Three weeks!

I've just got back from an ortho appointment. It took an hour! I told him the hooks were digging into my lips and now I'm getting some feeling back they were quite painful. So he tried to cut them off without removing my archwire or any of my modules which didn't work. He then took the archwires out and I lost about 5 brackets including one composite! So he had to fashion me half a new tooth with composite, cure that, then replace 5 brackets. He thinks they've probably been loose since the surgery. I got a new softer wire for my bottom teeth and my orthodontist said we can start focusing on getting my teeth really straight for the final result now! So I'm experiencing the old adjustment toothache that I haven't had for a while.

Moving on to my bite he's really happy with how I'm doing. Apparently I've shifted half a mm to the right but he said it actually looks better that way as my chin is central rather than my teeth (if that makes sense). It doesn't bother me at all that my midlines are off and the orthodontist doesn't seem to mind either so I'm not going to worry about it.

In other news, I've been upgraded to only wearing elastics at night! I've also been given less tight ones which you can see below. Also I'M ALLOWED TO START CHEWING!!!!!! Obviously I've got to start with really soft stuff but I'm over the moon because I can start expanding on what food I eat and I don't have to purée my christmas dinner next week!

New elastics - my old ones had a 4oz force 

Diagram which shows how my teeth should stay - if the bottom starts veering left I should wear the elastics more. Unless that happens I wear two on the left side and one on the right nightly.

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 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!