What TV show should I marathon during my recovery?
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.
Friday, June 24, 2011
The Countdown Continues...
We're under 2 months now!!!
Today, I feel like I wish the surgery were tomorrow - I just want it over with at this point! I found a new blog of somebody who had the surgery.
I find a lot of people who have an underbite and get double jaw surgery, but I read less about people with an overbite who get the surgery. I wonder if having an underbite is more difficult, or if it makes you want the surgery more for cosmetic reasons? I'm interested to read about someone who had an overbite & hear what they have to say about breathing after the surgery - I've been told mine will improve, so I'm just curious. Anyway, here's her site:
http://survivingjawsurgery.blogspot.com/
Today, I feel like I wish the surgery were tomorrow - I just want it over with at this point! I found a new blog of somebody who had the surgery.
I find a lot of people who have an underbite and get double jaw surgery, but I read less about people with an overbite who get the surgery. I wonder if having an underbite is more difficult, or if it makes you want the surgery more for cosmetic reasons? I'm interested to read about someone who had an overbite & hear what they have to say about breathing after the surgery - I've been told mine will improve, so I'm just curious. Anyway, here's her site:
http://survivingjawsurgery.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Last 2 Ortho Appointments Before the Surgery
Today I scheduled my last two orthodontic appointments before the surgery. One is a month before to get everything set up, and then one is the morning before the surgery to have "hooks" put in - whatever that means, I'm trying not to think about it.
It's weird to have that brought in, it's sort of making it a little more real... the surgery is coming - in 2 months. Which probably feels like a long time on that side of the blog, but I'm here to tell you that on this side, it's feeling super soon!
This experience has also told me that Einstein's theory of relativity needed one more tweak. Not just for variable motion, but for variable volition. The closer the surgery (anticipated date) gets, the more slowly AND more quickly time moves. More slowly because I want it to get here soon to get it over with, and more quickly because I want to stall because I'm scared. So there you have it, my brilliant addition to Einstein's theory of relativity.
It's weird to have that brought in, it's sort of making it a little more real... the surgery is coming - in 2 months. Which probably feels like a long time on that side of the blog, but I'm here to tell you that on this side, it's feeling super soon!
This experience has also told me that Einstein's theory of relativity needed one more tweak. Not just for variable motion, but for variable volition. The closer the surgery (anticipated date) gets, the more slowly AND more quickly time moves. More slowly because I want it to get here soon to get it over with, and more quickly because I want to stall because I'm scared. So there you have it, my brilliant addition to Einstein's theory of relativity.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Weirdest Coincidence
The guy who works in the cubicle right next to mine also had orthognathic surgery done, in 1998 - weird, right? Wait! It gets weirder! He had the same surgeon as I do, Dr. Voorhees.
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