Sorry for lack of posts!

Sorry, I haven't had the time! (of course you always find time when waiting for the surgery, not after!). I'll post a detailed message later, but for now here's some photo updates.

I haven't mastered teeth shots yet, but they'll do. When I see my ortho I'm going to ask for a copy of all my photos!

Overdue update!

Sorry, it's just I don't have much to report, because everything is much the same! :D A few points, though....

I had another appointment last week. My ortho just changed my powerchain on the left side, and clipped my excess wire at the back. My debonding date is the end of May, but she wants to see me again just for another quite maintenence check later this month. I feel almost sad that I'm nearly done with my treatment, because I don't know if I can aptly express to my ortho what she's done for me, and I don't want to just be like 'okay, bye'. It seems too abrupt to just end treatment like that. I feel like buying her flowers, but at the very least I'm getting her a card to say thanks. I don't know if flowers are the most practical thing to give her at the start of a days shift...but anyway.




When I was going in to see her, I saw my surgeon in the other room (he visits the hospital mainly just once a month for clinics). He recognised me as I was going past, and so we got to chatting for a little bit. He basically just asked how I was, and asked whether the spots on my face had cleared. They haven't all gone, so my ortho said I might be as well going to the doctor and getting some antibiotics for it. I'm still in the spotty stage of life anyway, but the surgery brought out pimples rather than spots, that are still marked on my chin and cheeks, so I've got an appointment to see my GP next week.



My odd sensation on my chin when I have cold drinks has lessened, but it's still there. Frankly I quite like it! It also works if I breathe in sharply, which is just awesome!



Also, I'm disappointed in myself for my cleaning. I haven't flossed consistently since my surgery because it's just been plain uncomfortable . But I realise I need to get going with it, and I can finally maintain an open mouth for long enough to actually do it. I'm getting back on track now finally, oops

My ortho also had a chat with me about my education to be a clinical psychologist again. She says they really need someone to work with general orthognathic surgery patients, and also those with cleft palates. The thing is I'm just ending my second year now, so I can only 'help out' in the sense of volunteering, and only with some supervision which they don't really have aside from academic psychologists. Still, perhaps my calling later on when I'm fully qualified is to work within this realm, to help out patients who are going through this. I would certainly like to, because I know 1) how hard it is pre-surgery 2) how amazing it can be afterwards

I have a question for people about this generally though- did you have to see a psychologist before surgery? I know some people in the UK have, but I just wonder generally what people think of this? Is it helpful to talk to someone? Would it be nice to talk to someone who has gone through it themselves?

Great Day!

Well today was a good day. Saw my ortho, and got 3 bits of good news (2 orthodontics-related):




1) I don't need to wear my elastics anymore









2) I'm getting my braces off in MAY!!



I need a gap to close, but other than that I'm all done. One of my molars is slightly in a crossbite position, however it has no direct impact on my bite. My ortho said she'd like it fixed in the sense that it's her job to get everything perfect, but since it doesn't make a difference to my bite -or to me personally- she's going to leave it. I don't necessarily mind her working on it, but as far as I'm concerned having one tooth that isn't perfect makes little difference to me.

I have one more normal appointment in 4 weeks, and then will be debonded in May!





The third bit of good news is more on a personal level, but I'll share anyway. I'm a student of Clinical Psychology (second year undergraduate) and my ortho always asks about it and what I'm doing. Anyway today she was like, 'oh Sheffield [where all orthognathic surgery is done in this area] is desperate for a Clin. Psych, and you'd be perfect because you've experienced it yourself! We'll have to talk about it next time...'

Now I'm not taking this to be a job offer because obviously I'm not qualified yet!, but some form of work experience in that area would be great for me. So if she can hook me up, she can!

Nerves driving me mental...

Not much to report in terms of progress. I've got an appointment with my ortho next week.

I still have residual swelling in the lower part of my face, but that's about it. It's painful in my joints if I do something particularly forceful like yawn, but that's about it for pain. My tongue has been a bit cut and sore lately because obviously I'm mushing things up with my tongue and it's catching the odd sharpe or rouch bit of my braces and generally getting exacerbated....


BUT,

My horrible nerves sensation is still there too, but not as bad as it has been. If I lightly tap the left side of my chin, it sends a shockwave of tingles through the rest of my chin and lip. I can also feel the nerve if I touch the left side of my mouth with my tongue. It's not painful, just very annoying. Brushing the left side if just horrible because the nerve is also sent down one tooth.



I did some research (ie, google and wiki ) and think it might be the mental nerve, as it's on that tooth and that area (see bottom):
 

 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_nerve
 
But whatever it is, it's making me mental!

The Impenetrable, Baffling Fortress...

....that is the straw.

I was with my friend today and got a drink from MacDonalds since she wanted something (ugh, I don't eat their food though. Yuk) and could I hell work out how to use the straw! It's not even just because my lip is numb, but I felt like I'd physically never used a straw before, and couldn't work out how to get it in my mouth because my jaws were in the way. That sounds odd I know, but my upper teeth have never gone in front of my lowers, and it feels wrong! I kept trying the get the straw in and my upper jaw would come down like a draw-bridge and block off my way! 

After extracting less than a ml through the straw in about 10 attempts, I just took the lid off......
 
