am mid-air enroute to baltimore. oh the technology. reminds me of the fantastic louis ck bit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk&feature=related
so my report time is 8:30am tomorrow for my little procedure. i don't have much info about it like how long it takes, details about recovery, diet, etc. i guess being the seasoned veteran that i am now i just wing it.
hey, i just realized because today is feb 29 and my original surgery date was october 28 - FOUR MONTHS now. woooo. this means nothing really, except that time keeps on tickin into the future...faster and faster.
my moomoo is coming to baltimore again! she is driving by herself again from detroit as i type this. i heard it's raining a lot so that sucks. she is such a good mommy!! dear readers, please trust i am an adult and am capable to handle my business by myself. but she insisted to come keep me company and i can't say i don't appreciate it. the plan is that as long as i'm recovering well we will be tourists in baltimore. this will be nice.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
i'm a hot mess
could it be related to my infection that i've had mega stomach flu-ish symptoms for almost 48 hours? also i have some sort of sty or clogged duct in my eye. AND, i got rear ended at a pretty decent speed this evening and now i have whiplash aching in my neck and back. dude.
my infection thing is stagnating. i think it was a good thing to expedite the surgery!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
clockwork
preparing for my trip from el paso to dc and getting back and forth from dc to baltimore is a piece of cake now, i feel like i've done this soooo many times! :D
i forgot to mention that my surgeon told me that the recovery from this procedure is not nearly as bad as some of the stuff i read on the internet. you evil internet! i will go home the same day of the operation and i should be well recovered in a couple days. of course you never know blah blah but this makes me feel so much better about going under the knife again.
my present infection is still there, i can see it a little myself but other people don't see it cause they don't know what normal looks like. you can feel it if you touch my jawline. (i forced my coworker to do it haha, because i wasn't sure if i was feeling it from the outside or inside myself, if that makes sense.) but i am assuming in the next couple days the antibiotics should bring it back down to "normal."
what my surgeon said was that really the infection doesn't go away, it remains on the metal plate, when i think it's gone. and that's why it keeps coming back and i need to get the plate removed. the removal date got moved up because the infection came back quickly. it is logical that it's not good to be on antibiotics and having a continual infection for an extended period of time.
having gone through such an intense experience for the previous surgery, and after hearing about the much easier recovery for this one, i'm super "meh" about it. a walk in the park! am a little stressed at having to schedule all the logistics last minute but everything will fall into place as everything eventually does.
i forgot to mention that my surgeon told me that the recovery from this procedure is not nearly as bad as some of the stuff i read on the internet. you evil internet! i will go home the same day of the operation and i should be well recovered in a couple days. of course you never know blah blah but this makes me feel so much better about going under the knife again.
my present infection is still there, i can see it a little myself but other people don't see it cause they don't know what normal looks like. you can feel it if you touch my jawline. (i forced my coworker to do it haha, because i wasn't sure if i was feeling it from the outside or inside myself, if that makes sense.) but i am assuming in the next couple days the antibiotics should bring it back down to "normal."
what my surgeon said was that really the infection doesn't go away, it remains on the metal plate, when i think it's gone. and that's why it keeps coming back and i need to get the plate removed. the removal date got moved up because the infection came back quickly. it is logical that it's not good to be on antibiotics and having a continual infection for an extended period of time.
having gone through such an intense experience for the previous surgery, and after hearing about the much easier recovery for this one, i'm super "meh" about it. a walk in the park! am a little stressed at having to schedule all the logistics last minute but everything will fall into place as everything eventually does.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
it ain't over!
the saga continues...
i got a second infection in the same plate area.
the infected area didn't get super big and visibly swollen, but i could feel it growing and feeling the same way as last time. based on the previous infection i was able to recognize it much earlier than the first one when i was like, durrrrrr what's this swelling, i'll just wait and see, it will get better, i'm sure... :)
since i'm long-distance from my surgeons, i was able to communicate via phone and email and get some antibiotics which helped the infection go away. my surgeons are so helpful!!! it's really lucky for me because it could potentially be very difficult being so far away, but they are very responsive and willing to help me a lot.
so at this point, we're looking at the plates coming out. yes - a second surgery! in the process of scheduling it now and making plans.
