SARPE Recovery - 10+ days

I am now 11 days post surgery and I feel pretty good! My bruising is very minimal and almost completely gone. I also have a noticeable space between my front 2 teeth. Food is still somewhat difficult to chew and process which is why I'm still eating a lot of softer foods. Fish, applesauce, yogurt and ice cream are some of my favorites. Mostly it's hard to chew because things get stuck in PEA or they get caught up in my scar/stitches and it's uncomfortable to fish them out using my tongue. I feel that this will be the way of things for a while. I'll just have to get used to it I guess. :)
Bread is still one of the harder things to eat so I've decided to just forgo it as much as possible. I think cutting out bread will help me to keep off the weight that I've lost. I didn't realize how much bread I was actually consuming before my surgery. Crazy because I didn't think of myself as a huge bread eater! I really only like french toast and sandwiches but I guess I was eating them all the time. I had a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch today and I think that'll be the last sandwich that I have for a while. I felt kinda yucky after eating it and it took me almost 25 minutes to eat the darn thing. Thanks but no thanks.

I have 2 more orthodontist appointments in July and was warned that I will probably need to get refitted for a new PEA. It'll be PEA 2.0! I guess the screw that widens your jaw only has so many turns and it looks like mine are going to run out before my jaw gets to be the right size. AKA they get me a new PEA with a reset screw. Thankfully, I won't have to turn it forever.

Now that I'm 10+ days into my recovery, I know for sure that this was the right thing to do. Yea, it was a little difficult and I know I have a long road ahead of me but I know that it was part of the journey I'm on. If anyone is thinking getting this done but is on the fence about it because they are afraid of surgery or the recovery after the surgery, please don't be afraid. Yea, I was a little sore and bruised after the surgery. And the whole soft food/liquid diet thing was a pain in the butt but it just doesn't compare to how I will feel when everything is done and I have a brand new smile. The confidence boost alone will change everything. I can't wait!

Updates for the next few weeks might be a little sparse because the 4th is coming up along with my vacation! I'll try and post some short updates after my orthodontist appointments. Until then, Happy 4th everyone!

Sarpe Recovery - Day 7

It's been a full week since I last had surgery and I feel pretty good! I went back to work today which was exciting. I've been given a special project at work that doesn't involve answering the phones or lifting anything too heavy which is exactly what I wanted. I'm just glad that I don't have to stay home anymore because I was starting to go a little stir crazy with all the free time I had! Although I probably could have spent another 3 or 4 days power-watching the 2nd season of Game of Thrones that I recently acquired. Oh well, work is better anyway! Gotta save that earned time and make some money!

I've slowly started to eat tougher foods but not a lot. I had a hot dog and potato salad for dinner tonight which was perfect. I might go and have a bowl of ice cream before bed. It's sorta calling my name. :P

People at work have been very supportive. However, I don't think some of them expected me to come back so soon after surgery. I work in a larger department so I don't get to see everyone on a regular basis. Some people work a limited schedule and quite a few people left for vacation the week before my surgery. Now, the bruises around my face are slowly starting to get worse, especially now that I am talking more and eating a wider variety of food. They've gone from a yellowish-green to a greenish-purple in some spots. When I came back today, a lot of my coworkers seemed surprised at the bruises around my mouth and along my jawline. I guess people were just surprised that I came back so soon after surgery with the way the bruises look. I honestly don't really care. I'm not going to let a couple bruises stop me from going back to work and doing my job. One coworker said that it almost doesn't look like a bruise, it sorta looks like I got bbq sauce on my face and was too lazy to wipe it off! It made me laugh which I appreciated.
I'm sure some people thought I had just taken a week off for vacation, lol. A Blue Cross Blue Shield vacation maybe, HAHA. It was just amusing to see people's reactions. As one of my coworkers put it, "They broke your face!" Which, yea, they kinda did but in a not so bad kinda way.

I've got a teeny tiny space starting to appear between my front two teeth which is exciting! My front two teeth are still kinda numb though. When I brush my tongue up against them I don't really feel anything. I hit one of my front teeth with a spoon yesterday and expected to feel something but didn't. Doing some more research online, I found that this is actually quite common and the feeling will come back eventually.

