5 Year Update

Five years ago today, I woke up at some unimaginable hour to drive to the hospital for something life-changing, that I decided to do! And gosh am I glad I did it. If I could do it again, I probably would, although, if I could, I would have done it earlier in my life. That almost sounded like a riddle and it wasn’t meant to. If you’re recovering from jaw surgery right now, and you just stumbled on this blog, keep reading! If you’re still considering it, but haven’t made up your mind, and have a million questions like I did, keep reading as well!

These last five years have gone by quickly. Five years is exactly 60 months, which is 260 weeks, and that works out to 1825 days. Unlike the odometer in your car, having more “miles” on your new bite is a good thing. But it really is crazy to think that that much time has gone by. Especially considering the first few post-op days had me thinking – “man oh man… when will I no longer be miserable“… And it seemed like the days would go by so so slowly. Add to this that most of us have this surgery done when we’re relatively young; we’re accustomed to being active or at least regularly out and about, and for me, it certainly felt like I hit a giant speed bump without slowing down first. Had I done the surgery earlier in life, that speed bump might have seemed larger, but I would’ve been out of the parking lot much sooner. But either way, like most tunnels, there is indeed a light at the end; unless you’re driving at night of course… but that is besides the point.

Here are some real updates at five years: I’ll start with the good! My jaw function is completely normal. I only visit the dentist for normal things like routine cleaning and check-ups. I can eat most of the things that I want to eat without trouble. The things that aren’t so awesome are: that when I do go to the dentist, keeping my jaw open for long periods of time makes my jaw muscles painfully sore, chewing gum causes similar soreness after only 10 minutes, I still wear a retainer at night due to my mega clenching habit, I have had approximately four instances of my jaw locking/clicking (which happened before my surgery as well), and lastly, the tiny patch of numbness just under my lower lip has remained unchanged. I think I will likely have to live with these downsides, but in the grand scheme, they aren’t reasons for me to regret the surgery in the least. I don’t expect them to improve over time and I’ll have to settle for those being there forever. Apart from all of that, I’d say I’ve been sailing smooth, in general, and hope to continue to do so.

For anyone currently reading this who is currently recovering from any kind of jaw surgery, I dedicate this blog to you. Having others and their experiences to rely on, or at least read through, gives comfort and a bit more confidence in your own recovery experience. I felt this way before my own surgery, but even more clearly realize it now. While every person who has this surgery has slightly different experiences and possibly different outcomes, it is indeed helpful to read accounts of others who have had similar feelings, pains, itchy parts of your chin, happy and sad moments, thoughts, and everything else that happens after the surgery.

My most important bit of advice to you is to be confident in yourself, and the decision you made; and keep positive thoughts that it will eventually get better and better as time goes on.

In the hopes that it helps all prospective and currently recovering friends and readers, I have created a new page on this blog called Common Q&A’s, to consolidate and answer commonly asked questions. Regardless of that however, feel free to comment anywhere in the blog if you wish. It’s always great to hear from you!

3 Year Update

Three years ago today I came home from the hospital after having just had my double jaw surgery.  Prior to the operation, I found myself wanting to find out as much information and personal accounts of this type of surgery as possible to feel better about my decision to make such a big change.  And it was a voluntary decision at that. I remember the day I sat in that chair, talking to my surgeon, asking a million questions, and then finally submitting to it all and signing on the dotted line.  I remember waking up the morning of my surgery and thinking I was still dreaming; that I couldn’t have possibly made this decision to really go through with this.  I remember the 6 seconds after being injected with the anesthetic and being out completely. I remember waking up from my surgery thinking “phewww!! I didn’t die, I actually made it!”, and then realizing my face was HUGE and I couldn’t feel a darned thing.  And I remember coming home from the hospital on day 3, and the journey of recovery that I had started for myself!

If I were to go back and do this all over again, would I? Yes! Would I change anything about it? Possibly, but you know the biggest thing about recovering from surgery, or any significant personal journey for that matter, is that you must keep a positive attitude toward the process. This doesn’t guarantee perfect results, but I believe that it helps.

If you read through this blog and you’re planning to have something similar done, good luck to you. If you’re reading to help out a loved one who is recovering, good on ya. If you’re 4 days in to recovery and you can’t figure out why your nose keeps bleeding, at least you might gain some comfort that you’re not alone. Ask lots of questions, keep your spirits up, and give it time. Soon enough you’ll be where I am today and it’ll all be a nice memory with gruesome photos that you might (or might not) want to show your friends over a beverage some time.

18 Month Update

The 1 year anniversary of my jaw surgery came and went.   It has been 18 whole months since my jaw surgery.  Overall, the recovery has been pretty amazing , and I can’t even remember what it used to be like before surgery.  (I actually can if I really try, but honestly, that’s all history now).

So what can you expect if you decide to go down the same road I did? Well..

