After 10 weeks of post surgery healing I found myself back at U of M hospital, Ann Arbor, MI. This is the day I might get to open my mouth. I was pretty anxious to see what was going to happen, I sat in the dental chair that I've become so familiar with over the past 6 months and proceeded to talk with the Dr. about my healing. What hurts, what is numb, how is my sleeping, inner ear pain / fluid. Then it came down the question of if I was going to open my mouth today, the Dr. resident was saying yes, we would put on some weaker bands that would allow me to open my mouth, but he needed the blessing of Dr. Helman, the department head, and master sleep apnea MMA/BIMAX surgeon. Except one thing, the resident miscalculated my time and told him it was 9.5 weeks, and we were really at ten, so when Dr. Helman came and said they were going to keep me wired shut, I was like....no......its been 10 weeks. With a little discussion of dates we convinced him and he gave his blessing.
Moments later, they removed the bands, and he told me to open. I tried to open and basically could not. It only moved a tiny bit, millimeters....... and it hurt......the muscles and joints that had not been used in 10 weeks failed to much of anything. This is expected I guess. The Dr. said this is normal and that it will get better as I use them. So I was sent home the promise that in another 2 weeks they would remove my arch bars and bands for good. Yay!!! Of course I get to scheduling and find out they don't have and opening for 3 weeks. Grrr.... but I've lasted this long and now that I'm able to open I think this last 3 weeks will be a cake walk (mmmm speaking of cake, maybe I can eat some!! )
On the way home I tried to eat french fries from McDonald's....couldn't even get a fry into my mouth....so I ate soup when I got home, this was not what I had in mind. I was hoping for a buffet and extreme eating!! The next day however was another story. I was able to eat scrambled eggs, and oatmeal, WITHOUT a blender involved. THIS IS PROGRESS!!!! Mind you it took me an hour to eat an egg and a small bowl of oatmeal, but I was VERY happy to have some real food sitting in my stomach. Its the simple things that make life what it is......eating eggs brought me extreme joy. Something that has eluded me for 10 weeks.
As of this writing I'm now 10 weeks and 4 days. I'm still not opening wide to chomp through any food, but its getting a little better every day. I can open nearly twice as wide as I could on day one. I actually fit some buttered toast in my mouth and bit it. Small steps I guess. So the Bimax surgery some extremes and in the end stretch, the minimum opening is the current extreme you focus on.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Bimax = maximum discomfort
8 and 1/2 weeks past my Bimax surgery. I'm a mostly functional human being again. There are some exceptions. My body gets wore out pretty quick most days. I think it is mostly due to being down so long. Laying around a lot in the early weeks has led to fatigue now that I'm active. I'm still not eating solids, the liquid diet is no fun. Pain is still limited to the teeth area. Numbness is still a factor, although I think I'm getting a little more feeling in my left lower chin. I'm hoping for a full recovery on the nerve damage. Overall I'm still pretty miserable though.
The Bimax surgery (aka MMA) does a real number on you comfort wise.
I'm still very cautious about getting hit in the chin, worried if I get bumped it's going hurt and possibly do some damage. I went down a water slide the other day, and hit my butt on the pool bottom. I felt a little bit of pain in the jaw, the jostle was enough to remind me I'm still healing.
So I have an appointment in 1 1/2 weeks. Looking forward to the possibility of removing or loosening the bands so I can open my mouth even a little. I still find looking in the mirror is strange. My face I think is settled into what appears to be my final new look. I look different. Most say they notice I lost weight, only 1 or 2 people I know, said they most likely wouldn't recognize me if they didn't know it was me. I've not been on a scale in a couple weeks, so I'm not sure of any more weight loss. My guess, maybe 35-40 by now...only a guess.
My sleep still appears to be good, I'm curious to have a follow up sleep study to prove that I'm "cured".
Back to what is still bothering me......my sinuses. My inner ears are still full. Making hearing a chore. Talking is hard too. All I hear is myself, and you can't talk at the same time as anyone else as your own voice is amplified and overpowers anyone else talking in the room. This brings new meaning to "he like to hear himself talk!" Only I don't really....I rather not talk or listen to myself talk.
So what can I tell you about 8 weeks plus? It's still very frustrating, keeping positive is hard, pain is minimal, the desire to chew food is extreme. I'm not back to normal yet, and it feels like it will never happen, even though I know it will.
PS. I found most restaurants will blend their soups for you...sometimes you have to ask for the manager to get it done(Applebees). But most are very accommodating.
The Bimax surgery (aka MMA) does a real number on you comfort wise.
I'm still very cautious about getting hit in the chin, worried if I get bumped it's going hurt and possibly do some damage. I went down a water slide the other day, and hit my butt on the pool bottom. I felt a little bit of pain in the jaw, the jostle was enough to remind me I'm still healing.
So I have an appointment in 1 1/2 weeks. Looking forward to the possibility of removing or loosening the bands so I can open my mouth even a little. I still find looking in the mirror is strange. My face I think is settled into what appears to be my final new look. I look different. Most say they notice I lost weight, only 1 or 2 people I know, said they most likely wouldn't recognize me if they didn't know it was me. I've not been on a scale in a couple weeks, so I'm not sure of any more weight loss. My guess, maybe 35-40 by now...only a guess.
My sleep still appears to be good, I'm curious to have a follow up sleep study to prove that I'm "cured".
Back to what is still bothering me......my sinuses. My inner ears are still full. Making hearing a chore. Talking is hard too. All I hear is myself, and you can't talk at the same time as anyone else as your own voice is amplified and overpowers anyone else talking in the room. This brings new meaning to "he like to hear himself talk!" Only I don't really....I rather not talk or listen to myself talk.
So what can I tell you about 8 weeks plus? It's still very frustrating, keeping positive is hard, pain is minimal, the desire to chew food is extreme. I'm not back to normal yet, and it feels like it will never happen, even though I know it will.
PS. I found most restaurants will blend their soups for you...sometimes you have to ask for the manager to get it done(Applebees). But most are very accommodating.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Clearing the sinus of a elephant?
7 Weeks post BI-MAX operation and I'm still wired shut. The good part.....I still think I'm sleeping much better...My total weight loss is around 30 pounds. I'm getting around much better than I have been.
The bad part...well... NOT EATING REAL FOOD. Liquid diet gets really old. Any food I see looks good. To smell them makes it worse. It's torture to watch someone eat a cheeseburger. I was watching "Survivor" and even the rice they were eating looked good!! "Survivor food", who would ever think that looks good???? ME!!! Chewing food brings more pleasure than you realize. I know people enjoy eating, look at our society, we are a pleasure eaters...all of us. But take away just one small thing...the ability to chew your food, you gain a whole new perspective on eating. You can live on a liquid diet, solids are NOT required to sustain life, but I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy, its just not any fun.
As for other physical issues. My teeth ache....all the pressure of wires around every tooth, metal bars along my gum lines, and rubber bands holding my jaws together makes my teeth hurt. For anyone who has had braces, its very similar to that pain. Lips are still on the dry cracked side....without your tongue to help moisten them from time to time, they get dried out, crack, peal, and bleed (if your pick at them like it do).
So then there is the sinus issues next. This surgery really messes up your sinuses. It changes your whole face. It was best described to me by my family doctor. Basically you sinuses are like a fluid pump, with your jaw movement as the pump. So guess what, with your jaw wired shut the pump isn't working, the sinus fluid has no place to go. And where is it going with me? In my inner ear canals. This is a major annoyance. Its like your ears become amplifiers at a rock concert for all the sounds in your body. Breathing, heartbeat, gurgles, and talking is LOUD. Blowing your nose, well that is no fun, it puts positive pressure in your sinus and causes more to go into your ears. The fix for this has been to recline, drink something, or plug your nose, close your mouth and suck in...this pulls it out....but only temporarily. Hello decongestant, now I think the people at the pharmacy think I'm cooking meth. I got a bottle of psuedofedrine that could clear the sinus of an elephant!
So during the first few weeks, I had a pretty solid pain on the back side of my right ear, it hurt pretty bad when I touched it. I mentioned it at my 2 week follow up. The surgeons told me it was normal to have ear pain. And blew it off without really looking at it. The pain almost went completely away, but with all this inner ear pain I touched that spot again and I felt just a hint of pain. And it was squishy to touch. Come to find out there was a large cyst back there full of blood and puss. Went to the Dr. and she drained and cultured it....thinking it may have been infected she put me on anti-biotics. Best we can think is that this was the place where they CLAMPED MY HEAD TO THE TABLE, so they could stand on my face an saw my skull into 4 pieces, and the trauma to my ear made the cyst!
