Today, I started out feeling great. I didn't need to take any pain meds last night or this morning, and I was feeling super focused, I worked for like 6 hours, it was great. I figured I had awesome powers of healing or something...
And then it hit the fan. Jared arrived home at about 3:30 to me curled up in a little ball in my green chair, having just taken 2 ibuprofen and being really sick to my stomach. Then, given my reaction to pretty much any medication, I didn't see him again until he was leaving at 5:20, because I was sleeping like a pebble (baby rock). I then promptly took my nausea meds, ate some dinner, and then take my other kind of pain meds, and now I feel fine. Probably planning to pass out in an hour or two.
But, lesson definitely learned: I do not recover from major surgery involving my mouth (and therefore affecting my eating and breathing) in a week. Unfortunately.
Second lesson learned: instead of trying to get food into my mouth past 3 rubber bands, I just carefully note where they are placed, and then take them off, eat, and then slip them back on.
Third lesson learned: if you turn your phone off after having surgery, you will turn it back on to find 22 voicemails waiting for you...
I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, so we'll see how I'm feeling after that. I hate the feeling that pain meds give me, but I hate feeling sick much more, so from now on I think I'll just stick to the schedule until the swelling is almost all gone. I can't tell a difference from yesterday, so I guess it's declining more slowly, which sucks, but in theory it's going down.
In other news, I have a really nice excuse for staying inside and blasting the AC all day. Otherwise I would have had to feel 10-15% guilty for not moving around out-of-doors.
XOXO
Beth
p.s. thanks to my work friends for the beautiful flowers! a really nice surprise.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Day 6: Worse before it's better
Hey cyberland,
I am feeling a little better today, a little better every day :) The numbness along my jaw line is gone, but it's a little sensitive to touch. My chin, lips, and cheeks around my nose are still numb.
I had a check up appointment with Dr. Voorhees today, he said everything is looking good. He changed the bands a little and added one across the front. The reason (I think) is because the muscles want to go back to where they were before, and they've been there for so long that they would actually be able to pull the bones back "out" of place if they weren't "retrained", so I'm retraining them. Or rather, the bands are. I just got them today so they're pretty tight, and I have to keep my teeth in the surgical splint so they stay where they're supposed to.
So, that's the worse before it's better. I had just turned a good corner and I was feeling good, and now I feel like I'm taking a big step back, foodwise. It might be a problem with my meds too. It's very important to me to be able to take my sustained release Wellbutrin, because the immediate release was shooting me up and down when I was in the hospital. I was able to take it whole with the old bands, we'll see how it goes with the new ones.
Like I said before, I'm not looking at myself, because it seems like a bad idea, but I'll get Jared to post some pictures of my progress later tonight.
I've only been on a liquid diet for a week and already I miss chips and salsa, french fries, salad, rice and beans, chicken sandwiches, basically anything not pureed. And Jared can puree everything, and it tastes pretty good, but it's just not the same...
Another day and a half of R&R, then it's back to work (from home, thankfully, because like I said, just taking a shower is exhausting)...
Here's some pictures. Warning: I look SUPER gross. These pictures made me want to shower like, 6 times all in a row. Sorry for the grossness...
Also, a picture of all the voicemails, and my pretty flowers from my work friends.
I am feeling a little better today, a little better every day :) The numbness along my jaw line is gone, but it's a little sensitive to touch. My chin, lips, and cheeks around my nose are still numb.
I had a check up appointment with Dr. Voorhees today, he said everything is looking good. He changed the bands a little and added one across the front. The reason (I think) is because the muscles want to go back to where they were before, and they've been there for so long that they would actually be able to pull the bones back "out" of place if they weren't "retrained", so I'm retraining them. Or rather, the bands are. I just got them today so they're pretty tight, and I have to keep my teeth in the surgical splint so they stay where they're supposed to.
So, that's the worse before it's better. I had just turned a good corner and I was feeling good, and now I feel like I'm taking a big step back, foodwise. It might be a problem with my meds too. It's very important to me to be able to take my sustained release Wellbutrin, because the immediate release was shooting me up and down when I was in the hospital. I was able to take it whole with the old bands, we'll see how it goes with the new ones.
Like I said before, I'm not looking at myself, because it seems like a bad idea, but I'll get Jared to post some pictures of my progress later tonight.
I've only been on a liquid diet for a week and already I miss chips and salsa, french fries, salad, rice and beans, chicken sandwiches, basically anything not pureed. And Jared can puree everything, and it tastes pretty good, but it's just not the same...
Another day and a half of R&R, then it's back to work (from home, thankfully, because like I said, just taking a shower is exhausting)...
Here's some pictures. Warning: I look SUPER gross. These pictures made me want to shower like, 6 times all in a row. Sorry for the grossness...
Also, a picture of all the voicemails, and my pretty flowers from my work friends.
