Thursday 6 September 2012

21 Days Post Op Update

Hi everyone, I've been taking a set of pictures every day from day 1. I will get around to posting them soon so you can see the progress in regards to the reduction of swelling, the reversal of a crooked nose, etc. :P

My swelling is basically all gone, with the exception of some in the cheeks and a bit on the bottom of my chin.

With my midline, I remember after the surgery and a week afterward that it was pretty much dead on. As days went by though, it shifted a little bit to the right (about 1 to 2mm). Of course, being me, literally the definition of a worry wart, called in frantic panic about it. To sum it up - Don't worry about it! It's the muscles of the jaw pushing one side a little of kilter temporarily due to it being in a new position. All will be fixed in due time, and, if it was the off chance the teeth shifted - surprise, no big deal for your Ortho.

My next concern was yawning; when you yawn, you naturally open your mouth, but - I can't! I'm banded shut, which would mean I would be pulling on my elastics, my top jaw, and putting downward pressure on my bottom jaw - still, no need to worry. The screws and plates are there for a reason :P

Now on to my next worry, which I will I am sure will alllll be good when I go and ask him on my next appointment - teeth clenching! I noticed that since I've been doing the elastics I have been clenching randomly. Most of the time, I believe anyway, I'm not clenching. I don't feel pain; even when I do realize I'm clenching though there's really no pain so I figure I'm not doing it as bad as others. Still, I read, I worry, and go crazy. I've seen posts where people say it's fine, and others who say it's a big no-no. We will see on Wednesday!

I'm planned to go back to work on the 17th, but we'll see officially on the 12th when I visit my OS, and, for the first time post op, my ortho.

Cheers all!