Six Weeks Post Op

 Today is officially 6 weeks since my Upper, Lower, and Genioplasty surgery. I thought I would post a pic of me fresh out of bed this morning. The swelling is a bit greater in the morning so I thought it only fair to show you how things look straight out of bed. This is Au Natural. I didn't even brush my hair before I took this.

Things are continuing to get better, but it is slow. My tongue is still significantly numb. It is not as painful as it used to be but it is still very numb on the whole left side and around the tip. If I stick my tongue out (like I'm reaching for something) I can feel a significant pull of the muscle on the left side into the tip of my tongue. It almost is sort of a shooting type pain. I have been trying to stretch it daily, in hopes it will help with the eventual return of feeling. For now though, it is still pretty irritating, and numb. I also have limited mobility in what I can do with it. Like licking stuff off of my lips is rather difficult, and talking is tough. I seriously sound like I have a lisp, or need speech therapy. Feeling has been returning to my lower lip and chin area at a much faster rate. I can put lipstick on , and rub my lips together now, and mostly feel it. There is a small spot on the lower left of my lip that is still mostly numb though so if food gets on that spot I usually can't feel it at all.

Not much else to report. I'm cleared to begin soft chew as of today. I started Wednesday though. I had some meatloaf last night which was pretty easy to chew. I attempted a bit of popcorn at the movies when we went last night. It was rough, and the numbness in my tongue has also affected my tastebuds. Things have to be like right in the center for me to be able to taste them. It sortof sucks, and the fact that I can't really move stuff around in my mouth very well made keeping the hulls out of my throat a bit tough. So I decided I need to wait and have popcorn further down the road.

I see the ortho on Monday for my first "real" adjustment. He has had me in tight rubberbands for 3 weeks to pull my molars down and help things settle into a more fitted position. My bite feels pretty great right now so I'm hoping the end of my braces is near. At my last appointment he said things were looking really awesome and that short of rotating my left canine a bit, I was very near done. My goal is to be the fastest one out of braces post surgery! LOL....

Looking back, this 6 weeks has gone by very quickly. I'm very glad I had the surgery and day by day I'm feeling more pleased with my results.