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| Profile shot on Monday - isn't the bruising cute? |
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| From the front on Monday (6 days) |
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| Sooooo many messages |
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| Pretty work flowers |
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Day 5: Zombied Out
Hello everyone! I got online with the best of intentions this morning - many people have sent notes, emails, etc with well wishes, and I wanted to respond to everyone. But then I had to deal with a banking problem, and I'm kind of wiped, so I'm just going to type it here and respond individually later. Also I'm not sure why the blog won't let you guys post comments, I'll try to look at it soon, but for now, you can always email at bethlauren22[at]gmail[dot]com ; also, my phone has been dead for like, 3 days now, I accidentally left the charger at work (I hope), so I'll try to get that soon. I wouldn't be able to talk on the phone anyway, it sounds like I have a mouth full of marshmallows right now, so I haven't made it a priority. But Jared goes back to work tomorrow, so I guess I'll have to, in case I need something.
The surgery actually made me a lot weaker/tired than I anticipated. Yesterday, I took 2 walks around the apartment (in the ac, not outside), and then took a 10 minute shower (because I was beyond gross), and got so tired, I fell into my chair and passed out. I'm told it's a combination of the drugs I'm taking, the limited calorie diet, and the almost entirely sedentary existence I've been leading over the past 5 days. So I guess that will come back in time.
My mom came down on Friday to help Jared out, he had been on 24-hour nursing duty before that and needed a good break. It was lucky that she got here in time to go to my appointment, because it was a disaster. I don't know about anyone else, but when I feel badly, the absolute last thing I want to do is leave the house. But, doctor's orders, so we went and did that. I'm sure I would have been more embarrassed if it hadn't been so uncomfortable for me.
I've been trying to eat as much as possible, but that, too, is slow going. The not being able to eat dairy thing severely limits my dietary options for syringe-able foods, but I'm sure we'll get through it eating something. It's hard because I try to eat before every pain pill (usually every 2 hours), so I get sick of certain foods pretty quickly. But, I figure that lessens the chances of the pills making me sick while at the same time, forcing me to eat food even if I don't really feel like it.
Also, I have not looked at myself in a mirror yet. I was worried it might send me into some spiral freak-out mode, and there's nothing I really need to see anyway. But I know Jared's been posting pictures - I hope they've made you feel better about your face, because I can almost guarantee that it is as uncomfortable if not more so than it looks. I've been relying on Jared and my mom to tell me in which direction the swelling is going. Last night my mom said I looked almost normal, if I had a little bit chubbier cheeks and Goldie Hawn's lips in the First Wives' Club. So that was heartening.
A little less heartening was the bill I got in my email today... my first minimum payment. But, what's more important than your health, right? This is what I keep telling myself.
Phew. Time for a nap.
Beth
The surgery actually made me a lot weaker/tired than I anticipated. Yesterday, I took 2 walks around the apartment (in the ac, not outside), and then took a 10 minute shower (because I was beyond gross), and got so tired, I fell into my chair and passed out. I'm told it's a combination of the drugs I'm taking, the limited calorie diet, and the almost entirely sedentary existence I've been leading over the past 5 days. So I guess that will come back in time.
My mom came down on Friday to help Jared out, he had been on 24-hour nursing duty before that and needed a good break. It was lucky that she got here in time to go to my appointment, because it was a disaster. I don't know about anyone else, but when I feel badly, the absolute last thing I want to do is leave the house. But, doctor's orders, so we went and did that. I'm sure I would have been more embarrassed if it hadn't been so uncomfortable for me.
I've been trying to eat as much as possible, but that, too, is slow going. The not being able to eat dairy thing severely limits my dietary options for syringe-able foods, but I'm sure we'll get through it eating something. It's hard because I try to eat before every pain pill (usually every 2 hours), so I get sick of certain foods pretty quickly. But, I figure that lessens the chances of the pills making me sick while at the same time, forcing me to eat food even if I don't really feel like it.
Also, I have not looked at myself in a mirror yet. I was worried it might send me into some spiral freak-out mode, and there's nothing I really need to see anyway. But I know Jared's been posting pictures - I hope they've made you feel better about your face, because I can almost guarantee that it is as uncomfortable if not more so than it looks. I've been relying on Jared and my mom to tell me in which direction the swelling is going. Last night my mom said I looked almost normal, if I had a little bit chubbier cheeks and Goldie Hawn's lips in the First Wives' Club. So that was heartening.
A little less heartening was the bill I got in my email today... my first minimum payment. But, what's more important than your health, right? This is what I keep telling myself.
Phew. Time for a nap.
Beth
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Day 4: Over the Hump
[posted by my loving husband, nurse, dietitian, chef, pharmacist, and cheerleader, Jared]
Well, I think she's finally through the worst of it. The swelling has gone down considerably and she seems to be in not quite as agonizing of pain. Beth's mom arrived Friday afternoon and, having not gotten more than three consecutive hours of sleep over the past 4 days, I was thrilled to be able to take a break. I don't think I would have been able to do it without her help because I was really at the point exhaustion after 24 hours a day nursing for 4 days. So thanks to LeeAnn I got a solid nine hours of sleep staying at a friends last night!
Dr. Vorhees assured us that everything looked good during our visit on Friday so everything has gone according to plan so far and hopefully in a few weeks Beth will be feeling better than ever. She has already noticed that she can breath better with her jaw not cinching down on the back of her throat.
