The 'worries' post

This is an ongoing page of things that were both real and false concerns. I've tried to list the major ones here and I'll update them as things proceed. Keep in mind that not everyone goes through the exact same procedure or recovers in the same way. Even so, if you're facing an MMA or anything in the same vein, you might find some of this helpful.

Things I worried about that turned out to be nothing

It will hurt: Especially as the day got closer, I worried that I'd be in lots of pain for several days. I have a fairly high tolerance for pain, but I'm no fool. I avoid it whenever possible. Turns out, pain really wasn't an issue. I got a few twinges every once in a while during the first few days, but for the most part, I had almost none. Most people have described the sensation as more like a pressure, and that's probably the best way to put it. It's like parts of your lower face are in a tight mask. Frankly, I thought the issues from the pain medication (constipation, strange dreams, cloudy head) were worse than any discomfort it was meant to address. I was off the pain meds completely by day four. The most intense discomforts were at the hospital the day after the surgery, when they removed the tube that kept my stomach clear and the Foley catheter. I still shiver when I think about that last one.

I'll look different: I really wondered how much my looks would change. I was never leading-man material but I also didn't want my appearance to change to drastically. I don't think it did. Keep in mind that my jaws had a decent amount of movement: 1 cm for the lower jaw and 3 mm for the upper. Plus, I had a genioglossus advancement. Not the biggest movement in history, but still fairly large. Even so, the biggest difference is I have a chin, now. Other than that, I think I look almost the same. Secretly, of course, I was hoping they'd unwrap the bandages and I'd be looking back at a movie star. It will take a while for all the swelling to go down. Most of it had subsided by after day 10. Eventually, I'll post some before and after shots so you can compare for yourself.

Things I worried about that turned out to be something

I'll be numb: Yep, I'm numb all right. Although it has improved somewhat since the first day, there are some fairly large size patches that have no feeling. Most of it is on my left side. There's an arc that runs from below my eye near my nose around my cheek close to my lips and wraps around the whole front of my chin and lower lip. Most of the feeling has returned to my upper lip and the right side. I do get some sensations in the numb part, so I'm hoping I'll get that back.

It'll be hard to talk: This has been a bigger issue for me than for most others because the doctor locked down my jaws with heavy bands after the first week. He did this because I was (involuntarily) moving my lower jaw forward out of the splint and out of alignment. Oh, and not everyone has a splint, apparently. It's essentially like an athletic mouth guard. It stays in for six weeks. That also makes talking a chore. Even so, my experience has been that I'm understandable most of the time. It can get frustrating, though. It helps to use words that have as few syllables as possible.

It'll be hard to eat: Again, this has been tougher for the same reasons as talking has been. Although I was able to eat pureed foods toward the end of the first week, I've since been on an all liquid diet. So far (wrapping up week 3), I've lost about 10 pounds. But, I seem to have stabilized. See the food page for things I've done to try to keep my nutrition up to par.

It'll be hard to clean the teeth: This wasn't so much of a problem during the first week when I had light bands on. Now, it's really tough and getting the insides is impossible. So, I clean after every meal. At the very least, I swish with warm salt water and brush using my kiddie toothbrush and a little paste. About the end of the second week I started swishing about once a day with diluted mouthwash and toward the end of week 3 added the WaterPik on the lowest setting.

Things I didn't think about that turned out to be something

Shaving can be rough: Numbness (mainly) and swelling (less of an issue) both made shaving hard in some places. I didn't even try shaving until around day 4, so I was pretty scruffy. At first, I couldn't really do much to my upper lip, my chin or the patch below my lower lip. Since then, I've got more feeling in my upper lip and I've been able to chip away at the other two spots, even though they both remain pretty numb. I found that I had to rinse the razor more often than normal and keep it and my beard as wet as possible. I'm still a bit nubbly on the chin and have a small soul patch. It pays to be patient.

Keeping your nose clear is essential: Especially with my jaws locked down, clear sinuses are important. I started a routine that seems to work well and from which I've had no ill effects. <anti-lawyer emphasis>THIS IS NOT ADVICE. BE SURE TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR FIRST.</anti-lawyer emphasis> I make a solution of two parts lukewarm water and one part hydrogen peroxide. I dip cotton swabs into this and use those to gently clean out my nose. Yes, it's kind of gross, but it seems to work. I do that a couple of times a day and have had no problems. Of course, you've got nose spray, but you can only use for three days straight before you get that rebound effect, which is terrible. So, I've tried to be judicious with that. I use it only at night before I go to bed and try to have a day or two break between three-day stretches.

Drooling is not pretty: Holy molé. I never knew my salivary glands were capable of such sustained production of such large amounts of spit. The first week and half was the worst. I had to carry hand towels with me everywhere I went. It also didn't help that I sometimes didn't know I had a large string of it swinging from my chin. Luckily, Mary had no qualms about pointing it out. Now, I should point out that part of my problem stemmed from the fact that my jaws became improperly positioned around day 4 and were essentially stuck open. That contributed heavily to my inability to keep the saliva in my mouth. After my jaws were locked down, this pretty much vanished as an issue. I still produce a lot of spit, but it's mostly an issue at night when I'm lying in bed. I have to keep a towel on my pillow.

Things I didn't think about that turned out to be nothing

This category seemed to be needed to keep the thought process symmetrical. I guess I could list a whole boatload of things here, but, well, that would just waste your time. Oh, I guess it's too late for that. Sorry!