DEBRACING DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Went and saw both my orthodontist and my surgeon last week. I saw the ortho first and he asked my how I felt about my teeth. I told him I was very happy and he said 'well, if we did anything more it would just be tinkering so I think its time to get them off'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO IM GETTING MY BRACES OFF ON THE 8TH OF APRIL!

I can't believe the journey is nearly at an end! The ortho brought Dr Ellis down (the woman who will be eventually fixing my veneers) and they've decided that I'll get a general tidy up, clean and polish at the start of May (just in time for my graduation ball) then they'll be looking into veneers after that! SO EXCITED!

My surgeon was also very pleased and didn't even take an x-ray of me, he said I just have to see him annually now for five years! BEST. NEWS. EVER.

Day 34 (week five)

Happy new year! 

I celebrated by going to a house party with a few friends. We all got very merry and I did no harm to my new face which I was very pleased about!

Eating wise, I've been doing some chewing (but nothing too extreme). I can manage pasta no problem as long as I chop it in half. Anything I realise is too hard once it's gone in my mouth I tend to swallow whole. I can open my mouth two fingers width now.

My numbness has still been exactly the same (bottom lip and upper part of my chin). However tonight when I was eating I kept thinking I had a hair on my lip when I didn't which I'm going to take as a sign! I get a lot of pins and needles in these areas.

I'm still wearing rubber bands at night only but it's really starting to make my teeth sore in the mornings - I'm going to ask my orthodontist about this next week. I also have really bad pain in my teeth when I brush but I think this might be because I bought myself a posh electric toothbrush at the weekend and my mouth isn't used to it yet! Oh and the remaining stitches are really irritating me so I think I'll ask to get them taken out next week as my ortho said he was allowed!

1 month post op

Day 34 and I can do a (lopsided) duck face again!

Day 20

Some stuff to report in the last 10 days:

• I am now changing my elastics myself - the ortho said once a day but i'm doing it twice (i.e. when I brush my teeth). I wear one on the right side and 2 on the left during the day/3 at night. I'm just using a pair of tweezers to hook them on and its become easier the more I do it
• Saw my surgeon yesterday and i'm not allowed out on New Years Eve in case I get my face hit :( I suppose I was being rather optimistic as i'll only be a month post op then - but i'm a party girl and I'm really starting to miss going out! I can drink just not head to a crowded club, which makes sense. On the plus side i'm saving money by not spending it on alcohol (ha)
• He also didn't give me a straight answer about when I could start going out (drinking) again, and just said it takes 3 months before you can do contact sports again. Hmm.
• I think most of the 'surgery' swelling has gone now but I definitely still have some residual swelling there.

And the rest...

Eating: 

No changes - i'm still on soft food. Was supposed to ask my surgeon yesterday when I can start chewing again but I was too distraught about not being able to go out! I'll be asking my orthodontist tomorrow.

Sleeping:

I don't need to update on my sleeping anymore as its completely back to normal :)

Medication:

Again, no more updates on this section as I am medication free! I take two ibuprofen if i'm in pain (rarely)

Numbness:

Before I fell asleep last night my lower lip was tingling for the first time! I was so excited. I still can't feel my upper chin/bottom lip but i'm used to it now. I have tingling/burning sensations around the numb areas 24/7 which is promising. I can also feel the surgical hooks digging into my bottom lip again so the wax is back on which makes my lip look way fatter than it is

And just a quick question: if you're post-op when did you start exercising again? I'll probably leave it until I go back to uni (when I'll be 5 weeks after) and i'm hoping to get back to the gym. Thanks :)

Day 0/Day 2/Day 7/Day 14

Day 19 (in my dressing gown AGAIN)

Days 8-10

The last few days I've been feeling more and more like myself. I can taste the normality! Swelling is still going down daily which I LOVE - I get a new face every day! 

Eating: 

Now I just ask my mam or dad to blend whatever they're eating. It always looks gross but tastes yummy. For example, I've been eating curries and casseroles that have been stuck in the food processor. This makes me feel more normal as I'm eating exactly what my family are :) 

Sleeping:

I AM SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! I've slept all the way through for about 3 nights now. I find I'm a lot more 'awake' when I wake up (if you get my drift) and I have more energy though the day.

Medication:

Today is my last day of antibiotics. I'm still taking 10ml of ibuprofen and 2 paracetamols morning and night.

Pain:

My mouth gets tired if I talk too much. It also feels pretty achey by the end of the day which is why I'm still taking meds before I sleep. I'm still waking up in pain in the morning but it's very tolerable.

