I forgot to add this to my last post. :P
These are the exercises my ortho/surgeon instructed me to do to help get my ROM (range of motion) back in shape. *Disclaimer - Please consult w/your OD or OS as every doctor is different in what they want you to do/not do during your recovery! :)
Stretch #1: Take both index fingers and put on lower teeth. Then press down on lower jaw and softly bounce lower jaw down - if it hurts then use less pressure. Bounce 4-5 times, twice a day. Massage jaw and joint area afterwards.
Stretch #2: Using your hand, push lower jaw to the side till you feel the stretch (not pain) and hold for a few seconds. Do both sides, twice a day. Massage jaw and joint area afterwards.
Stretch #3: Little side to side, and open/close movements throughout the day.
Stretch #4: Open and stretch mouth as far as I can till I can feel the stretch, and then hold for as long as I can stand it. I do these mostly in the car to/from work. Also, I'll do this while I'm watching TV in the evening. Massage jaw and joint area afterwards.
And that's it. These are helping little by little. Everything in this recovery is little by little. :) Anyway, this morning I was able to get two finger widths in my mouth opening. First time that has happened since I started working on my ROM! Woo Hoo!!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Too Tense
So I'm still having pain issues w/the right jaw joint area. This has been going on for about 3 weeks or so now, it's REALLY getting to be annoying. Grrr. I just wanna be all healed already.
I saw Q last Wednesday, and again he prodded around and pulled my mouth open - It hurt like hell. :( But he gets my mouth way more open than I've been able to so far, and he did say it opened wider than it did the last time he saw me (which was 2 wks previous). So I guess that's a good thing. Then he asked if I wake up in the morning tensed or w/ my jaw clenched, and said I do. I've also been really achy at the end of the work day and I get these sharp shooting pains inside my right ear (that just about turns me into a blubbering, crying baby). Q said that would be happening since the muscles are in spasms and putting stress on the joint which sends the shooting pain in the ear.
He basically told me that I'm really tense, - I know this, my stress levels at work have been BRUTAL the last couple of weeks! - because he can feel the muscles quiver and spasm when I try to open/stretch my jaw. He said there's nothing wrong w/ that, it's just how I am. Hmmm, I think there are some steps I can take to help myself relax....like oh say not stress about the shit I can't control. :| Easier said than done, but I still need to work on it. Anyway, he prescribed a muscle relaxer for me to take before I got to bed every night for the next 2 wks. So far I'm not sure they are working...I still wake up w/a clenched jaw. I think it's time I find some yoga classes again. Or a new job?
I saw Q last Wednesday, and again he prodded around and pulled my mouth open - It hurt like hell. :( But he gets my mouth way more open than I've been able to so far, and he did say it opened wider than it did the last time he saw me (which was 2 wks previous). So I guess that's a good thing. Then he asked if I wake up in the morning tensed or w/ my jaw clenched, and said I do. I've also been really achy at the end of the work day and I get these sharp shooting pains inside my right ear (that just about turns me into a blubbering, crying baby). Q said that would be happening since the muscles are in spasms and putting stress on the joint which sends the shooting pain in the ear.
He basically told me that I'm really tense, - I know this, my stress levels at work have been BRUTAL the last couple of weeks! - because he can feel the muscles quiver and spasm when I try to open/stretch my jaw. He said there's nothing wrong w/ that, it's just how I am. Hmmm, I think there are some steps I can take to help myself relax....like oh say not stress about the shit I can't control. :| Easier said than done, but I still need to work on it. Anyway, he prescribed a muscle relaxer for me to take before I got to bed every night for the next 2 wks. So far I'm not sure they are working...I still wake up w/a clenched jaw. I think it's time I find some yoga classes again. Or a new job?
Friday, July 30, 2010
9 Weeks Down...and still a LONG ways to go
Tuesday of this past week (July 27) marked the 9th week since my surgery. The days have really gone by fast, but it seems like it was sooooo much longer ago that I was in the hospital.
I feel like I'm stuck in a gray area now...what I mean by that is I feel mostly like my old normal self, and yet I don't cause I'm not fully healed yet which my jaw constantly reminds me of everyday. I still can't chew any type of food. I'm SO tired of mushy foods, juice and Ensure. And what normal/solid food I can eat - like pastas - I have to cut up into itty-bitty tiny little pieces in order to eat, well not eat cause I can't chew, but so I can swallow it. UGH!!!! And I've still got 3 weeks to go on the not chewing front...slowly, so very slowly, but surely that day IS coming...