I made some chicken and rice with green beans tonight and threw it all in the blender with some chicken broth to make a surprisingly tasty soup. She's put down quite a bit of smoothie and baby food as well so I've been surprised and encouraged by how much she's been able to eat. That should really jump-start her recovery process. Friday really felt like hump day after her nausea reached fever pitch on the way to the Doctor's office and then with her considerable lessening of pain and swelling going into Saturday. Everyday since Wednesday she's asked me if she was through the worst of it and I've summarily lied until today when I said 'yes' and realized that was actually the truth.
Well, I think she's finally through the worst of it. The swelling has gone down considerably and she seems to be in not quite as agonizing of pain. Beth's mom arrived Friday afternoon and, having not gotten more than three consecutive hours of sleep over the past 4 days, I was thrilled to be able to take a break. I don't think I would have been able to do it without her help because I was really at the point exhaustion after 24 hours a day nursing for 4 days. So thanks to LeeAnn I got a solid nine hours of sleep staying at a friends last night!
Dr. Vorhees assured us that everything looked good during our visit on Friday so everything has gone according to plan so far and hopefully in a few weeks Beth will be feeling better than ever. She has already noticed that she can breath better with her jaw not cinching down on the back of her throat.
I made some chicken and rice with green beans tonight and threw it all in the blender with some chicken broth to make a surprisingly tasty soup. She's put down quite a bit of smoothie and baby food as well so I've been surprised and encouraged by how much she's been able to eat. That should really jump-start her recovery process. Friday really felt like hump day after her nausea reached fever pitch on the way to the Doctor's office and then with her considerable lessening of pain and swelling going into Saturday. Everyday since Wednesday she's asked me if she was through the worst of it and I've summarily lied until today when I said 'yes' and realized that was actually the truth.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Day 3: First checkup appointment
[added 9/11/11]
I was going back through some posts from the early days, and realized that what Jared considered Day 3 (Thursday) was actually Day 2, so we had 2 posts from Thursday (one by me in the morning and one by him at night after my discharge), but none from Friday, so I wanted to write a little bit about that experience, because some stuff actually did happen.
The swelling was still increasing at this point, and I was in a lot of discomfort. It was exhausting for me just to get from my green chair to the bathroom. Around 2 in the afternoon, I started feeling... just kind of bad, in general. My digestive system had started working a little bit, so that was uncomfortable, and then we had an appointment with Dr. Voorhees at 3:30. My mom, who is a pre-school teacher was thankfully able to take off the afternoon (during the first week of school!), so she arrived at about 2:30, and quickly assured me that not looking in the mirror was the correct decision for me. It was really excellent that she got here before my appointment because she was very helpful.
Jared sort of downplayed it in his post because he's really nice, but on Thursday when we were leaving the hospital, I had a pretty major meltdown. I cried when they said I could be discharged, and my nurse said I was probably just physically and emotionally exhausted, because I did want to get home, and I wasn't worried about being out of the hospital, I just cried. Then poor Jared had to walk me through the whole hospital to the parking garage (it might not have been that long, but it felt like a long walk), with me kind of hunched over, and of course looking like somebody just hit me in the face with a baseball bat, and sort of whimpering the whole time. By the time we made it to the car, I didn't want to leave. The ride home seemed as if it would be interminable, and I just didn't see how I was going to do it. We really almost turned around and went back in, but Jared, who has always been excellent in times of panic, put his foot down when he realized it was just me freaking out and not any actual pain or problems. The ride home was really long, not helped by the fact that I've always been prone to car sickness, but we made it, and Jared deposited me in the green chair and went to go get my pain meds from Walgreens (I had been unwilling to wait the 5-10 minutes they said it would take when we had driven by on the way home).
So, back to Friday, a car ride wasn't high on my list of exciting activities. I even wrote in my book "Can't Dr. Voorhees come here?" and when asked why he would do that I responded "Cause I'm special", but I knew that wasn't a real possibility. So, the car ride to the doctor was another long one, with my mom in the backseat trying to keep me from swaying too much with the motion of the car, while Jared tried to walk the tightrope of not jostling me too much while getting to the doctor (and therefore out of the car) as soon as possible.
If I hadn't felt so badly, I probably would have been kind of embarrassed about my behavior at the doctor, but I wasn't feeling well, and I was loopy on pain meds still, so I'm just trying to let it go. We were taken to the "recovery" area (I guess for people who have outpatient stuff, like extractions), and when Dr. Voorhees showed up, I kind of just broke. I guess the somewhat shaky rationale behind my emotional turn was "You're the doctor, and I'm not supposed to feel this badly when there's a doctor around". It's good that my mom knows sign language, because I was able to say most of what I needed to say without worrying about writing. Dr. Voorhees did a quick inspection of my mouth, and then said he would see me on Monday. Relieved, we went back home and filled me with anti-nausea and pain medication.
On a side note, the first thing that Jared did when relieved by my mom on Friday was clean (and when Jared cleans, he really cleans, as opposed to what he calls my "straightening up") the kitchen. Needless to say, cleaning the kitchen makes a little bit of noise, and when I complained to my mom and asked her to go tell him to be quiet, she said "He's cleaning the kitchen", implying that I should be grateful to have a husband who, upon being given freedom from nursing duties, immediately turns to cleaning to make the next nurse's job easier. I guess I take my awesome husband for granted sometimes...