Since my teeth have started to separate, I've discovered that I have a cavity on my front left tooth. It was hiding behind the other tooth! However, I'm not sure when I will be able to get this cavity filled. I might have to wait awhile since I don't know how novacaine will affect my upper jaw now that there are stitches and such up there. I'll ask the orthodontist tomorrow what she thinks and go from there.

Anyway, here are some more images of my recovery!

Sarpe Recovery - Day 7

Attempting to smile.

Sarpe Recovery - Day 5

Today was the big day! I had my post-op appointment this morning at 10:30am. My surgeon was happily surprised at how good I looked. My jaw has started to bruise and I was a lovely shade of yellow/green when I had my appointment. However, according to my surgeon, most of his patients who go through the same procedure bruise more heavily than me. He said the bruises will probably become more pronounced within the next couple of days but to just keep using the heat pad to help promote blood circulation. They should slowly start to diminish as I heal.

He told me that I can start to amp up my diet (which makes me very happy). This means I can eat more than ice cream, yogurt and mashed potatoes. My local grocery store had a sale on some really nice looking salmon and wild cod so I think I'll make that tonight to celebrate. Oh man, just thinking about it makes me so hungry!

I was also told that I can now take ibuprofen again. You have no idea how happy I was when he told me that I could start taking the ibuprofen again. Tylenol helps to take the edge off but doesn't even come close to what ibuprofen does. If I want to take the ibuprofen I will have to amp up my diet though because my stomach will be very upset if I take the ibuprofen without eating first.

I am still not allowed to blow my nose or use a straw. I can do both starting next week which is good cause I've been dying for an iced coffee and to be able to blow my nose. I think I can wait a little longer though.

And lastly, the best part, he gave me the ok to go back to work! He told me that it was up to me and how I felt but that if I wanted to go back, he said he was fine with it. He was a little concerned with me over-doing it though so he suggested a modified lite duty. For the first week I'm back, he doesn't want me to do any heavy lifting and to limit my talking on the phone which I'm totally fine with. I work in a pharmacy and there's a bunch of stuff I can do without answering the phone or lifting heavy stuff so I'm not concerned. I have another appointment tomorrow morning at the hospital where I will get cleared to go back to work. I can't officially work until occupational health clears me. It's a little bit of over-kill but I understand why they do it. Patient safety comes first and they need to make sure that I'm well enough to work so that my patients leave happy and healthy. I'll just have to talk to my boss about coming back early and hopefully she'll have something for me to do.

There was a slight hiccup with the orthodontist though. Apparently, I was supposed to also have a post-op appointment with my orthodontist. When I was last there, I asked about when I should see her again, and was told 6 weeks after my surgery. So that's what I scheduled. When I told Dr. Keith that, he said that there must have been some kind of mistake because I should have had an appointment to see her 1-2 weeks after my surgery. It doesn't really surprise me, the people at the front office can be super spacey. And they have a lot of new staff that aren't that familiar with schedules. But he called my orthodontist and fixed everything. Now I have an orthodontist appointment Friday morning at 8am. I'm not looking forward to driving into Boston on a Friday morning but I will do it.

Anyway, I feel a lot better and am looking forward to getting back to work.

Sarpe recovery - Day 3

Nothing really to say today. Feeling a little better every day that goes by. I actually took a shower and interacted with real people (meaning not the hubby, the dog,  or immediate family) which was nice.  I went to a bridal shower for a good friend who's getting married in October. I knew I couldn't let a little swelling and bruising get in the way of me wishing her well. Plus, she couldn't believe that I had made it there only 3 days after surgery. It's cause I'm a badass, haha! Actually a lot of people were surprised that I made it. But seriously, I didn't do anything to get there. A friend drove me to the party, I sat and absorbed the sun (it was beautiful out today!) and then a friend drove me home. It was probably the best first outting that i could have gone to. Lots of sitting around, talking and a few easy going bridal shower games. I ate some mashed potatoes before the party and then almost a while pint of chocolate ice cream when I got home. Not too shabby.
I also ate a hot dog! I cut it up into really small pieces and was able to swallow it with minimal chewing. It was nice to feel like a normal human again.

