Day 11

Monday 23rd August

I am really start to feel back to my old self, which is great. A friend came to visit me today, she hadn't seen me since the day before my op. She really noticed a change and was surprised at how good i looked after just 11 days! It was really nice to catch up with her. 

I have started cutting down the amount of painkillers i have a day. Instead of having paracetamol 4 times a day i am having  it 3 times. Also i run out of the steroid i have been taking today, i don't think i will be needing it anymore.

I have my appetite back now so i am getting more hungry and actually feel like eating.
Today i had:
Porridge
Spaghetti hoops
Yogurt
Melted chocolate
Jelly
Toblerone (just managed to squeeze the triangles between my teeth and suck it)
Blended pasta with a tomato sauce
Yogurt
Jelly

Here are today's pictures:

I've finally taken a picture of my bite! So this is my bite at the moment, this is the best i can do. At my last appointment with my surgeon he told me they managed to get my bite perfect in the surgery but that my bottom jaw has moved forward. He was able to push my bottom jaw back into place so didn't seem too worried at the moment. i have my next appointment tomorrow so hopefully he will be able to start to do something to correct it. The bite is a lot better than it was before surgery but it isn't the perfect bite i wanted! I'll let you know how the appointment goes tomorrow.

Sophie xxx

Day 10

Sunday 22nd August

Pretty much the same day as yesterday, didn't do much! Had a really nice tea though, i haven't had anything that tasted salty in ages. My mum made me macaroni and cheese with bacon. She blended it so that the pieces of pasta and bacon where small enough for me to swallow but didn't blend it so much that it was like baby food.


Here are today's pictures:

My swelling is still getting decreasing i think but a bit slower. The numbness isn't as bad as it was under my right eye, but it is still pretty bad on the right side of my face. My nose is still running and i am still having to tape cotton wool under my nose at night, this is probably the most annoying thing for me at the moment as I'm wiping my nose all the time and the skin on my nose is getting irritated. Also I'm finding that when i smile or laugh, the stitches on my upper jaw are being stretched which hurts a bit.


Sophie xxx

Day 9

Saturday 21st August

I felt quite tired today and couldn't really be bothered to do much so i sat in bed and watched a box set most of the day! 

Here are pictures from today:

My swelling is still going down and my bruises have gone. I still have a little bit of swelling under my chin, at the bottom of my cheeks and next to my nose. My eyes are quite puffy today but that might be because i was tired.

Sophie xxx

Day 8

Friday 20th August

Nothing special happened today, so here is the picture from today:

I am so pleased with how quick my swelling is coming down, i actually look fairly normal again! My right side is still quite numb but i get a lot of tingly sensations which is good because it means the feeling should come back but it is quite annoying. My nose is still running but isn't blocked anymore, i can breathe through it. I am also finding eating a lot easier, i am still using a baby spoon as it is shallow and can fit in the gap between my teeth, swallowing is getting much easier too. I am brushing my teeth properly now, i am using a baby tooth brush because it is nice and soft and small enough. 

In a couple of posts time i am going to put up some comparison pictures and bite pictures up.


Sophie xxx

Day 6 and Day 7

Wednesday 18th August

Today was my first day without my mum home to look after me, i think she was more worried about leaving me than i was about staying home. Like the last couple of days i just relaxed and watched some TV. I forgot to take a picture though. My swelling has gone down slightly again, my numbness feels pretty much the same and my nose is still running and blocked.


Thursday 19th August

Today was my A-level results day!!! My mum had the day off work so gave me and a friend a lift to my college to pick up my results. I met up with more friends, none of them had seen me since my op. They were all lovely and asked me how it had gone, only a few noticed a change other than the swelling and slight bruising. When i actually got my results a camera was on me and apparently i was on the local news that night! I couldn't believe my fat face had been on TV, i wasn't pleased! I did really well in my A-levels and will hopefully get a university place next year. Not all my friends were as lucky as me and i ended up staying at college for about 3 hours helping a friend. I was really surprised that i wasn't too tired after, i was also about an hour late to take my painkillers but managed OK. I was quite sad that i didn't get to celebrate with my friends but i am going to arrange something before they all go off to university in September which doesn't involve eating! I forgot to take a picture again today, but I'll make sure i take one tomorrow!

