One thing about the "nervous" part is the change in my appearance. My nurse told me to expect a lot of change. She said, "you can't move jaws forward 8mm and correct deviated septum and not see change". I hope it is a good change. She then went on to tell me about a patient she had once that needed counseling due to he couldn't get used to the change in his appearance. She said he looked great, but just had issues with the difference. Has anyone else heard of this?
All I know is I will be happy when I stop biting the inside of my mouth every time I eat, and I can chew and swallow without looking as if I ate the whole thing at one time, and my TMJ stops hurting, and I can breath when I lay down. All this should make it worth it. I sure hope so anyway.
My pre op appointment is March 31st so I guess I will fill you in more then. Hope you all are doing well. See ya.
How exciting Rita, we'll be surgery buddies! Mine is on the 8th of April.
ReplyDeleteIn my case I will welcome the change, but I am still nervous about not liking the outcome. I'm sure the difference will mainly be from the profile angle, which is not something you see in the mirror a lot. It's still scary, after having had your own face for so many years and then suddenly having a new one!
I'm trying to think of it a little like having a new drastic haircut... at first you have to remind yourself it's you in the mirror, but after a while you forget what you looked like before... Or so I'm hoping!
And I know how you feel about it being soon - even though I have had time to prepare, have tons of schoolwork to give in and moving house 2 weeks before! So will be too busy to stress about it!!!
Thanks V. I really love having someone who understands what I am dealing with. I am sure we both will do great and "look" great too. You are right about the hair thing. I know a lady who had a band put into her stomach to help her lose weigh. At first it was a shock to see the difference in her, but now it's hard to remember what she looked like before. That is pretty cool. We need to post pictures so we will have a before and after. Thanks for the comment! Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteHi Rita! I just had upper and lower on Feb. 24th. I am still a little swollen in the cheeks so I can't tell exactly what I look like yet... but I would tell you not to be too nervous about the difference. I can definitely see a difference, especially in my profile, but there are still parts of the "old me" there too. I had a pretty massive underbite, so they did a lot of moving around, and I still think I look like me, just tweaked a little. V nailed it with the haircut thing... it's different, but it's still you.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!!!!!!!!
Hi RITA ... thanks for the comment on my blog.
ReplyDeleteSome things that I will say about my experience ...
I had very little pain (I stayed on top of my pain meds)
Immediately following surgery the worst part was a sore throat from the tube
I was lucky in that I didn't really experience nausea post op ... some people say the blood that goes into your stomach from the surgery can make you sick (I was given IV meds that had an anti-nausea med)
I made sure to ice my face for the first week ... at least in the evening while I layed in bed.
The biggest pain for me has been the diet part. I am thoroughly annoyed that I can't eat real food. Make sure you have some good soups on hand, ingredients for protein fruit shakes (I use a whey powder), puddings, ice cream. Of course you need a good blender or a Magic Bullet.
I really am happy with my profile, but I am still getting used to my frontal look. I still have swelling, so it's hard to tell what my final outcome will be. I do think it will be all worth it in the end.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU.
*Feel free to email me if you have ?????'s
I know your surgery is just around the corner, good luck with the Pre-Op coming up next week! Don't stress yourself too much, its not near as bad as you might think. :))
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the positive comments and help. I think this is so cool to have friends with the same thing going on in life and truly understand. : )
ReplyDelete