Day 46 - Ugh #2

I've been rather quiet partially because September start-up is always chaotic and partially because nothing I have to say is good.

Initially, I was doing alright with work, despite my jaw. The slight increase in irritation that I did experience, I chalked up to increased use. When I spoke to the orthodontist about it at my last appointment, nearly two seeks ago, he said that everything looked alright.

Since then though, things have continued to get worse. The swelling is pretty significant again, inside and out. It has swollen even just tonight. The tingling and feeling is no longer just in my chin. Now, it is all over my jaw bone. I am pretty concerned that I have an infection of some sort.

Add to that the fact that I have a virus and I have been feeling pretty miserable.

The other thing that I've noticed and that may be of interest to people considering this surgery is the decreased range of motion in my neck and shoulders. Both had been sore for a while a few weeks ago, but in the last week or so, I've noticed that I can't turn my neck the amount I usually could. It is similar to what I experienced after the car accident back in 2000. I am going to ask about physiotherapy.

I am going to see my surgeon tomorrow; I'll have a more thorough report then.

Day 39 - Weird Science

This weekend was a busy one; we made a last ditch effort at summer fun and are now ready (or as ready as we are going to be) to bid the summer of 2011 adieu. I expect next summer will be chock-o-block with fun since there are no surgeries or pregnancies or sick babies or other such crazy shenanigans planned. While we were soaking up the last rays of the season, some fun things happened in my face. The feeling has been coming back gradually, but my entire bottom lip and the center portion of my chin have staunchly refused to budge from their state of numbness up to this point. Well, all of a sudden, on Sunday, while we packed up to take the kids to brunch and then to Centennial Park for some playground fun, I could feel my lips touching one another...ever so faintly. This was closely followed by what I can only describe as my chin being struck by thousands of little bolts of lighting. I can actually pinpoint the exact moment when nerve regeneration began in those areas. For the better part of Sunday, my chin and lip were alight....even edging into being uncomfortable. The next morning, *every* *single* muscle, joint and tooth from my nose/ear line down was in a state of agony that I haven't experienced since the very early days after my surgery. I suspect, given the type and position of the pain, I clenched all night long, possibly as a result of the sensations from the nerve-regeneration. Whatever the reason, I was in enough pain that I took a bunch of Advil and was lining up Tylenol 3 or Robaxacet for the next dosing, if necessary. By evening, it had become bearable. The craziest part of this weekend's developments is the cross-wiring that seems to have occurred. Here's a pictorial essay:

"This all feels really weird. So much tingling and...."

"Ummm...wtf?!?!?! I am touching my chin and my lip thinks I am touching it...."

Yes, there appears to be a small spot (about the size of my index finger tip, conveniently) on the bottom ridge of the left side of my chin that, when touched, sets off nerves in my lip (just to the right of center). It is very strange.

Here are the actual glamour shots for the day:

Day 33 - Muscle Relaxants and Maritime Chowder

I took all my complaints to the orthodontist this morning. He was sympathetic and took a good look around in there, making sure there was no infection. The consensus was that the discomfort was likely a combination of the nerve regeneration in my chin and my return to work, which has resulted in a lot more talking and activity than I'd been doing in the weeks since my surgery. The suggestion on the part of the ortho was what surprised me a little - he recommended a moist, warm compress and muscle relaxants. The idea of me taking something so strong is laughable, in my opinion, but it is tempting. The great news from the appointment is that I came out free of one of my elastics - the ortho said I could get rid of the front one and suggested that, at the next appointment, we may be able to change the rest of the elastics out for lower-tension ones!! This is such good news - I am cool with baby steps because progress is progress. After my appointment, I went downtown to join the rest of my colleagues at the district professional development day. There were lots of interesting little tidbits in the speakers' presentations. I met up with a friend for lunch. Neither of us could eat the bag lunches that were available, so we decided to head over to the restaurant across the street in the hope of finding something palatable (though I wasn't entire convinced it would work). Much to my pleasant surprise, I found a delectable Maritime Seafood Chowder on their lunch menu. I loved every spoonful and my only regret was that I couldn't devour the warm, multigrain roll that accompanied it. Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, 3 being the highest, today was an 11. ;)

Day 32 - This is a little disappointing

I seem to have regressed again :( My swelling has about doubled. I am in enough pain to take Advil a couple of times each day. The feeling is still coming back in my chin, but the swelling and pain are keeping me from being comfortable and using my lips properly.
I am getting cranky about the whole thing, honestly. I am seeing my orthodontist tomorrow and I am hoping he will be able to shed some light on the situation. I really hope that it is short-lived because it is making my job, sleeping, eating and just generally existing rather less pleasant.

