Feeding Time

Day 3: Oh the Pain!

I've read probably hundreds of blogs of other orthognathic patients and most say that there is little pain and it is mainly uncomfortable. And that is due to the face that during surgery there is usually a lot of nerve damage and so most of the face is completely numb so one can't feel the pain. My surgeon told me that I had a thick lower jaw so there was not very much nerve damage there and I should regain feeling in that area quickly. So just to clarify I disagree with most of the blogs I have read. I am in a lot of pain and in a lot of discomfort. I know a part of that is all the puking that occurred on day one and. The Dr. also  said my swelling will peak around day 5 and at day 3 I can't imagine my skin swelling up any more! I'm also wondering if some of the sensations I am already having are related to the essential oils that I have been using. A lot of them have properties like regenerate tissue (helichrysum), strengthening connective tissue (cypress), improves blood flow (geranium), regenerative (lavender), connective tissue regenerates (lemongrass). Many of the oils are also anti-inflammatory so I am planning on the swelling to go down really soon. Until then, the oils are providing me with the frequent relief that I need.

On a happy note I was able to take off my ice pack and get my first real look at my new profile. Obviously I am very swollen so the end result will look a lot different, but I already like what I see!

oh la la!

Now here I am syringing up some blended potato soup and the grape juice! Yum!

Jaw Journey Day 2: Home from the hospital!

Trent says when this is all said and done I will be one "Hot Mama!" 

I don't quite think I am there yet

Day 2 was a lot better than day 1. For starters I was no longer throwing up, yay me! and I was able to get some food down. The highlight of that day was cream soup at the hospital and at home Trent blended up some taco soup that one of my visiting teachers had brought by. It was delish, but man it is a workout getting anything substantial down!   

The swelling was also worse today. And fyi my head is bandaged up with an ice pack that is connected to a cooler full of ice that circulates cold water around my head. Not really as scary as it looks.

My Jaw Journey Day 1

September 20 was a lovely day. Probably one of the worst I've ever had. Yep it was that bad. But there were some good things about it. The first was my lovely husband was able to give me a priesthood blessing the night before and in it he told me that the surgeon that I had selected was the right surgeon and his hands would be guided and everything would go really well ( that was a big relief). He also told me that this would be an uncomfortable experience and there would be many people who would be willing to help serve me and my family and I needed to let them because they needed the blessings. The last thing that stood out to me was that although my surgery will correct some very functional things it will also be a great stepping stone in gaining the self confidence and and self esteem that I have lacked and so desperately wanted for so many years. For the past year I have been consumed with getting this surgery and how I will look, but in the blessing I was told that after I am healed it will be time for me to forget thinking about myself and go and serve others.

So my day started with arriving at the hospital at 5:30 am and checking in. They took some tests and concluded that I was not pregnant and that my white blood cell count was low because I had been fighting a sore throat. I changed into a lovely gown and had a nice chat with my surgeon and other hospital staff then I gave my glasses to Trent, started to cry ( I'm a very emotional person) and they wheeled me off to the operating room. The rest of the day was honestly a blur. I remember Trent telling me that the nurses had kept him updated during the 5 hour surgery and the surgeon had told him everything went extremely well with no complications. I also remember Trent feeding me little squirts of water and juice out of a syringe and how hard it was to swallow because my throat hurt SO bad! I guess during the surgery I had a tube inserted in one nostril that went down into my stomach to suck up blood and another tube in the other nostril to help me breathe.

Then the fun really started. When I was in 6th grade I had my tonsils out and had a hard time getting enough food in my stomach before I took my pain medicine and the result was I threw up. I had the same problem now. I was hooked up to an IV for pain, but because I couldn't really eat anything I started throwing up. Now I don't enjoy throwing up, but I was prepared that this might happen because of the anesthesia and blood draining into my stomach so to just let it happen, and so I did. But it kept happening and especially after I had a dose of pain medicine. It was one of the worst experiences throwing up blood with my mouth banded shut and having my jaw broken in at least 4 places. Oh and my nose would also start bleeding really bad every time tried to get up making it harder to breath. I thought that a person loses all of their dignity with childbirth, but I would have to say that jaw surgery is worse. It was TERRIBLE! And it was obvious that the nursing staff felt so sorry for me as well, BUT obviously I survived. Because I am able to blog! Now most of you know that I love my doTERRA essential oils and so obviously I didn't forget them here. Before surgery I had done tons and tons of research and had been taking Frankincense in a capsule the week before as well as rubbing it on my gums where the surgeon was going to be cutting. The day of surgery when I wasn't able to take the medicine without vomiting, the only relief I got was from my oils. I had made a roll on of Frankincense (for inflammation) Breathe (to obviously help me breathe), and peppermint and lavender for swelling. So those definitely helped me survive, but I was also lucky enough to have my sweet dad come and give me a fathers blessing and after that I knew I would be ok.