I was going back through some posts from the early days, and realized that what Jared considered Day 3 (Thursday) was actually Day 2, so we had 2 posts from Thursday (one by me in the morning and one by him at night after my discharge), but none from Friday, so I wanted to write a little bit about that experience, because some stuff actually did happen.
The swelling was still increasing at this point, and I was in a lot of discomfort. It was exhausting for me just to get from my green chair to the bathroom. Around 2 in the afternoon, I started feeling... just kind of bad, in general. My digestive system had started working a little bit, so that was uncomfortable, and then we had an appointment with Dr. Voorhees at 3:30. My mom, who is a pre-school teacher was thankfully able to take off the afternoon (during the first week of school!), so she arrived at about 2:30, and quickly assured me that not looking in the mirror was the correct decision for me. It was really excellent that she got here before my appointment because she was very helpful.
Jared sort of downplayed it in his post because he's really nice, but on Thursday when we were leaving the hospital, I had a pretty major meltdown. I cried when they said I could be discharged, and my nurse said I was probably just physically and emotionally exhausted, because I did want to get home, and I wasn't worried about being out of the hospital, I just cried. Then poor Jared had to walk me through the whole hospital to the parking garage (it might not have been that long, but it felt like a long walk), with me kind of hunched over, and of course looking like somebody just hit me in the face with a baseball bat, and sort of whimpering the whole time. By the time we made it to the car, I didn't want to leave. The ride home seemed as if it would be interminable, and I just didn't see how I was going to do it. We really almost turned around and went back in, but Jared, who has always been excellent in times of panic, put his foot down when he realized it was just me freaking out and not any actual pain or problems. The ride home was really long, not helped by the fact that I've always been prone to car sickness, but we made it, and Jared deposited me in the green chair and went to go get my pain meds from Walgreens (I had been unwilling to wait the 5-10 minutes they said it would take when we had driven by on the way home).
So, back to Friday, a car ride wasn't high on my list of exciting activities. I even wrote in my book "Can't Dr. Voorhees come here?" and when asked why he would do that I responded "Cause I'm special", but I knew that wasn't a real possibility. So, the car ride to the doctor was another long one, with my mom in the backseat trying to keep me from swaying too much with the motion of the car, while Jared tried to walk the tightrope of not jostling me too much while getting to the doctor (and therefore out of the car) as soon as possible.
If I hadn't felt so badly, I probably would have been kind of embarrassed about my behavior at the doctor, but I wasn't feeling well, and I was loopy on pain meds still, so I'm just trying to let it go. We were taken to the "recovery" area (I guess for people who have outpatient stuff, like extractions), and when Dr. Voorhees showed up, I kind of just broke. I guess the somewhat shaky rationale behind my emotional turn was "You're the doctor, and I'm not supposed to feel this badly when there's a doctor around". It's good that my mom knows sign language, because I was able to say most of what I needed to say without worrying about writing. Dr. Voorhees did a quick inspection of my mouth, and then said he would see me on Monday. Relieved, we went back home and filled me with anti-nausea and pain medication.
On a side note, the first thing that Jared did when relieved by my mom on Friday was clean (and when Jared cleans, he really cleans, as opposed to what he calls my "straightening up") the kitchen. Needless to say, cleaning the kitchen makes a little bit of noise, and when I complained to my mom and asked her to go tell him to be quiet, she said "He's cleaning the kitchen", implying that I should be grateful to have a husband who, upon being given freedom from nursing duties, immediately turns to cleaning to make the next nurse's job easier. I guess I take my awesome husband for granted sometimes...
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Day 2: Released from the Hospital (Jared's entry at night)
Hey this is Jared. While reluctantly leaving the hospital at about midnight last night with itchy, red hives covering half my body I briefly thought about how I'd ignored some milder flare-ups earlier in the day, beginning around when I arrived in Beth's room, and wondered if that was going to cost me with this seeming like more than just an allergic reaction. Fortunately, I suppose, Beth's condition was what butted its way into my mental space most often. Upon coming home and crawling into bed I was still mainly just feeling guilty about leaving Beth all alone at the Hospital. The young girl nurse on duty at the time was dismissive and had seemed bothered earlier when I'd asked her about making the IV machine stop beeping. At one point, having not been able to reach her by phone, I stepped out into the hall to find her leisurely chit-chatting with another young nurse. So despite my grotesque condition I had not really been thinking about leaving until Beth assured me that she would be fine and that I should go home and rest. Waking to her phone call at 5 that morning, I was relieved to find almost all the hives gone but certainly not looking forward to going back in that room. Sure enough they came back in full force within a couple hours confirming Beth's hypothesis of an allergic reaction to the room. I took some Benadryl and they all went away within an hour. Crazy!
Beth and I took a walk through the Hospital gardens and she looked very stable but a little drowsy. She was eating and drinking a fair amount and feeling good with the oral meds so Dr. Vorhees gave us the OK to go home. However, Beth's initial excitement waned when we entered the parking lot and started to open the car doors. She almost wanted to go check back in as she was rocked by a wave of nausea. She was kind of depressed when we got home but took some meds and has been asleep for awhile so hopefully she can sleep through the night. Swelling will peak tomorrow so we'll see exactly what we're dealing with but I think she's going to be much smaller than most of the pictures we looked at before the surgery. All signs point to a great outcome it's just a miserable situation right now.
