Week Seven!

Week seven has arrived (yesterday but is this really surprising any more) and so has Christmas holidays! A wonderful sixteen days away from school and I can eat most of the Christmas goodies!

Thank GOD I healed far enough in time for this! I can't even imagine Christmas without the food, hahaha!

Anyway, I had my first cleaning today and to be quite honest it didn't make my teeth feel any cleaner than they were even though I told the dentist it felt 'way better'. In all honesty it was more uncomfortable than usual for a bit afterwards because I don't know what it is with dentists but they seem to have no regard whatsoever about how what they do in the sensitive area of your mouth hurts you. ESPECIALLY with someone who still isn't completely healed from major jaw surgery ! She kept resting her hand on my chin while she worked and I had to keep reminding her that, ya I had genioplasty so my chin sort of idk HURTS WITHOUT THE ADDED PRESSURE BUT THANKS. 

Anyway I don't have to go back for three months so it'll be much easier of an ordeal by then. I also went to my orthodontist and I got the bracket on the front reattached sonce it ha come loose, and the tooth subsequently began to shift ((after just a few days, I really don't get how braces work! How do they stop the teeth from shifting?? I know a lot of people wear retainers afterwards but They don't seem that secure. I'm not an orthodontist though so who knows)) 

Anyway, a bracket on my back molar. came off too but they didn't even try to reattach it yet. I can't open super wide as you can see in the picture below, but I've been doing little exercises. My dentist told me to ut two fingers between my teeth (like on top of each other) for ten minutes each morning and night.  I thought that seemed a bit extreme time wise but whatever I'll give it a go (probably won't be ten minutes). 

Anyway my ortho says I don't have to wear elastics anymore which was a huge surprise as most of the blogs I've read had to wear them for a long time after surgery! Not that I'm complaining!! He hasn't said anything about estimated brace removal time though. 

Chewing has been so wonderful, I've been eating all kinds of stuff. EveN crackers and some pretty hard stuff. It takes some time to eat but it's worth it! 

I do have one concern that I forgot to bring up with him though and idk if it would be hos concern or the surgeons, but my teeth on the left side don't set together if that makes any sense. On the right side I bite down my molars touch each othet but on the other side it's likr open, there's a space there ((at least on the inside. Onthe outside both sides look pretty much the same)). I see my surgeon again  in January so I'll ask about it then. It isn't a huge deal, but idk. 

I was at my moms friends house the other night for a winter camping meeting, and a few people there I had never met and we got talking about the surgery. They said I still sort of look swollen enough to either be in recovery from wisdom teeth or just to have a fat face. But i showed them a picture of my before and they all agreed I look A LOT. different. The girls at thw ortho said I look like a totally different person especially with new glasses! It is a bit hard to hear people agree that my jaw and chin loomed bad back before because it's proving the fears of my pre surgery life, but at the same time it's reassuring that the change has been so good and worth it after all of the suffering!!

I mean One of the girls I work with and who trained me during a few shifts didn't even recognize me and asked if I was new!

I looked back on some old pictures and I just can't even remember that life anymore it's like I'm looking at someone completely different. The girl in the pictures was someone who covered her jaw/chin whenever possible, especially while laughing. Whenever I could have a hand over it without it looking like an awkwar position it was there. I spent most of my time worrying that the people around me and who I was speaking to was just focusing on my jaw. Now I'm so much different! I still have the typical teenage self concious things but I haven't had the urge to cover my face or anything! In fact I'm proud of my jaw now! I may not be beautiful, but I love my new jaw and I'm content with the way I look now. I'm in proportion, and that's what matters! 

Anyway. Christmas awaits and I must be off to pursue important endeavors such as lying around and doing absolutely nothing!! Merry Chrismas and Happy Holidays to everyone! My eight week mark will be Christmas Day isn't that an exciting milestone celebration :D

 

((extremely unflattering angle/pose but this is how wide I can open))

Week Six!!!! Splint No more!

So technically week six was Wednesday but since I got my splint off on Thursday I decided to extend the post by a day (so this time it was on purpose)

Anyway, as I said: MY SPLINT IS GONE!! 

The process of removing it was rather uncomfortable, and even though I tryst that he wouldn't do anything to potentially harm my jaw it still sort of freaked me out. I had to open as wide as I could and he had a metal thing to keep my lip stretched open, which dug into the bag of my mouth and really hurt. Still, it only last a minute or two and it was sooo worth it. 