I did nap though. We hung out at a friends house to watch some fifa soccer games after the shower and I napped while everyone was watching that on the big screen. I'm still not taking the narcotics (wahoo!) But I think the decongestants I'm on do a number on me. They just knock me out. I get so tired after taking them that I have to take a nap almost immediately. But other than that I feel good!

It's been practically 48 hours since taking the narcotics so I think I'll be Ok to drive myself to my post op appointment on Tuesday. It's after rush hour so I won't have to contend with traffic which is good. I don't know what he will say on Tuesday but I'm hoping that I can go back to work Thursday or Friday,  maybe do some light duty. That way I won't have to use all of my earned time. I'm sure there will be something that I can do at work that isn't too strenuous.

Any who, time to relax and watch my stash of movies. Heavy weights is up next!

Sarpe recovery day 3

SARPE Recovery - day 2

Well, it's been roughly 48 hours since my operation and things are going good (i think? haha)! I've been a little weak but that's probably because I haven't had any solid food in two days. My face is still swollen but you can tell that it's slowly going down. The right side of my face is definitely worse than the left. I've been putting ice on my face when I remember (trying to do the whole 20 mins on/20 mins off is hard!) and generally just relaxing and taking it easy. When I'm tired, I sleep. When I'm hungry, I eat. When I'm thirsty, I drink. All that good stuff.

I actually haven't been in too much pain. It's been 48 hours since my surgery and I haven't needed to take any narcotic pain meds today. I did take some tylenol but other than that, I've been pretty good. I am still very sleepy though. I've been mostly taking the nasal decongestants and nasal sprays.

Yawning is really hard. And my nose hurts a little. More than my jaw anyway. I also can't blow my nose which I'm dying to do! I can just feel all the gunk in there and it's bothering me a lot! My ears hurt a little too. Basically, everywhere on my face besides my mouth hurts, lol. Very strange.

Last night, Don helped me to turn PEA for the first time. I definitely felt the turn but it didn't hurt. I've read some blogs where the writer felt the palate expander was the worst pain ever. I feel the pressure but it's not painful. I've been turning the key 2 times, twice a day. Generally, I've been doing it in the morning when I wake up and right before going to bed. I might also have an advantage since I've had PEA before and know what to expect.

Not a whole lot to say but I'm getting there, if a little slowly.

SARPE Recovery - Day 2

SARPE Surgery write up

So, after sleeping a bit and resting, I finally feel ok enough to write a more in depth account of my surgery.

My surgery was scheduled for 11:30am but I arrived at the hospital at 9am. Once I was called in, I had a nurse do my vital signs (take my blood pressure, temp, and pulse) and then I changed into the very stylish johnny and robe. I even had to remove my underwear which was kinda horrifying! I made sure to wear natural cotton undies but they still had me remove them!
After getting registered and changing, I spoke with a really sweet nurse. She asked me all the regular questions. Name, date of birth, what surgery I was having done, meds I was taking, ect. I finally broke down and asked the nurse about the underwear situation. I really didn't want to go into surgery without SOMETHING protecting my modesty. Plus, I was freezing! The nurse assured me that it's just a precaution because they want the OR to be very sterile. She gave me some PJ pants to wear in lieu of underwear and I was so happy! Definitely better than going without. After that was done, they brought in my hubby to sit with me. By that time, it was around 10am. I was able to watch the first half of Let's Make a Deal. Soon after, I said goodbye to my hubby and was transported to the pre-op area.

Now MGH takes cleanliness and everything being 100% sterile very seriously. I went through 2 check points before going into the operating room. Day surgery pre-op where I got registered. I also had to change out of my clothes and leave any other belongings there. Then I was transported to the OR pre-op. What sucked is that my hubby couldn't come into the OR with me. He had to say goodbye at that registration point. Hopefully since the next surgery is way more major, I'll see if he'll be able to stay with me until the last possible second. 