Beth and I took a walk through the Hospital gardens and she looked very stable but a little drowsy. She was eating and drinking a fair amount and feeling good with the oral meds so Dr. Vorhees gave us the OK to go home. However, Beth's initial excitement waned when we entered the parking lot and started to open the car doors. She almost wanted to go check back in as she was rocked by a wave of nausea. She was kind of depressed when we got home but took some meds and has been asleep for awhile so hopefully she can sleep through the night. Swelling will peak tomorrow so we'll see exactly what we're dealing with but I think she's going to be much smaller than most of the pictures we looked at before the surgery. All signs point to a great outcome it's just a miserable situation right now.
Day 2: August 25 (Beth's entry in the morning)
In a little more pain today, and feeling a little more swollen. I might get discharged today, which is good news & bad news. Had a small freak out this morning because I slept pretty well for about 6 hours, which means no pain meds or ice for about 6 hours. Plus, Jared is allergic to something in my hospital room, so he had to go home to sleep last night. So I was woken up at 5:15 with no meds, no ice, and no Jared.
But really, it hasn't been that bad. As long as I can get down 1 L of liquid today, move around a little bit, and control my pain with oral medication (instead of IV), I'll get to go home! The nausea hasn't come back since the first little bit, so that's good. I can really feel the surgical splint today, so I'm hoping that doesn't have to stay in too too much longer.
I talked with the assistant surgeon and he said the surgery went really well, and they got everything all lined up, so that's really heartening. At least it's not all for nothing! And it's all downhill from here. I think I'll start trying to take my Wellbutrin pills today if I can. I can really feel the ups and downs of the immediate release.
My breathing is still a lot better than it was before the surgery, even with all the swelling. I do get fatigued pretty easily though, so I'm gonna go get some rest. Jared might want to write more later, but he'll definitely be able to add some photos (I still don't want to look at them until my swelling has really gone. Yes, I know, I'm a whimp) I might be forgetting things, So if you think of any interesting questions, email me or leave a comment.
XOXO
Beth
But really, it hasn't been that bad. As long as I can get down 1 L of liquid today, move around a little bit, and control my pain with oral medication (instead of IV), I'll get to go home! The nausea hasn't come back since the first little bit, so that's good. I can really feel the surgical splint today, so I'm hoping that doesn't have to stay in too too much longer.
I talked with the assistant surgeon and he said the surgery went really well, and they got everything all lined up, so that's really heartening. At least it's not all for nothing! And it's all downhill from here. I think I'll start trying to take my Wellbutrin pills today if I can. I can really feel the ups and downs of the immediate release.
My breathing is still a lot better than it was before the surgery, even with all the swelling. I do get fatigued pretty easily though, so I'm gonna go get some rest. Jared might want to write more later, but he'll definitely be able to add some photos (I still don't want to look at them until my swelling has really gone. Yes, I know, I'm a whimp) I might be forgetting things, So if you think of any interesting questions, email me or leave a comment.
XOXO
Beth
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Day 1
Almost a day and a half out. Still pretty miserable. Jared says my swelling isn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be, but I still refuse to look at myself, so I don't freak myself out more than neccesary. I've been really diligent with keeping ice on it and not talking too much and I think that's helping alot. Because it took me so long to come out of the anesthesia, and because the anti-naseau drugs made me so sleepy, we're probably not going to get to leave until tomorrow. I hope the insurance is reasonable about that. We're taking lots of pictures so I'll look at them eventually. I had both jaws done, the upper one is definitely more uncomfortable. I feel super congested and swollen. The lower is a little, though no big deal. Although it does sometimes feel like I"m biting my cheeks. The most exciting part of today? I can already feel a difference in my breathing! Yay! I've even graduated to a clear liquid diet - so far I've had 2 cups of broth and 1 cup of applesauce.
XOXOXO
from Jared
Beth has been really calm about the whole thing and I'm super proud of her. I think my nerves are finally starting to calm which is good. I developed a skin rash here at the Hospital that I can only attribute to stress but it's going away now. I'll be glad to get home tomorrow.
XOXOXO
from Jared
Beth has been really calm about the whole thing and I'm super proud of her. I think my nerves are finally starting to calm which is good. I developed a skin rash here at the Hospital that I can only attribute to stress but it's going away now. I'll be glad to get home tomorrow.
Surgery Day/Day 1
I'm putting these together as one post because it is basically running all together in my brain any way.
We had to get here at 5:30, then I talked to a bunch of people. Everybody was really nice, even when I had a little panic crying right before we left. I guess they're used to that. They let me take my pictures of Nately and a stuffed animal that kind of feels like him into the OR. He was my focus point so that I didn't freak out too badly before hand.