At first it was totally disgusting since food had been stuck in it for so long. That iky taste you have in your mouth for the first few days was back for a moment with all the gross old food. I rinsed my mouth of a lot though ((then came home and brushed for a LOOOOONG time hahaha)) and the roof of my mouth felt odd and wrinkly but I got used to it. 

I also got the ok to start chewing again so I tried to chew my lasagna, which was really weird. You know when you chew your lower jaw usually moves from aide to side? Well I can't do that well, and wen i do t's a little uncomfortable and weird. The food also gets stuck between my bite because I guess my tongue or whatever forgets that it has to bring it back so I have to like tip it in I guess hahah. Chewing again is so great though. 

I won't see my oral surgeon for another month now, basically from this point on I'm back to orthodontist orders. My one bracket on the front tooth has come loose so that needs fixing, and a few of my teeth have been shifting so they aren't as straight :( I see him on Tuesday, just in time for week seven! I can't believe how much time has gone by now it's incredible!! 

I also went to my first swim team practice of the year! Try started back in November but I couldn't actually close my lips back then so haha. They just had ameet yesterday   though so it was an easy practice. Still it wore me out pretty good! I haven't done alot of physical activity in weeks! It also didn't feel weird on my face. Actually, it was really nice to jump back into the water!! I just wish I could have done hockey too. 

My world issues class is having a pizza Christmas party next week and I just sort of sat there like 'Well i can't actually eat...' and the whole class look at me as they remember and they felt so bad! But i assure them it was alright, I was the one who wanted the surgery after all! My teacher said he would go to Dairy Queen just to get me a milkshake though hahah He is honestly the best teacher i have ever had. He just dropped my assignment altogether and gave me a really easy test alternative for the one I missed!  

Anyway, even though I'm still a tad swollen (hopefully the double chin is swelling because sorry but I really don't want one hahah) and the numbness is still present in my chin, lower right lip an gums (and I think roof of my mouth I can't fully tell) I'm happy at this point (maybe it's the Christmas spirit!) 

I still look in the mirror and pick out things I'm not liking but you know what, it is a million times better than before. You can't change what you look like so suck it up hahaha.  Anyway, for a plus I'm getting new glasses that look nice on me for a change and also hats don't look that bad on me either!! Or sunglasses! Yay!! 

Well, hope you're all living wonderful lces (: see you next week! 

my one tooth at the front is moved back a little. and my chin looks funny, but maybe I just don't really know what it's supposed to look like anyway hahaha 

Week Five!

Lalalala hello jaw people I am here wriin to you on the actual day of the fifth week, amazing!

Plus I have a splint removal date! It's coming off next Thursday, plus on the day before that I get nee glasses so it should be a fun week hahah. My swelling is going down soooo slow now though but there is definitely more to go. My numbness is still exactly the same as last week sadly but hey it's only been a month so I'm not worried yet. 

I've been venturing into different foods. I even swallowed pieces of chocolate cake (they got stuck in my braces though so that part wasn't fun) But ya really anything I can fit in there and swallow hole works! Can't wait til chewing though   

Dr Barr says everything is looking really great though, just the way it's supposed to so that's uplifting :) 

I'm going to try to start swimming again next Monday too so we'll see how that goes, but unfortunately he says I shouldn't try hockey until next year which sucks but I don't want to risk my jaws safety! I never want to go through this again!! 

Anyway there isn't too much to report except that we're gearing up for Christmas and I can hardly eat any of the good yet UGH. I better be able to eat by the time true Christmas rolls around or I swear....

Anyway, here are my week five pictures. See you next Wednesday! xx

Week 4!!

Look at that I'm not even posting daily and I still can't manage to post on time! 

Anyway, I'm finally drinking from a straw and it is SOOOO much better!! It's still a bit of effort positioning the straw in order to get my lips around it enough to suck but better than dribbling for sure! 

I've also begun to eat more solid foods just swallowing them in tiny pieces like the sautéed mushrooms I ate the other night cut up into the tiniest things ver hahahah.  We went to Boston Pizza Sunday night and I just had a virgin strawberry daiquiri since they don't have smoothies or milkshakes (wtf) and I tore apart some french fries off my cousins plate and swallowed pieces. My mouth opens alot wider now so I can fit a spoon inside to eat soup though I still dribble, plus I can now brush inside my teeth!!

I'm going to see my surgeon on Tuesday December third and then hopeully the week after the splint will come off! I can't believe this Saturday marks my one month!! And what better way to celebrate than going to see Pink on Monday!! :D 

My swelling is better but my cheeks are still sort of puffy and everyone says I look way younger because of it, like I still have my baby fat or something. Plus I still have this double chin look but hey at least it will go away eventually. 