Sophie xxx

Day 5

Tuesday 17th August

I had my first post op appointment today. It was at 2.50 so i had plenty of time in the morning to get myself ready. Me and my mum decided to set off at 2.10 so i had plenty of time as parking can be a problem. We were pretty early and we went to the cafe at the hospital and mum had a coffee i decided not to have anything. I was really conscious that people were staring at me, it wasn't too bad though. We went up to the waiting area which was really busy and hot, my surgeon had had an emergency earlier in the morning so was running late. We ended up waiting 45 minutes which wasn't a lot of fun. My surgeon had a look at my bite, which has moved from the perfect position it was in during surgery. My jaws are meeting at the same point rather than my top jaw being in front of my bottom jaw. He then pushed my bottom jaw back so that they were in the position which really hurt! He doesn't seem too worried because my bottom jaw can go into the correct position. I told him about the pain i have been having in one of my back teeth, he said that he can't really tell what it is at this point and wouldn't be able to treat it and said that i should just control the pain using painkillers. He removed the power chains between my top and bottom jaw to see if this helps. I was really tired after my appointment and had to take it pretty slowly on the way back to the car.


I am a bit disappointed that i don't have a perfect bite at the moment but it is a lot better than it used to be hopefully it can be sorted out with elastics.


Here are some day 5 pictures:

I think my swelling has gone sown a tiny bit but my bruises are about the same. After having the power chains removed my mouth feels like its wide open as you can sort of see in the pictures. I will eventually take a picture of my bite at the moment to show you.

Sophie xxx

Day 4

Monday 16th August

I don't have much to talk about today really, was a pretty good day just relaxing getting ready for my first post op appointment tomorrow.

Here are some day 4 pictures:

I think my swelling has reduced since yesterday which is really good! I can just about manage a small smile as well. In the profile pictures you can see my bruising. Also i have a dry patch of skin on my lip, my lips haven't been as bad as i thought they would be, Vaseline has helped me. I bought some other lip stuff but that all made me lips sting.

I am excited for my post op appointment tomorrow but i am nervous too. I don't want him to start poking around in my mouth and hurting me! I'll let you know how it goes.

Sophie xxx

Day 3

Sunday 15th August


I spent most of the day just relaxing and sleeping. I decided to have a bath as well today, i didn't feel up to a shower. I felt really tired after though.  I didn't have an appetite but ate as much as i could. I also managed to get outside in the garden for a bit of fresh air, which made me feel good. My dad bought me a really cool fan which has no blades! Hopefully this will keep me cooler during the night.


Day 3 Pictures:

I think my swelling is still increasing and also i have some very nice yellow/green bruises forming on each side of my face. I am starting to get the feeling back in my lips but the numbness has moved all the way up to my right lower eye lid. I have no feeling in my chin either. My nose is still running constantly and is completely blocked. Which is probably the most annoying thing for me at the moment.


I had a much better night tonight. I only called my mum once, as i was really confused about a strange dream i was having (possibly due to my medication?) after that i slept well. I am still trying to sleep elevated but find it uncomfortable a lot of the time.


Sophie xxx

Day 2

Saturday 14th August

After a much better nights sleep i got to go home today!!

I tried really hard to show that i was feeling a lot better, which i was. I had some porridge for breakfast to show i was able to eat fine. I got out of bed and had a shower too. I took it all very slowly and felt really tired after, but it felt great to be clean and in my own clothes! I had a yogurt for my lunch as i wasn't very hungry but thought i should eat something. A doctor then came to see me to make sure i was OK to go home and then a nurse came to give me my medication and discharge me. I am going to be on iron tablets for probably the next 3 months because i lost more blood than expected. Other than that i am currently taking painkillers and a steroid to reduce swelling and pain. I couldn't wait to get home when my parents arrived. It took me a really long time to get to our car but i finally got home about 2.