I don't remember the recovery room at all, so I guess they were right about that part. I remember being in my regular room and Jared was already there, and then I started exorcist puking blood, from the stuff that had gotten in my stomach. They gave me crapload of anti-nausea meds, but that also made me super sleepy, which I don't think they wanted. Then this morning, I got those meds in a different way (let me give you a hint: it was not orally or intravenously...) and I feel a lot better. I'm still taking meds, but the nurse today said that I don't take nearly as many pain shots as most people.
I feel like I'm recovering pretty quickly, but I think we'll have to stay anouther night, which will be nice because I'll still be IV'd, and there will be nurses around to help. I do miss Nately, but I'm sure I'll see him soon enough.
I don't think Jared was expecting the situation to be as stressful as it turned out for him, but he's being a trooper about everything. He said he got stressed immediately when they rolled me back to the OR, and then freaked out during the blood throw-up, but he says I'm not nearly as swollen as he was expecting.
Now I'm just wearing my ice all the time and hanging out. I even ate a little chicken broth today, and I'm going to try some apple juice tonight. Jared's staying at the hospital again with me tonight (another advantage to being married), so there won't be any pictures until tomorrow or later, but I just wanted to keep everybody up to date about what's happening.
It's definitely not fun, but it's definitely not awful either.
XOXO
Beth
We had to get here at 5:30, then I talked to a bunch of people. Everybody was really nice, even when I had a little panic crying right before we left. I guess they're used to that. They let me take my pictures of Nately and a stuffed animal that kind of feels like him into the OR. He was my focus point so that I didn't freak out too badly before hand.
I don't remember the recovery room at all, so I guess they were right about that part. I remember being in my regular room and Jared was already there, and then I started exorcist puking blood, from the stuff that had gotten in my stomach. They gave me crapload of anti-nausea meds, but that also made me super sleepy, which I don't think they wanted. Then this morning, I got those meds in a different way (let me give you a hint: it was not orally or intravenously...) and I feel a lot better. I'm still taking meds, but the nurse today said that I don't take nearly as many pain shots as most people.
I feel like I'm recovering pretty quickly, but I think we'll have to stay anouther night, which will be nice because I'll still be IV'd, and there will be nurses around to help. I do miss Nately, but I'm sure I'll see him soon enough.
I don't think Jared was expecting the situation to be as stressful as it turned out for him, but he's being a trooper about everything. He said he got stressed immediately when they rolled me back to the OR, and then freaked out during the blood throw-up, but he says I'm not nearly as swollen as he was expecting.
Now I'm just wearing my ice all the time and hanging out. I even ate a little chicken broth today, and I'm going to try some apple juice tonight. Jared's staying at the hospital again with me tonight (another advantage to being married), so there won't be any pictures until tomorrow or later, but I just wanted to keep everybody up to date about what's happening.
It's definitely not fun, but it's definitely not awful either.
XOXO
Beth
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Surgery - T-Minus 1 Day
Just a little over a day before the BIG day. I'm extremely nervous, but have only had a couple of instances of "panic", so that's good. I'm sure I'll panic a little tomorrow, but hopefully I'll be able to keep it together. No wait, power of positive thinking -- I WILL be able to keep it together! Or even more positive -- I won't panic at all!
Thanks to everybody who has called or e-mailed. I will do my best to respond after the surgery. As of now, however, it increases my anxiety exponentially when I talk about the surgery with anyone but Dr. Voorhees. Please don't think that I don't appreciate your messages - I just don't want to freak myself out anymore than I already am!
p.s. recently discovered addiction = sudoku! It's so awesome.
Thanks to everybody who has called or e-mailed. I will do my best to respond after the surgery. As of now, however, it increases my anxiety exponentially when I talk about the surgery with anyone but Dr. Voorhees. Please don't think that I don't appreciate your messages - I just don't want to freak myself out anymore than I already am!
p.s. recently discovered addiction = sudoku! It's so awesome.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
H&P Appointment
Today I had my pre-op appointment with Dr. Voorhees, and then I went to the hospital to do some paperwork, pee in a cup, and have some blood taken.
After talking to Dr. Voorhees, I felt a whole lot better about the whole thing. Tonight I'm going to have to reorganize my surgery binder because I have a lot of new information, but here's some of the stuff I learned.
I'll go in at 5:30am, and I'll talk with the anesthesiologist, the OR nurse, Dr. Voorhees, and somebody else, I can't remember. They'll stick an IV in me and maybe put some Versed (Xanax) in there to calm me down if I'm freaking out too bad. Then they'll put a breathing tube in my nose and roll me down to the OR, then put me under. The surgery takes between 4-7 hours. And I have to have a catheter! I'm nervous about that, but the nurse today said they put it in after I'm under and take it out before I wake up, so hopefully I won't even know it was there.
All the incisions will be internal, and there will be stitches that will dissolve after like, a week. So after the operation, they roll me on into something called the "Recovery Room" where I'll have immediate supervision while I come out of the anesthesia, hopefully not too freaked out. The part that sucks here is that Jared won't be able to come chill with me in the recovery room. They say I'll be pretty out of it so I won't notice, but I dunno... I'm pretty sure just waking up from surgery Beth will want Jared there, but I guess if it turns into a big problem, maybe they can bring him in. After I'm sort of aware of what's going on, they'll take me to my room, and then Jared will be able to come and hang with me.
