Post Op: Day 66

Hello!
So, you may have noticed that my updates aren't as frequent, but that's because things have slowed down. There's not too much more to say at the moment. Pain isn't really there at all, neither is discomfort. Everything feels ok!

Two months on and we're nearly there with it all. Chewing is improving so I am nearly back to normal with the eating. The left side of my mouth is getting stronger so I can eat most things apart from hard toffees or anything too crispy. On the right side, my teeth aren't touching still, but they're slowly improving.

This week, I visited the orthadontist and it was good news. I don't have to go back for a month and hopefully when I do return they'll give me the go ahead for getting the braces off. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that these elastics do their magic over the next few weeks.

I'll keep you updated with the next bit of news I hear. Let me know if you have any questions - I'm happy to help.
Thanks for reading!

Post Op: Day 44

It's now six weeks post op! Time has flown by. Things are now pretty much back to normal as I have gone back to work which is nice because by the time October comes and I am back at university, I'll be feeling perfect (fingers crossed).

This week I went to see the surgeon and the orthodontist and here's how they said progress was:

Orthadontist: Bite is improving quickly! Just need to carry on with the elastics for a few more weeks because my overjet has nearly gone and it will bring my right teeth together more (they still don't touch much). Once they are together, I will have a perfect bite apparently.

Surgeon: Teeth are slowly settling. Looking good and I don't have to see him for three months!

I can't believe how much my overjet has decreased. Below you can see my progress pictures. The first photo was taken just before surgery, the second about two weeks post-op and the last one six weeks.

Sorry, the photos aren't the most flattering, but you can just see how much has been done.

Swelling has nearly gone now, pain isn't really there at all and numbness is now only on the right side of my chin and bottom lip and roof of my mouth. Can't open my mouth much still, but that will come with time.

Also, another note, I'm starting to chew a bit more, but only on the left side of  mouth where my teeth are meeting properly. Still taking it slowly though and won't be eating anything chewy or too meaty yet.

Not much else to update on at the moment, but I will post again soon with more progress. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

Thanks for reading.

Post Op: Day 19 and Numbness

So, we are now nineteen days past the surgery date. Time really is flying by. This Thursday, it will have been three weeks! Recovery is going really well. When I visited the surgeon last week he told me that I don't need to see him for a month now because I am on the right track. However, I still have to see my orthodontist every week to check these elastic bands in my mouth.

I am looking more normal every day! The changes from day to day are minimal now too. Swelling has nearly gone I think and I am not even at the three weeks mark! The only issue I have is that there is a bit of numbness which I have tried to illustrate on the photo below:

The areas which I have highlighted are partially numb (the chin is the worst). I do have a little bit of feeling in those areas, but not as much as I did before, but the orthodontist said that he thinks the feeling will come back soon.

In all these photos I look a bit sad, but I am not! I am finally getting used to smiling again. Here is a little smile I captured earlier this week on instagram:

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to ask any questions or let me know about your own experiences.

Post Op: Days 0 - 6

Hello, so today is the first day I have felt up to opening up my laptop and to write about how it's gone so far. I have been exhausted, but I get a little better every day.

Day 0

So my Mum and I were at hospital at 7:00am and went up to the admissions ward at 7:30am (so early)! I was checked over by the nurse and anaesthetist before seeing the surgeon. I signed my consent form and had to go down for surgery. I said goodbye to Mum and was in the theatre at 9:00am. I can't really remember much about being anaesthetised, the needle hurt in my hand and my arm went dead and then I was out.

I woke up in recovery at around 2pm, the surgery took so much longer than expected - although still not sure why. I felt like I was left in recovery for a long time too as I was still sleepy and they had to give me my a nebuliser because of my asthma, but I didn't feel sick or ill at all which I was glad about. Only thing about recovery that I didn't like was when they took the tube out of my nose which felt very weird. I went back up to the ward at around 4pm where I met my worried Mum who stayed with me for a little while, but I was quite sleepy.

The rest of my family visited which was lovely and brought gifts and cards, which I wasn't actually expecting, but definitely a positive of staying in hospital. Thank you family.

When they left, I felt tired, but I couldn't sleep the whole night. The nasal packs in my nose felt horrible and I couldn't stop dribbling so had to sit upright and have the sick bowl under my chin the whole night to catch it all. I was shattered in the morning.

Day 1 - 3

These days are still spent in hospital. Still uncontrollably dribbling and just wanted to go home. After the first day, the swelling goes up a lot! I had to have extra steroids to make it go down. They had to keep putting a cannula in my hand which was the most painful thing for me (because I don't have any veins) and at one point I had one in each hand. My hands are still black and bruised.

The days were boring, but the nights even worse because I couldn't sleep. Hospitals are too noisy and the nurses keep interrupting rest which medicine and to take your blood pressure and temperature. The nurses were really kind to me though really.

The worst day was the second day because of the swelling and the anaesthetic had worn off so I was feeling a little bit sorry for myself and might have cried a little bit. I wanted to go home, but they wanted to see my drinking and eating more.

Finally on the Sunday, they let me go home. I was so relieved, although walking out of the hospital took it all out of me. I had to shuffle, I was all out of energy. Really glad to be home though where I can relax properly.

Day 4 - 6

Happy at home! Things are finally getting better. Haven't really been on many painkillers. I haven't had paracetamol since day 4. The only thing that is uncomfortable is the swelling (my head feels like a giant balloon), the congestion and dribbling. I just have to keep persevering!

Tomorrow I have to go to the hospital again for my first appointment after the surgery so they can have a look in my mouth and check everything is on the right track. I hope they change my elastic bands - they turned a bit orange from my soup.

Will keep you updated and I'm hoping to post some progress photos later because this post is a bit meaty as it is with all this information.

Thanks for reading.