I think I need a straw-using rehabilitation programme or something

Updates- Day 28

I'm currently eating a sandwich on a plate with a knife and fork lol. Nobody can deny the pleasures of a sandwich, and this is my first one since the surgery. The thing is that I'm back at uni now (though not for the full week- my plan is to go home on Thursdays because I don't have any lectures after then, so my mum can feed me better quality foods than I can feed myself here!) It's annoying because in between lectures, etc, I don't have time to go and sit down to 'eat', so I'm reduced to living off things like nutrigrain bars and smoothies during the day. You forget how much you need some convenience with food; for instance eating a sandwich on the go, which I obviously can't do.

However, I'm still pleased with how much I can actually eat. And to anyone with an upcoming surgery- if you don't need to be on a liquid diet, then don't (but if you do, sorry!). Do you know how depressing it is to only be able to have fluids? Try and eat what you can within reason (and obviously the first week you probably will just need liquids or very, very soft stuff); it makes such a difference psychologically, instead of drinking drinking drinking all day (you feel bloated, not satisfied). I'm not chewing anything, but that doesn't mean I can't eat anything.


In terms of pain- I only get it when I yawn. It's because my jaw is forced further than it wants to go, and it's hard to stifle a yawn without moving your jaws somewhat anyway. Also sometimes my jaw sort of spasms like it wants to tilt to the left again.

My areas of numbness are illustrated in this fantastic use of technological advancements:

So it's the majority of my chin, and say, half of my lip. The parts on the right side aren't 100%, but I can feel it! But I have paraethesia on the left side, which is a good sign. It's mainly pulsing and tingling, however sometimes if I catch my chin it will then start to itch, but sort of deep within. And of course I can't scratch it! Very strange feeling.

The swelling that's left and the odd, expressionless way that I smile is still there. I imagine they will remain for quite a long time, actually. But it's nothing too adverse really. I look on the verge of lookingswollen to perhaps just looking a bit weird, so I just tell people who I'm not close to but see regularly what's going on. It was the same telling people about my big gap between my front teeth after SARME lol.

I think I have a little ulcer near one of my stitches too. So I need to pick up my rinses so my stitches heal better, and so I don't get any more ulcers. And only one of my stitches has actually come out (other than the one my surgeon took out for me), so I don't know how long I'll be stuck with these! Again, it's nothing too bad, but I don't want them to get infected, and I can't really floss near them because they have loosened, but are still tender to touch.

An exemplary case?

I had an appointment with my ortho today; and I’ve come away feeling very good, and also very proud of my surgeon (does he need a teenage girl to be proud of him for just doing his job? Perhaps not!).


I was taken straight away to have an X-Ray, and then went to see my ortho. When the assistant came out to call me in she said ‘you look great’! A trainee was there too, who was comparing my X-Rays as I went in. I had a look and the difference was just crazy. I have the screws along my mandible (which I can feel), and then I have the others around the nose and upper jaw. My teeth like totally fit together man, and it’s awesome!

My ortho said for only 3 weeks everything looks amazing, and usually at this stage she needs to do a lot more work to get the bite stable, but in my case I don’t really need much doing because the surgeon did such a good job (see, that’s why I’m proud, or should I say privileged?). As such, she thinks I may only need the braces on for 3 more months, rather than 6. However I’m not at the point where I’m sick of my braces and want them off; I’m at the point where I’m thrilled to be on the right side of the surgery, and I actually have a decent bite and profile now. Still, it’s good that she has less to do.

She is still on with the elastics, though (since I came out of the surgery sans splint or elastics, and she thought I should have had them on- she keeps mentioning it all the time!); she said the surgeon must have been so pleased with himself that he didn’t want anything extra doing. I see her point of view in that it’s her job to get the teeth side of things perfect (or as near to perfect as anything can be) so she wanted the elastics to stabalise the bite. However, since the surgeon actually did do such a good job, then what’s the problem? He said he didn’t want to use the splint if possible because it’s horrible to live with (if I’d had to live on liquids for more than the few days that I did, I definitely would have felt horrible, and I think recovered less well), and since the bite fit together as it did, elastics weren’t necessary. But anyway, I think my ortho likes her elastics, and I’m happy with them so long as they remain in simple shapes that I can deal with!

She asked if I was ok to have a wire change and I said yeah, go for it. I’m not in pain and I’m numb anyway, so ... She changed the top wire, put back on 2 hooks for the elastics (which actually did hurt! Pressure on the teeth can get you even if your gums are numb), and added 2 powerchains to try and close my 2 gaps (my elastics go over the chains on the upper jaw). The elastics are in a trapezium shape rather than box now, but are in the same place as before so I can handle that. Also she let me have the lighter ones for more range of movement. Although to be honest, I was fine with the thicker ones because they weren’t particularly strong anyway; well certainly I could eat with them in.

She was pleased with my ROM anyway (I can open 2 fingers vertically, perhaps slightly more), as well as my cleaning (I’ve been trying the best I can, but I need to pick up a bit more. It’s hard though because I keep catching the stitches by accident because the hang down a little. Yesterday I made one bleed because I caught it with my toothbrush)



So all in all she was really pleased, the trainee said I looked great (my ortho told him to pass along the message to my surgeon that I looked great when he sees him later), the assistant said I looked great, the other ortho who works there popped in for something else, but had a look anyway, and also said it looked great. So today I feel very pleased. Not with myself, but for the people who do their job very well. Because that means I have results to be thankful for, and ultimately I can feel good about myself for the first time in ages.

PS- is it silly to want to get my surgeon a thank you card, and my ortho a big bunch of flowers? :O