My mum had sorted out my room with old bed sheets, lots of pillows and some gorgeous flowers. I had to take a nap pretty much straight away as i was exhausted. Later on for tea i had some tomato soup and a frozen fruit smoothie which was about the consistency of a slushy.

It felt great to back home with my family, however i had a really bad night. I felt tired but couldn't sleep! I tried watching some TV but couldn't concentrate for longer than 10 minutes. I called my mum a couple of times and she stayed with me until i fell asleep again, i was really restless, i was too hot, had stomach ache and couldn't get comfy. Also my nose was still running and this would wake me up constantly! We taped some cotton wool under my nose and i took some extra painkillers which seemed to help me get more sleep.

Day 3 pictures:

The swelling has increased since yesterday, my right side is much more swollen than my left side. I'm not in too much pain everything just feels really weird! My face just feels really tight and heavy. I can feel my tongue but not much else in my mouth, i know i have powerchains sort of acting like elastics from the back of my top jaw to the front of my bottom jaw. I can start to feel stitches at the back of my teeth and under my nose. I have pain in a tooth which i have had problems with before but painkillers stop that. I am managing to speak ok, i have to speak slower and repeat stuff but people can understand me. I am using a baby spoon for eating as it is shallow and i can fit it in between my teeth. I haven't started to brush my teeth yet but i am using mouthwash.

Sophie

xxx

Day 1

Friday 13th August

After a night of really crazy dreams i woke up at about 6am. That morning lots of different doctors came to see me, and explained that i fainted because i lost a bit more blood than they expected in the surgery. I was told that my surgery had gone well though. 

I started to feel really hungry around lunch time so i was given some jelly, yoghurt and ice cream to eat. I managed all of it and managed to drink quite a lot of water without using a staw. i was really pleased with my self! 

In the afternoon I had the packing from my nose removed and gauze in my gum removed. This was really horrible, i thought the nurse was pulling my brains out of my nose! My nose really bled after this and blood was also going down my throat. 

My surgeon came to see me later on and told me that i could go home the next day, i was really pleased but sad as well. I didn't want to spend the night in the hospital again and wanted to be with my family all the time, not just for a couple of hours!

The dietician came to talk to me about my soft food diet and my mum and dad wrote a shopping list of lots of different things for me to eat!

I made the decision to start taking all my medication orally as it was really hurting going straight into my veins.

I managed to get to sleep at bout 10 and had a much better nights sleep.

Here are some day 1 pictures:

Sophie

xxx

Update!!! (op)

I finally have managed to get round to blogging again! I am going to do a separate post for each day, so.....

Thursday 12th August - op

Some how i actually managed to sleep really well the night before my op, and i wasn't that nervous when i woke up. I had to get to the hospital for 7.30am so i got up about 6.30am as we live close to the hospital and i needed to have something to drink before 7am but wasn't allowed anything to eat.

When i got to the hospital i went to the admissions ward. Here a nurse asked more general health questions, took my blood pressure and measured my temperature and heart rate. I then had to get changed into my gown and some really weird socks! I spoke to one of the surgeons and had some blood taken. Next i spoke to my surgeon who had a general chat with me abut what to expect and i was given an injection to thin my blood. Then finally at around 9am i went down to the theatre, i had i needle put into my vein so the anaesthetic could be inserted. It was really strange i think i was wearing an oxygen mask and i just remember the room starting spinning and a nurse saying that it was just like a Saturday night!

I woke up in the recovery room and just really wanted to sleep! I think it was about 1.30 and the man looking after me asked me about what school i went to and if i new where i was. I did sort of! i had things round my legs which made them move up and down. 

