SARPE Day 6 Post Op/ New healing pics

It has now been officially 6 days since I had my SARPE done. Things are going well, much better today. I think perhaps my teeth have finally adjusted to the archwire, and I can honestly say that my pain is very mild, or almost non-existent for the first time since surgery. Expansion went well this morning, felt it in my teeth, and sinus area for about 15 minutes then it went away. I have a mild sensation of pressure on my front teeth, but nothing to really speak of.
Yesterday was the worst...After suffering for several days with the pressure pain I finally relented and took a pain pill last night. I truly didn't realize how stressed out I was from the constant low grade pressure pain, or how much it had been wearing me down until I obtained complete, instant relief with the pain pill. Oh my gosh, it was like heaven! Finally I could just relax and rest without any aggravation. I slept well last night, very soundly, and awoke this morning to no pain or pressure at all (thank goodness!) I'm still a bit swollen over my sinus area, and I suspect that that may continue for awhile since I really feel the expansion through that area. Bruises have pretty much turned yellow, and are fading pretty well. I still look pretty rough though, but definitely improved from yesterday.

I took some new pics of my stitches and upper lip bruising so that everyone could see the progress over the past 5 days.




Here is a pic of my upper lip. As you can see the bruising is pretty much gone and there are only a few stitches left. These stitches have been the most tender and seem to be taking the longest time to heal.





Here is a picture of my left side stitches. These have mostly all come out and you can see where it has healed.




Last but not least are my right side stitches. There are a few that are still hanging on this side, but you can also see the areas where they have healed up. Not too bad for only 5 days I think!



That is pretty much it for the moment. Wanted to mention that I'm still very numb. Truthfully I can't really feel my upper teeth at all. It is very weird trying to brush your teeth when you can't actually feel them, or to eat. I can feel pressure on them but it is mostly high up in my gums, like right underneath my sinus area across the front portion. I have bits of feeling in a few of my front teeth but for the most part everything is numb sorta like it is there, but not really there.
I will post later tonight after my second daily expansion (Key turn #8) Hopefully the pressure pain will not increase as the day goes on.

***Expansion is finished for day four, and seems to be getting a bit easier. My pressure/pain was greatly reduced today and I managed pretty well on a single dose of Advil. My gap has now begun to emerge (as you can see) and at the rate we are expanding will be approximately 3 times this size by next Sunday when expansion is complete. While I'm not thrilled to be getting a gap, it does tell me that my RPE is doing what it is supposed to be doing which is great! And I don't care how big the gap becomes, I do not want one of those powerchain things again during this process! They are the DEVIL I tell you! :)

Pre-gap photo









Right After Surgery Gap







My Newly Emerging Gap