Update on numbness: There are quite a few areas that are ssllowwwllyy becoming less numb. On both sides of my nose and below my eyes I can definitely feel that these areas are improving. Just below my cheek bone on the right side is probably 40% numb, and it's a little less than that on the left side. My septum used to be numb on the bottom but the feeling there is coming back. My lips are probably 30% numb, but enough to be annoying. When I touch them they just feel tingly all the time. On the far right side of my upper lip, probably about 1/4 of the lip is pretty darn numb. There is no numbness along the jaw line, but directly on my chin on the front of my face is the numbest area. I poked around with a paperclip today to see what I could and couldn't feel, and it seems to me I can feel everything, which is a great sign, and hopefully means all of the feeling will be restored at some point! My nose is starting to drive me nuts. The right side is the only side numb, and it's only above the nostril area and maybe 1/2 way up the nose. It tingles a lot and gets itches that I cannot itch! It's like having a piece of fluff near your nose and you can't make the feeling go away! My upper gums are completely numb, but on the lower gums, only the front portion is. The chin numbness doesn't really bother me, but the skin across my chin just feels REALLY tight all the time-- I am not sure if this is caused by the numbness or swelling.. can anyone weigh in on that?
My lips not meeting is starting to bug me. It makes my mouth look weird because my lip sits up so high and I have to do a lot of work to pull it down to meet my bottom lip in order to talk.
I continue to hear "You were beautiful before, but now you look even more beautiful!" It's pretty difficult to both verbally respond to that, and come up with an emotional response for myself. I think it's great that everyone seems to have the same opinion, but I am ready for my own opinion to match up! I think once my continuous lip issues are sorted out, I will be able to better see how I am going to look in the long run. Right now, my lip is no longer very swollen, but I feel like my mouth is kind of alien like!
I am finally feeling a difference in the stiffness of my face. It is definitely starting to get better.
My pictures for the next few days will be sub-par. My mom is out of town, so I have to take the pictures on my own, and they don't turn out as well!
z3 | June 17, 2011 at 1:38 PM
u look great dani
Anonymous | June 17, 2011 at 2:58 PM
Yes, u look fabulous, Dani! I think the tightness is from scar tissue and we need to move our faces around to break it up. I think... My mouth closes, but not naturally. And I can only kind of rub my lips together. It does get better though, I promise!
That is so awesome everyone loves your look! I amnot getting favorable opinions by me... Last night, a friend of mine confessed that she thinks I look drastically different, and that she is concerned about whether I am 'ok with it'. I swear u wld think I was in a horrific accident or something. I hear people are discussing it behind my back and what's being said is pretty shitty. People are a$$es sometimes.
My OS told me that the mouth area will be the tightest the longest and that it loosens over time with talking and eating and such. Mine feels a tad better everyday but I still have a couple weeks I think.
Rhianna | June 17, 2011 at 4:22 PM
TINA!!! That's really horrible, people are so cruel and negative!! I think you look great, and I'm not just saying that, I believe it. You don't look drastically different. You just look like someone who has had MAJOR surgery and is still recovering. Your beautiful features are all still there and they will be further enhanced once all the swelling has completely gone.
I can relate to how you are feeling though!! I have not had any positive or favorable opinions about my new look either. Of course, my mum thinks I look cuter and younger! She says nice things about my new profile. However 2 close friends who live in my street and see me every other day have NOT said one positive thing about my look, other then general comments like "oh the swelling has gone down more today!"
It's like they cant see that I have a chin now, or that my nose and face height looks smaller!! Maybe they are too scared to say anything like, "you look better then you did before" in case they think I'll get offended.
The only family members that have seen me since my surgery are my Mum and Dad! I have a brother who lives overseas, but my sister and other brother have not bothered to come up and see me yet! I know they have busy hectic lives but I am bummed about it. They said they would visit :( I am very curious to know what they think??
Dani I am really happy that you are getting such nice comments about the way you look. I would be outraged If you weren't, because you LOOK fantastic and are really pretty!
P.S sorry this is a long comment. I should have written all this in my next blog post. haha
Incognita | June 17, 2011 at 6:14 PM
You look so good Dani! I can't believe how different you, Rhianna, and Tina all look. You guys all look so gorgeous and it makes me wish my surgery was even sooner.