I'll be given meds, and I'll be super sleepy that first day, so I'll be staying in the hospital overnight. I'll start taking liquids as soon as I can, but he said I probably won't want to the first day. Once my pain is controlled with meds, and I'm taking enough liquids, then I can go home.
I'll be sore and swollen, and contrary to my previous beliefs, I'll only have like, 1 band on each side. Dr. Voorhees said that the bands come after, to make sure that the muscles don't push the bones back to where they were before. So right after the surgery, because of the internal rigid fixation, I don't really have to be banded too much. So that was awesome, a big relief. I was also a little worried about my breathing because of the upper jaw surgery, but Dr. Voorhees said I won't have breathing problems.
I was also a little worried about the pain meds, but he said I can try just doing acetaminophen, so I got some liquid acetaminophen and liquid antihistamines, so that's good... if it gets bad I can always take something stronger.
Dr. Voorhees will come and see me every day that I'm in the hospital, and then two times a week for 2-3 weeks, then once a week for 3 weeks, then just up from there. But it's important that I see him relatively often to make sure that I don't "relapse". That's where the rubber bands come in. But hopefully it'll be awesome and the best recovery he's ever seen :)
I also asked him about how many patients out of 100 have permanent numbness and he said 1, which is awesome, that's why I'm excited to have such a good and experienced surgeon.
I also received good news that the doctor's office is going to submit the insurance stuff. I was worried I was going to have to deal with that while I was trying to recover, but since those things take time, it'll probably be at least 2-3 weeks before I have to knock some skulls together.
So, other than that, I'm just trying to get everything set up for work in my absence, although it might be kind of nice to get back to work, kind of distracting, after I have a chance to recover a little bit. Jared has also taken a week off of work full time to take care of me while I'm being a baby (not if...), and my mom is coming down on Friday to give him a little reprieve from the nursing. The swelling is worst at 72 hours, so it will be good to have more support.
I had a panic attack last night, but I'm feeling okay tonight, and the good news is that Jared and I are old hands at panic attacks, so we know how to deal with them, and that they are temporary and pass quickly. I'm sure there will be more, and I don't even know how I'm going to be that Monday, but the best news of all:
THE WORST OF ALL OF THIS WILL BE OVER IN LESS THAN A MONTH.
*pre-sigh of relief*
After talking to Dr. Voorhees, I felt a whole lot better about the whole thing. Tonight I'm going to have to reorganize my surgery binder because I have a lot of new information, but here's some of the stuff I learned.
I'll go in at 5:30am, and I'll talk with the anesthesiologist, the OR nurse, Dr. Voorhees, and somebody else, I can't remember. They'll stick an IV in me and maybe put some Versed (Xanax) in there to calm me down if I'm freaking out too bad. Then they'll put a breathing tube in my nose and roll me down to the OR, then put me under. The surgery takes between 4-7 hours. And I have to have a catheter! I'm nervous about that, but the nurse today said they put it in after I'm under and take it out before I wake up, so hopefully I won't even know it was there.
All the incisions will be internal, and there will be stitches that will dissolve after like, a week. So after the operation, they roll me on into something called the "Recovery Room" where I'll have immediate supervision while I come out of the anesthesia, hopefully not too freaked out. The part that sucks here is that Jared won't be able to come chill with me in the recovery room. They say I'll be pretty out of it so I won't notice, but I dunno... I'm pretty sure just waking up from surgery Beth will want Jared there, but I guess if it turns into a big problem, maybe they can bring him in. After I'm sort of aware of what's going on, they'll take me to my room, and then Jared will be able to come and hang with me.
I'll be given meds, and I'll be super sleepy that first day, so I'll be staying in the hospital overnight. I'll start taking liquids as soon as I can, but he said I probably won't want to the first day. Once my pain is controlled with meds, and I'm taking enough liquids, then I can go home.
I'll be sore and swollen, and contrary to my previous beliefs, I'll only have like, 1 band on each side. Dr. Voorhees said that the bands come after, to make sure that the muscles don't push the bones back to where they were before. So right after the surgery, because of the internal rigid fixation, I don't really have to be banded too much. So that was awesome, a big relief. I was also a little worried about my breathing because of the upper jaw surgery, but Dr. Voorhees said I won't have breathing problems.
I was also a little worried about the pain meds, but he said I can try just doing acetaminophen, so I got some liquid acetaminophen and liquid antihistamines, so that's good... if it gets bad I can always take something stronger.
Dr. Voorhees will come and see me every day that I'm in the hospital, and then two times a week for 2-3 weeks, then once a week for 3 weeks, then just up from there. But it's important that I see him relatively often to make sure that I don't "relapse". That's where the rubber bands come in. But hopefully it'll be awesome and the best recovery he's ever seen :)
I also asked him about how many patients out of 100 have permanent numbness and he said 1, which is awesome, that's why I'm excited to have such a good and experienced surgeon.
I also received good news that the doctor's office is going to submit the insurance stuff. I was worried I was going to have to deal with that while I was trying to recover, but since those things take time, it'll probably be at least 2-3 weeks before I have to knock some skulls together.