My lip is finally starting to regain feeling I think as now when something touches it there is a faint tingling, so slowly but surely! My chin is still a work in progress. 

I went back to work on Monday (I work at Tim Hortons) and I've just been doing deli and drive thru make or runner, so I don't have to really talk too much, and I'm not interacting with customers yet but now I have money coming in again thank god haha. 

Anyway I think that's about it for this week! Christmas is approaching and I'm looking forward to eating my way straight through!! 

less creepy smile yay!

Day 21 and 22

I'm just gonna mix these day up for my last daily post. I went to a Paramore concert on day 21(Wednesday) which also marked three weeks since surgery yay! What a way to celebrate and they were absolutely fantastic.  

Anyway it was a tiring day as we spent the day in Toronto walking around and I mean, I'm not exactly in a position to snack throughout the day as I'm still on liquids and I still am incapable of using a straw so I drink from a cup and still dribble. I had some potato soup which we asked for in a mug (cue strange looks from waitress pending the explanation) at a restaurant that had this really cool table in this like, I don't really know what to call it other than a nook. It was tucked away into it's own little room which was nice because no one saw me dribbling. But everyone else got really delicious looking food and they gave me the bread that comes with the soup which was rather depressing to say the least. But I took my friends french fry and broke it into small pieces, squished them flat and stuck them through my little gap and swallowed them whole. It was hard so I didn't eat a lot but man they tasted good. At the concert I was obviously standing the whole time screaming my head off and singing as loud as I could (which wasn't very considering I can't open my mouth very wide or speak clearly) Needless to say I wore my jaw out pretty good and it was pretty tired this  morning as was I as I didn't get to bed until 2 and woke at 6:40 for school. I could go into an essay style rant about early school mornings for days but I'll save that hahaha. 

Anyway so ya I also realized yesterday that my gums are numb too. I'm not sure why but I didn't even think of them this whole time until yesterday I tried to get a piece of food out and realized I couldn't feel my proxy brush. It's weird because I've been prodding them with a proxy brush for three weeks now and I only just realized now. So that joins the ranks of my bottom lip on the right and my chin. 

Today, day 22, I went to see my oral surgeon (not sure if I mentioned that I was seeing a different doctor but I ended up seeing Dr Barr in the end) Anyway basically he said I have probably about three more weeks with the splint which is not super exciting news but I guess I can handle it. He also said that it's normal that I still can't close my lips naturally but I should do little exercises, and I can use a straw if I can manage it. I tried to use one but I got such a small amount up that it isn't really worth the time at this point. Hopefully that will get better soon. I forgot to ask about sleeping but I feel like I shouldn't need to sleep elevated now, but it just feels weird flat on my bad. Besides I HATE sleeping on my back I like to curl up on my side which I obviously can't really do. 

My talking is getting quite better. It's obviously still not really clear but I haven't had to repeat myself a lot now so I'm thinking I'll try going back to work on Monday.  I've enjoyed these three weeks off work so much though but of course I need the money and I've lost over 400$ by not working so long. Sigh. 

Anyway, that's all I can think to say for now. Recovery slows down a lot at this point so there won't be much day to day improvement. I am hoping to God that I will be able to eat well for Christmas!! I'll be two months post op by then so I need to read some other blogs and see what their progress was at two months! Can you imagine Christmas without eating?!?! 

Well, I only have pictures from day 21 but I think that'll be fine because, like I said, not much improvement between each day. 

I'll post again on week four!  (unless something interesting happens before then) 

xx

i took these on the way to toronto so my friend photobombed 

Day 20

(was yesterday)

Anyway I saw my orthodontist andhe said   everything looks great. All of the girls were like freaking out because I looked so much different. He also twisted the poking wire back into place so smiling doesn't hurt anymore it just looks weird!! 

I visited my old  job at the retirement to say hello and the girls working didn't even recognize me at first! My old boss said I look like a totally different person which is good to hear. Imagine going through all of this and looking pretty much the same. hahaha. Only one of the residents recognize me at first, which was my favourite resident naturally haha. I went around saying hello to each table and they jut sort of looked at me like 'Hi random person we're trying to eat our dinner here' until I told them who I was and they were all like 'Oh my goodness I'm sorry you look so different!' They were all completely blown away with what I had done hahah. 

I also watched my best friend get her tattoo and I can't decide if it made me sure I want to get mine in January or if it scared me away. I guess if I can get through this ordeal I can do anything ahaha. 