To Tina: I think a lot of people don't understand the whole purpose of this surgery so they like to assume that its out of vanity and therefore they can treat the person like they are some Joan Rivers trying to transform into someone else. I have a "best friend" who is like this. I haven't even had the surgery yet and she has such negative thoughts. I realized its best I don't even talk to her while I'm going through this because she will only bring me down. You look gorgeous! Ignore those stupid people, they sound like the kind of people who need something to gossip about.
Anonymous | June 17, 2011 at 6:56 PM
Ha ha! Thanks Rihanna and Terra!
First off Terra, you are absolutely right. The day Bristol Palin's 'jaw surgery' news came out was my surgery date. I hadn't been out of the OR 2 hours before these same friends were emailing and texting me to say Bristol's surgery proves mine is cosmetic as well. It's frustrating because even though I explain the reasons for the surgery, which include pain and function, never appearance, people still seem to insist I had some fancy cosmetic makeover. I tend to dress nice, wear heels daily, etc so I think people assume I am driven by vanity.
Rihanna, I think you look great too! It's like you look just as you did before but your smile is 'corrected' and you have a gorgeous profile. You don't even look swollen to me. I don't know why people are not telling you how great u look but I am dealing with the same. Aside from the few snide comments that have been made, everyone sticks with really general comments like that my face looks more swollen, or less swollen, or that my face looks tight. I get that one a lot. My mom is the only one who said I look good and hell, she said that on day 1! Lol. My boyfriend says i look a little weird now but that he thinks i'll look great once healed.
Funny thing is, I think I look just fine except my extra swollen right jaw. So I go all day feeling fine until some bozo starts saying negative things to me. I feel like everytime I see someone, they start reassessing my face. It doesn't upset me. I'm not exactly an insecure teenager. But it does sure annoy me and throw off my groove!
Sorry for hi-jacking your post, Dani!
S N | June 17, 2011 at 7:35 PM
Hi dani! Did u used to have full lips pre surgery? Do u think ur lips have changed at all. ( other than the swelling)I'm wondering if my upper lips will become slightly fuller from my upper jaw being impacted.
Meesh | June 18, 2011 at 4:48 AM
Love the side braid...so vogue :)
You know, you probably could get your nose pierced now and not feel a thing or one of those lip tattoos. Haha!
You look gorg girly!
Brent | June 18, 2011 at 9:02 AM
Hi Dani!
I too think you look great! I have read in many blogs were the lips take forever to "close," so like Tina said...it does get better! Hang in there...every day that passes is one more day in your recovery and healing!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Cheers,
Brent
Dani | June 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM
Tina, the people around you are nuts. I am not lying when I say I honestly think you look fabulous. I can TELL your swollen, and I think once that goes down people will see how great you do look! The lack of comments from people may just be the environment you're in. I am really close with many of my co workers, and my boyfriend and sister both work at the same place I do, so they kept everyone updated on how I was doing. I think because everyone was talking about it so much, my co workers feel more comfortable approaching me about it and making comments to me. I have no idea if they're reactions are solely based on surprise in the changes of my looks, or if they actually do think it's an improvement. I haven't seen any friends since the swelling has gone, so I have no idea what they think, but I am nervous about that! I wish I could see myself from the outside and make my own judgements. I want to forget my old face for just a second, take a look at my new face and decide what I think! It's hard when you and other people are constantly thinking about what you USED to look like. Haha as I am writing this I just read Rhianna's comment and I agree with her 100%. I think you still look so much like YOU, people may just be focusing on the swelling and less on the improvements. I know we've discussed this, but have you ever seen ANY blogs where you've thought 'wow, they looked much better BEFORE the surgery!' because I know I haven't! I have always been amazed at how much improvement there has been cosmetically, in every single case!
Rhianna, no need to apologize, I am so thankful to have you to talk to going through this whole thing, and I love hearing what you are thinking about everything!
S N, I can't really comprehend the changes in my lips. The swelling makes everything look different. Even though I don't look that swollen, the soft tissue hasn't settled yet, so even the littlest bit of swelling does strange things to my lips. My lip now is a bit more full in the center, but thinner on the edges than it was before.
Meesh, I know, I definitely could, but with my luck, they'd probably get infected and I'd end up with another fat lip! :-P Thank you so much for the compliment!
Brent, your comments are always so positive and uplifting. I really appreciate the things you have to say!