I'm quite happy with my healing so I plan to share many of the recipes for liquidized meals my mother has come up with in order to help anyone going through this surgery.
This post I'll talk about my experience for the first 2 days I was in hospital.
Here's a few pictures of me before the surgery. I had an underbite which was corrected by moving my top jaw forward 4mm and the bottom back 2mm.
When I arrived at the hospital I was weighed and told to change into robes and produce a urine sample. I then had to wait for about an hour until I they confirmed a bed for me after the surgery.
I kept expecting myself to get nervous, but it never came. I wanted this surgery way too much and waited far too long to get nervous. I surprised the doctors and nurses who kept looking at me like I was deranged. I was like a child on Christmas morning!
I was wheeled into the anesthetic room, given a relaxant through an IV (which feels great, not gonna lie! Pugs not Drugs people!) Then the next thing I knew I was waking up.
Now I dont want to scare anyone, but I'm telling an account of my experience so Im gonna be honest. I woke up to a lot of doctors and nurses surrounding me looking worried. My heart rate had gone up to 160 and there was a rash on my chest. They kept asking my was I allergic to morphine and I kept saying no as I knew I had morphine when I got my wisdom teeth removed over a year ago. Anyway because of that scare I had to stay in the recovery room for 4 hours which kinda sucked.
Waking up is a bit claustrophobic. If you're having double jaw surgery (or bottom jaw) you will have a bandage wrapped around your entire face and you will find it difficult to breathe. They give you an oxygen mask which really helps with the breathing. Expect your nose to bleed quite a bit. They stuck a bandage underneath mine to catch the blood. You wont look pretty.
The first night in the hospital was very tough for me. I suggest loading your iPod with soothing soundtracks and songs that relax you. I recently downloaded the Life of Pi soundtrack which really helped me catch a few hours sleep.
Because they insert a tube down your throat during the surgery, my throat felt raw and sore. It felt like it kept lining itself with mucous and I was afraid of suffocating. Thats perfectly normal you just have to keep calm during this. I told the night nurse I was afraid of the mucous suffocating me and she gave me a mask with moist oxygen in it. This really helped.
The music helped drown out the noises of the ward and focused my mind elsewhere.
In the morning you are given anti-swelling, anti-nausea and antibiotics through your IV. I didnt much like the feeling of fluids in my veins but its not so bad.
My surgeon came to see me the next morning and removed my head bandages which was a huge relief. This was when I first saw my 'new face'. I couldnt believe how much smaller and shorter it was.
He told me to go down to his clinic in the hospital and he would wash my face rinse my mouth out for me. I then had to get X-Rays done. He told me I should keep my hair tied up. As I walked down the corridors of the hospital with my hair up I will never forget how 'free' I felt. Now I have to remember I was still pretty pumped with drugs, but all my life I've NEVER tied my hair up as I've always hated my profile and my long face. Even with a swollen face, I walked down those corridors with a new sense of freedom. It was amazing.
My lips were veeeery swollen. They took quite a beating during surgery. My only advice would be to lather on vaseline and lip treatment in the weeks leading up to the surgery. I know I forgot to do this and my lips are still swollen, but its perfectly normal.
After that I returned to my room and waited until visiting hours when my mum dad and aunt could visit. Visiting hours were terrible in my hospital, 2-3pm and 7-8pm.
Word of advice, apply arnica cream religiously. I started applying it the minute my bandages came off and I have yet to bruise badly. My relations couldnt believe the difference in my face. They hadn't seen me since the bandages were removed and weren't even sure if it was me in the bed or not. I was given a bit of soup and some tea that evening. I put some Manuka honey into the tea to help my throat.
Night 2 I slept a little easier but it was still uncomfortable. I didn't need oxygen this time. The nurses gave me nose drops to help with the congestion. You're not allowed to blow your nose for a few weeks after the surgery so you will experience a lot of congestion. Sleeping upright was a pain too.
The next morning I was given softened warm Weetabix which a slurped down and more tea which I added honey to again. Really recommend doing that, you get a nice burst of energy. My surgeon came to see me and told me I was doing well so I could go home that day. I was so happy not to have to spend another night in the hospital. The nutritionist came to see me and talked me through a leaflet of a diet plan. My mother's is 100 times better, just say'n heh.
