Progress!

Currently I'm very happy with how it's all going!

It's.... Day 5, more or less! (I'm no good with countdowns) and swelling is much less prominent/uncomfortable. I've been alternating ice packs and heat to allow it to go down, on top of taking my painkillers and anti-sickness tablets - which are helpful to get to sleep, but not in the middle of the day! But sleeping has gotten easier, and I now sleep through the whole night no problem! :-) I've also been managing to do all personal aspects of my life on my own: showers, brushing my teeth, eating and combing my hair!

Showers: I would recommend having at least one a day, not just for hygiene purposes but it warms your face up, and makes you feel much more fresh and awake! Try not to over do the length of them - personally I have A LOT of curly hair, so this morning I sat down in my shower in order to comb it fully. (Baths I would say are nicer in order to relax and go to sleep.)

Brushing teeth: I'm currently using a chlorahexadine mouthwash that the hospital prescribed me, but it can be bought from most supermarkets (corsadyl.) I'm also using a baby teeth tooth brush, as it is much smaller than regular ones. Again, this not only prevents infections, but will help you to recover quicker by keeping your mouth clean and help reduce swelling!

I'm about to attempt to go out wit my Mum for some fresh air as I hateeee being stuck indoors, hopefully it'll give me an appetite as well! 

This morning I've had a small vanilla yoghurt, some water, and some orange juice.

Here is a two day comparison in swelling!

It happened! Day 4

I went in to hospital on Tuesday morning (6th May) at 7am for my surgery. I met with my anaesthesiologist and my surgeon/registrar. Everything was fairly lovely and I was just asked a lot of the same medical questions before walking to theatre at about 8:30am. I don't remember much of being put under, until I woke up at 2pm. The surgery had gone really well, I woke up without any elastics or splint and feeling pretty positive. I had my parents, my boyfriend and his friend visit me that afternoon; and my doctors seem to think I have been recovering amazingly well. As per the normal routine, I had to stay overnight. I had two drains/tubes on either side of my neck to drain the blood from my mouth. These were fine, except being a bit of a pain when it came to going to the loo. Which news flash, I didn't realise how much I'd need to go that first night with the amount of IV fluids they pump into you. The first night I would say is the worst in terms of nausea. This surgery is quite invasive and as a consequence you swallow quite a lot of blood, which naturally the body wants out of your system. I had to call nurses to throw up 7 times that first night, and got very little sleep. The second morning my surgeon and the maxillofacial team came round to see how I was doing and decided I had to stay another night :-( At this point I was very upset because I just wanted to go home/a change of scenery. I was on 2 paracetamol, an anti inflammatory, antibiotics, and occasionally anti-sickness tablets/oral morphine when paracetamol didn't cut it. When I finally got to go home Thursday morning I was very relieved. I still felt a lot of pain, my drains had been taken out which was a bit uncomfortable and my swelling had pretty much peaked. The good news is that during surgery, my nerves in my lower jaw were completely hidden and so I have all the feeling in my lower lip/chin! Which usually isn't the case! However I have little feeling/sensation especially in the right side of my face. Since coming home I have been very sore, I have mainly been using ice packs to numb my pain and the meds they gave me. Although I ate quite a lot the first few days in hospital, my appetite has pretty much diminished now. This only concerns me because I don't want to lose weight, and it may upset my tummy. Yesterday I didn't want breakfast in the hospital, at home I had a small bowl of baked beans, some jelly/icecream at lunch, and a small bowl of mushroom risotto at dinner. When I say small portions, I mean SMALL. I've been using a tea spoon to eat and cups that toddlers tend to use. I don't have much suction yet, but my doctors are impressed I've already been managing a soft diet. Also, frozen smoothie pops are AMAZING. I'm hoping I get an appetite again later because currently my stomach is quite sore. 

Pain: 7/10

Discomfort: 8/10

Swelling: 9/10

And it gets worseee

Received a letter this morning detailing that my surgical admission has been cancelled.
They have had to prioritize another surgery, which is absolutely valid. However, naturally I am very upset.
I'm hoping to hear from a consultant about rearranging for next week sometime, but it is most likely going to be 6th May. Trying to stay positive.

So, massive catch up!

Hello all!
I've been very busy over the last year with coursework, work and A-Levels in general! So I haven't had much (any) time to keep a regular update on how my course of treatment has gone.
In summary:

• I have been having an orthodontic appointment at hospital every 2 months or so. This has become a fairly regular part of my routine and I consider it quite normal. However, it can be difficult explaining this normality in my life, to others who don't understand the commitment and trouble it can be.
• I have had hooks on my wires that allow me to attach small elastics to pull my jaw slightly more forward (lower jaw.) This started as alllll the time and was a MASSIVE inconvenience. It has progressively decreased to only wearing them during sleeping hours, which is much more manageable. I used to have to carry around little elastic bands everywhere and explain to people what I was doing... yeah.
• I have had a few clinic appointments where basically my surgeon meets with my orthodontist and I to discuss how to carry on.
• This is how I came to recent events. My last appointment I had my impressions/moulds done to prepare how the surgery will take place.
• I also know that my surgery should be taking place next Tuesday (15th April.) 
• I am super, super excited; but quite anxious. It's been a long time coming and I'm just so excited to see the results and start recovery towards a happier, healthier jaw!

Vlog Braces Update!!

Hello everyone!
Sorry it's been a while I've been doing a lot of Photography coursework recently.
And frankly the first few days of my braces I was a mess and couldn't control my mouth at all!
It's gotten better though. I still have some pain in my jaw because of the increased pressure on my mouth and I find it quite difficult/scary to chew some foods. Scary because it feels like my brackets are going to be pushed off! However I'm feeling pretty positive about it :-) A fair few people haven't made a big deal of them or just said they suit me, or it hasn't phased them at all! Which is brilliant 'cause I didn't want it to overly get in the way of my normal life. I'm getting metal rings on my teeth next month to create gaps at the back (I'm assuming so my jaw/teeth can be moved in the right direction/place). But... yeah... everything's going great for now :-)

Day 3 in braces!

I've had a fairly busy day today, I went shopping with a good friend for a nice catchup and my jaw wasn't as bad as yesterday! Although I've swapped to ibruprofen instead of paracetamol to manage the pain. I have work tomorrow so hopefully it won't be too much trouble as my consultant says if it's still painful to go back in. The pharmacist got me a (magic!!) gel called oragel (extra strength) that I put on my upper and lower gums to occasionally numb the aching for a while . I'm also finding the wax they provide you with massively helpful however it's often tricky to know where your mouth is being skewered! Also quite a few people I saw today didn't even notice the new metally teeth I've aqquired - success! :-)

Pain: 5/10
Inconvenience: 6/10

Day 2 in braces:

So I slept very well but woke up in a fair amount of pain. The pressure of the brackets realigning my teeth has caused alot of strain and my jaw is fairly achey. I've been on paracetamol up until 2pm and swapped to some stronger meds. But unfortunately they're making me quite drowsy/sick so I've been having on and off naps. I went to school as normal but lunch was a real challenge. I made a soft bread sandwich with paté and I just couldn't manage biting it. A satsuma was okay and a soft cookie in pieces. Drinking water is making me feel a bit better. But if the pain continues tomorrow Mum has said we'll get some kind of numbing cream or gel as it's hard to cope at times. I forgot how much the first week hurts :-( I've had some rice and chicken for tea and that was okay but I'm more worried about feeling faint because I don't bother eating if it's painful! Hopefully things will get better soon...

Pain: 6/10
Inconvenience: 7/10