Why Orthognathic Surgery?

September 20th was the big day! And I am definitely feeling it. Most people have never heard of the term orthognathic surgery so let me just clue you in. Some people have told me I don't need it and it is cosmetic including my insurance company, but I disagree.

So this is an overbite. Where the top teeth overlap the bottom teeth. This makes biting, chewing, and overall eating a challenge. Also causes TMJ pain and my overbite also made it hard to close my mouth.

This is how I must have looked to people who were shorter than me (which was most people) so sad and embarrassing.

I was also fortunate enough to have a gummy smile. Which never really bugged me that much, but it aided in the problem of closing my mouth. FYI when a person relaxes their lips are supposed to touch.  It is evident that I had quiet a bit of lip incompetence. So why does that matter? Well because it was so difficult for me to close my mouth I would wake up with sore throats everyday.

Lastly I had a receded chin, which does not provide a very pleasant profile, it contributes to the other problems mentioned above and it also restricts my airway and makes it really hard to breathe because my lower jaw is back so far. I will try to post pre-op x-rays if I can to illustrate that point.

So there you have it people some very flattering photos of me! So orthognathic surgery will correct all of those issues!

Don't Eat in the Dark!

This summer my mom and I have spent our Thursday nights at the Pleasant Grove Promenade sharing the oils with people. It is like the Freedom festival in Provo where a lot of people have booths and food and people come and hang out and have a good time.  Last night my dad brought us some brownies, but because of my braces I didn't want to eat them and then risk talking to people with brownies all in my teeth so we covered them and set them by a tree behind our booth (big mistake). When the promenade ended that night my mom and I started to eat our brownies while we were cleaning up. My mom finished hers and as I was eating mine I had a couple of sharp pains in my mouth. I thought I had broke a bracket or a wire or something. I then noticed that there were ants all over the table that were cleaning up. I grabbed a light and looked closer and that is when I realized that the ants were also all over the BROWNIES!!!!! And the pain I was feeling were the ants BITING ME!!! I was EATING ANTS!!! Luckily I had only ate a couple of bites. My poor mom had finished her entire brownie without noticing anything. My dad kept telling us that it was good protein, but I disagree. I do not enjoy biting protein. Obviously I freaked out because not only were there ants in my mouth biting me, but I was worried that they were stuck in my braces. Whenever I eat I always ask somebody if there is any food in my teeth, but it was a first when I turned to my mom and asked if there were any ANTS in my teeth! Yep, pretty traumatized, and it wasn't until I got home where there was more light that I found the ant that was indeed stuck in my rubber bands. EWWWWW!!!!! But although is was not a good experience I would have to agree that it was probably more traumatizing for the ants. So please don't eat in the dark!

8 months and counting

Over the last 8 months a lot has happened. At first nobody really noticed unless I told them, and as the months went by more people did. I started getting more and more self conscious. Certain things started getting bigger and more obvious, and the sleeping now is a joke! I am constantly uncomfortable and in pain. I am also so tired because of the lack of sleep and it is getting harder and harder to breathe. I look at my calendar multiple times a day to see how much longer I have and willing time to move faster. At night I think about the outcome and how happy I will be and how much better I will feel. Seems like I have been waiting forever, but Hopefully the end is near! That's right everybody! If all goes as planned, sometime in September I will become a mother of three! Just kidding I am not pregnant, but that is honestly how I feel minus the whole baby part. I am 8 months into my process of having orthognathic surgery (jaw surgery)! I know really exciting huh? If you have talked to me in the lately you most likely know this, because I tend to talk about it A LOT. So sorry guys, but I can't seem to help it. I am just so darn excited to have my jaw broken in multiple places and I can't even begin to describe how happy I was when my surgeon told me he will teach me in the hospital how to eat out of a syringe! Yep, good days ahead for me!

It will not be the most fun time of my life, but the outcome will be worth it. To actually be able to close my mouth and have my teeth fit together correctly will be great. I can't wait for the day I can put my hair in a ponytail and not be self conscious. And the day I get my braces off! That will probably be up there with my wedding day and when my children were born. I am planning on having a huge party full of corn on the cob, caramel apples, popcorn, nuts, carrots etc... Too bad I probably have a year before that day comes, but when it does feel free to pay me the highest compliment possible by saying things like, "You have a really nice profile!" or "Hey Jen! I like your chin!"


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