So, other than that, I'm just trying to get everything set up for work in my absence, although it might be kind of nice to get back to work, kind of distracting, after I have a chance to recover a little bit. Jared has also taken a week off of work full time to take care of me while I'm being a baby (not if...), and my mom is coming down on Friday to give him a little reprieve from the nursing. The swelling is worst at 72 hours, so it will be good to have more support.
I had a panic attack last night, but I'm feeling okay tonight, and the good news is that Jared and I are old hands at panic attacks, so we know how to deal with them, and that they are temporary and pass quickly. I'm sure there will be more, and I don't even know how I'm going to be that Monday, but the best news of all:
THE WORST OF ALL OF THIS WILL BE OVER IN LESS THAN A MONTH.
*pre-sigh of relief*
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Models
Today I went to Dr. Voorhees's office to have my models made, get some measurements taken, and ask some questions. Getting models taken always sucks... not so much to say about that...
Except I guess I should tell you exactly why I had models taken... it's kind of cool actually. They make these models of my mouth, and Dr. Voorhees does the whole surgery on those. And from that he makes a surgical splint. Then during the real surgery, he uses the splint to make sure everything gets set perfectly. So that's cool. It's like he's doing it with a stencil instead of freehand. Which is good, when somebody is doing surgery on your face.
And I got to ask some questions that I had been wondering about. Got some answers on the pain meds, which was really what I was most worried about (yes, I know I'm weird, of all the things about this surgery that could worry me, my pain meds worried me most). I have had some really bad experiences with pain medication in the past, and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be prescribed codine, hydrocodone, vicodin, basically any pain medication that you would normally think.
Also found out some more specifics about the banding, which was something else about which I was really worried about, but it turns out I will definitely be banded shut, and the bands are pretty flexible, so that's good. And most of the swelling will be gone by a week, which is the worst part (besides the altered diet).
So, the only uncertain factor is the insurance stuff, and that's just not going to be able to be resolved until after the fact, unfortunately.
That's all for now!
Except I guess I should tell you exactly why I had models taken... it's kind of cool actually. They make these models of my mouth, and Dr. Voorhees does the whole surgery on those. And from that he makes a surgical splint. Then during the real surgery, he uses the splint to make sure everything gets set perfectly. So that's cool. It's like he's doing it with a stencil instead of freehand. Which is good, when somebody is doing surgery on your face.
And I got to ask some questions that I had been wondering about. Got some answers on the pain meds, which was really what I was most worried about (yes, I know I'm weird, of all the things about this surgery that could worry me, my pain meds worried me most). I have had some really bad experiences with pain medication in the past, and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be prescribed codine, hydrocodone, vicodin, basically any pain medication that you would normally think.
Also found out some more specifics about the banding, which was something else about which I was really worried about, but it turns out I will definitely be banded shut, and the bands are pretty flexible, so that's good. And most of the swelling will be gone by a week, which is the worst part (besides the altered diet).
So, the only uncertain factor is the insurance stuff, and that's just not going to be able to be resolved until after the fact, unfortunately.
That's all for now!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Hugs, not drugs... well, maybe some drugs
Yesterday, I went to see my General Practitioner about the drugs that I will be on after the surgery:
To make sure that they wouldn't interfere with my regular anxiety prescription (Wellbutrin), or in case of panic (which is entirely likely after the surgery), that I'd still be able to take my Xanax without interference issues. She said it all looked fine. We also talked about the strength of pain meds, frequency, etc., and I lamented the discontinuance of Darvocet - the only pain medication that I've ever liked (stupid FDA).
We also discussed the fact that my Wellbutrin is time released, and Wellbutrin does not come in a liquid form. This will be a problem after the surgery when I will be unable to open my mouth to take pills. And I doubt that right after major surgery is a great time to stop taking your anxiety medicine. So, I'll be taking a different form of it, the immediate release 3 times a day instead of extended release 2 times. She said it would feel different, but hopefully it will only be for a week or so, and it will at least keep the Wellbutrin in my system so I don't have to go through withdrawal and then re-acclimation.
Thursday I have my models appointment, when I'll probably exasperate Dr. Voorhees beyond belief with all my questions, so I'll update again after that with more detailed info.
To make sure that they wouldn't interfere with my regular anxiety prescription (Wellbutrin), or in case of panic (which is entirely likely after the surgery), that I'd still be able to take my Xanax without interference issues. She said it all looked fine. We also talked about the strength of pain meds, frequency, etc., and I lamented the discontinuance of Darvocet - the only pain medication that I've ever liked (stupid FDA).
We also discussed the fact that my Wellbutrin is time released, and Wellbutrin does not come in a liquid form. This will be a problem after the surgery when I will be unable to open my mouth to take pills. And I doubt that right after major surgery is a great time to stop taking your anxiety medicine. So, I'll be taking a different form of it, the immediate release 3 times a day instead of extended release 2 times. She said it would feel different, but hopefully it will only be for a week or so, and it will at least keep the Wellbutrin in my system so I don't have to go through withdrawal and then re-acclimation.
Thursday I have my models appointment, when I'll probably exasperate Dr. Voorhees beyond belief with all my questions, so I'll update again after that with more detailed info.
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