In the OR, I was able to watch TV however, I had to leave my glasses and all valuables back with my hubby. So I was unable to actually really see anything on the screen, lol. Once in the OR, I met with my surgeon, the surgery team, anesthesiologist and nurses. I had my IV put in along with all the good drugs. If you are at all concerned with the procedure or drugs they will be giving you, speak up and tell your nurse, surgeon and anesthesiologist. They will be able to answer all your questions. I was concerned about the narcotics making me nauseous and vomiting after. If you know you have a weak stomach, request a scopolamine patch (it helps against motion sickness and nausea). I got one and it definitely helped.

After that, I was brought into the operating room and put to sleep. My surgery was roughly 45 minutes long. I went in on time but I guess it took me a long time to wake up from the anesthesia because I don't really remember anything until I got to the post op area which was around 3:30pm. My nurse, Joan, was just wonderful. She was an older lady and was very motherly. She was the perfect nurse and I couldn't have asked for anyone better. We didn't leave the hospital until 5pm. The only thing that sucked is that we left at the height of rush hour. I don't know what was worse, leaving at rush hour and getting stuck in traffic or not eating all morning and getting home late.

After the traffic, I went home and immediately lied down. My hubby and brother in law went to the pharmacy for me to get all my drugs along with some other stuff I needed. After that, I just iced my face periodically and relaxed. I even ate a bowl of chicken broth. It helped a lot.  They pumped me full of fluids while in the OR so I've been peeing like a racehorse since yesterday!

I am still very swollen. I've been icing my face constantly. My nose is very sore. I can't blow my nose or sneeze with my mouth closed for awhile. I can't wait until tomorrow when I'll be able to hopefully eat more solid food again.

Here's another photo, you can tell that the swelling as gone down dramatically since yesterday. Under my upper lip and near my cheek are where the stitches are.

Day 1 Recovery

Today at 5pm I will be turning the key in PEA for the first time. I'm sure it'll suck but I'll hopefully write about that tomorrow!

SARPE post surgery - recovery day 1

Hey all, so here I am roughly 10 hours into my surgery recovery. Surgery went very well (at least that's what I was told). I am pretty swollen and sore, especially on my right side. I'm a little numb around my right cheek and my nose. But all the doctors and nurses were very impressed because I had practically no bleeding. I guess this type of surgery may have a significant amount of bleeding just because it's in the mouth. But so far so good! I actually feel Ok, kinda hungry.
I've been put on a clear liquid diet for the next 36 hours which totally sucks. I'm basically limited to chicken broth and water with gaterade and apple juice. Depending on how I feel, I might try some apple sauce tonight,  maybe that will help to fill me up. I know that's not a clear liquid but I don't care. Lol. I should be able to eat a more blender based diet on Saturday night which I'm looking forward to. Milk shakes, yogurt, ice cream, and the mashed potatoes I made are all looking pretty awesome right now.

I want to go into more detail about my 2nd surgery experience but right now I'm very tired. Just wanted to write here that everything went well and that I'm starting to recover. Hopefully I'll be able to write a more in depth account of the actual surgery later today if I'm feeling up for it.

Here's a picture of me just out of surgery,  feel free to look away cause I'm sure it's not pretty by any means.

4 hours after surgery in the post op area.  I'm trying to smile but my face muscles are still really sleepy! 

The big day is here!

Today is the big day! Surgery number 2 is here! I'm currently sitting in the waiting area waiting for my name to be called. I'm already really hungry (haha no surprise there) and would really like a large coffee. Lol.
Don't know if I'll be up to writing a whole blog entry after surgery but I will try. If not, I will shoot for tomorrow.
I've already got a stash of movies to watch while I recover including the first season of game of thrones. See everyone on the other side!

One week to go!

It is officially one week before my surgery! Ahhh, starting to get nervous! I'm not nervous for the actual surgery, I know my surgeon will do an excellent job. I'm more nervous for the recovery I think. And I'm worried about feeling hungry but not being able to eat. I don't want to be hangry!

I posted a question to my friends and family on facebook regarding Ensure/Boost/Carnation Instant Breakfast asking what people's opinions are on any of those. If anyone out there has any advice on any of those, please leave a comment below! 

