New X Rays! and Finally some Sleep!

It is so strange to lay down to go to sleep and be able to feel my airways be so open. Definitely worth all of this at this point in the game! I tell you, great sleep is one of those things that you truly can't appreciate, until you have gone a very long long time without it. You don't really realize how much you have been missing until you are able to truly sleep like a baby again. I'm so glad I pursued this surgery!

Here is my bright, smiling face on Day 6 post surgery.
 



I had my 1 week follow up visit with the OS today. He told me that I look absolutely beautiful! LOL. Of course he is very pleased with how things have gone. Says that the contour of my lips is perfect and that he is convinced that the lack of blood loss is why I'm healing so quickly. My full advancement from chin point was 12mm. 3mm for the maxilla, 4mm for the mandible, and 5mm for the chin. Add it together you get 12mm total. I got a copy of my cephlometric X-ray today so I could see all the hardware in my face now. You can see the small screws and plates in the Maxilla, the 3 small screws in each mandible advancement. The genio, plates and screws. On the left of the x-ray you can see where they cut out the bone, and moved it over to in between my molars (it has the two tiny screws in it between my teeth) That will be where he will put the first part of my implant in 4 months. I'm very excited with how my teeth have lined up too. They look so straight! The OS says that my ortho should be very happy with my results. I see him next week for my first follow up.
 

Info the OS shared today was that he thinks that I will eventually get total feeling back, even in my tongue and lips. Said I was doing a good job keeping things clean, and that there was no sign of infection anywhere, Oh, and he measured the distance I can open my mouth, which is currently 23mm's. He said that I'm farther along then most by this time. He said he does not want me to do anything to try and make my mouth open wider that I should just keep doing what I'm doing and eventually it will fix itself. He talked about how much better it is now for patients that he doesn't have to splint, band, or mouth wire them, and that he wouldn't dream of doing it any other way then this now. I of course agreed as I'm thrilled with my results thus far!
Other then that he wants to see me again in 2 weeks.


So yesterday evening I was exhausted. Aside from all the drama with my mother yesterday, I have been having really bad muscle achiness/pain in my jaw area. Now mind you this is not like excruciating pain, it is like that constant, throbbing, sort of pain that just sorta really starts to wear on you after awhile, and that is just enough that you can't really sleep with it, or really think about anything else.

So, I went to bed last night after being up all day without a nap, cooking dinner, and doing some laundray. I was wiped, but couldn't sleep due to the pain. So....out comes my handy dandy rice bags. I zapped them in the microwave and slapped one on each side of my aching jaw, oh, and I took 3 advil too! AHhHhHhHh! Within about 5 minutes the muscles began to relax and I drifted off into dreamland. I had to get up a couple times during the night to reheat my bags, but for the most part I got about 12 hours of good sleep. The best part was that I had many little dreams, and awoke feeling very rested. I'm pretty sure at this point that my apnea issues are gone.

Feeling is starting to come back in my chin now and inside my lower teeth. Felt like someone was sitting there stabbing me with a bunch of pins and needles. Sorta like when you have a body part that falls asleep and when you try and wake it up you get that tingly feeling? UGHH!! but at least I know the feeling is coming back, and FAST too! So I'm mot complaining.