Anyway that's all for day 20. I'll post for day 21 and then I'll just start doing weekly updates since not much changes daily anymore. 

Here are some pictures!

xx

Day 19

Alright I'm on time for today! 

Nothing to report though really. I have an ortho appointment tomorrow, not really sure what he'll say/do but it's something to talk about hahaha. My life is so boring. 

Everyone says my swelling has come down alot and I mean I see it a bit but honestly it doesn't look any different to me day by day and I'm really fed up with the droopy right side. 

 

I ate a mushroom today sort of so that was my first actual food item. I just tore it into three small pieces stuck it in and swallowed. It was rather difficult to do so I only ate one but I love mushrooms so much they were impossible to pass up. 

We're going out on Sunday for my cousins birthday so I'll get to sit and watch everyone eat their meals while I potentially drink a milkshake. I still can't use a straw so I'm a bit wary of eating in public as I still dribble quite a bit and I can't rinse my mouth right away. 

Anyway that's it, I'm off to sleep and uncomfortable sleep sitting up unless I want to face the uncomfortable swollen tomorrow consequences. Sigh. 

Good day to you 

xx (by the way despite my British ending of x which I may have started because One Direction did it and I liked it a lot (bracketception; not just because I like One Direction) I am in fact Canadian) 

my mom took some pictures on her camera to send to my grandpa and I tried to smile oh my god my chin still hurts from laughing so hard I looked like I was possessed it is so bad) 

Day 18

I look like a serial killer when I smile. But no matter hhaha. Okay this is day 19 but I'm writing for day 18 because unsurprisingly I forgot last night.  

ANYWAY I can swallow my pills now so my drinks don't taste bad with the crushed pills now (:

I'm thinking that by Thursday, the three mark, I'll do weekly updates instead of daily because things are slowing down considerably progress wise. My swelling is going down slowly but surely (I can't wait until I stop looking so droopy in my right side) and my numbness is still the same (sigh). I think if I sum up each week it will be fine. 

Anyway ya that's really all I have to say for day 18...... day 19 will hopefully come tonight hahah. 

Day 17

(apparently it didn't publish properly so here it is very late) 

Hello day 17, it's been a pleasure sort of. 

I still don't have feeling in my chin, or in my bottom lip on the right, the right side of my face looks droopy and there's more pressure than usual on my teeth, I was up at 7:30 because sleeping upright and on my back is getting super old and Ticketmaster messed up my Miley Cyrus ticket order so now I have awful 300 sections seats what a pleasure. 

My mouth is torn from this damn wire, a bracket is loose from my tooth and something keeps moving/clicking (99% it's another bracket) so I'm looking forward to my Tuesday orthodontist appointment. 

Still I must stay positive or else this thing will probably kill me before my moms delicious smelling cooking does. I keep getting cravings. 'I could really go for some ________ right now.. oh wait I can't haha. hahaha haha. *begins to sob*'

Anyway, it's been a hell of a day. I watched   Tangled for the first time (I can't believe it came out three years ago now it's crazy how time flies. It was good though. Didn't make my favourite lost as far as Disney goes as I'm a sucker for the classic, reign of Disney movies (see Lion King, Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Aladdin etc) but hey it was Disney and it WAS good considering Disney has been sort of disappointing as of late. 

I'm still on my liquids. The closest to 'food' I've gotten so far is mashed sweet potato blended with buckets of homogenized milk. Like I've said before, can't wait for straws. Can't wait for chewing, actually. Like real chewing. Like full blown fully healed jaw chewing. 

Anyway I'll let you get on with your lives for the night, I feel like I'm in far too much of a sarcastic mood right now so I don't want to continue on my negative outlooks of the day. 

Good night xxx

Day 16

Now for day 16, surprise surprise, everything is still the same. I literally don't notice anything different at all. People keep saying 'Oh well you're swellingis going   down' but I honestly don't see any difference between today and two days ago.

Still, I have an obligation to update. 

School is what I did today, and then write and then watch Supernatural.  I also tried a beginners online yoga class and wow am I ever unbalanced and unflexible. Ot also made my jaw feel weird and I started to drool during the downward dog so that was relaxing...

I'll try it again I should start exercising again but I don't know if I'll be motivated enough to stick with it. I can't wait to get out running again (I say as I lay in bed with my laptop) 

Anyway diet: same. Numbness: same. Discomfort: same. 

I am trying to wean myself off of the painkillers though. I'm done with my prescription and I moved to Tylenol but I don't enjoy putting their toxins into my body more than I have to, onthe other hand though they really work. 