Numbness: I think my chin is slightly less numb? It seems to be gaining more sensation in the left side first (incidentally the least swollen side)

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

I took some better photos today as I'm actually making the effort to look presentable again. I'll post before and after comparisons soon!

Days 6/7: Appointments

I am one week post-op! Hurrah for me!

I feel a lot better than I did on Wednesday regarding both my jaw and how I feel in myself. Saw both my surgeon and ortho yesterday and they are very pleased with how I'm doing! My ortho even said I'm the 'poster girl' for amelogenesis, ha!

I also got to see my X-Ray! I have one metal plate on each side of my face held in with two screws. Sadly I have to request for a copy of them so I will post those as soon as I get my hands on them.

Another interesting fact - when the surgeon tried to break my jaw it sort of 'bounced back' due to my elastic bones and instead he had to tap the sections of bone out bit by bit!

Eating:

Still on soup. Luckily for me my mam took the week off to keep and eye on me which means she has time to make her own soup - I had butternut squash for lunch today :) she is also making me milkshakes with ice cream in which are delicious!

Sleeping:

I woke up about 3am Thursday morning with really bad stomach pains. Woke my dad up because I was quite worried about it but he thinks it's because I've been taking a lot of medication on little food. Thank god the pain lasted 10 mins and was gone again! Last night I woke up briefly and fell asleep again. Still waiting for a full nights sleep!

Medication:

Still on all the same as my last post however I have upgraded my paracetamol to tablet form! Wahoo!

Pain:

Definitely going down. I took some meds at 8am this morning then didn't need any more until 3pm :)

Numbness:

I have major tingles in the middle of my chin as I type this. I also get the sensation of something hot running from the left side of my lip now and again. Lips still completely numb.

I also got my elastic bands changed on Thursday which meant I was able to give my teeth a proper brush. It was heavenly! I'm seeing my orthodontist weekly for the next month now to try and get my bite to stay where it's supposed to. Apparently my midlines are 1/2 a mm out on the bottom but he said he can work with it :) 

 Day 6

Day 7 - I am slowly getting a chin back!

Days 4&5: Frustration

After getting home on Monday I was looking forward to relaxing and trying to recover. Things have been frustrating and I've had a few crying bouts (typical girl). I've categorised things to make it easier and this will probably be my blog format for a while:

Eating:

I officially hate food. Mealtimes require all my energy and I'm sick of looking at mushed up crap. I want pizza. I want a steak. I don't weight myself often but I think I've lost about 5 pounds already. I know I need to seriously up my intake but it's too much effort

Sleep: 

Getting better. I slept through till 4 this morning and had to take some codeine when I woke up, then I feel asleep again until 9am. However, the smallest tasks feel like total exertion and this is probably down to my lack of nutrition at the minute

Medication:

Currently I'm taking 20ml of paracetamol and ibuprofen every 4 hours (through a syringe) and 10ml of antibiotics morning noon and night. I also have codeine for when the pain is particularly bad but I haven't had to use much of that yet

Pain:

It's been on and off. I'm definitely getting more pain in the left side of my face and when it starts it's horrendous, running from my ear all the way down. It also hurts on that side when I swallow. My right side feels more stiff though, especially when I open my mouth

Numbness:

I have zero feeling in my bottom lip and most of my chin. However the middle of my chin is rather tingly so that's a very good sign! The tip of my tongue is also numb.

And that's everything. I think a stitch came out when I was doing my hygiene routine this morning but there was no bleeding so I'll take it as a good sign. I'm going to see both my surgeon and orthodontist tomorrow so I'll have a better idea of timescales and things. I just hope the time goes quickly because I WANT TO EAT

 Day 4

Day 5

Days 1-3 post-op and MY 21ST

Following from my last post, my night in HDU wasn't the best sleep i've ever had. I was given morphine and a pain button so I could self-administer and I woke up every single hour of the night. My pain wasn't too bad but the morphine helped me drift back off to sleep so I kept using it.

When I woke up properly at about 6am I remembered it was my birthday! So when my mam and auntie came to visit at 11am the nurses came over with a cake and sang Happy Birthday to me!

The nurses in this unit were the best. As soon as I woke up they asked me if I wanted to try and sit up which I definitely took advantage of. The only thing they took out was my catheter so I was still wired up to morphine, saline, heart monitor etc (hence the wires).

After this photo I was asked if I wanted to try and eat something and since I didn't have elastic bands on at this point I enjoyed chopped up lasagne and I EVEN ATE SOME BIRTHDAY CAKE! That was a proud moment for me. I was transferred back to the ward at 3pm where I opened my presents and cards from family.

