RECOVERY TITANIUM PLATE REMOVAL (pt.1)
The first day after surgery was quite hard. The swelling
started to develop and I had really bad tension around my head, jaw, neck and
shoulders. Anytime I moved I had intense stabbing and throbbing pain around my
whole upper body. I had managed to get some sleep on and off through the night.
However, the level of pain and the stinging of the top palette was worrying me.
I did not want to get an infection or to have my palette or jaw dislocate. Mum
called Mr Matthews who advised that it was unlikely to be an infection or
anything sinister and booked me an appointment to see him on 24th
December.
Later on in the day mum helped me to have a bath and I used
a rolled up towel behind my neck to support it. I was on maximum pain relief
every 4 hours and was using ice packs and heat packs. My Aunt Denise popped
around after but I was too rough to see her. I heard her saying to mum she was
disgusted about what was being said on the internet about me and that she was
going to report it. The pain situation was then made worse when I started
crying. As you all know when having any type of face surgery the worst thing
you can do is cry or over use the muscles. I got myself into a right state, mainly
due to a number of evil, spiteful and nasty people. But that will be covered
another time. Just know that it would not stop me from sharing my story or
helping others. In fact you all did me a favour because now I am even more
determined to succeed and can see that you are all nasty people who have
nothing better to do than bully and intimidate people whilst they are
defenceless.
I did not eat on the first day after surgery and just stuck
to water in the plastic cup. I use plastic cups as I find it easier to guide
into my mouth. I have permanent lower lip and chin numbness and after this
surgery both my lips were numb. Additional to this, using heavy cups after
surgery can cause pain on your lips or put pressure on your jaw. By day 3 after
surgery I managed to have half a cup of soup and litres of water. Whoever says
you can eat a normal diet after plate removal has obviously never had the
surgery themselves. I was rinsing my mouth every 4 hours and alternating salt
water rinses with Corsodyl medicated mouth wash. My teeth were really sensitive
and the gums were obviously sore where the stitches were. I could not brush my
teeth for the first 2 days. By day 3 I could brush lightly with a soft baby
tooth brush. I also managed to put my retainers in for 4 hours. YAY!
By day 3 my muscles were still as rigid in my head, back,
shoulders and neck, so mum massaged them using a moisturiser. This gave me
great relief and I was able to get comfortable. I was still able to sleep on
and off and use my phone for short bursts. My friends Sam and Mehmood were
really supportive at this time and it helped to distract me from the feelings
of hurt and disappointment of my other “friend’s” vile behaviour. During this
day I had a hair wash and mum helped to dry my hair. It was good to wash out
all of the iodine left over from the operation and to scrub off the monitor
sticker marks. Some bruising had appeared but it was not too drastic. With this
operation the swelling mainly resided in my neck and cheek areas. The stitch
ends had started to drop down and were quite annoying dangling in my mouth. I
knew not to touch them or otherwise I would be back up the hospital. I noticed
that I had a bundle of skin/gum on my upper right of my mouth and I was
concerned that the scarring would not be as neat this time.
By day 4 I was on a soft food diet of mash potato and other
delightful wonders. However, due to the pure codeine I felt physically sick. I
presume my stomach would have shrunk from the lack of food for the past 4 days.
I decided by day 5 to go back onto my usual plastic coated cocodomol tablets. I
have taken cocodomol in various doses since I developed extreme unexplained
facial pain in 2010. So I had plenty of these pills in stock. With every day
that passed I could see improvements and the recovery. I was still using hot
and cold packs. However, the cold packs had started to cause nerve pain so I
stopped these on day 5 and just stuck to the heat packs. The bruising and
swelling had increased and my hair started to fall out. The exact same thing had
happened in my first surgery. I was worried about losing all of my hair this
time as it had not fully grown back from before.