I currently live what you’d call a normal life, with no problems with chewing, speaking, jaw pain, or anything else that I had before the surgery.  I still wear a splint around my teeth on both jaws every night.  When I look in the mirror, I still find it fun to see what I look like, but most people I chat with have no idea I’ve been through surgery.  I frequently get compliments about my teeth, and once even had someone ask if my teeth were real!

I think that every persons situation is different, including their motivation for going through such a process.  There are obviously never any guarantees and no surgeon or orthodontist could promise the result you expect.  But, I’m absolutely satisfied with my result, and as I’ve read from many other accounts, most other people who go through the process feel the same way in the end.

The only thing I would have done differently is to have done it sooner in life.

        

3 Month Update

It’s been three whole months since my surgery and I thought I’d check in with a short update.  I have to say, all is well.  I’m back to normal foods and  I’ve eaten all the things I dreamed about while my jaw was tightly bound shut.  This is showing too, as my weight seems to have spiked back up to what it was just before my surgery.  Here’s a note to anyone considering this surgery: you likely don’t need to worry too much about the weight loss aspect, since your body seems to eventually find its way back to the way it was before your surgery.

Anyway, now I’m back to regular orthodontics checkups and adjustments.  Speaking of the subject, I thought that I would’ve been free from elastics after my last visit with my surgeon, but I’m actually not out of the woods with them just yet.  The gap between my top and bottom molars on my right side is still there, and I’ve been wearing elastics to pull the teeth together.  I’m not sure how much movement has happened in the last month or so, but to me it doesn’t seem like much.  I’ll have to go back to the orthodontist soon to find out what the next plan of attack will be.

Pain-wise, I’m doing well.  I have been relatively pain-free over the last month.  This, of course, all changed immediately following a dentist appointment I had last week.  It didn’t take having my mouth open for very long before my jaw became really sore.  It’s been sore on and off since then, but I imagine, like everything else, I’ll have to give it time before visiting the dentist will feel normal and pain-free again.

Day 70: Back To Normal

Today marks 10 weeks since my surgery.  When I look back at the last 70 days, I realize that the human body is truly amazing.  Thinking about how well it can manage to recover itself after such an unnatural process is amazing!

These are some things I’m finally able to do again since my surgery:

• I can cough, sneeze, yawn, and blow my nose without significant pain
• I can eat most things as long as I go easy and not chew too long or too hard
• I can brush and floss like nothing has changed

These are some things that are still going to take some time:

• I can’t open very wide, and eating larger bites is still a challenge
• I can’t chew very hard, and I’m still longing for that big juicy steak
• The incisions along my gum-line along my lower teeth are not very strong, and have torn once in the last week
• I still have some numbness in my chin, lower lip, and upper palate
• I’m itching to play some contact and impact sports again, but doctors orders are that I’m not allowed for another 4 months 😦

I ran into an old friend at the grocery store on the weekend.  We got to chatting about this and that, but I didn’t mention the surgery.  I’ve come to find it interesting to see if people I haven’t seen in a long time notice any change in my appearance.  This time around, my friend didn’t notice, or at least, didn’t mention anything.  It’s all good though, I really don’t mind it either way.  I quite enjoy feeling normal again, and I don’t think much about my jaw anymore; I find that really exciting!

Day 63: Cheeseburgers and Pizza Slices

Pain: 0/10
Inconvenience: 0/10

It’s been 9 weeks and things are slowly returning back to normal.  I’m finally eating a variety of different things, but still staying away from very chewy and hard food.  My bite strength is even starting to come back which is exciting.  And although terribly unhealthy, I’ve been longing for the taste of a cheeseburger since my surgery.  So finally, last week, I went to a local fast food burger joint with the guys to indulge in a platter of cheeseburgers.  The best part wasn’t that incredible taste of fast food hamburger;  the best part of it was actually this: For the first time in my entire life, I bit into a hamburger where my teeth sliced all the way through the entire hamburger!  ALL THE WAY THROUGH! I know, I know, you’re reading this and probably thinking to yourself: this guy is crazy, of course when you bite into a hamburger, you bite all the way through…  Well, read on, and I’ll tell you why this is truly an exciting, born-again-like feeling for me…

If you want to get an idea of how dysfunctional my jaw actually was, and how poorly my teeth interacted because of my bite, these are some things that I experienced:

• Biting into a sandwich, and having nearly all its contents slide right out of the bun
• Biting into a slice of pizza, and having the entire toppings and cheese pulled right off the bread part to only hang from my mouth.
• Biting into a hamburger, and not only getting what I bit into, but also the entire slices of tomato, onion, and pickles in the burger because I couldn’t slice into them completely

Sometimes you really don’t know how bad something is, until you fix it!  If all you have is a Philips screwdriver to turn a #2 Robertson head screw, you can try your best to turn it, and that might actually sort of work. But when someone lends you a #2 Robertson screwdriver, you’ll realize how unfitting that Philips screwdriver was after all.  Well, that’s kinda how I feel with my new bite!

