I’m not sure if this is a permanent thing or a fluke or what…but I am up. I know, I get up every day…but the time varies and it’s usually much later than sooner, and after many many big fat pushes of my buddy the snooze button. So here I am, 6 am, teeth brushed, cat diapered, birds singing…and the owl that lives outside our window is still hooting. SWEET!
This sure beats yesterday when I scrammed out of bed at 4am just to get away from my dream of being disassembled by the narrative cast of When Harry met Sally. Truly. All the old couples in the movie were doing their little song and dance (on a continuous and very painful loop) but in addition to their stories they were cutting me apart into many bloody pieces and it didn’t feel very good. At some point in time I closed my eyes (in the dream) so I didn’t have to see anymore (though I could feel), but I could still hear them talking so I had to get up and move around for about 2 hours before I could safely return to the land of sleep. I’m pretty sure I get these nightmares because my teeth still don’t touch and I bite down hard all night and every time I wake up I am in a bit of oral discomfort (read: pain).
I liked my Dr. Li volleyball superstar dream much better.
Yeah, you know, I’ve been waking up early too. Must be spring!
Disturbing dream though. Dismemberment. Yikes. No fun at all.
Hey Shelby,
How are you doing? Just thought I would pop in and say hi! My surgery is coming up here next Thursday! (May 24th) YIKES! starting to get a little nervous about it. Not to much but some! ARe you getting feeling back more and more now?
Brandy
Hey Brandy!
May 24…wow, that’s pretty darned close, isn’t it? I send you calming healing thoughts. I am feeling way more now and can open my mouth pretty wide. Still not much in the outer gums, and less than half of the roof of my mouth is back, but my upper lip is pretty close to all the way back, and my lower lip is making definite progress. My teeth still don’t touch in the back, and in the front they are kind of resting on brace brackets, not each other, so chewing is still a big dream. Stock up on stool softeners…you’ll need them post surgery and then when you swallow everything whole, you ‘ll need em again! Overshare, right?
Shelby
Hey Shelby,
LOL, I can always count on you for a good chuckle. While your share may have been just a bit too much info, it was actually good. I had bought prune juice at your previous recommendation but had completely forgot about stool softeners. I need to get some of those!
Thanks for the calming thoughts…I think I’m doing ok, but I’m sure the closer I get to Thursday the more I will start to freak out! I mean I know it will all be worth it it is just nerve racking to have to go through surgery.
Glad to hear you have your feeling back in your top lip and it is coming back in the lower one too! The gums take a little while. 14 months to get full feeling back for me after my palate expansion. So…its sounds like you are right on track and doing wonderfully! PLUS! you are sleeping well now. Only a fellow sleep apneaer can truly appreciate that benefit! That in and off itself must truly be a godsend! Hopefully my results will be as great as yours, oh….and perhaps I will come out looking like a beauty queen too! I mean that would be a nice fringe benefit don’tcha think?
Think some happy thoughts for me on Thursday ok? and thanks for all your help. I will be documenting everything so feel free to drop by my blog and check me out in all my post surgery glory! I’m sure I will be looking quite attractive! NOT! LOL….
Hey Shelby,
I had my surgery Thursday. Was our tongue really swollen when you were done? My throat is killing me and my tongue feels enormous. Just wondering if this is normal.
Tongue swollen…you know, that I cannot remember. But I did not have access to my tongue for many weeks since I had a big bite guard wired in. Since they moved my teeth so far away from each other, they had to do the hard plastic bite guard to give them something to anchor against. As a result, no one saw my tongue for a good 2-4 weeks…and it’s amazing how much you’d like to use it when eating…especially liquids. Be sure to keep a bib/towel handy for all drool and other such mouth spillage.
Your throat kills because there was a breathing tube down it for 4 hours. That will get better. I promise.
Your nose also might look funny because they put the breathing tube down your nose and one nostril will look slightly flared for a while. I was all pissed at the doctor for making my nostrils crooked when I found out it was only temporary.
oops!
How are you feeling otherwise?
Congratulations on your HUGE step towards peaceful and restful sleep!
Hey Shelby,
I’m feeling ok, but this tongue numbness thing has me worried. Seems like no one else has had it, and it is very annoying. Like prickly feeling when you are coming off novocaine. Its annoying. Other then that I’m doing ok. As well as can be expected I suppose. thank goodness for Zip and Squeeze bags, they have been my life saver. Things are progressing, but as you know it is a slow process and totally a waiting game. The steroids have all worn off now, and I’m quite puffy. I keep getting a really bad headache, and my sinuses are achey too.
Waa waa, it is what it is, and so I just have to suck it up and get through this first week to 10 days. Then hopefullly things will greatly improve after that. Thanks for the support though, I do appreciate it.
Hey Brandy of the Puffy Face! What colors do you have? My fave was the purple, but I was not a big fan of the yellow it faded into (even though yellow didn’t hurt near as much as purple). Hopefully you have tons of support…someone to hand you that syringe of medicated goodness BEFORE you start moaning.
Whine all you want…it’s not like you can do it out loud…at least not in actual WORDS. What’s your favorite sign? Mine was thank you except I had to make sure NOT to hit my chin when I did it.
Take care of you! Let me know if I need to write you novels to get through some of this time.
xo
smac
Funny you should ask that question as the lovely colors decided to show up today. I don’t have much purple, mostly this “exorcist” green type color. Perhaps that is because I feel so close to death, or because I look like some kind of puffy face alien. Truthfully though things are progressing along pretty well. I mean I’m only 4 days post surgery and my swelling has come down immensly. I have seen many others who looked worse then me at day 8 then I do at day 4.
I’m starting to get a bit bored, and really wanted to take a short walk outside today. For some reason though, I’m just soooo tired. I think it is the lack of sleep catching up with me, but I swear I haven’t been able to move my fat (although totally shrinking) ass out of the recliner all day. I have like zero energy. Probably from the delicious and nutricious liquid diet I have been consuming for what feels like forever now. Not sure if you had a magic bullet blender, but OMG those things totally rock. The person who made that thing must have went through a liquid diet themselves. It totally rocks, you can make individual smoothies, heat soup, then blend it, all in the same container. It’s fast, and its quiet. Just an all around great product. Hey….what can I say, its the little things that thrill me now! LOL..
My tongue is still numb and feels like it was inflated with a tire pump, along with my lower lip. It is gradually getting better I think, but I have noticed that anytime I eat, or seem to overwork it, then it gets really puffy, and burny feeling. It is the most aggravating part of all of this. So far pain has been pretty minimal. Nothing 3 Advil can’t handle. I do have the intermitant facial nerve zingers that sort of come out of no where every now and again. I know you remember those, and are probably thinking how great it is to be past them eh? They are annoying but comforting in a weird sort of way to me, as they signal that things are working on repairing in those areas.
Ok…so other then that, that is about it. I’m tired, and I need to go blend myself another nutritional shake. Then find my way back to my recliner chair. I’m figuring at the rate I’m progressing that by 1 week things should be getting much better. That is only 3 more days! woo hoo! I think I can I think I can, oh what the heck, I’m too tired, so I’m going to take a nap and try chugging along some more later. Thanks for the support and I will gab with you more later.
Oh hey, when did your stitches come out? Do you remember? I have a doctor appointment on Wednesday and I remember that I didn’t like it when he pulled out a couple of my stitches when I had my SARPE. I want them to dissolve on their own, but it doesn’t seem like that is going to happen.
Brandy