The swelling in my cheeks is still up but it'll go down at some point. I haven't cared too much about the swelling in my face, I know swelling isn't permanent so it is just a temporary thing I have to deal with.
I truly am worried about my lip. I am afraid that there is something more than just the sores in my mouth causing this. Dr M just keeps saying 'it'll go down in a few days' but he has been saying that since Day 1 and I am getting sick of that answer. After 14 days, I am not sure it's made any progress at all. It may appear that it has, only because the swelling on both sides has gone down. I see Dr M again on Friday. I am sure if it is still at the same point at my appt, he may question what the deal is as well.
I ate pizza again yesterday. For anyone who is at the point of soft chewing, try the veggie deLITE pizza from Papa Murphys! It's difficult to explain, but it has a REALLY thin and soft (but not chewy) crust with white sauce, cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach. It was MUCH easier to eat than the normal crust pizza I had the other day, and has SO much flavor, it was amazing!
THE SPLINT: I realize I haven't talked about this at all. My blog posts seem to get too long and by the time I thought about adding it, I realized the post was already obnoxiously long. WELL, the splint is MUCH less obnoxious than I thought. I have heard such horrors about the splint and was absolutely dredding it. My splint is different then I had expected it to be.
I saw this picture:
and was expecting my splint to look that as well, but my splint is more like a wired in retainer, nearly identical to this:
I can't get the camera to focus in on what it looks like in my mouth, but it's just like a piece of plastic molded into the shape of my mouth and wired up there. It's pretty thin and doesn't really get in the way of much. I am not sure why my splint is like this, when most other blogs I have read have these massive pieces of plastic in their mouths, but I am not complaining! It certainly does inhibit my ability to talk a little bit, but not really. It mostly just makes my 'S's sound less crisp. The freaking massive lip on my face is what is causing me the most issues with speaking. The only really obnoxious thing about it is it SMELLS. I mean, not all the time, but when I fall asleep at night, it's like all my gross night time germs go up there and get trapped and I wake up with the foulest taste in my mouth from the saliva that was up there. I don't really get food trapped up there because it is pretty flush to the roof of my mouth, but I am sure little tiny particles make their way up there and get stuck. I have no way of really getting anything out of it though. There's no access point to go to.
S N | June 6, 2011 at 4:19 PM
i actually think ur upper lip has gotton a little less swollen. plus that guy in the pic with the splint u posted up had his upper lip swollen for quite a bit so i wouldnt worry about it too much. u look great... plus ur hair is cute!lol
i had a question though... u said in your other post that u feel that ur lower jaw now looks a bit wider or masculine as u put it. i do think it looks wider but not square like u said. i think its proportianate to ur face.
my question is...how do u feel it looked like before surgery?
because my lower jaw looks very narrow or ''skinny''like some ppl put it..and makes my face look long. basically i have like no lower jaw and a wide forhead so it looks like i kave a long face. (think alien face shape lol, ok im being mean to myself not thaaat extreme but u get the picture) so..im wondering will my face become somewhat wider.
Incognita | June 6, 2011 at 4:53 PM
You're looking better and better every day! Looks like your swelling has gone down more, your jaw line looks great!
I think the larger splint is for when they expand the upper jaw during the surgery. I think thats what I'm having done as well. I asked Graham about that, "he's the guy in the pic" and he told me thats why he had the splint. Also, I don't think you can really eat with the larger splint. Did they say why they needed to put the splint in for your case?
Hope your swelling continues to decrease.
z3 | June 6, 2011 at 5:02 PM
u have a splint i have one too i think its the same thing how come i cant eat anything u know what i will start chewing i mean its already day 21 or should i?what do u think
Mulan | June 6, 2011 at 10:49 PM
Dani, your top lip looks much much better!!
JEN | June 7, 2011 at 4:51 AM
You look great!
I despised my splint. I drooled uncontrollably and my speech was incomprehensible. The day after I had it out, I went back to work. I found the best way to clean mine was to put a waterpik attachment in the front and side and just flush that baby. It really helps!
Hang in there!
Brent | June 7, 2011 at 7:19 AM
Hi Dani!
That is a cool splint, I hope I get something similar! You are looking great!
Have a wonderful day.
Cheers,
Brent
Anonymous | June 7, 2011 at 7:52 AM
I gotta find a Papa Murphy's by me! I need some pizza!! :-)
Dani | June 7, 2011 at 9:11 AM
S N -- Before surgery I didn't really feel I had a chin. I didn't feel it was skinny, but rather my face was just kind of one smooth curve from one side of my jaw to the other. It's difficult to explain, but I didn't have a chin projecting from my jaw, it was kind of just all in the same. I think that when your chin is pulled forward, it won't be wider but it will look more proportionate. It will have good definition and it will definitely not look as long after surgery.
Terra- they did widen my upper jaw a bit, so I am not sure why mine is smaller and more hidden than others. I am sure it is something more technical and complex than we can understand. I may have had it widened less or maybe I didn't need as much support? Not sure.
z3- I am sure you can chew, but when you just don't do it for so long it feels difficult. You just have to start trying :)
Mulan- That's what I keep hearing, but it is difficult for me to see it!
Jen, I do have a waterpik, so I will have to try that! Did you have the same type of splint that I do?
carpe diem | June 7, 2011 at 10:45 AM
I would push the surgeon for a better reason behind the sores. I didn't have that not that it means anything. I wonder if there is a possibility that you have a latex allergy to the rubber bands? I read about it somewhere. Just a thought. I have had difficulty commenting so to answer your question about rubber bands, every week comes with more freedom. 1 hour 3x day then 1.5 hours off. then 2 hours off. by the 4th week it was 2 hours on 2 hours off, and by week 5 only on for 2 hours. Always wearing them at night though. I still can't chew so hats off to you for tearing into a pizza. You are looking better every day and swelling can be tricky. So hang in there! Cyber hugs sweet girl!!