Getting better

My mother called my surgeon and he prescriped some new pain medication that doesn't upset my stomach as much. I have been able to eat quite regularly and I have also been able to sleep the last couple of nights.

I think I hit my all time lowe friday morning when I got up. I just started sobbing because I was so tired, in pain and just fed up with being in my body. After I cried, I picked myself up again. I know the only way to get better is to eat as much as possible and do what the doctor says.

Things are getting easier, but it is still no picknic. I could not have gotten through this without my mother. She has been here for me every step of the way. She brings me my food, water and medication. She picks me up when I am down.

I have lost four pounds this first week, but I guess this is what to expect. The swelling seems to have gone down a bit. All in all I think things are improving. I will post some pictures tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I also have to go to the hospital to see my surgeon. I hope my jaw is healing like it is supposed to.

Surgery - not as easy as I thought

Surgery was monday the 5 th of october. I am glad I didn't really know what I was putting my self through. Its been a hard couple of days. After the operation I got so sick that I vomitted blood for five times. After I had gotten that out of the system, things seemed to be going fine. But I had a hard time sleeping. I was convinced that I couldn't breathe through my nose. And the next morning I nearly fainted in the bathroom all by myself. I tried to call out for help but no one heard. After some time I pulled myself up from the floor and got into the hospital bed again. I really thought I was going to die on that floor. Spooky.

I was in the hospital from monday till wednesday. When I got home I got sick again. It seems like my body doesn't like the pain-medication. I keep on vomitting. So now I will try to do with out all the pills, but my face is hurting. I don't know whats worse: vomitting all the time or feeling the pain. I just want time to fly so I will get through this. I didn't think it would be that hard.

My surgeon is very optimistic and says that things went very smoothly and that I only lost about 10 ml blood. Thats way below average. They also say that my face isn't as puffy as most other jawsurgery patients. So things should work out fine.

I really hope the pain and the discomfort soon goes away. I will post some pictures when I feel better.

Almost time for the surgery

It has been a while, since I have posted anything. I have tried to be more relaxed about the extra time I have had to wait for the surgery, but it has been hard. 16 months in braces before surgery is a looong time, no matter how you put it. And I know I still have at least 6 more months to go. My patience is really being tested to the limit, but it is out of my hands.

Monday is the big day, and I can't wait to get it over and done with. I have seen my orthodontist. The surgical hooks have been attached to my braces. The hooks annoy my mouth, and I have a lot of cranker soars. I have seen my surgeon, and he is a very nice elderly man with a lot of dry humour. He wants me to start talking and eating right after surgery. If he sees any boards with me writing on them, they will be confiscated. I hope I will be able to talk, but with surgery in the upper jaw as well as the lower jaw, I just don't see, how I will be able to.

I will propably have to stay in the hospital for three days. After that my mother is going to take over the cooking and cleaning, which is quite nice for a change. :-)

I am a bit "hyper" with surgery closing in on me. I am not worried about the pain, because usually my body is pretty good at taking care of that. I run a lot, so my body produces a lot of endorfins. But I worry about, what my face will look like. Will I like it? Or is it going to be like looking at a stranger. Things are going to change, and the big question is, will I be ready for it?
And will everything work out as they have planned??? What if the bite doesn't come together???

Appointment and Madonna concert

This tuesday I went to my orthodontist, and boy was I in for the big treatment. 2 1/2 hours thats how long it lasted. First they removed some of the hardware and then they started making molds of my upper and lower jaw. They needed six molds, but I went through 8 because the 2 first molds weren't perfect. Then they took some pictures of my face, then x-rays and they finished it off with measuring my face and asking a lot of questions about my medical health. Unfortunately they discovered a hole in one of the teeth, so I have to visit them to remove parts of the braces before I see my regular dentist.

To top it off I have to see them twice when I am vacationing in september. The surgical hooks have to be fitted by then. I also have to go to the hospital to get some tests done. My boss is not going to be happy when she gets back from her holiday.

After seeing the orthodontist I rushed to get to Copenhagen in time to hear the Madonna concert in Parken. I had a nice evening but all of a sudden I could just feel how much they had been putting my jaw through. My muscles get really strained when I have to keep my jaw open for a long period of time. But it was worth it.

Date for surgery in October :´(

Finally, my orthodontist called me. I had been trying to get in touch with him for almost three weeks. I had left my phone number by the secretary 5 times. Wednesday, last week I got to talk to him, but he had forgotten my molds at his house, so he couldn´t give me a date before looking at them. I couldn't believe my ears. Then he said he would call sunday, which he did. But he had disappointing news. I am ready for surgery, but I can't get a surgery date before the 5 th of October. There are just no openings before that.

This means that I will have to wear these darn things for four extra months. I understand that surgeons go on holiday. I would understand if my teeth weren't ready. But I don't understand that this professor in Orthodontics can't schedule a surgery date at the hospital in time.

I wish that my regular orthodontist was in charge of my case instead of this lazy, absentminded professor. He is not the one, who has been preparing my teeth. He was supposed to call me three weeks ago. Morten, my regular orthodontist, had prepared everything and he said that I should get a surgery date in august, because I was ready. I hate this eternal waiting and not having control over anything. And all I can do is wait and live with the increasing pain in my jaw, which develops into headaches...

Waiting by the phone...

Time is too slow


for those who wait


too swift for those who fear


too long for those who grieve


too short for those who rejoyce


but for those who wear braces


time is eternity...


I am just waiting for my orthodontist to call and tell me, when I can have my surgery.

Upper jaw surgery too???

Well, there is only one thing I can count on, when it comes to braces and jaw surgery: "You can't count on anything".

Usually I feel in control of my life, but going through this, I just have to go with the flow. I had a check-up today, and the message was that I am almost ready for surgery but they are thinking about performing upper jaw surgery as well as the bilateral saggital split.

I don't know what to feel right now. I had gotten used to thinking about lower jaw surgery, and it didn't feel like a big thing, but adding an operation to the upper jaw is just making me nervous. What is it going to feel like? What about the pain and discomfort?