Monday, March 10, 2008
a few things on my mind...
I'm excited to have met a few of you after only a day of starting this blog! Something that has been on my mind lately... have any of you who are recovering experienced permanent nerve damage to the lower lip, jaw, or cheek areas? I've been told that this is a possibility, however a small one. Has anyone heard of this happening frequently? Thats one issue that I'm kind of concerned about. I've been looking at people's post-op photos and it seems like it definitely depends on the person as far as the amount of swelling and how low it takes to go down. Has anyone had any complications that they were not aware could occur before the surgery? Is anyone else also having/had just their mandible advanced? It looks like a lot of the surgeries deal more with the maxilla.
Also, today I had an appointment with an ENT that I saw when I broke my nose a few years back. He wanted to make sure my nasal passages were in good shape before surgery because of all the swelling and congestion that occurs. I mentioned to him that about a year ago, I started to have pretty intense head and neck aches. My family doctor just told me to cut caffeine and other stimulants. I stopped drinking sodas (because of the aspartame which can cause headaches) and coffee (i had to start drinking coffee again to stay alert in my early morning classes this semester). However, last week I experienced another episode where I had to sleep for two hours, and after i woke up that day and even the next morning, I could still feel it a bit. Now, every day since then... when I get up from laying or sitting down, I have a throbbing pressure and slight pain in my head mostly on the left side. I've experienced that before, but not EVERY time I stand. He believes that this could be related to muscle strain in my jaw. Has this happened to anyone else? I hope its just a muscle issue, and not blood pressure related.
Sorry that was such a rant! Hope everyone's braces/recoveries are going well!
Also, today I had an appointment with an ENT that I saw when I broke my nose a few years back. He wanted to make sure my nasal passages were in good shape before surgery because of all the swelling and congestion that occurs. I mentioned to him that about a year ago, I started to have pretty intense head and neck aches. My family doctor just told me to cut caffeine and other stimulants. I stopped drinking sodas (because of the aspartame which can cause headaches) and coffee (i had to start drinking coffee again to stay alert in my early morning classes this semester). However, last week I experienced another episode where I had to sleep for two hours, and after i woke up that day and even the next morning, I could still feel it a bit. Now, every day since then... when I get up from laying or sitting down, I have a throbbing pressure and slight pain in my head mostly on the left side. I've experienced that before, but not EVERY time I stand. He believes that this could be related to muscle strain in my jaw. Has this happened to anyone else? I hope its just a muscle issue, and not blood pressure related.
Sorry that was such a rant! Hope everyone's braces/recoveries are going well!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
First Post!
So, I've been researching for awhile now... trying to prepare for my mandibular advancement surgery this May. I've seen a lot of these blogs from other people going through the same type of process as me, and it seems to help them and others seeking information to start blogs about their journey. So here I go!
I have an overbite, which over the past year or so started giving me a great deal of pain-- partly from jutting my jar forward in social situations to talk, smile, and eat properly, and also because of the class (#?) malocclusion. After consulting with my dentist, orthodontist, and a facial pain specialist, it seems that jaw surgery is the best (possibly only) way to stop the pain I was having (i say "was" because my pain has actually subsided after seeing the facial pain specialist and having a proper night-splint fitted. I still have occasional pain, but nothing compared to what i was having before.) They say that even after the surgery I could still experience jaw pain, but from what I gather, pain will probably reoccur if my bite is not corrected and if i continue to hold my jaw forward.
I had braces put on in January and I have gotten use to them again! I had them years ago when I thought it would be a one-time thing! They aren't so bad after a few weeks, and since my teeth were pretty straight from having them before, I didn't have too much pain. Only for about a week after the first 2 wire changes.
I have had two consultations with the oral surgeons and won't be having another until my pre-op appointment the week before surgery. I didn't realize that there would be so few appointments with them... has anyone else had about the same experience?
I will be sure to update with questions or new info that I think will be useful to others going through this process too! Although, I don't think i'll have a lot of interesting personal stories for a while, seeing as for the next 2 months i'll just be waiting!
If anyone else has any helpful info, I would be very appreciative to know also!
I have an overbite, which over the past year or so started giving me a great deal of pain-- partly from jutting my jar forward in social situations to talk, smile, and eat properly, and also because of the class (#?) malocclusion. After consulting with my dentist, orthodontist, and a facial pain specialist, it seems that jaw surgery is the best (possibly only) way to stop the pain I was having (i say "was" because my pain has actually subsided after seeing the facial pain specialist and having a proper night-splint fitted. I still have occasional pain, but nothing compared to what i was having before.) They say that even after the surgery I could still experience jaw pain, but from what I gather, pain will probably reoccur if my bite is not corrected and if i continue to hold my jaw forward.
I had braces put on in January and I have gotten use to them again! I had them years ago when I thought it would be a one-time thing! They aren't so bad after a few weeks, and since my teeth were pretty straight from having them before, I didn't have too much pain. Only for about a week after the first 2 wire changes.
I have had two consultations with the oral surgeons and won't be having another until my pre-op appointment the week before surgery. I didn't realize that there would be so few appointments with them... has anyone else had about the same experience?
I will be sure to update with questions or new info that I think will be useful to others going through this process too! Although, I don't think i'll have a lot of interesting personal stories for a while, seeing as for the next 2 months i'll just be waiting!
If anyone else has any helpful info, I would be very appreciative to know also!
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