The glamour shot for the day.

Day 30 - Back to Work

The new semester starts tomorrow. I am not entirely sure how this is going to go, given that I am still pretty difficult to understand at times and am in a lot more pain than I was last week because of the nerve regeneration in my chin. Only time will tell, I guess.

In the meantime, I continue to try little bits of new solid food. I am changing my elastics one to two times each day now and, while it still causes my face to ache, it isn't like it was.

My swelling is sitting at about 10% of the maximum it was. That said, it flares up with activity. For example, when we went for a walk last night, the swelling in my chin and cheeks about doubled in size. I am hoping this lets up soon since I would like to start in with more physical activity - I am looking to do zumba class through the fall and winter.

Anyway, otherwise things seem to be progressing gradually. Here are the pics:

Day 27 - Meal Planning, Survivor-style

You know how, on Survivor, around mid-season, the contestants spend episode after episode driving themselves crazy with talk of the food they are missing and lusting after. I knew it would come to this...as much as I make fun of the Survivor players and as much as I tried to tell myself that I wouldn't let myself fall into this pattern of though, here I am. Visions of Taco Bell dance through my head a dozen times each day.

So, similar to the list I made pre-surgery, I am going to start a post-surgery list of things I will be indulging in as soon as I can. I will add to it as time goes on. Here is the current version, in no particular order:

• Chicken Quesadilla and Supreme Fries (minus the beef) from Taco Bell
  
• Peanut M&Ms
  
• Scalloped Potatoes, Ham and roasted sweet potatoes
  
• glazed croissant from Superstore
  
• raw veggies & dip
  
• chicken nachos
  
• banana
  
• fully-dressed baked potato
  
• bacon double cheeseburger from DQ along with fries from McDs
  
• Turkey dinner with all the fixin's (conveniently, Thanksgiving is a mere 2 weeks after I should be elastic-free)
  

In other news, this has been a hell of a day. My chin has been tingling pretty viciously for the last three or four days. This is a sign that the feeling is returning. Over the course of today, a little feeling has returned, but more to the point, my pain has increased dramatically - like, to a level it hasn't reached since my early days at Steph's apartment. EVERYTHING hurts...I have a headache, my neck and shoulders hurt and the centralized pain in my chin and lower jaw is excruciating. I was near tears in the last hour of work :( I've taken Advil and that has helped somewhat. I am hoping tomorrow is better. Here are the pics:

The state of things at 2 1/2 weeks

It has been brought to my attention that I haven't really updated much on how I feel lately and, in the interest of keeping this useful for future patients, I figure I ought to keep a running commentary or symptoms, related sensations, etc.

A lot of what is going on right now has to do with the diet. I am down to about 117 pounds from 130 (I am usually around 120, but held onto about 10lbs after having O so that I didn't fade away to nothing during this recovery period). I have been eating as well as can be expected - five to six small meals each day of various foods. That said, I am still feeling the effect of the lack of fuel in my body - I am always tired and always cold. I am also having low blood pressure head-rushes of epic proportions; the kind that absolutely blind you and leave you grasping for a solid hold in order to keep from falling down. I haven't had them like this in many years.

The other significant aspect of recent days is the ache. Since the addition of the elastics, my face and head have constantly ached to some degree or another. I've been taking Advil every day around supper time, just to get through the evening without turning into a raging bear.

Other minor things: I've had to apply wax to some sharp bits because they've been irritating my healing mouth. This took some skill - get the wax on there without poking the stitches or shifting anything and, of course, without opening my mouth. I've been *pissed* off to the degree that I nearly threw a temper-tantrum comparable to Orin's because eating is such a challenge at times. There is still some subtle swelling in various places, which I understand will go down over the next few months. The bruising is gone entirely, I think. My gums, which were zombie-white immediately after the surgery, are now a lovely shade a pink.

I think that about sums it up.

Day 14 - This shall go down in infamy as the day of the crank

Today is the first one since very early days that I would consider myself to be in pain. My jaw aches and I have a pretty solid headache as well. I can't seem to shake it.
Add to this the fact that I am quite tired (can't seem to get a decent sleep for the life of me and still seem to be catching up) and I will self-diagnose myself as being a bit of a crank-pot today.
Today's pics: