The one year mark!

It has been exactly one year and one day since my surgery. Who would have thought this journey was even possible? I'm amazed at the difference in my life.

There is one thing that brings my journey into perspective....... I like to play video games online with one of my childhood friends who lives out of state, its one of the only way we can really "hang out"...the bad part comes by occasionally staying up to late playing on weeknights when I should be in bed sleeping so I can get up and go to work in the morning. But I don't go to bed, I stay up. And in doing so I only get three or four hours of sleep. Waking up in the morning after one of these nights, I feel a bit drained and tired, but what really brings it into perspective is.....I still feel better than I did after 8 or even 12 hours of sleep every day in the past 9 years. Its night and day difference. I'm not yawning all day, I'm not falling asleep every time I stop moving. I actually have struggled to fall asleep some nights. This was unheard of prior to my surgery. I'm changed.

As for an update on the other after effects: I think I'm finally getting used to the shape of my face. Its been an adjustment for sure. I didn't like it, I guess I still don't really, but getting used to it has made it better. I keep telling myself its a small price to pay for better quality of living. My mouth still has numb areas. Roof of my mouth and some small area's below my front lower teeth in the gums and on the surface of my chin in the same area. It's annoying to say the least, but again, I tell my self its a small price to pay. I still have hope that feeling will return. But again. I'm getting used to not having feeling..so if it never comes back, I'm confident I'll get so used to it, it won't bother me anymore. I kinda feel like a broken record, my ears still get plugged from time to time. Mostly when I have a sinus problem, blowing the green stuff from nose usually yields some of it in my inner ears. It drains eventually, but this is a problem I never had prior to the surgery.

My teeth have move around a bit. I'm not to happy about this either. I'm toying with the idea of getting orthodontics again. The thought of that takes me back to being 12 and I remember the pain of teeth moving after having new wires, or bands put in. Ugggghhh. Maybe I'll just live with some crooked teeth! :) I've wavered a bit on whether the surgery was worth it...especially in the early days of recovery, but I can tell you now it was worth it. For all the worry, pain, fear, depression, stress, chaos and all the other feelings that went through my mind, I look back on it and know that I'm much better off.

I thank my God, my friends, my family, my doctors, every one who brought me through this, I don't think anyone could go through this alone. The support and help was a huge part. To this day, there isn't any way I can thank my wife enough. She was a super wife. She took the "in sickness" part of our wedding vows to the extreme, and amazed me every day. Normal life resumed quite some time ago, but today, sitting here reflecting on the 13 weeks after my surgery, it has really brought to light how much help I really had. If anyone is reading this, contemplating the surgery, know that you will need a TON of help.

I have a feeling that the milestones for blogging are pretty much over now, this may be the last blog, I guess I could foresee one more...if my feeling ever comes back.

Life is normal. I'm cured. I've traded some annoyances for better health. BIMAX for me was the cure for OSA. If anyone is reading this and has any questions about my experiences, please comment, send me a message. I'm happy to share.

Coming up on a year.......seems like yesturday.

Here it is January 2011. My life has been fairly normal now for quite some time, but there is still a constant reminder of my surgery. I'm still numb. Partial lower lip/gum line and the whole roof of my mouth. Will it every return? Only time will tell. The other reminder....my face.....I'm still not totally used to my new look. The mirror and especially pictures of myself is very disturbing at times. This is all mental though, I just remind myself I did it for my health.

Sleep is still good, eating isn't really a problem....as I've gained the entire 30'lbs I lost right back. If you need to diet....just wire your mouth shut for 13 weeks....its great for weight-loss! The surgery isn't recommended for weight-loss though!! :)

Another problem that is still plauging me is my inner ears....I still find that they fill with fluid and occasionally plug, sometimes for weeks. It's very annoying. I'm thinking about going to see an ENT Doc to see if they can do anything for it. My guess is, the movement of my jaws has just changed the shape of my sinus system enough that this is just going to be the way it is.......again, time will tell.

Back to the positive. I feel great when I wake up. I have more energy, the sleep is great. This is what I wanted, and I have it. What else could I ask for????