- Pain: 1/10
- Inconvenience: 5/10
Proud to be Canadian.
That’s my giant camping backpack, or at least the top 1/3 of it. I can pack everything I need to survive in there–a sleeping bag, a thermos, food, water, clothing, rope, knives, matches and a small tarp. Oh, and maybe a toothbrush, if there’s room. Once I’m healed, I’m going to be going camping with said backpack. I’m going to roast hot dogs and fry steaks. I’m going to chop wood. I’m going to chase a bear down and tackle it to the ground, just because I can. Okay, I may have exaggerated a bit on that last point, but you get the idea.
Today, I woke up to the smell of a delicious breakfast. It smelled like eggs, bacon, ham, chives, mushrooms… I’m beginning to think it may have been omelettes. You can almost picture me spinning and dancing through an omellete forest, can’t you? Either my upstairs neighbors were starting their day off with a tasty meal, or I’ve finally cracked. It’s more than likely the second option.
I’m starting to recover a lot more feeling back in my upper lip and cheeks, but my nose, bottom lip and chin are still completely numb. It feels so cool being able to touch my cheeks and actually feel them!
Speaking of being numb, I’ve noticed the right side of my face is far more swollen than the left. As a result, my nose is extremely crooked and my entire face is somewhat lopsided. I trust everything will look normal when all is said and done, though! Right? Ah well, crooked face or not, at least I’ll be able to chew with more than 4 teeth.
I realized this morning why my braces have decided to start cutting into my lips. By the way, when I say “cutting into my lips”, I mean that quite literally. When I open my mouth, I have to grab my lips with my fingers and peel them off of my braces. It’s as uncomfortable as it sounds. Anyway, ever since I’ve been able to close my mouth to prevent the sacred act of drooling, I’ve had to suck my saliva down. Since my lips are closed, that creates a suction in my mouth, so every single time I swallow my saliva, I’m sucking the inside of my lips and cheeks right into my braces. It’s still worth it though, in the name of not drooling like some dog (even though that might be expected, since I am a canine).
To wrap this all up, I thought I was finished with spilling when drinking. I really did. But I was wrong. Yesterday, as I was tapping into my Ensure reserves (they’re like my own little private army), I successfully spilled one all over my desk. I guess I’m not civilized quite yet.
February 2, 2017 at 10:45 am
Hi Graham.
Thank you for this blog. I am in the UK so I think the aftercare is slightly different.
How long was your nose crooked for? I’m 9 days post op and they said I’m recovering really fast today. Can’t help but look at my nose and panick a bit ha.
I purposely didn’t do alot of research before the op as there isn’t a lot in the UK and didn’t want to get confused. Your blog for the first week helped me massively each day as made me feel normal.
Can’t wait to be years down the line as you are.
Aimee
November 4, 2016 at 12:45 am
HI guys
I love this blog I started my own since I recently had my jaws done
Double jaw corrective.
It’s been a CRAZY journey so far I’d love to share it aswell with whoever would like to join in
http://nathansdoublejawsurgery.blogspot.ca/?m=0
November 4, 2016 at 8:52 am
Glad to see you’re journaling through your recovery as well, Nathan. All the best!
September 24, 2016 at 4:39 pm
Hi there, Graham!
Congrats on the blog! Before my double jaw surgery, I made sure to read all your posts haha. Very useful info in there! I’m from Romania, so there were some differences, but all in all I had a lovely quick recovery. my surgeons were all amazed.
I do have one question though: I’m aprox 6 months post op now and I still have some swelling in my face, on one side (right cheek mostly). Is this normal or … should I be worried?
September 25, 2016 at 3:24 pm
Ada, happy to hear you found the blog useful! Your swelling should be gone at 6 months post-op, so I’m not sure what could be causing this for you.
Is it possible you’re actually feeling scar tissue? Scar tissue will cause parts of your face to feel tight and can be mistaken as swelling in some areas. You can often break this tissue up slowly by whistling for a few minutes a couple of times each day.
If you’re concerned, it might be worthwhile to call your surgeon’s office and ask them if any other patients have experienced this after 6 months of recovery. Sorry I don’t have anything more useful to offer! 😊
October 1, 2016 at 11:39 pm
Hi everyone
Im Keshav n im from Mauritius. Im planning to have my double jaw surgery soon. Im a bit worried. Btw do you people know someone that did this kind of surgery in Mauritius. Thanks
February 24, 2016 at 5:38 am
Hi! I’m one week post double jaw surgery and everything seems to be going as expected. Except….there is a hard mass inside my left nostril. Any ideas? Thank you so much!
