This infection is really annoying me. None of the antibiotics have worked and it is now giving me a fair bit of grief. It's not painful but it aches a bit and has just slowed the whole healing process right down. I thought I would be through the worst of it by now, instead, I get a warning from the consultant last Wednesday saying it is likely I'll need a further operation to replace the titanium plates on my left side.
I'm hoping that it's not a major deal but it will require a general anaesthetic and further recovery time. The consultant I spoke to seemed fairly confident it was straightforward which is reassuring but I see the guy who performed my op on Friday and he will make the final call as to what needs to happen.
The orthdontist had the all clear to carry on with her work though and so they changed the wire at the top to a more flexible one. They are trying to bring the top teeth down a bit as I still have a bit of an open bite at the back. With that in mind, I am still heavily banded up which is a bloody nuisance when trying to talk and eat. The open bite thing is nothing that they cannot sort out through the orthodontics though.
I am getting some feeling back in my chin and lower lip. At the moment it is a tingling and intense itching feeling on the left hand side. Nothing on the right hand side yet and so I'm not counting my chickens quite yet that it will all revert to normal.
None of this is a priority at the moment... all thoughts to my little man and his progress.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
7 weeks on
Another week on and still struggling with infection on the left side. It has been pretty uncomfortable and the lack of any visual progress has been a bit demoralising. I finished my course of antibiotics just over a week ago and over the past weekend I felt as though it was starting to flare up again... so I took a look as to what might be causing the infection. (By the way, holding a torch, a dental mirror and a pick whilst trying to get a view of the back of your mouth is not easy!). I was a little bit freaked out when I saw what appeared to be a hole at the back of my gum on the outer 7th molar on my bottom jaw. On even closer inspection, I could see the root of the molar and I'm fairly sure I could even see a small part of the jaw bone.
So today I managed to get an appointment at the dental hospital so that they could check it out. One of the MaxFacs (maxillofacial) team was there along with my regular consultant orthodontist and they had a good root around but I'm not convinced they rooted round enough to see what I was seeing. They were concerned about the infection enough to send me for some immediate post op xrays which looked amazing! Aside from the teeth and jaws being all in the right places, I was impressed with the number of plates and screws holding my face together! From the xrays, they seemed confident that the infection was not due to an infected plate (which would have meant another op to remove it!) but I'm not sure any root cause (excuse the pun) was established, they just said the lack of gum and soft tissue in that area was due to the infection. So, they have given me another 5 day course of antibiotics, an official post op review appointment for 2 days time and a further ortho appointment to change the wires on the brace. Gotta be grateful that they are doing all they can I suppose.
So having sorted the appointments I put my hand in my jacket pocket to get the car park ticket and guess what.... no car park ticket. Shite. That feeling when you know you are going to have to pay for a full days parking to get your car back, is not a nice feeling. A better feeling is when you find out that somebody has handed your ticket in to the receptionist. Maybe things are starting to look up a bit after all.
So today I managed to get an appointment at the dental hospital so that they could check it out. One of the MaxFacs (maxillofacial) team was there along with my regular consultant orthodontist and they had a good root around but I'm not convinced they rooted round enough to see what I was seeing. They were concerned about the infection enough to send me for some immediate post op xrays which looked amazing! Aside from the teeth and jaws being all in the right places, I was impressed with the number of plates and screws holding my face together! From the xrays, they seemed confident that the infection was not due to an infected plate (which would have meant another op to remove it!) but I'm not sure any root cause (excuse the pun) was established, they just said the lack of gum and soft tissue in that area was due to the infection. So, they have given me another 5 day course of antibiotics, an official post op review appointment for 2 days time and a further ortho appointment to change the wires on the brace. Gotta be grateful that they are doing all they can I suppose.
So having sorted the appointments I put my hand in my jacket pocket to get the car park ticket and guess what.... no car park ticket. Shite. That feeling when you know you are going to have to pay for a full days parking to get your car back, is not a nice feeling. A better feeling is when you find out that somebody has handed your ticket in to the receptionist. Maybe things are starting to look up a bit after all.
Monday, September 12, 2011
6wks
So here I am, 6 weeks down the road of recovery. I was just having my anaesthetic this time 6 weeks ago, time seems to have passed quite quickly. I'm starting to feel a bit more human now and the gimp mask like pressure around my face is starting to fade a little. I have spent the past week on a course of strong antibiotics in a bid to shake off an infection on my left side. It is certainly better than i was but remains significantly more swollen than the right side. This swelling thing is hard to take, I have to say that it is the hardest part of the whole process, purely because progress is ridiculously slow. There are days when I wake up and it is twice as bad as the day before and it feels as though it is never going to end.
I am still numb in my bottom lip and chin... however... over the past couple of days I have had itching and burning sensations in my chin and now, when I press the left side of my chin, I get a deep tingling feeling. I think that's a good sign!
Had a visit to the dental hospital on Friday and everything is looking positive. I had removed the front elastic bands myself last week (they were in place to correct the mid-line of my front teeth) as they seemed to have done the job. I think the orthodontist was glad that I had done that or it may have moved too far. Anyway, I still have elastics in on the sides and my bite is now perfectly central. I just hope it stays like that! They will change the wires next time in a bid to do some more of the tweaking to get my molar teeth to rest together exactly how they should. In fact, my back teeth are already starting to meet well - it is the strangest feeling but I'm really pleased. The best bit of news they gave was that all the braces, bands and other contraptions might be off (emphasis on the word "might") by Christmas. That is sooner than I expected and would be the best present ever... well with the exception of an Aston Martin DB9, a crate of stella and a kebab. Man... I ooze class.
