Here are my post-op photos from Day1-Day 5. I am hopeful that my final photos will be much more attractive. I have no where to go but up, from here :)
Day 1 (Monday): These were taken at 10pm the day of surgery 3/14/2011
(See blog post SARPE Surgery day and words of advice)
Day 2 (Tuesday): Notice the bloody nose. It had dried and clotted to such a point that I thought I was going to pull out my brains when I went to dislodge the clot. Word of advice: use a hot towel to moisten the area first, then clean. This is the day that I used my timer to remind me when to put ice on my face. 15 minutes on then 5 minutes off. I used the alarms on my cell phone to remind me. I spent the entire day in bed icing my face, and reading blog posts on my lap top computer regarding SARPE surgery. My favorite site was http://www.archwired.com. I was hungry for knowledge, and photos of what other people looked like during this process, which is when I discovered Google blogs. Reading the blogs and seeing the photos relaxed me and made me feel human again by connecting with others, which is why I wrote this blog for someone else. I felt much better after I realized that what I was going through was normal :) It was my therapy.
Day 3 (Wednesday): No photo, sorry I was too tired that night. This is the day I decided I wanted to write a blog (even though I had no idea what one was at the time, or how to start one) and began talking with my husband about ideas of how to help our patients who might be going through the same thing. We always get excited about talking about our patients and ways to help spread orthodontic knowledge, so this got my energy flowing again, to the point where I spent the morning reading and writing, all while using my timer for icing my face. By noon, I was so exhausted that I slept then entire rest of the day (fell asleep with the ice on my face), woke up for dinner, iced again, and then slept hrough the night. Even though I felt strong and fairly good this day (minus the swelling, of course) I thought I had more energy than I truly had. Some things that I remember are: Being very hungry (once I could eat, I would feel stronger), when I got out of bed, it was only for a short amount of time (I walked downstairs for the first time this day and then right back up, because I was too tired.), and talking on my cell phone (it was awkward talking around the expander, so I focused on really over pronunciating all of my words and this helped tremendously). Words of advice: you may feel like you have enough energy to start working again or take on household responsibilities, but it is good to start these things slow and allow the body to continue to rest and recuperate. Day three was a day of rest for me and the last day of icing for timed intervals.
Day 4 (Thursday): I started bruising as you can see in the photos above. Mainly around my jaws and under my eyes. I have such fair skin, that it is not a surprise for me to bruise this way. I did take Sinecch (Arneca) (as recommended by my surgeon and friends) for the complete cycle (starting the night before surgery), to help with the bruising and swelling. Also, the swelling felt like it started to subside this day. I spent this day on the phone and the computer working from my home office. It was nice to be out of bed! I iced a little bit (just because it felt good on my face) before I took a couple of naps that afternoon. I finally took my first shower that evening. I should have probably done that sooner and felt more alive this week. What a fantastic feeling! This is the night that my nose started to feel much better so I didn't take the affrin spray before going to bed, what a mistake. I woke up in the next morning with a terrible post nasal drip that has lasted all day. Don't stop taking the decongestants. They are a necessity!
Day 5 (Friday): Today is the day that I went in for my first post-op appointment with the oral surgeon. He was very happy with my progress. He told me that the swelling and bruising was normal and that it was going to take some time to heal completely. He also told me that the bruising would follow gravity, and not to be surprised if I woke up Sunday morning with the bruising around my neck and collar bone area. Unfortunately, he also said that my swelling was going to take a while to subside. He said that the first week of swelling is when you see the most dramatic changes, after that, things will progress a lot slower. He told me not to use ice anymore (since that is used to hold the swelling, so that it doesn't increase), instead use hot towels around my face to promote the blood to come into my cheeks and carry the excess fluid away. I used the hot towels and they feel even better than the ice. I also massaged my cheeks and took a hot shower, that felt terrific. I am trying to drink a lot of extra fluids as that will also promote the blood to carry away the "bad stuff". Today I feel much more like my old self. I enjoyed being with people again and being outside. I still feel the discomfort of the swelling, but at least I can smile and move my mouth more than before. My biggest complaint now is the tingling sensation in my face now that the swelling is starting to subside. It is like that feeling you have when your foot goes to sleep, but in your cheeks, not the most comfortable feeling; but not pain. I try to tell myself that it is the feeling of "healing" and that helps me keep a better mental attitude.
Over all this week has not been as bad as I imagined it to be. This has not been a painful experience at all, and I have had more energy than I thought I would by the end of the first week. I am going to continue to rest through the weekend (even though the house is a disaster) and give myself a break, knowing that things can wait, because it is more important that I listen to my body; Of course I'm not sure when my body will ever tell me that it is time to clean the house and do laundry again :) For now, I am preparing myself to go back to "life" on Monday and take it easy on myself throughout the week. I'll let you know if that plan changes. So far I have been able to get my dosage of pain medication down to one time a day, before bed, and Advil/Ibuprofen during the day (every 4 hours) this has helped with the "groggy" feeling since the prescribed hydrocordone makes me sleepy. My surgeon also recommended taking Aleve in the evening as well as the pain medication to help me sleep, as I am finding it harder to go to sleep with that tingling sensation. I will try it tonight and see if that helps.