Days 2 and 3 were basically the same with limited mouth movement and a lot of painkillers. My surgeon came to see me yesterday morning to check all was well - apart from my 'rubber bones' the only issue is my second molar on the left hand side hasn't got much support from the jaw anymore so I might lose that but everything else went well. The bands went on on day 2 and I have NOT been enjoying those, but I've been preserving with a plastic spoon and mushed up anything food wide because I think I might throw up if I have any more soup! Other than that I've been trying to stay hydrated and positive which is hard when even the smallest actions tire you out.

Some photos to recap:

Just after I got my elastics - this was day 2 I think

Side view and NO OVERBITE!

Day 3 smile attempt!

I am like a human pin cushion after my stay in hospital :(

Day 3 - relaxed face and lopsided mouth! 

I came home last night which was a godsend but more about day 4 (today) later :) I'm getting there!

RECAP: SURGERY DAY

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the lack of posts, I only got discharged from hospital at about 6pm last night.

I'm now day 4 post-op but i'll make another post about the three days following surgery.

So, where to begin? My stay in hospital began on the 28th (last Thursday). I checked into my ward and was sent straight to the maxillofacial department (max-fax from here on) to meet with my surgeon. To be honest I got upset as soon as I saw the wards full of people in hospital beds - I was completely overwhelmed with everything that was happening. Anyway, I saw my surgeon and he completely reassured me, for some reason when I see him he always cheers me up! He checked that my wafer fitted (it did) and sent me on my way. Why I had to stay in hospital that night I have no idea. I got no sleep and my last chewable meal was a hospital chicken dinner - absolutely disgusting!

The next morning was surgery day. My dad came in at 9am with my mam following shortly after. I was told my operation was scheduled for 11.50am. However, my surgeon had decided I would be put straight into high dependency (aka HDU - a step below ICU) after the op for one night as he'd been working around my airway to make sure I was being checked on constantly (you get one nurse to every two patients). We waited and waited (and waited!) and 11.50 came and went and I remember not being nervous at all - I just wanted the bloody thing done with! Finally, a ward nurse came over at about 1pm and said a bed was ready for me in HDU and that I could get ready for theatre. I stripped off, gowned up and I was ready to go!

The surgeon had told my parents the op should only take about two hours. Instead, it took four. Apparently people with amelogenesis imperfecta can also have 'rubbery bones' which are more difficult to fracture. My mam and dad didn't actually get to see me until 7pm so they were relieved to finally see me!

I don't remember much after waking up to be honest. The first thing I remember is being wheeled down a corridor, then nothing until I was picked up and moved to the HDU bed from my stretcher. Then nothing until I threw up a load of blood down myself (attractive). I was completely gone - look at my eyes on this photo!

This was about 2/3 hours post-op when I had all kinds of wires and tubes sticking out of me. My mouth looked like dracula at one point but they gave me this suction tube which I could use to get all the goop out of my mouth!

Surgery day!

Hope everyone's done well!

I cant't believe it but today is FINALLY my day! I've been waiting for this day for about 3 years and by tonight I'll be POST-OP! wahoooooo :)

Wish me luck!!!! And I'll see you on the other side ;)

T-3 days!

Today I got my surgical hooks fitted! I HATE them it's like having braces for the first time all over again (ulcer city)

This is truly the worst photo of me ever :') but it's the only one I got and now I'm just heading off to bed!

In other news my mam got me some new sets of pjs and slippers for the hospital as well as a washkit containing miniatures of all the essentials :)

I still can't believe I'm having my surgery on Friday! I'm being admitted to my ward on Thursday afternoon so my guess is the operation is first thing the next morning. So exciting/nerve wracking!

Pre-surgery appointments and PRE OP PHOTOS

I've met with my surgeon twice in the past month for my final appointments before I'm admitted to hospital. The first appointment was with two assistants who asked me all the general health questions and stuff as well as taking some blood. They also sent me for several x-rays and took impressions of my bite. The impressions are so the surgical technician can make my wafers that will be fitted while my operation takes place.

The second appointment was with my surgeon and every time I meet this guy I feel more and more at ease. He talked me through exactly what will happen next month and estimates the operation will only take 2 and a half to 3 hours! He said that the surgery will fix my bite at the front but will probably open it back up at the sides, but assured me this isn't a problem as it can be fixed with orthodontics later.

I'm so excited for my surgery now and just want it over with. I've had my braces on for 25 months already with little to no progress in my teeth movement for the past 6!

Here are my pre-op photos (just taken by myself, I'll be posting the official hospital ones as soon as I get my hands on them!)