4 Weeks Post Op!

I can't believe tomorrow is 4 weeks post op!  I said that last week when I couldn't believe it was 3.  I guess time really does fly.  This past Monday was 2 weeks unwired.  I think I'm finally getting used to teeth being in new positions and all, and it really helps that feeling in my cheek has come back-- yes, even the outside too!  I have almost all of the feeling back in my cheek that was numb up to my eye ball and along my right nostril.  Only area I have that is extremely numb still is my chin and into my lower lip.  There is a small spot on my upper right lip, but honestly that is one of those spots that I could totally get used to if it stayed.  If I get more and more feeling back in my chin and get left with a few spots like that, then I'll be totally happy (and thankful) with that.  Eating is still tough, but a lot less tough than last week when even the softest foods just felt awkward.  I am still not tearing through chewing cuts of protein or anything, but I did manage a mushy meatloaf this week, and it was the best thing ever.  True story-- best. thing. ever.  Felt good to get a solid protein in for the first time in almost a month.  And it actually went down pretty easily, so make note fellow jaw surgery peeps reading this blog-- make a mushy meatloaf to east yourself into having an animal based protein again.  Otherwise, it's still been a lot of carbs.  Rice, beans, quinoa, mashed potato, some overcooked veggies, etc.  I did get something else surprising in-- shrimp!  It was border line too much to chew, so it basically went down whole in small bites.  But, at least I got it in.  Went good with the rice and beans topped with a home made chile verde sauce.  It was yummy, I won't lie.

Today was my first day back at work full time.  I would love to say that I spent a little of the last 4 weeks doing something fun, but taking sick leave really was 100% for sick leave on this one (and usually always is with me, which is why I had so much sick leave banked up to take off).  I'm still kind of tired since I'm not sleeping 100% back to normal and well yet, and still find myself in a little bit of a brain fog.  I'm still not quite getting the calories I need in, so that probably is not helping my situation.  I'm sure it'll be a week or two to transition back into the swing of things.  Feels good to start getting back to normal life a bit.  My swelling is down a lot (just a little puffy in a few spots) and most people's reactions are that they can't believe how well I look for just having had my jaw broken in a bunch of pieces a few weeks ago.  Overall I think I've been very lucky with my recovery, and for that I really am truly grateful.  Here are a few quick pics to show where I am with swelling and stuff-- and if you notice, I can almost smile now!  My stitches are falling out and muscles are starting to get used to their new home and loosen up a bit.  Still have a ways to go, but it's nice to smile a little more comfortably now.

sorry for the fuzz... I'm bad at selfies, I guess!

... bad at selfies unless they're goofy! No fuzz here! My chompers meet up where they're supposed to! :D

That profile shot is really the first one I've taken since the swelling has gone down.  I never really  hated my old profile, but I do find myself looking at this one here and there and just thinking about it.  I don't think I love it or hate it.  I guess it's just different, but in a good way.  My face definitely looks a little more balanced and I don't have the upper lip incompetence as bad.  I'm still getting used to smiling.  I used to have to always calculate a smile by posturing my jaw a certain way, or making sure to not smile really big and uncontrolled where I would show a ton of gum.  It's going to take a while to break the habit of thinking about it.  Those pictures above are full smiles for me right now!  Can't believe I show normal amount of teeth!!  I keep checking my bite in the mirror to check it out and pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming that I see my teeth actually meet where they're supposed to meet, and also to nervously check to see if I have any signs of relapse already.  I just went through all this mess to get a perfect bite and I find myself super paranoid that it's going to want to slip back to it's old position.  It happens.  I've been really great with wearing my rubber bands and hopefully keeping everything in check.  I go to my first orthodontist appointment tomorrow morning, so we'll see what he has to say.  I can't wait for him to fix a few things-- my bite needs tweaking on my left (like, some of my teeth are sitting on top of each other instead of being in nice grooves and seated perfectly together), and I feel like my front teeth have shifted, both top and bottom, and stuff is a little all over the place and crooked right now.  I know being wired shut probably threw some things off and put pressure in certain places moving some teeth.  And teeth are REALLY engaged after this surgery, similar to the wilcodontics I talked about in a thread last year where they stimulate the root of the tooth to make the tooth move REALLY fast.   Hopefully they move back just as fast after my ortho starts tweaking things.  I feel good about tomorrows appointment.  I was afraid I wouldn't be able to open my mouth enough for him to get in there, but I'm opening wider and wider each day and feel like I've got good enough range for him to work with right now.  I also can't wait to get these damn surgical hooks off tomorrow.  One of  them looks like it's poking into my gum really good.... good thing I don't have feeling in my gums right there at this point!

It's probably a little early to do this, but my first before/after comparison for the profile.  Subtle changes for me, but that is good since I didn't want to do anything dramatic in terms of how I would look post op and instead just wanted to concentrate on fixing the bite issue.

Left: pre braces May 2013. Right: 4 weeks post op double jaw surgery and 1 year of braces, May 2014