Um, guess what?

I caught The Cold. Yes, I did. I think. Either that or my sinuses have decided to drain down my throat, which happens often too. I'm a little congested in my nasal passages and my sinuses, with a little tickle in my throat. I called Dr. C, and his receptionist called Dr. J, and a staff member from Dr. J's office called me back. She said I should be okay, as long as I'm not hacking or have a fever or congestion in my chest. At the hospital before surgery they will check me over and the anethesiologist will make the call.

Oh man. How much would it SUCK if I get checked out and they say no? The morning of? Oh my God, that would suck. If that happened it would be another month at least until I could get in again.

Oh well, let's hope and pray this baby cold will stay little and not grow. Off to Dr. J in a couple of hours, I'll update tonight.


UPDATE: Got my hooks on. There are nothing like what I thought or what I have ever seen. They are like arch wires in a loop, sticking up. I'll post a picture later. I don't even feel them.

Dr. J is sick with a cold too and he told me I should be okay for surgery if my airways aren't constricted. I'll be checked out well before the IV goes in, he says.

He also said to me, regarding my predicted surgery results, "It's going to be a huge change. Are you prepared for that?" I said, "I think so." I mean, really, how can you prepare for a new face?

The Definition of Irony

Three days before my surgery, and I don't feel like eating anything. I am eating, and eating lots, but nothing tastes right and I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. Maybe I put too much pressure on myself to enjoy these meals and they aren't living up to my high expectations. Maybe it's how my nervous energy is manifesting itself. Because I still do not feel nervous, not even a little. What's weird is I felt more nervous 2 months ago than I do now.

I'm still trying to avoid The Cold Virus. Oh and Influenza A is going around too. Lovely huh?

Off to Dr. J tomorrow for my final (duh duh DUUUUH) adjustment before surgery day. I'll update then.

I'm a germ warrior

My daughter is now sick. I've become fast friends with hand soap and Lysol. I've also accepted the fact that I might get sick and my surgery might be postponed. I have no control over it, though I will be bummed if it happens.

Meanwhile, I'm eating everything not nailed down. And drinking orange juice.

Wish me luck!

Washing my hands OCD-style

My son is sick. Of course. He has a cold. Of course. After not being sick since December, he's now sick 5 days before my surgery. Of course.

ARGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I haven't had a cold yet this year so it'll be a miracle if I don't get this one. My daughter will likely get it next (she's been coughing) so if I don't catch it from my son I'll probably catch it from her.

*sigh*

I'm trying not to get too close to my baby but it's not easy to have him in my proximity and not love on him, hug him and kiss him. He's just too cute. Meanwhile, I'm washing my hands a lot and trying not to breath. Stay away, germs, stay away!

One week from today

I feel great. Not nervous. Just EXCITED! In the next 7 days I'm going to be eating enough of my favorite foods to last a lifetime, I'm buying a new blender, doing my taxes, registering my son for school, making lists, cleaning, going shopping, and trying not to get sick. Oh and I see Dr. J on Wednesday to get the hooks on.

I AM EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!

How jaw surgery can make you develop a strong stomach

Before learning about my surgery, I was just as freaked out as the next guy about the prospect of getting one's jaw cut up. Now I can think about it and talk about it like I'm thinking and talking about getting my teeth cleaned. Now I find it fascinating, what will be done to me. What's funny is sometimes I forget this fact about myself, and I unwittingly gross people out. Someone will ask what my surgery entails, and as I explain it I watch as they slowly turn white (or green) and shudder, and tell me to stop. Even my husband can't stand to hear about sawing jaws apart and screws in bones and blood. It totally skeeves him out. He has a weak stomach for blood. Whereas I can watch Grey's Anatomy surgeries or even real-life surgeries on TV and not even flinch.

With 9 days left before my surgery, I find myself overthinking. I try to destract myself but it's tough to think about anything else. I've started making lists about what to buy and what to pack. Lists make me feel a little more in control and less anxious.

Bad breath?

Okay, I had this thought today. How bad will my breath be after surgery? I can imagine it will be bad between the not brushing all your teeth and the yucky dried blood in your sinuses. Yuck. Does your mouth taste all metallic afterward?

My poor husband has to sleep in the same bed with me and I'm sure I'll knock the poor guy out with my post-op breath. Not to mention anyone else I come into contact with.

I can use a rinse after surgery, right, as long as it doesn't have alcohol? Can I use Oral B minty flouride rinse?


And my Last Supper? Cheeseburger, fries AND pizza! Yay! :D

Dentists and food planning

I went to the dentist for a check-up and cleaning on Friday. For the first time ever, it was an extremely positive experience (aside from forking over a $200 payment at the end--did I mention I have no dental insurance?). My last cleaning in March of last year SUCKED and it was horribly painful. This time it was a breeze. I'm seeing a new dentist now and I love the office. I liked the dentist, but he looked so familiar to me that it's still driving me crazy trying to figure out where I've seen him before. Anyway, I told him all about my surgery and after looking at my teeth, he said they were perfect (no cavities!) and he thought I'd be very happy with my surgery results. The dental hygenist said I had very little plaque and that I was doing an "excellent job" with my dental care. Overall they were very positive and supportive. I'm still waiting for someone to say "You're nuts for having this surgery" but it hasn't happened yet.

Okay. Food planning. I'm not talking about post-op liquid food. I'm talking pre-op, fattening-up food. I decided what I want to eat the last week before the surgery, which is next (!!!) week (!!!). Next Sunday, five days pre-op, I'm making a huge pot of chili. I make an awesome chili. I'll eat that for two days. Then on Tuesday, 3 days pre-op, I'm going to roast a chicken. Chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots, gravy...mmm mmm. My favorite meal. I'll eat off that for 2 days. The night before surgery, I think I'll eat a cheeseburger and fries because I know that's what I'll crave most post-op. Or maybe pizza. I haven't decided yet.