I am still numb in my bottom lip and chin... however... over the past couple of days I have had itching and burning sensations in my chin and now, when I press the left side of my chin, I get a deep tingling feeling. I think that's a good sign!
Had a visit to the dental hospital on Friday and everything is looking positive. I had removed the front elastic bands myself last week (they were in place to correct the mid-line of my front teeth) as they seemed to have done the job. I think the orthodontist was glad that I had done that or it may have moved too far. Anyway, I still have elastics in on the sides and my bite is now perfectly central. I just hope it stays like that! They will change the wires next time in a bid to do some more of the tweaking to get my molar teeth to rest together exactly how they should. In fact, my back teeth are already starting to meet well - it is the strangest feeling but I'm really pleased. The best bit of news they gave was that all the braces, bands and other contraptions might be off (emphasis on the word "might") by Christmas. That is sooner than I expected and would be the best present ever... well with the exception of an Aston Martin DB9, a crate of stella and a kebab. Man... I ooze class.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
5w 1d
I was loitering around a couple of jaw surgery forums a couple of days ago ("loitering" around websites sounds a bit wrong really but that's pretty much what I was doing) when I read a really sad story about some 18 year old guy who had gone for the same surgery as I had in June of this year. He had started a blog (what is it with people wanting to share surgical stories with the world?) and had posted some videos on YouTube prior to his surgery. Unfortunately this guy passed away as a result of complications that developed during his operation. God only knows what his family must be going through. RIP fella.
Serves as a bit of a reality check when I'm still concerned about a bit of swelling and soreness. Infection has well and truly taken hold of the left side of my face and has caused quite a hard swelling along my jaw line. The surrounding area is softer but is also swollen. I also have this very strange sensation in that I can hear the fluid in the swelling really loudly in my left ear, but nobody else can hear it! Visited the docs yesterday and now on a week long course of antibiotics. Bloody typical. England v Wales tonight and no Stella. I can live without a kebab, but football with no beer? That's like one of my blog posts without the moaning!
The mid-line between my front upper and lower teeth seems to have improved and is now pretty much lined up. I'm hoping that when I go back to the dental hospital on Friday, they say I no longer have to wear the elastic band which runs diagonally across the front of my teeth. I think the other bands will probably have to stay for a while longer though.
I have spent most of this morning playing "shops" with my little girl. Spending time with the family is one of the positive things that has kept me going through the recovery period. You can't get too down in the dumps when you are spending hours buying miniature jars of Branston pickle at £250.00 a time from a really bossy shop assistant.
Just a word of thanks to those of you who have been so supportive, it is greatly appreciated and your many words of encouragement has been a real help.
Serves as a bit of a reality check when I'm still concerned about a bit of swelling and soreness. Infection has well and truly taken hold of the left side of my face and has caused quite a hard swelling along my jaw line. The surrounding area is softer but is also swollen. I also have this very strange sensation in that I can hear the fluid in the swelling really loudly in my left ear, but nobody else can hear it! Visited the docs yesterday and now on a week long course of antibiotics. Bloody typical. England v Wales tonight and no Stella. I can live without a kebab, but football with no beer? That's like one of my blog posts without the moaning!
The mid-line between my front upper and lower teeth seems to have improved and is now pretty much lined up. I'm hoping that when I go back to the dental hospital on Friday, they say I no longer have to wear the elastic band which runs diagonally across the front of my teeth. I think the other bands will probably have to stay for a while longer though.
I have spent most of this morning playing "shops" with my little girl. Spending time with the family is one of the positive things that has kept me going through the recovery period. You can't get too down in the dumps when you are spending hours buying miniature jars of Branston pickle at £250.00 a time from a really bossy shop assistant.
Just a word of thanks to those of you who have been so supportive, it is greatly appreciated and your many words of encouragement has been a real help.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Day 31
Been a month since my operation and a bit of a milestone really. It's hard to explain how I feel about the op and more importantly the results. On one hand I am fed right up of not knowing what the final results will look like (impatient I know!) and not being able to eat properly. On the other hand I'm glad that the worst is over with and that in theory it is improvement all the way from here.
Cheeks are slightly (and I mean slightly) less swollen now although I am still finding that I morph into the churchill dog whenever I spend too long in front of the mirror. "Ohhhh yes yes yes". The numbness is still there too, can't feel anything in my bottom lip or chin. Still banded up as well, so talking and eating are still, well, an experience. (For some reason, it seems lately that everybody is so keen to tell me what they've had to eat or what they are planning to eat. Just for the record in case anybody wishes to make gastronomical conversation with me....DON'T!! Unless it involves an offer to take me out for a meal once it has healed fully, then of course feel free).
I do feel a lot better in myself lately. I am trying to get a bit more fresh air and also need to step up at the gym a bit I think. Sorry for such a boring update, things are moving very slowly at the moment so there is not much change to report!
Cheeks are slightly (and I mean slightly) less swollen now although I am still finding that I morph into the churchill dog whenever I spend too long in front of the mirror. "Ohhhh yes yes yes". The numbness is still there too, can't feel anything in my bottom lip or chin. Still banded up as well, so talking and eating are still, well, an experience. (For some reason, it seems lately that everybody is so keen to tell me what they've had to eat or what they are planning to eat. Just for the record in case anybody wishes to make gastronomical conversation with me....DON'T!! Unless it involves an offer to take me out for a meal once it has healed fully, then of course feel free).
I do feel a lot better in myself lately. I am trying to get a bit more fresh air and also need to step up at the gym a bit I think. Sorry for such a boring update, things are moving very slowly at the moment so there is not much change to report!
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