At about 2 i moved down to my ward and my mum and dad came to see me pretty much straight away. I felt OK, just a bit strange and really tired. Also i kept feeling really hot and then sick, i was sick twice but it was just mostly blood. I was bleeding quite a bit from my mouth so i had to use a suction tube to get rid of it. I did manage to drink using a straw but i was only managing really tiny amounts.

Just before my parents left for the night i decided i would go to the toilet, we asked the nurse and she told me to go carefully and take my time. My mum came with me and at first i felt OK. After i washed my hands though i felt really tired and fainted! It was really strange! i could just remember people shouting me and when i woke up again i was sat on the toilet and 2 doctors were holding my head up ad there was abut 4 other people with me! It took me about 30 mins to get back to bed, i had to get up really slowly and was wheeled back to my bed. I felt a lot better when i was back in bed but still really tired but didn't really sleep until i had my last lot of drugs for the night at 12. I had really weird dreams and was quite restless but managed some sleep.

Here are a couple of pictures from thursday:

If you are wondering what is under my nose, i had packing up my nose and threads connected so that it could be pulled out. My nose did bleed quite a lot so i had a bit of gauze taped under my nose during the night.

Overall the day wasn't too bad! But i didn't really know what was going on!

Sophie xxxx

1 day to go...

I can't believe i am having surgery tomorrow, it hasn't quite sunk in yet!

I went shopping today and got a few last minute things like magazines and stuff for my lips. 

I've had my last proper meal as well, my mum made a Sunday dinner especially and i had strawberries, meringue and cream for pudding, yummy! :D

I've just finished packing my bag and I am about to watch some TV then go to bed, fingers crossed I'll be able to sleep tonight!

Here's a list of what i have packed:
Dressing gown
Slippers
PJs
Underwear
Jogging bottoms
Strap tops
Toiletries
Vaseline and a couple of other lip things
Magazines
Book
Ipod
Phone

I won't be able to post in the hospital, but i will post again when i am back home :)

Wish me luck!


Sophie xxx

Pre-op assessment

2 days to goo!!

Today I had my last appointment before my surgery. I met with the ward sister who went through my medical history and general fitness. This included measuring my blood pressure, heart rate and also my height and weight. She then took me through everything from arriving at the hospital to leaving. I will be going into the hospital at 7.30am thursday. I will be having my op in the morning and should be finished by around 12-1. I am then moving to the head and neck ward. I could be in hospital for arround 3-5 days but if i am eating and drinking well enough, i might be able to go home on friday!

I then went to have some blood taken, I think it was about 3 syringes full, but i didnt really look! This was just to make sure that if anything did go wrong in the op they know what blood type i am and had a little bit of my own blood.

After this i saw two doctors who again went through my medical history and then examined my face and inside my mouth. Then finally they listened to my breathing and i was free to go!

Here are some current photos:

As the picture above shows i have an open-bite, cross-bite, small under-bite and my top jaw is tilted at an angle.

I don't know what the exact movement of my jaws in the surgery, i know my top jaw is moving forwards about 6-7mm and my bottom jaw is moving backwards a tiny bit.

Tomorow i am going to do some last minute shopping to get things to keep me entertained!

Sophie xxx

Intro

Hi everyone!

This is my first ever blog, so sorry if it isn't any good!

So i am having jaw surgery on thursday, 3 days! I am both excited and nervous. I wanted to give you a bit of a background of my orthodontic treatment so far.

I have never had nice teeth or a good bite. I started my orthodontic treatment at the age of 8, i wore a clip in retainer for about a year (i think!). This didn't make much of a difference.

First mould and my retainer

After wearing the retainer

I then wore a fixed brace, when i was 14, for 2 years.

Me with braces first time round

After having braces

Profile after braces

I then decided that i wanted to have jaw surgery and got braces again about a year ago when i was 17. I came to this decision for a number of reasons, i had a small open bite, my top jaw was tilted and i really felt that i would regret not having it done.

That brings us to now, 3 days before my surgery! I am going for my pre-op assessment tomorow morning so ill let you know how that goes. I'm also gunna take lots of current pictures tomorow to post.

Sophie xxx