Words of advice for the first week:
Day 3 (Wednesday): No photo, sorry I was too tired that night. This is the day I decided I wanted to write a blog (even though I had no idea what one was at the time, or how to start one) and began talking with my husband about ideas of how to help our patients who might be going through the same thing. We always get excited about talking about our patients and ways to help spread orthodontic knowledge, so this got my energy flowing again, to the point where I spent the morning reading and writing, all while using my timer for icing my face. By noon, I was so exhausted that I slept then entire rest of the day (fell asleep with the ice on my face), woke up for dinner, iced again, and then slept hrough the night. Even though I felt strong and fairly good this day (minus the swelling, of course) I thought I had more energy than I truly had. Some things that I remember are: Being very hungry (once I could eat, I would feel stronger), when I got out of bed, it was only for a short amount of time (I walked downstairs for the first time this day and then right back up, because I was too tired.), and talking on my cell phone (it was awkward talking around the expander, so I focused on really over pronunciating all of my words and this helped tremendously). Words of advice: you may feel like you have enough energy to start working again or take on household responsibilities, but it is good to start these things slow and allow the body to continue to rest and recuperate. Day three was a day of rest for me and the last day of icing for timed intervals.
Day 4 (Thursday): I started bruising as you can see in the photos above. Mainly around my jaws and under my eyes. I have such fair skin, that it is not a surprise for me to bruise this way. I did take Sinecch (Arneca) (as recommended by my surgeon and friends) for the complete cycle (starting the night before surgery), to help with the bruising and swelling. Also, the swelling felt like it started to subside this day. I spent this day on the phone and the computer working from my home office. It was nice to be out of bed! I iced a little bit (just because it felt good on my face) before I took a couple of naps that afternoon. I finally took my first shower that evening. I should have probably done that sooner and felt more alive this week. What a fantastic feeling! This is the night that my nose started to feel much better so I didn't take the affrin spray before going to bed, what a mistake. I woke up in the next morning with a terrible post nasal drip that has lasted all day. Don't stop taking the decongestants. They are a necessity!
Day 5 (Friday): Today is the day that I went in for my first post-op appointment with the oral surgeon. He was very happy with my progress. He told me that the swelling and bruising was normal and that it was going to take some time to heal completely. He also told me that the bruising would follow gravity, and not to be surprised if I woke up Sunday morning with the bruising around my neck and collar bone area. Unfortunately, he also said that my swelling was going to take a while to subside. He said that the first week of swelling is when you see the most dramatic changes, after that, things will progress a lot slower. He told me not to use ice anymore (since that is used to hold the swelling, so that it doesn't increase), instead use hot towels around my face to promote the blood to come into my cheeks and carry the excess fluid away. I used the hot towels and they feel even better than the ice. I also massaged my cheeks and took a hot shower, that felt terrific. I am trying to drink a lot of extra fluids as that will also promote the blood to carry away the "bad stuff". Today I feel much more like my old self. I enjoyed being with people again and being outside. I still feel the discomfort of the swelling, but at least I can smile and move my mouth more than before. My biggest complaint now is the tingling sensation in my face now that the swelling is starting to subside. It is like that feeling you have when your foot goes to sleep, but in your cheeks, not the most comfortable feeling; but not pain. I try to tell myself that it is the feeling of "healing" and that helps me keep a better mental attitude.
Over all this week has not been as bad as I imagined it to be. This has not been a painful experience at all, and I have had more energy than I thought I would by the end of the first week. I am going to continue to rest through the weekend (even though the house is a disaster) and give myself a break, knowing that things can wait, because it is more important that I listen to my body; Of course I'm not sure when my body will ever tell me that it is time to clean the house and do laundry again :) For now, I am preparing myself to go back to "life" on Monday and take it easy on myself throughout the week. I'll let you know if that plan changes. So far I have been able to get my dosage of pain medication down to one time a day, before bed, and Advil/Ibuprofen during the day (every 4 hours) this has helped with the "groggy" feeling since the prescribed hydrocordone makes me sleepy. My surgeon also recommended taking Aleve in the evening as well as the pain medication to help me sleep, as I am finding it harder to go to sleep with that tingling sensation. I will try it tonight and see if that helps.
Words of advice for the first week:
1) Sleep with a neck pillow
2) Take the nasal sprays or decongestant the Dr. prescribes
3) Take the pain medication as prescribed
4) Blend all foods
5) Drink lot's of protein shakes
6) Continue to take vitamins and/or extra iron pills
7) Ice well for the first 24-48 hours
8) If the ice is too cold on your face, use a paper towel between your skin and the ice
9) Plan for leisure activities the first few days: Movies, books, ect...
10) Let friends bring you meals the first three nights. Freeze meals ahead of time for the rest of the week.
11) Have someone to take care of you the first two days for sure, the first week if possible.
12) Have a driver for your first post-op appointment, unless you are off of the pain medication.
13) Take a shower, you will feel alive again.
14) Sleep sitting up.
15) Eat well and often to prevent nausea. Eat before taking any medications.
16) Have your doctor prescribe liquid pain medication, since it is easier than swallowing pills the first week.
17) Relax and know that your body will heal, it is just going to take some time.
18) Know that you have accomplished a big step towards that final goal, reward yourself in some way.
19) Call your surgeon or your orthodontist with any questions. No question is too silly, if the answer will put your mind at ease.
20) Relax and enjoy some time-off. It is well deserved.
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