On a slightly related note, I wonder what the heads of the titanium screws that were installed in my jaw look like…

Day 56: Beef

Pain: 0/10
Inconvenience: 0/10

Today is 8 weeks after my surgery. I’ve had many people ask how my jaw is and it feels great. From time to time I feel a little jaw pain. But I think that’s related to stress and possibly that I’m still clenching my teeth a lot. It doesn’t seem to be a consistent pain which is good.

Ladies and gents, I’m eating beef again. Now don’t get all excited just yet. I’m not eating any steaks, but I’ve finally transitioned to small cubes of beef! It sure is a nice change from all the chicken I’ve been eating! Hopefully it won’t be long before I can sink these teeth into that juicy ribeye I keep dreaming about.

I thought I’d give the old electric toothbrush a try the other day. I’ve come to be pretty appreciative of the gentleness of my tigger and pooh baby toothbrush. I realized this after the incredibly harsh experience I got from my electric toothbrush. Also, while things are starting to return to normal, there are still a number of tight spaces in my mouth and maneuvering an adult sized toothbrush is not exactly as natural as it used to be!

Day 49: Surgical Hooks Removed

Pain: 0/10
Inconvenience: 0/10

It’s been a week since I last posted.  Part of the reason for this is that in last week, I have become sick once again.  Very very sick.  In fact so sick, at one point, the fact that I had jaw surgery and that I needed to be careful with what I eat and how I chew, completely disappeared from my mind.  The past few days I’ve been coughing like it won’t stop, and it isn’t fun.  In fact, I’d probably take going through jaw surgery all over again, over being this sick.

On the positive side of the past week , a few good things have happened too.  I stopped wearing those darned elastics over the front of my teeth.  They were annoying!  Now that I haven’t been wearing them, I think my teeth clenching has subsided, or at least reduced significantly which is great.

I also saw my orthodontist for the first time after the surgery.  After all the showcasing, modeling, and signing of autographs, they let me sit down in a dentist chair and finally removed those darned nasty surgical hooks from my teeth!  Am I ever glad to have those out!  They were cutting my lips all the time, so this is really good.  In place of them, I got a standard set of wires put back in, and guess what else!?!…  More ELASTICS!  Dammit, I thought I was done with those.  Well the truth is, I did sort of expect that I’d get some elastics put in again.  At least these are on the sides.  Here’s why: the teeth on my right side (mainly my molars) have a 1mm gap between them when I bite together.  These elastics are going to pull everything into place so they’re flush.

Oh and I think the last of my stitches have finally disappeared.  Thankfully, I don’t have strands of it hanging out of my mouth anymore.  Now if only I can get over this cold, I can finally try to feel somewhat normal again.

Day 42: Six Weeks!

Pain: 0/10
Inconvenience: 1/10

I have some incredible news today. I am elastic-free! At least until Thursday. I saw my surgeon today, hopefully for the last time for a while. I got the green light to put the bag of elastics away. I also got an amber light to start eating solid foods again! Taking it really easy, I’m finally allowed to try chewing things like soft meats. You wouldn’t believe all the different foods I’m craving right now. Over the next few hours, I think I’m going to list and prioritize some of the foods that I’ve craved over the last 6 weeks so I can quench my continuous hunger. Talk about binge eating; watch me become suddenly overweight…

Looking a little closer at my teeth in the mirror today, I am noticing that my centerline isn’t quite perfect. But then what is? I don’t know if my jaw shifted after the surgery or if that’s just how everything lined up and I’m being too much of a perfectionist. The truth is, I’m extremely happy with the way it has all worked out and something like this isn’t really anything to complain about!

From here on out, I’ll probably be in braces for another 6 months, my jaw will still take a few more months before the bone has completely fused, and I can probably expect a little bit of pain here and there while I build back jaw muscle. But the worst is definitely over!

Day 41: Ensured Out

Pain: 0/10
Inconvenience:  3/10

I picked up my guitar again today for the first time in a long time.  About a week after I came home from the hospital, playing my guitar was one of the things I really wanted to do.  When I tried that, I found out that I seem to have a habit of moving my mouth when I try to play difficult riffs.  Well, doing that hurt my jaw quite a bit back then so I had to put the guitar back on the stand and wait until I was healed enough to try again.  So this morning, I tried playing a few tunes, and it was super fun!  No more pain when I play those same riffs!

My cold is no more! Thankfully, I’ve rid my system of that nasty flu.  Getting sick while recovering from this kind of surgery makes it even less fun than it already is.  The weather outside is still a bone-chilling -25 degrees C, so that’s killing the mood to go out for a jog.  Oh well, maybe it’ll warm up in a few days.

On an entirely unrelated topic, when I looked in the fridge to make breakfast this morning, I noticed something very interesting.  Since returning to a semi-normal diet, I haven’t been drinking any more of those Ensure drinks.  I seem to be on my last “batch” of them, with only 4 left in the fridge!  I think it’s time to celebrate with an Ensure party! (this is my attempt at pawning off my Ensure drinks to other people who want to join in on the fun, so I don’t have to drink them all!) 🙂