone has any advice please throw it my way!

A bad time to look young

Time for an update. I go in for my third tune up next week. Things are moving along. Before I know it I'll be in surgery. I'm ready for it but the whole thing stresses me out. This is just a horrible time to be going through all this, but I choose to, so I guess I shouldn't complain. I just started teaching and looking so young has really made it hard to get respect from the kiddos. I just look so young, they don't see me as an adult, a teacher. I'm working on it. Also, whatever jobs I get, yes I'm still looking, will have to be put on hold pretty soon. I don't know how long I'll be out of commission after the surgery. For everyone out there who has gone through this how much time did you have to take off work? I would just hate to work so hard to find a steady job now only to get fired because in a few months I'll be under the knife. How have you guys dealt with this? Hope everyone is well. It might snow here tomorrow. Looking forward to it.