Things I Wish I Had Known

• The recovery will take both less and more time than you think it will. There will be aspects that will be over so quickly, you'll remember them as painless, and aspects that you hadn't thought would even be a factor, and they'll drag on foooorrrrreeeevvvveeeeerrrrrr
• Your mouth will not feel the same. This sounds simple and easy, and I expected the different alignment of my teeth/jaw, but what I didn't expect was the little strange sensations that remind you that your face was sawed into pieces. For example, when I bite, I feel a sort of "rift" in the middle of my palate - just weird little reminders like that.
• You will probably end up paying more than you think you will. Although it's good to budget and plan, there's stuff you will never think to factor in, and the insurance companies will not cut you any slack.
• Write down all the benefits or things that feel different right after the surgery. Before your recovery is even close to over, these will feel normal, and you'll take them for granted. It's wonderful to have those reminders of the positive outcomes when all you seem to be able to feel are the negative.
• The surgery will not fix everything. You'll still have to wear your braces for awhile after the procedure. It will still suck to have to wear braces. You probably won't mind for a couple months after you get the splint out (oh yeah, I wish I'd known about the splint...), but it comes back with full force eventually.
• You might be in braces for longer than you'd hoped after the surgery. Neither your orthodontist nor your oral surgeon will be able to accurately predict how long. 
• For at least the first two weeks, always take your pain medication on time. Although it's not one of those kinds of pain where once you feel it it's too late you catch up, you'll feel so much better. Because here's the thing - with other types of pain you can tough it out, or grin and bear it, and have a semblance of normalcy. You won't be comfortable regardless of if you take the meds or not, so you might as well take the meds and at least not have pain (and/or be able to sleep all the time like a cat)
• Use petroleum jelly on your lips like you mean it. This was the best thing I did after my surgery. A couple days out I missed a couple applications, and man was I sorry.
• While being mindful of getting rest and healing, keep moving. Even if it's just short walks. I swear, I still got winded just from the walk from the parking lot to my office 2 months after the surgery. (I guess that's what they mean when they call it major?) 

 Anybody else have any suggestions? Feel free to leave a comment :)