HOLY SHITBALLS BATMAN IT'S BEEN FIVE MONTHS. Almost...I am three days early but honestly, I'm bored and I took a cute selfie yesterday. Don't judge me.
Swelling: Mostly gone but when its really cold, I sleep on one side too long or I eat something particularly chewy I notice some extra swelling. But for the most part its gone, Mama lady even says that I'm getting my cheekbones back.
Eating/Braces: EVERYTHING. I can open almost all the way. I can fit two fingers in my mouth but I'm a little less than 40-42mm according to my orthodontist, who by the way says the braces can come off in March/April. All thats left to do is move one tooth and how long can that take really? He put a bend in the wire that is supposed to do that, and gave me new bands (penguin size whatever that means) I only wear one on the right side and only at night/at home. I have found it to be too much of a pain in the ass to wear bands during the day in public.
Jaw Pain: When its really cold/raining/snowing my jaw hurts pretty bad and it twitches but apparently that is normal...I emailed Yale about it. Nothing Tylenol can't fix. But I don't feel like my face is broken anymore so thats awesome!
Weight Loss: I lost almost 50 lbs. But I gained about 7 of it back over break though because I haven't been working out the way I do at school. I go back next week though, I start my internship and I will not have time to relax and lay in bed anymore so I'm not that concerned about losing it again. Again, let me emphasize that that is NOT normal for most jaw surgery recipients nor do I recommend a liquid diet or a restricted diet for weight loss. The first 15-20 lbs was lost thanks to the restricted diet, the last leg of the weight loss was largely due to stress, walking everywhere and small portion sizes.
Advice: Once you're comfortable chewing again, chew gum. I think doing that has really helped increase my chewing tolerance and my range of motion.