The ride home was pretty emotional. My swelling had gotten worse and I began to get scared of my reflection. Thoughts like "what are people going to think?!" kept coming into my head. The swelling really does throw you off. It's why I'm glad I waited a week to write this blog. If I had written it on day 2 or 3 I would have had a totally different mind frame.
The picture says day 4 but its was actually Day 3, sorry!
The swelling got worse on Day 4. Days 3-7 really are very tough and you just HAVE to keep remembering that it is worth it. Strive for day 7, its when I finally felt more myself.
Above is when I was most swollen on Day 4. I remember sobbing uncontrollably as I convinced myself that I had no chin and that I'd made a huge mistake. This was just the swelling though so I cant stress enough how important it is to wait it out before you make any judgements!
You can see the difference a day makes in terms of swelling.
I just cant believe how much smaller my face is and I'm so happy. No more hiding my chin in a scarf walking down the street, or being self conscious to tie up my hair! Things normal people really dont think twice about. I cant wait until I can try out my new smile though!
Gonna go to bed now but I'll write up a post about the things I did to prepare myself for surgery and also a list of recipes to keep your health at its best during recovery!
He told me to go down to his clinic in the hospital and he would wash my face rinse my mouth out for me. I then had to get X-Rays done. He told me I should keep my hair tied up. As I walked down the corridors of the hospital with my hair up I will never forget how 'free' I felt. Now I have to remember I was still pretty pumped with drugs, but all my life I've NEVER tied my hair up as I've always hated my profile and my long face. Even with a swollen face, I walked down those corridors with a new sense of freedom. It was amazing.My lips were veeeery swollen. They took quite a beating during surgery. My only advice would be to lather on vaseline and lip treatment in the weeks leading up to the surgery. I know I forgot to do this and my lips are still swollen, but its perfectly normal.
After that I returned to my room and waited until visiting hours when my mum dad and aunt could visit. Visiting hours were terrible in my hospital, 2-3pm and 7-8pm.
Word of advice, apply arnica cream religiously. I started applying it the minute my bandages came off and I have yet to bruise badly. My relations couldnt believe the difference in my face. They hadn't seen me since the bandages were removed and weren't even sure if it was me in the bed or not. I was given a bit of soup and some tea that evening. I put some Manuka honey into the tea to help my throat.
Night 2 I slept a little easier but it was still uncomfortable. I didn't need oxygen this time. The nurses gave me nose drops to help with the congestion. You're not allowed to blow your nose for a few weeks after the surgery so you will experience a lot of congestion. Sleeping upright was a pain too.The next morning I was given softened warm Weetabix which a slurped down and more tea which I added honey to again. Really recommend doing that, you get a nice burst of energy. My surgeon came to see me and told me I was doing well so I could go home that day. I was so happy not to have to spend another night in the hospital. The nutritionist came to see me and talked me through a leaflet of a diet plan. My mother's is 100 times better, just say'n heh.
The ride home was pretty emotional. My swelling had gotten worse and I began to get scared of my reflection. Thoughts like "what are people going to think?!" kept coming into my head. The swelling really does throw you off. It's why I'm glad I waited a week to write this blog. If I had written it on day 2 or 3 I would have had a totally different mind frame.
The picture says day 4 but its was actually Day 3, sorry!
The swelling got worse on Day 4. Days 3-7 really are very tough and you just HAVE to keep remembering that it is worth it. Strive for day 7, its when I finally felt more myself.
Above is when I was most swollen on Day 4. I remember sobbing uncontrollably as I convinced myself that I had no chin and that I'd made a huge mistake. This was just the swelling though so I cant stress enough how important it is to wait it out before you make any judgements!
You can see the difference a day makes in terms of swelling.
I just cant believe how much smaller my face is and I'm so happy. No more hiding my chin in a scarf walking down the street, or being self conscious to tie up my hair! Things normal people really dont think twice about. I cant wait until I can try out my new smile though!
Gonna go to bed now but I'll write up a post about the things I did to prepare myself for surgery and also a list of recipes to keep your health at its best during recovery!
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