i did some online research that indicated the plate removal can be as intense as the original surgery in terms of swelling and numbness, and even worse bruising. that seems kind of bizarre to me, because they're not doing nearly as much mucking around up in my face, just small incisions, grab the plates, in and out. so i'm hoping that is not true.
at the least, my jaw function won't be destroyed by this procedure; that was the longest and most difficult part of recovery by far.
otherwise i'm doing well. i can open my mouth pretty wide, seems normal now, just kind of feels like a good stretch. eating really crunchy stuff like hard chips and nuts feels sort of weird, slightly unpleasant, but otherwise i can eat everything including chewy stuff. things are still sensitive in my mouth, i jabbed my gum with my toothbrush by accident and that was OW! also i can't use my electric toothbrush, it feels like a jackhammer.
still numb in my gums and one part of my chin, but i will take it. even if it's permanent, it doesn't really bother me and the aligned jaws is worth it!
i do have lip incompetence still, which is the fancy way of saying my lips aren't closing and meeting together properly. i think my top lip is the problem. to close my lips i have to strain the bottom lip up, which causes "pruney chin."
so that's my report for now! i'm glad that me showing my case to the online world is helping other people looking for info about their same problem!
i got a second infection in the same plate area.
the infected area didn't get super big and visibly swollen, but i could feel it growing and feeling the same way as last time. based on the previous infection i was able to recognize it much earlier than the first one when i was like, durrrrrr what's this swelling, i'll just wait and see, it will get better, i'm sure... :)
since i'm long-distance from my surgeons, i was able to communicate via phone and email and get some antibiotics which helped the infection go away. my surgeons are so helpful!!! it's really lucky for me because it could potentially be very difficult being so far away, but they are very responsive and willing to help me a lot.
so at this point, we're looking at the plates coming out. yes - a second surgery! in the process of scheduling it now and making plans.
i did some online research that indicated the plate removal can be as intense as the original surgery in terms of swelling and numbness, and even worse bruising. that seems kind of bizarre to me, because they're not doing nearly as much mucking around up in my face, just small incisions, grab the plates, in and out. so i'm hoping that is not true.
at the least, my jaw function won't be destroyed by this procedure; that was the longest and most difficult part of recovery by far.
otherwise i'm doing well. i can open my mouth pretty wide, seems normal now, just kind of feels like a good stretch. eating really crunchy stuff like hard chips and nuts feels sort of weird, slightly unpleasant, but otherwise i can eat everything including chewy stuff. things are still sensitive in my mouth, i jabbed my gum with my toothbrush by accident and that was OW! also i can't use my electric toothbrush, it feels like a jackhammer.
still numb in my gums and one part of my chin, but i will take it. even if it's permanent, it doesn't really bother me and the aligned jaws is worth it!
i do have lip incompetence still, which is the fancy way of saying my lips aren't closing and meeting together properly. i think my top lip is the problem. to close my lips i have to strain the bottom lip up, which causes "pruney chin."
so that's my report for now! i'm glad that me showing my case to the online world is helping other people looking for info about their same problem!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
pre/post
i'm three months minus three days post-op. already hit 12 weeks last friday.
i thought it would be good to post some proper before/after pics, and the main reason i'm doing this is because i see from comments and blog traffic data that some other people with asymmetry have been hitting this blog. these pics are certainly not flattering (neither the before nor after haha).
not long ago i was googling madly to try to find someone that had the same issue as me, to help me figure out what was wrong with my jaw and chin. i couldn't find anyone that had such left to right crooked-ness. it was kind of depressing, in that i thought i was a bit of a freak of nature. so maybe this will help somebody identify their own problem and a potential solution, and maybe also just help in knowing that they are not alone with their wonky jaw. :)
i actually had to ask my mom to return my "before" pics to me; i had sent them to her during my investigation phase because i wanted her to show my childhood dentist about the problem and ask whether he had noticed it getting worse. i deleted those pics off my hard drive and from my email promptly after i sent them. this shows how much i didn't like keeping evidence of myself at that angle.
luckily, the before/after comparison shows that my glasses are the only thing more crooked now. :D
i thought it would be good to post some proper before/after pics, and the main reason i'm doing this is because i see from comments and blog traffic data that some other people with asymmetry have been hitting this blog. these pics are certainly not flattering (neither the before nor after haha).