Know what I'm worrying about now, more than anything else? Getting sick. It's the winter, I have two children, germs and viruses are rampant. My kids haven't been sick in months, which means they are due for an illness soon. If I get sick they'll cancel my surgery. I don't know if I'll be able to stand that. More waiting? More anticipating? Ugh.

Pre-surg consult, physical and pre-op clinic

What a day! Left the house at 10:30 for a 11:15 appointment with Dr. C (takes a 1/2 hour to drive there). Waited in his office for a half hour, then was sent back with this very nice lady who did more x-rays, the kind where you have to stand still, bite on a thing while this machine twirls around you. Then I had an x-ray that involved placing these pointy things in my ears, which was uncomfortable. I got to see my entire skull on an x-ray...that was cool.

After x-rays, the same very nice lady did some molds on me. The important molds my OS will use to practice on (Dr. C said "I have to work on stone before I work on bone.") It wasn't bad at all, though when she took the mold out, they made this suctiony noise and I was sure my braces would come out with them. They didn't. I even joked about that happening with the lady and she laughed and said it hasn't happened yet. Note: it isn't easy to remove plaster from your braces wires. The lady also made me bite into a piece of warm wax, and that was it. Oh, and she said I was SO easy to work with. I guess some people gag, projectile vomit or smack her around when they get molds done?

Then Dr. C came in to talk to me. He stuck a tongue depressor between my teeth and looked at my bite. He explained the surgery a little more. I'm having a lefort 1 + BSSO. My surgery will take approx. 2 hours. He's going to shorten my face for me, isn't that nice? I won't even need a splint! I'll have rigid fixation. Woo hoo! He said that afterwards, when people see me from a distance, they may not recognize me. He said I won't even recognize me. I said I'm quite excited about that aspect. He said my pain was likely caused from my posturing and from straining to close my lips over my teeth. I signed a consent form giving him permission to do the surgery, and that was that.

Next, I had to see a doctor who had admitting privledges at the hospital, some woman I've never seen or met before. I had to wait 30-40 mins to get into see her, which wasn't good because my appointment was at 2:00 and I had to be at the hospital at 2:45 for pre-admission. Anyway, she asked me a whole bunch of questions about my history and medications and why I was having the surgery, and then she examined me. She weighed me (117 pounds--I lost 5 pounds in the past couple of months, somehow), she took my blood pressure (excellent), listened to my heart and lungs (heart is beating, lungs are lunging), poked at my stomach and abdomen (they're both still in there), and that was that. Off to the hospital for the pre-surgery clinic.

So I get to the hospital at around 3:00 and register. The receptionist told me to get my butt down to bloodwork because they close at 3. Wonderful. I get down there, a woman tells me they're closed, I say please, my doctor appointment ran late, I need to get this done today. While I was begging, a man came up behind me, looked at the woman I was talking to and said "NO! We can't! We're closed!". I glanced at him and he winked at me and said "I'm just giving them a hard time" under his breath. He said he'd take my blood, no problem. It was just a simple CBC. He was extremely nice. While he was tying me off and getting the needle ready, he asked me when my birthday was and when I told him, he started talking about astrological signs. I guess to get my mind off the needle. Little did he know I don't mind needles at all. I'm such a good patient! Haha.

THEN I had to go finish registering, and then go down to the pre-surg clinic, where I had to speak to a nurse in the OR wing. I was also supposed to see a dietician but I was running so late, she left for the day. Oh well. The nurse, who had a cute Newfie accent, asked me a bazillion more questions. She took my temp and checked my vitals. My heartrate was 100, which is high. But that's normal for me. She told me what to expect in the hospital, what they would feed me, what would be in my IV, etc. She told me it was sometimes easier to drink out of a sippy cup, the old kind with no spill-proof valve. I thought that was a good idea. So on the weekend I'll go to Wal-Mart and buy a sippy cup and baby toothbrush for myself. And I'll be dribbling and drooling. It's like reverting back to babyhood. Hopefully I won't need diapers too. Hell, if I drink the amount of prune juice and eat the amount of bran they want me to ingest after the surgery, I very well might.

I got home at 5, exhausted from rushing around and waiting in waiting rooms. Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm so excited to get this over with.

The Miracle of Magnesium and Omega 3

I've been so anxious this month with the surgery coming up, I was about to resort to asking my doctor for some tranquilizers. Then I did some research about natural remedies to anxiety and come up with a whole lot of info on magnesium and magnesium deficiency. Very fascinating stuff. I found out I have many, many symptoms of magnesium deficiency, including migraines, TMJ syndrome, sore neck, heart palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, menstrual cramps, PMS, carb cravings, chocolate cravings, salt cravings, muscle soreness, muscle tension, tension headaches, restlessness, and panic attacks. http://www.mbschachter.com/importance_of_magnesium_to_human.htm Then I read up on omega 3 (EPA) and mood. More intesting stuff.

On Saturday I started taking 300mg of magnesium citrate, and a fish oil capsule called Omega 3 Calm (Jamieson brand), which has 530mg of EPA in each capsule. EPA is a fatty acid that improves your brain function and mental health. Fish oil is also great for your heart.http://www.mcmanweb.com/article-15.htm

I'm on day 3 of these supplements and I feel FANTASTIC. Anxiety has greatly reduced already. I feel peaceful and happy. Believe me, this is no placebo effect or a coincidence. I'm the biggest realist/critic/cynic ever and I used to think supplements were a bunch of bunk and a waste of money. Not anymore. Magnesium is like a muscle relaxer.

I haven't been worrying about my surgery at all lately. I go Wednesday for my pre-surg consult, physical, and Same-Day Admissions Clinic. I'll update then.