I'm forcing myself to love on one a day for the time being; half in the morning half at night. We'll see how that works. I seem to be okay it just causes a bitmore discomfort   than usual but it's liveable. 

I've said it before but I really can't wait for swelling to be over with because right now I look like I have chubby cheeks and somewhat of a double chin, plus the buck teeth look from the splint. Not very becoming. 

Anyway I'm off to spend the next twenty minutes cleaning my mouth. Until tomorrow fellow surgery goers. 

xx

ps i changed my theme the other one was getting on my nerves so I just went back to simple

Day 15

Here's day fifteen better late than never. 

Still not much to say really. My lip is still numb in the right side, which is still swollen considerably more than the left, as is my chin. Normal, I think, at only two weeks. I'm counting myself really lucky though even though it's not the most fun experience as I had yellow bruising in a small patch under my chin for about three days and that was it, plus my swelling really isn't THAT bad. Still I don't enjoy looking so lopsided and droopy on my right side I hope it isn't permanent. 

I tried to eat a pancake too. I though I could open wide enough to stuff it in and just mash it on the roof of my mouth but I was sadly mistaken. Sigh. 

Theres a wire poking out too, so every time my lips move it catches on the inside of my cheek and it hurts a lot. I stopped by the orthodontist to get some wax but they're closed on holidays until the 18. What fun. 

Anyway that's about all I have to say today. Nothing is acting up and I'm in the same discomfort I've been in all week, just with the added wire. I tried to get pictures of my teeth like I said I would but they didn't turn out. 

Well, that's about everything. Here are some pictures (:

xx

ps ye i am wearing my onesie again its the best thing to change into after school <3 

MILESTONE- Day 14

Another day,another week. Two weeks in today wow.... so unbelievable. Of course, as Dr Barr said yesterday, already two weeks is still only two weeks. 

Swelling keeps going down slowly but surely so I'm LOOKING better but I feel pretty much the same. My chin is still tingly and pain med don't help much it just sort of comes and fades as it pleases so I live through it. 

Eating habits are the same. Assorted smoothies and Boost while my family eats delicious smelling meals yippee for me. My mom made sloppy joes tonight aka one of my favourite things ever so ya thanks mom. 

Anyway school has been pretty easy catching up wise thus far and my test was pushed to next week so as far as I know I am mow expected to do it? My teacher still has yet to supply me with the notes I asked for though so I can't do much study wise. This isn't a jaw issue though so moving on. 

My one tooth feels weird still but I foun out it's the one right under the elastic so I'm thinking it's just the pressure. Can adult teeth even just fall out anyway? I don't really know but I'm thinking no...

I took my elastics out  again for brushing and it felt even weirder like my jaw felt so heavy it was weird. I manage to open pretty wide though but my jaw feels odd now so I'm giving it a bit of a rest.  

I need these stitches out now though everyone keeps making me laugh curse my funny friends/life situations it is causing such pain. It feels like they're actually ripping out sometimes! 

Numbess is the same as my last update. The only thing that's changed is that my bottom lip on the left is completely back so it isn't a weird tingly in between state anymore which os good. I want the other half back though it's making my right side look all droopy and uneven. 

Speaking of uneven I noticed that my teeth, well I don't know if it's the actual jaw or the splint causing it, but they aren't running straight. Like the teeth on top move upwards to the right if that makes sense. I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow while my elastics are out if I can remember. My left molars also don't feel lined up when I run my teeth along them. It feels like my top jaw is still smaller than the bottom but moved to the right. So the right molars are all good but it's uneven on the left. I forgot to ask the Dr about it so I have to remember to ask next appointment. I mean I want to say to myself 'They're the surgeons they moved the jaws where they wanted them' but it just feels wrong so I don't know what to think! 

People keep saying I'm really brave for going through with surgery and I guess I am but to be completely honest I had absolutely no idea of jut how awful the first week was. And I knew I would be on this liquid diet thing and all swollen for a long time after but when you're post op and still eating real food with a non swollen face it seems like no big deal. Well, it is and I am so tired. I want to eat real food when will this be satisfied no one knows. 

I really want to get back to work but I'm also enjoying this  time off. I also still can't talk really though and I work at Tim Hortons so it's a bit problematic. I'm leaving the decision making to Monday. 

Well that's about all I have to say for today, here are some pictures! xx

all i can manage smile wise. better but creepy. 

love my left side 

my right needs some time hahah 

another creepy smile to end the day