not long ago i was googling madly to try to find someone that had the same issue as me, to help me figure out what was wrong with my jaw and chin. i couldn't find anyone that had such left to right crooked-ness. it was kind of depressing, in that i thought i was a bit of a freak of nature. so maybe this will help somebody identify their own problem and a potential solution, and maybe also just help in knowing that they are not alone with their wonky jaw. :)
i actually had to ask my mom to return my "before" pics to me; i had sent them to her during my investigation phase because i wanted her to show my childhood dentist about the problem and ask whether he had noticed it getting worse. i deleted those pics off my hard drive and from my email promptly after i sent them. this shows how much i didn't like keeping evidence of myself at that angle.
luckily, the before/after comparison shows that my glasses are the only thing more crooked now. :D
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| insanely invasive surgery worked for me! |
Saturday, December 31, 2011
reflection
i am very glad i had this surgery.
two months out, i don't regret the stress or suffering a darn-tootin' second! (despite all my boo-hooing on this blog.)
it is so wonderful to have my bite be straight and to have my teeth touch down nice and even on both sides. it used to be clamping hard-pressure on one side and gaping nothingness on the other side. this is hard to describe poetically. it's fantastic, but not something you would appreciate or notice unless you were inside my head or had dental training. :D
also i am quite happy to not have my jaw slope down a lot on the one side; it makes me feel less self-conscious. over the past years, i developed the habit of cracking my knuckles up against the lower side - which actually started with me trying to "push up" the jaw and bring the open bite together. now i'm trying to rid myself of that pointless behavior, but when i do it, i am pleased not to feel a chin bump anymore.
i'm eating more and more like a normal person. i was a bit overzealous and indulged in a massive amount of chewy bread last night and am paying for it with sore joints today. but, am really getting there back to regular old existence.
i should be doing some firm massaging to loosen up where my chin and my bottom lip meet and the place where my top lip and my upper gum line meet (the scar tissue at the suture site is tight which restricts my lip closure). i'm also supposed to do some stretches to make my mouth open wider. the places where my jaw was broken have begun to re-fuse together and will continue to grow stronger, but i will remain blingy with my metal plateing unless i develop more infection.
it's so crazy to think about what all happened to my lower skull....
this year i had some big changes, namely a move across the country to a place where i didn't know a soul, a new job requiring a lot of skill set development, and of course this major facial surgery.
i an extremely appreciative that i had the means and support to make it all happen. these changes will improve my life for the rest of my days!
happy new year everyone!
two months out, i don't regret the stress or suffering a darn-tootin' second! (despite all my boo-hooing on this blog.)
it is so wonderful to have my bite be straight and to have my teeth touch down nice and even on both sides. it used to be clamping hard-pressure on one side and gaping nothingness on the other side. this is hard to describe poetically. it's fantastic, but not something you would appreciate or notice unless you were inside my head or had dental training. :D
also i am quite happy to not have my jaw slope down a lot on the one side; it makes me feel less self-conscious. over the past years, i developed the habit of cracking my knuckles up against the lower side - which actually started with me trying to "push up" the jaw and bring the open bite together. now i'm trying to rid myself of that pointless behavior, but when i do it, i am pleased not to feel a chin bump anymore.
i'm eating more and more like a normal person. i was a bit overzealous and indulged in a massive amount of chewy bread last night and am paying for it with sore joints today. but, am really getting there back to regular old existence.
i should be doing some firm massaging to loosen up where my chin and my bottom lip meet and the place where my top lip and my upper gum line meet (the scar tissue at the suture site is tight which restricts my lip closure). i'm also supposed to do some stretches to make my mouth open wider. the places where my jaw was broken have begun to re-fuse together and will continue to grow stronger, but i will remain blingy with my metal plateing unless i develop more infection.
it's so crazy to think about what all happened to my lower skull....
this year i had some big changes, namely a move across the country to a place where i didn't know a soul, a new job requiring a lot of skill set development, and of course this major facial surgery.
i an extremely appreciative that i had the means and support to make it all happen. these changes will improve my life for the rest of my days!
happy new year everyone!
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