I did a lot of planning and prep before my first surgery. I made a ton of pureed soups, bought fruit to do smoothies with, bought a lot of supplies. First, I am glad I didn't get rid of some of those supplies! I got a lazy boy chair off of craigslist that I slept in for a few weeks post op. I couldn't wait to get it out of my living room since I really didn't have space for it, but I'm glad I hung on to it! I thought my blendtec was going to be my savior while wired shut, but it actually did not do me a ton of good. I had some issues getting anything thicker than a water or broth consistency in without it clogging up my wires and making me feel like I couldn't breathe. I think I lived off of Pho broth, juice, and water for the first 10 days wired shut. My solution this time?
I splurged and got a juicer. I have a Jack Lalane juicer now, but it oxidizes all the fruits and veggies that go through it where they turn bitter quickly and have no shelf life. This is a masticating juicer that allows me to keep them in the fridge for a few days and retain all the nutrients without it going bitter. I hate to say there is something nice about this experience when there is really nothing nice about having to go back and do all of this again, but it's nice having hindsight to help with planning now. So, hopefully that gives me some better nutrition post op. If it wasn't for the liquid multi vitamin I was taking this last time.... well, I can't imagine how much worse I would have felt. I already felt weaker and more out of it than I've ever been in my life, and I think a lot of that was just being super malnourished when my body needed it most in ultra healing mode.
In other news, I made an appointment to see Arnett & Gunson for a consult down in Santa Barbara. These guys are private docs and the best of the best. People from all over the world fly in for them. Price tag is about 60K+ for a full surgery with them, which I can't afford, but I think the consult will be worth every penny, even if it's just for peace of mind. Not that I don't trust my team, but it will be nice to have an outside opinion on the whole thing. More than likely he'll tell me exactly what my team here tells me and I can walk into all of this with better confidence that we're doing the right thing, or maybe he'll see something differently and that will give me more to stew over. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks. I requested all of my records from my surgeon and orthodontist and plan on being honest with them that I am going for a second opinion. I don't think my ortho will care, but I hope my surgeon isn't insulted.
And in other other news, I've started to gain some weight back. I hate that I'm doing it purposely, but I've got to do it before being wired shut again. It's been a little more difficult this week because my teeth hurt from the adjustment on Thurs AND my bite is now so far off that I'm actually having issues chewing things that need a lot of grinding or small things that your teeth need to fully meet to grind down. I'm still having good luck with most indian food though ;)
In other news, I made an appointment to see Arnett & Gunson for a consult down in Santa Barbara. These guys are private docs and the best of the best. People from all over the world fly in for them. Price tag is about 60K+ for a full surgery with them, which I can't afford, but I think the consult will be worth every penny, even if it's just for peace of mind. Not that I don't trust my team, but it will be nice to have an outside opinion on the whole thing. More than likely he'll tell me exactly what my team here tells me and I can walk into all of this with better confidence that we're doing the right thing, or maybe he'll see something differently and that will give me more to stew over. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks. I requested all of my records from my surgeon and orthodontist and plan on being honest with them that I am going for a second opinion. I don't think my ortho will care, but I hope my surgeon isn't insulted.
And in other other news, I've started to gain some weight back. I hate that I'm doing it purposely, but I've got to do it before being wired shut again. It's been a little more difficult this week because my teeth hurt from the adjustment on Thurs AND my bite is now so far off that I'm actually having issues chewing things that need a lot of grinding or small things that your teeth need to fully meet to grind down. I'm still having good luck with most indian food though ;)
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