Week 1 Summary

I was only in the hospital for 1 night. I know this isn't the best reason, but that's what I wanted - money-wise. I am writing this on the third week, and I have yet to receive the hospital bill. I was told a reasonable deductible fee when I spoke with the finance department. But I'm scared of the surprise hospital fees. The biggest headache of this experience was dealing with the insurance and trying to find out what is covered.

Overall, the swelling was worse this week. I had trouble sleeping. I didn't buy special pillows to prop myself upright. My back aches. Not much pain in the mouth. Well, I can't feel anything...

DAY 1: Discharged at the hospital
The night nurse was pretty good at changing the ice packs every hour. They get warm rather quickly. Unfortunately, this resulted in waking me up every hour. Needless to say I didn't have a great night's sleep. But overall, I felt better. My overall pain tolerance during my stay at the hospital was a 4-7.

I was ready to go home. The doctor came in around 11am to check up on me. He wanted to make sure I was able to eat... ahem... drink on my own. "Drink like a fish," he said. Which I did. It was so nice to drink something. My throat was so dry! I opted for the apple juice. I tried the cranberry juice next, but way too tart for a dry throat. Later, the nurse walked me around the ICU ward to make sure I'm able to move around. I passed! I left around 2pm.

First Look:
In the car ride, I finally looked at a mirror. Eek! There were lines (tears?) on the right side. Very thin, but still shocking. My doctor warned this may happen because they have to stretch my mouth considerably. The jaw bra hid most of my face. It was at home I finally saw it. My face was so square! It was bizarre.

DAY 2: Return to the doctor
When I saw my doctor, the first thing he said was "Are you ok?" Apparently, I may have had a look of concern on my face. He observed the fact that maybe he didn't prepare me for the swelling. He did. Actually, his nurse did. She told me to expect the worse. And just when you think it is going down, it may stop. But don't worry, it takes weeks. And it will get to the point where you look normal to people who don't know you. Only you will know that it's not quite there. But don't panic... be patient.

So why was I so shocked? I think I didn't expect my face to take on a different shape. Like I said in the beginning of this blog, I didn't discover the ortho blogs until after my surgery. Seeing people's photos have helped tremendously! Seeing that people's swelling and bruising varies.

When they weighed me, it appeared that I lost 10lbs. I thought I was doing well. I ate a strained Chicken Noodle Soup that day.

DAY 3: So Weak
Juice and broth aren't enough to keep my energy level up. The doctor advised to take walks. Staying active helps with the healing. But I was way too weak to take a walk.

DAY 4: Finally Eating
My husband made a delicious Tarragon Mushroom soup (I'll post the recipe later) Didn't mean to make it complicated, but we had the ingredients and I didn't want it to go to waste.
One thing I noticed is that flavors are extremely intense right at this time. My senses are strong. Breathing through an oxygen mask over 24 hours at the hospital has made my sense of smell very strong. In the hospital I can smell everything. EVERYTHING. I don’t need to say more but various people helped me put on the jaw bra on my head. Not sure if it is completely due to the fresh oxygen air or the fact that I was in a sterile environment.

DAY 5:
Slight bruising is starting to appear on the right. Very minor yellowing. But the swelling and numbness is worse on the left side. I still can't fell anything on my lower half of my face. The peeling of my lips is more apparent when my lips are wet after rinsing. They aren't dry.

DAY 6: Doctor Visits
The day I will see my orthodontist and surgeon, my WaterPik stops working. My mouth feels gross. I can only brush the front teeth with my Winnie the Pooh Kid's toothbrush. I rinse with the the Chlorhexidine Gluconate Rinse - but this leaves a blue film on the braces. I use a Q-tip to clean up the sides of my mouth. But I'm a little scared to go near the surgery area. I can't feel anything and I'm scared that I may hit an area I shouldn't. Earlier this week, I accidentally moved my waterpik in the wrong area. Even at the lowest setting and through the numbness, it was painful!

I was taken off the elastics earlier this week. My initial X-Ray revealed that my alignment shifted. My surgeon feared that he may have to go back in and move the plates. Yikes! But he adjusted the elastics. They took another X-Ray (without that mouth piece to keep you straight) and things were in order.

I have a considerable amount of swelling on my left side, hence the shift in alignment where the cut appears.



My weight went up since my last visits (damn!) due to the added protein in my shakes. When asked how I was doing, I told my doctor that I had trouble sleeping. I declined a prescription for sleeping pills. My trouble sleeping was due to discomfort. My back ached considerably. The Codeine made me feel nauseous. He prescribed a muscle relaxer, which helped.