I wanted to add a page purely dedicated to that first week or so post op to answer all the questions you will probably be freaking out about as issues come up. I see a lot of people on forums and fb groups ask these questions over and over again, so hopefully this section will help somebody ahead of time so you know what to expect and aren't scrambling to ask questions online as things happen.
I am not going to sugar coat this-- your first week post op is probably going to be hell. Some people's hell is a little worse or better than others, but it's still not going to be fun regardless. For me my hell did not even last those first 7 days. It was more the first 4-5 days that were pretty dreadful, and then I turned that first of many corners towards the end of the week. I feel like through both of my recoveries, day 5 was definitely a turning point for me where I was over the worst of it. Maybe even day 4.
When you wake up you may be confused, weak, tired, sick (vomiting), hoarse, and in pain. You may have some or even none of those things too. Depends on how you handle general anesthesia. I handle anesthesia quite well and luckily for me, I never feel the slightest sick. My first surgery I feel like I was tired and out of it the first few hours post op, but for revision (despite feeling more high on drugs and kind of loopy), I was more awake and alert as soon as I woke up. Your throat may be sore from the intubation during surgery. This was another area I got lucky in. Both times I never had a sore/dry throat. Some people get sick after anesthesia. If you do, talk to your anesthesiologist and surgeon about your concerns. They can give you a little medicine to try and offset the nausea, and if you happen to get sick anyway, do not worry about how you will throw up with your teeth wired/banded shut. While it's not pleasant, it's doable. You will pass pure liquid through your mouth and just do your best to bend over just enough without straining to let it pass and not enough to cause pain and further bleeding from your mouth/nose. You may or may not have some bleeding. My first surgery I had absolutely no mouth bleeding, but my nose gushed blood for hours after a nurse shoved an affrin tube the wrong way up my nostril. Revision surgery I had little nose bleeding, but my mouth bled a lot (which it should for revision-- old scar tissue can bleed like hell!) and I had to stay up all night suctioning. I was never hungry the first few days post op. Empty stomach, lengthy anesthesia, strong pain meds, and major shock/trauma to your body can sometimes make you feel weird. I know the first 8-12 hours I am so weak I barely could stand for more than ten seconds to get to the bathroom. My first surgery I needed help, as I would start to pass out after 30 seconds of being up.
More than likely you'll be pretty swollen, numb across much of your lower face (and inside your mouth), and in some sort of pain/discomfort. This varies person to person and case to case. I tend to not swell as much as normal, so this carried over through my jaw work as well. I also have a high pain tolerance, so this also translated over (although better the first time. I did ask for more pain meds after revision, but they also did a lot more work and I was hurting because of that). If you check out my blog, you can see the type of swelling I experienced. I've seen much worse, so don't freak out if you look like Mr. Potato head off of this surgery the first 5-7 days. I promise, it won't stay like that forever. Swelling usually peaks through days 2-4 for most people, and then the first huge drop off will start past that. I only spent 1 night in the hospital for both of my surgeries. Days 2-4 at home are a battle. My first surgery was not awful, but I thought I was dying on day 2 and 3 after revision. I was much more swollen, my sinuses were clogged (yes, if you had upper jaw surgery, you will have all sorts of gnarly snot and blood clots up there clogging you up), I was in more pain this time, and I also had a chest cold pop up on me and I just felt like I wasn't getting air in. Even without a chest cold you may feel like you can't breathe, but just try to relax and remind yourself you're getting air. If you had a pulse ox on you, I bet you'd be near 100% even though you feel like you're not getting air in. At this point it's more of a panic attack, so try to relax and remind yourself that you ARE getting air in. If you are a super panicky person, it might be a good idea to have your surgeon prescribe you a couple of xanax or something just in case. A hot shower or a bowl of hot water with a towel over your head will open up your sinuses and provide some relief for a little bit. Affrin is good too if you absolutely need it, but don't make it a habit as it can have a rebound effect and cause your sinuses to not clear up if used too much. Everybody's pain levels are different, but take what you need to take to manage your pain. My first surgery I barely needed anything, but for revision I did take liquid vicodin every 4-5 hours the first two days at home. Both surgeries by day 5 I was totally off of everything, including something as simple as childrens tylenol. When you are numb, it kind of really is a blessing in disguise! Speaking of numbness, this also varies case to case and person to person. Do not be surprised if you are numb up to your eyes. Usually numbness in the upper face comes back pretty quickly in that first month, but the lower lip/chin can take months and can even be permanent. Even as soon as the end of that first week, you may start to feel tingles, shocks, or phantom feelings of stuff dripping down your chin when it's not, or sensations of hot/cold. It's all part of the normal process of your bruised and battered nerves coming back around. Your teeth may also feel sensitive. All of this is par for the course when it comes to the nerves doing their thing through all of this. Expect to be pretty weak the first week or two. I don't think I had energy to do much except get up and go to the bathroom the first 3-4 days post op. I was still too weak and dizzy to stand in the shower on my own the first few days too. Definitely ask for help when you need it!
Hopefully this section with a few tidbits will be a rough idea of what to expect that first week. It's not fun, but like so many others, you'll get through it. You may even have thoughts of regret, or you may feel like your face will never look normal again. It will, I promise. Like everything else with this procedure and recovery, it takes TIME....and lots of it! So, just take it one day at a time. Remember that, yes, you CAN in fact breathe when you feel like you can't, and yes, it WILL get better. Just hang tight until those first 3-5 days are over, and I promise you will turn a corner and be glad it's all over with.
I am not going to sugar coat this-- your first week post op is probably going to be hell. Some people's hell is a little worse or better than others, but it's still not going to be fun regardless. For me my hell did not even last those first 7 days. It was more the first 4-5 days that were pretty dreadful, and then I turned that first of many corners towards the end of the week. I feel like through both of my recoveries, day 5 was definitely a turning point for me where I was over the worst of it. Maybe even day 4.
When you wake up you may be confused, weak, tired, sick (vomiting), hoarse, and in pain. You may have some or even none of those things too. Depends on how you handle general anesthesia. I handle anesthesia quite well and luckily for me, I never feel the slightest sick. My first surgery I feel like I was tired and out of it the first few hours post op, but for revision (despite feeling more high on drugs and kind of loopy), I was more awake and alert as soon as I woke up. Your throat may be sore from the intubation during surgery. This was another area I got lucky in. Both times I never had a sore/dry throat. Some people get sick after anesthesia. If you do, talk to your anesthesiologist and surgeon about your concerns. They can give you a little medicine to try and offset the nausea, and if you happen to get sick anyway, do not worry about how you will throw up with your teeth wired/banded shut. While it's not pleasant, it's doable. You will pass pure liquid through your mouth and just do your best to bend over just enough without straining to let it pass and not enough to cause pain and further bleeding from your mouth/nose. You may or may not have some bleeding. My first surgery I had absolutely no mouth bleeding, but my nose gushed blood for hours after a nurse shoved an affrin tube the wrong way up my nostril. Revision surgery I had little nose bleeding, but my mouth bled a lot (which it should for revision-- old scar tissue can bleed like hell!) and I had to stay up all night suctioning. I was never hungry the first few days post op. Empty stomach, lengthy anesthesia, strong pain meds, and major shock/trauma to your body can sometimes make you feel weird. I know the first 8-12 hours I am so weak I barely could stand for more than ten seconds to get to the bathroom. My first surgery I needed help, as I would start to pass out after 30 seconds of being up.
More than likely you'll be pretty swollen, numb across much of your lower face (and inside your mouth), and in some sort of pain/discomfort. This varies person to person and case to case. I tend to not swell as much as normal, so this carried over through my jaw work as well. I also have a high pain tolerance, so this also translated over (although better the first time. I did ask for more pain meds after revision, but they also did a lot more work and I was hurting because of that). If you check out my blog, you can see the type of swelling I experienced. I've seen much worse, so don't freak out if you look like Mr. Potato head off of this surgery the first 5-7 days. I promise, it won't stay like that forever. Swelling usually peaks through days 2-4 for most people, and then the first huge drop off will start past that. I only spent 1 night in the hospital for both of my surgeries. Days 2-4 at home are a battle. My first surgery was not awful, but I thought I was dying on day 2 and 3 after revision. I was much more swollen, my sinuses were clogged (yes, if you had upper jaw surgery, you will have all sorts of gnarly snot and blood clots up there clogging you up), I was in more pain this time, and I also had a chest cold pop up on me and I just felt like I wasn't getting air in. Even without a chest cold you may feel like you can't breathe, but just try to relax and remind yourself you're getting air. If you had a pulse ox on you, I bet you'd be near 100% even though you feel like you're not getting air in. At this point it's more of a panic attack, so try to relax and remind yourself that you ARE getting air in. If you are a super panicky person, it might be a good idea to have your surgeon prescribe you a couple of xanax or something just in case. A hot shower or a bowl of hot water with a towel over your head will open up your sinuses and provide some relief for a little bit. Affrin is good too if you absolutely need it, but don't make it a habit as it can have a rebound effect and cause your sinuses to not clear up if used too much. Everybody's pain levels are different, but take what you need to take to manage your pain. My first surgery I barely needed anything, but for revision I did take liquid vicodin every 4-5 hours the first two days at home. Both surgeries by day 5 I was totally off of everything, including something as simple as childrens tylenol. When you are numb, it kind of really is a blessing in disguise! Speaking of numbness, this also varies case to case and person to person. Do not be surprised if you are numb up to your eyes. Usually numbness in the upper face comes back pretty quickly in that first month, but the lower lip/chin can take months and can even be permanent. Even as soon as the end of that first week, you may start to feel tingles, shocks, or phantom feelings of stuff dripping down your chin when it's not, or sensations of hot/cold. It's all part of the normal process of your bruised and battered nerves coming back around. Your teeth may also feel sensitive. All of this is par for the course when it comes to the nerves doing their thing through all of this. Expect to be pretty weak the first week or two. I don't think I had energy to do much except get up and go to the bathroom the first 3-4 days post op. I was still too weak and dizzy to stand in the shower on my own the first few days too. Definitely ask for help when you need it!
Hopefully this section with a few tidbits will be a rough idea of what to expect that first week. It's not fun, but like so many others, you'll get through it. You may even have thoughts of regret, or you may feel like your face will never look normal again. It will, I promise. Like everything else with this procedure and recovery, it takes TIME....and lots of it! So, just take it one day at a time. Remember that, yes, you CAN in fact breathe when you feel like you can't, and yes, it WILL get better. Just hang tight until those first 3-5 days are over, and I promise you will turn a corner and be glad it's all over with.