Rant #2

About 3 weeks ago, I completed my phone screening with a nurse of the MGH anesthesia department. We went over the normal stuff regarding general anesthesia and various things before surgery. Things were going great until we started talking about my specific surgery date. She mentioned that my surgery was going to be a single overnight surgery. I was very confused because my oral surgeon and I had discussed this surgery at length and he told me that it would be a day surgery only. When I mentioned this to her, she said that maybe my doctor saw something in my chart and decided to book me for an overnight just as a precaution. But she also advised me to call my surgeon's office just to clarify what was actually happening so I could plan to have a ride home or not.

So, a few days later, I called the surgeon's office and left a message with the insurance coordinator. I've had some issues with her returning my phone calls in the past so I didn't expect her to return my phone call that day. However, after a week of nothing from her I decided to call back and see if she was in the office. I got some office worker who was pretty rude to me. "Well, Mary is here in the office but she's very busy talking to insurance companies all day today. So..." I'm sorry but that is not something you tell a patient. Thankfully, I work in healthcare and am an understanding person and realize that she is very busy. And I'm sure she only has a limited window in which to talk to these insurance companies. But seriously, it won't kill you to give a little white lie or something. Tell me that she's in a meeting or that she's out of the office that day, anything besides what you just told me over phone. Telling someone that they are on the phone with insurance companies implies that insurance companies are more important than the patient who is on the phone asking a very important question regarding a surgery they are having in less than 2 weeks. I was pretty annoyed and offended by how rude they were to me. Especially since I've been going to their office for over a year and will be experiencing multiple surgeries with them. I'm spending a lot of money; I don't think they should speak to me (or anyone for that matter) the way they did.

After I left a second message, I decided to wait out the rest of the week and see if she'd call me back. She never did. Finally, after waiting for almost 2 and a half weeks, I gave in a called the office a 3rd time. Thankfully, the nice receptionist answered the phone and remembered me very quickly. I told her what was going on and she said, "Oh, Mary is in her office! Do you mind holding while I go and ask her?" Very simple and easy. I said no problem and waited. She came back on the phone after a few seconds and said, "I'm going to transfer you to her office because there are a few other things she wanted to talk to you about as well. Here's the number in case we get disconnected." Note the professionalism BTW!

Well, I spoke with Mary and she informed me that my chart said I was spending 1 overnight at the hospital. Do I have any other questions? I explained to her everything I had told 2 people and her voice mail twice. It was like she never even listened to my messages. She told me that she would clarify with Dr. Keith but that she was 98% sure that I was going to spend the night. I thanked her for the info and ended the call. She never even apologized for not returning my messages. I'm very tempted to say something to Dr. Keith when I see him at my post-op. Seriously just irritated me.

But wait! The best part about this whole thing? I realized I had a voice mail once I got into work. It was Mary telling me that there was some sort of "mix up" and that Dr. Keith told her that my next surgery was a day surgery. My 2nd surgery would require me to spend a night in the hospital.

I think the thing that irritated me the most was that my question was simple, yet important. And still she never called me back. If she had looked into Dr. Keith's schedule for next Thursday and asked about my specific case, he would have told her that it was to be a day surgery. THEN all she would have to do is call me back and leave a message on my cell phone. In total, it would have been 10, maybe 15 minutes out of her daily schedule. So irritating!!

I can't wait until this whole thing is over. I'm ready to start recovering so that I can get on with my life.

Sorry about the rant, just needed to get some stuff off my chest!

Meet P.E.A.!

So, not a whole lot to say. Palate Expander still sucks. I hate typing out palate expander every single time I want to talk about it though. So, from now on, I will now refer to it as PEA (palate expander appliance)! Haha, I'm so clever! LOL.
Food is slowly getting easier to navigate. Talking is still hard. It almost sounds as if I'm deaf. It's a very strange experience. I'll have moments of clarity where my voice sounds like it used to. But then, all of a sudden, I have to say a word that I didn't anticipate being a difficult word so I sorta kinda just spit it out. It's almost like I'm tone deaf on certain words. Very odd and weird. I don't know how it sounds to other people, but to me it sounds like I was deaf at some point.
I've also learned to eat with my head tilted slightly back. Not sure how that will work once the surgery happens and I have stitches but I'm sure I'll manage somehow.

Now, I'm sure some of you are curious what PEA looks like. Luckily, I have a hubby who's willing to take some photos for me, even if they are slightly awkward.

