6 weeks post-op update

No pics this time because, well, nothing has really changed with me looks-wise in the past two weeks.

I'm 6 weeks post-op today. Hard to believe! Everything is continuing to go really well. I'm still wearing my bands 14 hours a day. Thanks to my powerchains, my top teeth are now perfectly straight and gap-free. Now we have to get those bottom teeth to follow suit. I'm HOPING that I'll be brace-free by the summer. That would be nice.

Numbness: As far as my face goes, there is still the slightest numb patch on my chin. Nothing bothersome at all. As for my gums, still completely numb. I severed myself with the floss the other day. I wasn't paying attention and I thought it wasn't between my teeth yet so I kept yanking, and it turns out it was against my gums. This was last week and I'm still bleeding from there daily. Oops.

Feeling: I'm ever so gradually getting some feeling back in my upper teeth. No, not my gums, my teeth. They've been shifting like crazy, and every once in a while I'll get what I call a Jump & Tickle. It's not as fun as it sounds. My nerve jumps and then I feel a tickle run from my tooth to the roof of my mouth. Speaking of the roof of my mouth, I almost have total feeling back there. It happened suddenly, two days ago, when I was eating cold applesauce and I realized it felt extremely cold on the roof of my mouth. It feels strange up there though. I guess that's normal considering my upper jaw is in a different place now. There's this bony bump there that's driving me crazy. I'm going to ask Dr. C to have a look when I see him on the 26th.

Eating: I can eat almost everything now. I've done nachos (soggy), hamburgers (smooshed), popcorn (soft microwaved), hotdogs (smooshed), subs (smooshed) among other things. The only things I can't do are steak, pork of any kind, raw veggies, and thick things like big hamburgers and subs with lots of toppings. I have to take stuff like tomato slices off a hamburger or sub so it's thinner. I can leave lettuce on but it seems to drag out and land on my chin. My teeth can't "cut" it. I can open up much wider than before (3 fingers can fit in there now!) but it's hard to take big bites and then chew them. Hubby and I took the kids to Applebee's last weekend and I couldn't have maybe half of what was on the menu. No club sandwich because of bacon. No hamburger or chicken burger because they are huge there. No salad because like I said, I find it really hard to break down lettuce. No ribs for obvious reasons. I can't bite into things like fried chicken or ribs or wings. I have no idea when I will feel comfortable enough to do it. All in all, I'm eating like a pig and gaining back all my weight and then some.

Other stuff: I'm so used to my new look now that I feel like I've always looked this way. I can still see my old self in the mirror, the only difference being the chin and altered smile. I love my new chin. No more pain or swelling there, by the way. The genioplasty has completely healed. I'm much more confident in my looks now. Last weekend we went to the pool and I wore my hair off my face in a ponytail. I NEVER would have done that pre-surgery. People who don't realize I had surgery, like some of my neighbors for example, haven't really noticed anything different about me, or maybe they have and just won't say. My smile still looks goofy and I wonder daily if it will ever look better. The parts of my face under my nose and beside my nose still feel really stiff and I'm trying to figure out if it's swelling that will go away or scar tissue that won't.

To sum up, recovery has been smooth sailing. I'm extremely happy with my results thus far, aside from the goofy smile and stubborn slight swelling. I haven't had any jaw pain or migraines since surgery, but my sinuses still hate me. No more pops and cracks in my joints when I open wide. So far it's been more successful than I'd ever hoped.