February 24, 2016 at 8:41 pm
Hi Sue, I would expect that mass to be either dried snot (as gross as that sounds!) or scar tissue. It’s not something to be worried about. If it’s really uncomfortable, try rubbing anything with menthol in it just below your nose to see if that will clear it up. 😊
January 17, 2016 at 7:35 am
Hi! I’m 6 days post op double jaw surgery. They had to actually wire me shut because my bones are too strong and he didn’t feel confident using the elastics. This is a lot more terrible that I could have ever imagined! Is it normal that my nose is numb? I’m mostly only seeing people say their chin, lips and cheeks are numb! How long did it take for yours to come back?
January 17, 2016 at 6:32 pm
B, it is normal for any part of your face between your eye sockets and throat to be numb during the first month. Most people experience numb patches in your lips and chin, but it’s common to also lose feeling in your cheeks and nose initially. This is all due to nerve damage and those areas should regain feeling as soon as your nerves begin to heal. 😊
November 17, 2015 at 11:46 am
Hahah I’m on day 13, and my swelling is almost gone! The bruising is almost gone as well! When did you start eating soft food?
November 18, 2015 at 3:54 am
Amanda, you’re so lucky! I didn’t start eating soft food until after my splint was taken out on Day 50. It sounds like you’ll be eating soft food much sooner than that, though!
October 1, 2016 at 4:30 pm
Hahah I got my splint out December 21st
I ate poutine for my first thing to eat solid food 😂 Hahah but if I had to do it again I would 🙂
July 5, 2014 at 8:33 am
Hey Graham, me again. 🙂
I am so glad I re-read this blog entry today. My daughter’s face (at day 19) is lopsided, and she has a great deal of swelling under her chin. It’s great to know that swelling is still very normal at this point, as she is very nervous about her profile.
Also, I started giving my daughter probiotics before surgery because I read about it in this thread. It’s wonderful to have the input of those who have gone before us. It makes a very scary journey much easier.
July 14, 2014 at 2:35 pm
Ialu, you can continue reassuring your daughter that her face will once again be symmetrical as soon as her swelling goes away, likely within the next month or so. =)
June 14, 2014 at 1:46 pm
The doctor told me it was probably the Clindamycin I took after surgery. Of the antibiotics, it’s the worst offender for causing Clostridium Difficile. The antibiotic killed all of my good bacteria and let the bad bacteria flourish. My nurse said I could have died of septic shock. Today is my fourth day in the hosptial; I’m quarantined to my room because I’m contagious. I’m not allowed to have sugar; the bacteria like it just as much as I do. Basically, all I can have is soup, unsweet tea, and diet coke. They did let me have a small helping of mashed potatoes today. I feel like I’m wasting away. As if jaw surgery wasn’t enough to lose weight! Sorry for ranting. But, now I’m a strong believer in probiotics after antibiotics.
June 15, 2014 at 10:56 am
Kayla, that’s super unfortunate, yikes! It’s good that you’re in the hospital being cared for, but that diet sounds a little lacking in interest, for sure. I’m thinking back to my first few days post-op now, and I remember drinking 2–3 fruit smoothies each day for my meals, each chock full of blueberries, yogurt, honey, and other things, so I wonder if those ingredients helped avoid certain infections and illnesses… In any regard, thanks for sharing this experience with me and I hope your body is able to fight back the infection quickly.
June 13, 2014 at 12:20 pm
Hi Graham,
I’m on day 22 of jaw surgery. On day 20 I got terribly sick. I’m in the hospital and have Clostridium Difficile and sepsis. My surgeon did not tell me to take probiotics after jaw surgery. I was wondering if you were told to take probiotics?
June 14, 2014 at 11:05 am
Kayla, my surgeon never mentioned probiotics, nor have I encountered anyone who ended up back in the hospital for an infection following the operation. I hope you feel better soon. Any ideas how you picked up the infection?
October 12, 2013 at 2:16 pm
I have the exact same swelling pattern! I wonder if there’s something about the right side of the face…I’ve been joking that my left side is my “good” side since it’s doing so much better. Though actually, it was my good side before the surgery too 🙂
My nose seems huge since the surgery. My surgeon says it’s the swelling…I really hope that’s true! Did you experience anything like that?
October 15, 2013 at 10:01 am
T, I encourage you to make any judgements on your own appearance until at least 2 months have passed since surgery. Swelling does bizarre things to our bodies. =)
June 4, 2012 at 12:32 am
Uneven swelling is perfectly normal, Amanda. I encourage you not to judge your appearance until at least the two-month mark. Everything will level out and you’ll be happy with your results once the swelling dissipates. =)
June 3, 2012 at 10:32 pm
I find it strange that the right side of my face is more swollen, just like yours was. I wonder if it’s normal or just a coincidence that we both had more swelling on the right side – hmmmm?