Now, PEA is obviously the spider looking metal contraption. It is hooked onto 4 teeth and cemented in with glue (that blue stuff around those teeth is the glue). This picture really shows how much crowding I have. You can see the front 4 teeth are really crowded. Once I have surgery, I will be able to crank PEA and make my jaw wider. In order to make my jaw wider, I will need to crank PEA with a special key. My orthodontist instructed me that I can't loose it because the company only makes one per person. And I must bring it with me to surgery because they will start the cranking process while I'm under the anesthesia. If you look at the photo above, you can see a small slit in the very center. You take the key, insert it into the slit and you can watch it grow wider and wider. After awhile, my teeth will start to spread and I will actually have a space in between my front teeth! It's hard to believe since my teeth have been crowded for so long. 

This "key" is quite an expensive tool. It's 95% made of flimsy plastic with 5% curved metal. It almost looks like someone unbent a paper clip and glued it onto a piece of plastic. HAHA. I've had PEA before so I was not surprised with how flimsy the key looked. But it's a lot stronger than it looks. I guess one of her patients forgot the key at home on surgery day and she had to rush over with someone else's key. How someone in the OR couldn't just fabricate something on the fly blows my mind but whatever. I've been told that it must remain with me surgery day so I'll follow my instructions and bring it on surgery day.

I guess on surgery day, Dr. Keith will take my key and crank PEA at least 4 or 5 times to get my mouth started. Then, once I am in recovery, someone will instruct my hubby on how to crank PEA since I won't be able to. I could when I was a kid but I didn't have stitches or a broken palate haha. 

It's very strange but I just realized today that I don't have any more doctor's appointments or phone appointments. Surgery is my next appointment! O.O!! Holy cow!

2nd Surgery date scheduled!

I finally got a surgery date for surgery #2! Yaaay!

The big day is Thursday, June 19th, 2014 at 11:30am. Thankfully, this surgery is before noon which is great for me! Last time I had surgery, it wasn't until 2:30pm which meant I had to go without food for most of the day. It was beyond terrible. Dr. Keith came in before my surgery and asked me how I was feeling. My answer? Starving!

I'll have to be at the hospital 2 hours before my start time which means that I'll arrive at the hospital by 9:30am to get set up. Way better than last time. :) I also spoke with the insurance coordinator for my oral surgeon and she said that most people are out for 7-10 days. But that if I wanted to go back after a week, Dr. Keith could write a note saying that I can only do "lite duty." She said that if it still hurts to talk, he can even write me a note saying limited phone answering or something like that. I don't think it'll come to that, but it's nice that he's willing to do that. She said that he would make the final decision on when I can go back to work at my post-op appointment.

My boss was very supportive and was ok with the date since she hasn't done up the next schedule yet. I'm just happy that it's set and out of the way. Now I can book other appointments and get things rolling.

The only bad thing is that the surgery is the day before the Wakefield Walk for Relay that I had planned to participate in. A bunch of my friends are walking and I'm wicked bummed out because I don't think I'll be up to walking the day after my surgery. I'm going to see if my hubby will walk in my place. And maybe I'll bring my spirit and my lawn chair and just hang out. I'll bring my drugs, it'll be all good! haha!
And then there's a cancer walk in Salem the Sunday after my surgery. I just can't catch a break! Such a bummer.

But at least it's happening and now I can move forward!

RANT RANT RANT

\RANT BEGIN

Ugh! I'm so irritated! I have been waiting for a little over a month now for the insurance coordinator to call me and schedule my 2nd surgery. It's really difficult to make any future plans and I can't move forward with any more orthodontic work until we know the date of the surgery.

Well, she called me today and I missed her call! And when I tried to call her back, she gave me the number to call her back at a different office (which I know she isn't in that office on Wednesdays). And I'm pretty sure she got confirmation that my insurance company will cover the surgery and was calling to schedule my surgery! UGH!!!! I don't want to wait anymore!!!!!!!! ;_; 

I just want this stupid thing scheduled so I can move on with my life and get things planned!

/END RANT


On a lighter note, I'm pretty sure that my bottom teeth are completely straight! Hopefully, I won't need another wire to tighten them again cause they look pretty good to me!