Then sometimes I actually forget that I had my jaw bones sawed apart only just over 2 months ago and that I'm not fully healed yet. I feel good so I don't think about it. Then I'll smile a little too big, or laugh a little too hard, or talk a little too long, and then my jaw reminds me that I'm NOT 100% quite yet! Or, I'm make a sudden movement, like when something startles you, and I'll get this weird pulling sensation in my upper jaw which is apparently normal. Man, Dr Q wasn't kidding when he told me this takes a long, long, LONG time to heal! So again - UGH!
So besides my mood being in the crapper (there's a couple other things contributing to my mood besides my jaw and recovery, but I won't go into that), here's what's been happening the last three weeks with the jaw -
I've been in to see Dr Nelson twice since my last post and really not much to report on the ortho progress (this week is the first full week since the surgery I haven't been in to see him so maybe that's a good sign?? :) ). He took off one of the very back brackets on the bottom, and I still need to wear the rubber bands at night. And he told me that I could have the braces off by the end of October!!!!!! Woo Hoo!! :) :) :)
About two weeks ago or so the right jaw joint area starting hurting really bad. Too much movement - talking, laughing, stretching, etc - sends shooting pain in my joint and ear, then the whole side of my face aches. Ouch. So I saw Dr Q on the 21st and told him about this pain. He pressed and prodded all around my joint, and found some real tender spots, and during all this he also had me opening and moving my jaw side to side. It freaking hurt REALLY bad! Not fun at all. :( He told me that it was muscle spasm-isms and gave me some exercises to do twice a day. Those exercises hurt to do. :( No pain, no gain, right?
Oh, and Q took out the wire hook that had been in my upper front jaw since the surgery. That being pulled out was a funky sensation!
I gotta say that not everything has been gloomy and gray the last couple weeks - I was able to finally get out on the river two Saturdays again w/friends, and had a really good time. I crispy fried myself in the process, it was still worth it though! lol And last wkd we had our first girls night out in a really long time that was a lot of fun. And after a night of talking and a lot of hard laughing, my jaw didn't ache! So those exercises are working!! ;)
I feel like I'm stuck in a gray area now...what I mean by that is I feel mostly like my old normal self, and yet I don't cause I'm not fully healed yet which my jaw constantly reminds me of everyday. I still can't chew any type of food. I'm SO tired of mushy foods, juice and Ensure. And what normal/solid food I can eat - like pastas - I have to cut up into itty-bitty tiny little pieces in order to eat, well not eat cause I can't chew, but so I can swallow it. UGH!!!! And I've still got 3 weeks to go on the not chewing front...slowly, so very slowly, but surely that day IS coming...
Then sometimes I actually forget that I had my jaw bones sawed apart only just over 2 months ago and that I'm not fully healed yet. I feel good so I don't think about it. Then I'll smile a little too big, or laugh a little too hard, or talk a little too long, and then my jaw reminds me that I'm NOT 100% quite yet! Or, I'm make a sudden movement, like when something startles you, and I'll get this weird pulling sensation in my upper jaw which is apparently normal. Man, Dr Q wasn't kidding when he told me this takes a long, long, LONG time to heal! So again - UGH!
So besides my mood being in the crapper (there's a couple other things contributing to my mood besides my jaw and recovery, but I won't go into that), here's what's been happening the last three weeks with the jaw -
I've been in to see Dr Nelson twice since my last post and really not much to report on the ortho progress (this week is the first full week since the surgery I haven't been in to see him so maybe that's a good sign?? :) ). He took off one of the very back brackets on the bottom, and I still need to wear the rubber bands at night. And he told me that I could have the braces off by the end of October!!!!!! Woo Hoo!! :) :) :)
About two weeks ago or so the right jaw joint area starting hurting really bad. Too much movement - talking, laughing, stretching, etc - sends shooting pain in my joint and ear, then the whole side of my face aches. Ouch. So I saw Dr Q on the 21st and told him about this pain. He pressed and prodded all around my joint, and found some real tender spots, and during all this he also had me opening and moving my jaw side to side. It freaking hurt REALLY bad! Not fun at all. :( He told me that it was muscle spasm-isms and gave me some exercises to do twice a day. Those exercises hurt to do. :( No pain, no gain, right?