On the good and bad front is the remaining numbness. Most of my upper lip and nose area has feeling has come back, and in the last few days, I've started to feel things on my lower right lip and chin, left side is still very much dead feeling. Although, again in the last few days, I've felt little twinges in the left side. I think this is a good sign I will regain all feeling in my face, one can only hope. The lack of feeling is strange......its like a dental numbing gone horribly wrong!
My family doctor asked me one of the all important questions. Was it worth it? My answer at this point is, "I think it will be". Right now, I'm still pretty miserable as the above describes, but its part of the healing process. Long term, the big picture.....Despite the severe interruption in life, the pain, the numbness, the altering of how your face is shaped, the lack of food, the increased stress on your spouse, the unknown, I think that long term sleep will level it out! I've given up a couple months of my life for what I hope is a extension on my life and a better quality of life. Time will tell!
The bad part...well... NOT EATING REAL FOOD. Liquid diet gets really old. Any food I see looks good. To smell them makes it worse. It's torture to watch someone eat a cheeseburger. I was watching "Survivor" and even the rice they were eating looked good!! "Survivor food", who would ever think that looks good???? ME!!! Chewing food brings more pleasure than you realize. I know people enjoy eating, look at our society, we are a pleasure eaters...all of us. But take away just one small thing...the ability to chew your food, you gain a whole new perspective on eating. You can live on a liquid diet, solids are NOT required to sustain life, but I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy, its just not any fun.
As for other physical issues. My teeth ache....all the pressure of wires around every tooth, metal bars along my gum lines, and rubber bands holding my jaws together makes my teeth hurt. For anyone who has had braces, its very similar to that pain. Lips are still on the dry cracked side....without your tongue to help moisten them from time to time, they get dried out, crack, peal, and bleed (if your pick at them like it do).
So then there is the sinus issues next. This surgery really messes up your sinuses. It changes your whole face. It was best described to me by my family doctor. Basically you sinuses are like a fluid pump, with your jaw movement as the pump. So guess what, with your jaw wired shut the pump isn't working, the sinus fluid has no place to go. And where is it going with me? In my inner ear canals. This is a major annoyance. Its like your ears become amplifiers at a rock concert for all the sounds in your body. Breathing, heartbeat, gurgles, and talking is LOUD. Blowing your nose, well that is no fun, it puts positive pressure in your sinus and causes more to go into your ears. The fix for this has been to recline, drink something, or plug your nose, close your mouth and suck in...this pulls it out....but only temporarily. Hello decongestant, now I think the people at the pharmacy think I'm cooking meth. I got a bottle of psuedofedrine that could clear the sinus of an elephant!
So during the first few weeks, I had a pretty solid pain on the back side of my right ear, it hurt pretty bad when I touched it. I mentioned it at my 2 week follow up. The surgeons told me it was normal to have ear pain. And blew it off without really looking at it. The pain almost went completely away, but with all this inner ear pain I touched that spot again and I felt just a hint of pain. And it was squishy to touch. Come to find out there was a large cyst back there full of blood and puss. Went to the Dr. and she drained and cultured it....thinking it may have been infected she put me on anti-biotics. Best we can think is that this was the place where they CLAMPED MY HEAD TO THE TABLE, so they could stand on my face an saw my skull into 4 pieces, and the trauma to my ear made the cyst!
On the good and bad front is the remaining numbness. Most of my upper lip and nose area has feeling has come back, and in the last few days, I've started to feel things on my lower right lip and chin, left side is still very much dead feeling. Although, again in the last few days, I've felt little twinges in the left side. I think this is a good sign I will regain all feeling in my face, one can only hope. The lack of feeling is strange......its like a dental numbing gone horribly wrong!
My family doctor asked me one of the all important questions. Was it worth it? My answer at this point is, "I think it will be". Right now, I'm still pretty miserable as the above describes, but its part of the healing process. Long term, the big picture.....Despite the severe interruption in life, the pain, the numbness, the altering of how your face is shaped, the lack of food, the increased stress on your spouse, the unknown, I think that long term sleep will level it out! I've given up a couple months of my life for what I hope is a extension on my life and a better quality of life. Time will tell!
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