Day 21 (Three weeks post-op)

Three weeks since getting my jaw broken. Damn. I feel like I am finally starting to see the results I was hoping for when I first decided to pursue getting the surgery. The swelling has gone down a bit but I have just given up hoping it will go away quickly. Some people seem to have less swelling but most of those people only had surgery on one jaw, either top or bottom, whereas my surgery was slightly more invasive because they pulled my top jaw forward, shaved down part of my growth platelet, re-positioned my lower jaw and then my chin.

I can almost smile normally now but I am definitely hyper-aware of my braces, most college students don't have braces so it makes me feel like a middle schooler. Another thing I noticed is I have gaps between my teeth now, I knew my teeth were shifting but I am definitely going to have my ortho do something about that. I am breaking out like crazy! My skin is normally pretty clear but I have been eating a weird diet lately, on top of that my skin is shiny because of the swelling. I also feel obligated to explain why I talk weird and kind of mumble-y. I'm pretty socially awkward to begin with so adding acne, braces and a strange lisp into the mix is basically like an instant flashback to 6th grade. I was reading through a syllabus for one of my classes and read "group presentation" and instantly shuddered at the thought of having to talk in front of the class like this. On the phone with my mom last night was a struggle too because she said "I can't understand you" like three times. I really have to enunciate to make sure I get all the words out.

On the bright side, I now have a really good "fun fact" for the first day of classes (Lesley professors are really into ice breakers). "Hi, I'm Bailey, I just had double jaw surgery so please don't judge me if I drool. Thanks".

My face is still numb in some spots and I have mapped that out in a picture for you. I can feel most of my cheeks and parts of my lips, its most noticeable when I first wake up and it feels like pins and needles. My chin is numb but in this really freaky ultra-sensitive way, like I can feel when I touch my chin but it almost tingles in a painful way? Its so hard to describe.

Also, jaw surgery pro-tip: get the Crest Pro-Health whitening mouth wash. My teeth feel so much cleaner since I started using it.


9:30 pm UPDATE: So I just got back from class. Longest day of my life. between the heat, having to walk everywhere while the shuttle schedule is still messed up and having to talk and attempt smiling all day I am exhausted. I noticed halfway through my last class that my cheeks kind of hurt and I must have been accidentally clenching my jaw during the day because the joints hurt too. Not so much that I need to take anything just sort of achey. I blame this on trying to have facial expressions and needing to talk all day. Around 3:00 I noticed that talking was taking a lot more effort than it usually does and I think the muscles in my cheeks and jaw just weren't used to working that hard that consistently. On a better note, I heard from the doctor and I can take the bands off for short periods of time, like for eating and brushing but I should not leave them off for more than 30 minutes "within the first 5 week post op period" this gives me hope that the bands come off at my next appointment but I'm not banking on it just yet. The main thing is to not over open while my jaw is still healing. I can start incorporating harder foods in about ten days and SLOWLY transition into food that requires more chewing. And now I am going to lay in front of my fan and hope Boston freezes over tonight.