Oh, and Q took out the wire hook that had been in my upper front jaw since the surgery. That being pulled out was a funky sensation!
I gotta say that not everything has been gloomy and gray the last couple weeks - I was able to finally get out on the river two Saturdays again w/friends, and had a really good time. I crispy fried myself in the process, it was still worth it though! lol And last wkd we had our first girls night out in a really long time that was a lot of fun. And after a night of talking and a lot of hard laughing, my jaw didn't ache! So those exercises are working!! ;)
Friday, July 16, 2010
6 Weeks Post-Op - "Good Healer"
Day 42 (Tuesday, July 6): 6 Weeks Post-Op!!!
So I'm half way to eating solid food again! That really keeps me going. :) Only a little residual swelling remains around my nose - on either side and the upper lip area. There's still a little left in my chin area too. But most of it is GONE. :) The right half of my lower lip and chin are still numb, but the feeling is slowly working it's way back. I'd say that I have around 60ish% feeling back, and it still tingles most of the time which I don't notice most of the time. My jaw and face still gets a little achy after talking/laughing a lot, but overall I feel great!
Just a few minor annoyances to note:
I saw Dr Nelson on Monday (July 5), and he said that I am a "quick healer." :) Everything has fused together and he can't see any lines in my gums where the cuts were made. He said he could tell that I've been massaging my upper lip area (to smooth out the scar tissue underneath), because he couldn't see any ridge in my lip. I only need to wear the rubber bands at night now, and he told me to continue withe the lip/cheek massaging. He also said I need to really work at stretching my mouth to get my ROM back. It's pretty limited right now so I might have to go to physical therapy if I can't get it back on my own. Yikes! That's going to suck if I have to do that. :(
On Wednesday (July 7), I saw Dr Quaroni, and he said I was a "good healer." Just call me the Super Healer! ;) LOL jk. He was happy with my progress from both surgeries. He didn't seem as concerned about my limited ROM, he just said to a little movement everyday and it'll start come around just don't expected to happen overnight. He said I can start running on a treadmill now, but still no chewing anything even soft food. Oh well, I'll be eating real food again soon enough, only 6 more weeks to go on that front.
This pic was an accident, but I think it turned out to be an awesome profile shot. I'm loving my new profile! :)
So I'm half way to eating solid food again! That really keeps me going. :) Only a little residual swelling remains around my nose - on either side and the upper lip area. There's still a little left in my chin area too. But most of it is GONE. :) The right half of my lower lip and chin are still numb, but the feeling is slowly working it's way back. I'd say that I have around 60ish% feeling back, and it still tingles most of the time which I don't notice most of the time. My jaw and face still gets a little achy after talking/laughing a lot, but overall I feel great!
Just a few minor annoyances to note:
- I still drool occasionally
- Upper gums are numb
- Left cheek feels thick - I think the inside of it is numb
- I get little twinges a pain along the cut sites every once in a while
- The base of my nose has been sore - Dr Nelson says that's normal and it'll be that way for up to 8 months
- Slight puffiness remains on either side of my nose - Dr Nelson says this is normal too, and it'll be that way for up to 8 months
I saw Dr Nelson on Monday (July 5), and he said that I am a "quick healer." :) Everything has fused together and he can't see any lines in my gums where the cuts were made. He said he could tell that I've been massaging my upper lip area (to smooth out the scar tissue underneath), because he couldn't see any ridge in my lip. I only need to wear the rubber bands at night now, and he told me to continue withe the lip/cheek massaging. He also said I need to really work at stretching my mouth to get my ROM back. It's pretty limited right now so I might have to go to physical therapy if I can't get it back on my own. Yikes! That's going to suck if I have to do that. :(
On Wednesday (July 7), I saw Dr Quaroni, and he said I was a "good healer." Just call me the Super Healer! ;) LOL jk. He was happy with my progress from both surgeries. He didn't seem as concerned about my limited ROM, he just said to a little movement everyday and it'll start come around just don't expected to happen overnight. He said I can start running on a treadmill now, but still no chewing anything even soft food. Oh well, I'll be eating real food again soon enough, only 6 more weeks to go on that front.
This pic was an accident, but I think it turned out to be an awesome profile shot. I'm loving my new profile! :)
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