On day 5 I was still having massages to help the tension in
the muscles. I tried rice and curry on this day but the texture was not nice
and the rice was too hard. I needed softer food. I really craved Bombay potato
or saag paneer but I was too lazy to make it myself. Instead I stuck to cake
and custard…. Not exactly the healthiest diet. In total I lost 6lbs with this
surgery. Again, this was not as dramatic as my first surgery. This was
attributed to the fact the recovery is more speedy and I was able to eat a soft
food diet much quicker. I could already
see an improvement after this surgery. I felt a lot less restricted in my
breathing and I could feel the difference with the plates and screws removed. I
went for a walk around the block with mum and the cold did not hurt or sting my
face as it did before. My friend Aashbir and her mum came to visit me and I was
trying my hardest not to laugh or pull on my internal wounds. I was also able
to bath and dress myself today and had a relatively good day.
By day 6 there was a little set back and I was feeling
congested. I was scared of getting a cold and worried that it would set off
more sinus infections. I felt really tired and drained. I decided to take
Sudafed decongestant and I still use my Karvol capsules every night. My bottom
jaw really hurt today but I was hoping this was due to over use when I was
laughing and chatting to Aash the day before. I was still taking maximum pain
relief.
1 week post operation I decided to go on to the laptop but
suffered with pain later. I had a sandwich for the first time and really
enjoyed it. But my face and shoulders really hurt. Later on my top palette was
really painful and mum suggested that it could be the bread and the motions of
breaking down the sandwich which had caused too much pressure on the jaws. I
was still on maximum pain relief, using hot packs and mum was giving me a
massage every day. Spoilt or what?
On day 8 I woke up in more pain and my cheeks, under eye
area and palette really hurt. It felt like a sinus infection and I was
extremely worried. If it was another
sinus infection, I might have to have more investigations and surgery. I
decided to go on a bread free diet and stick to soft foods only for a while. By
the next day it had improved a bit and I managed to wash and dry my own hair.
To the average person that does not seem a lot but to a jaw surgery patient or
someone suffering from facial pain or muscular issues this is a huge
achievement.
On week 2 I was still on a soft food diet and rationing my
bread intake. I had to drive to the doctors to pick up my prescription and this
was quite tough on my neck muscles and face. I was proud I did it though. I was
still taking the usual pain relief, heat packs and massages. Recovery seemed to
have slowed down and I started to get frustrated with myself. I think after any
surgery there is a point where you have a down and wonder when you will start
to see improvement. In my case normally 2 weeks after surgery. I am really hard
on myself and put a lot of pressure on myself to get better and be on the same
level as other people who have had this surgery. You will often see me
commenting on the internet groups and on twitter telling people that every case
is unique and not everyone is so quick to recover and to be patient and go with
what your body is telling you to do. But the saying “practice what you preach”
never seems to apply when it is your own case hehe. I know it is true and
really should take this fully on board and put it into perspective. My surgery
was successful in terms of achieving the goal of removing all the plates and
screws and I was safe and well. Nothing bad had happened. I was just being
stubborn and wanted to run before I could walk (so to speak) or a better
analogy swallow before I could chew.
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I'm completely agree with you dear, it's create some plenty off pain and problems with that also One of the very very important things relating to the procedure here was the quantity of some time that it takes, congrats you that you are having a successful surgery.
ReplyDeleteThank's & Regard's
Cosmetic Dentistry Las Vegas
Thank you for your comment Warren :). Some people seem to recover quicker than others. Unfortunately, i think my body takes its time and reacts badly to anesthetic.
DeleteHi Stefanie
ReplyDeleteI'm getting my plates and screws removed on Friday - just got told today, nothing like short notice to knock the nerves out of you! I had a jaw operation in July to move my top jaw forward, and recovery was slow but not painful. Can I ask why you had to get your plates out and was it sorer than your first operation? Also, i dont know how long to take off work - what would you recommend? The surgeon told me I could go back to work after 2 weeks when I had my first op. but i was poorly and black and blue for nearly 4 weeks, and even then, I had to do part time hours. How long did it take for the swelling to go down? J