Time flies when your healing! Along with some pictures I'll share many improvements that I've seen over the last 3 weeks:
So for a while now I've looked pretty normal when I have my casual face on. It is still obvious when I talk or show any emotion that something isn't quite right; but that is getting better with time. My smile is much better than the picture I posted 3 weeks ago.
It takes some time to realize after jaw surgery that you won't wake up feeling better than you did the day before; at least not after the first 1-2 weeks. The process is very slow, but I have been seeing improvements on a weekly basis. The bottom half of my face is still stiff, but is loosening up. I can notice this when I brush my teeth; I have been brushing 90% normal for the last few weeks. I am worried that I have a bunch of cavities. There are 2-3 teeth in particular that are sensitive to crunchy foods like chips so I try and stay away from that.
The only area that is noticeably swollen at all is my upper lip. Although it has gone down a bit and isn't even noticeable in any of these pictures.
There is currently no part of my face that I would say is completely numb. Only my upper lip, the button of my chin, and the tip of my nose are partially numb. At this rate I can't imagine I'll have any permanent nerve damage! Knock on wood.
My face isn't as oily as before. Just a little noticeable now.
Unfortunately I have had a cold for about 1.5 weeks. A sore throat has lingered the whole duration and I've had periods of sneezing. It just doesn't seem to go away. When I was sneezing a bit 2 weeks ago it didn't feel good; I was worried it was opening up some of the snitches still healing in my mouth. Today I can let out a sneeze and it feels quite normal.
My TMJ symptoms from before surgery are still around right now. My muscles are very tight and sore. It hurts to eat solid foods sometimes. I am not too worried about that though because my orthodontist had me wearing lots of night elastics that would keep me clenching throughout the night and I would wake up in the morning in pain. For the last week I have stopped wearing my night elastics and stuck to the more comforting day elastics. I have since seen some noticeable improvements; not cured, but much easier to deal with. Last time I saw my orthodontist he said that my bite was perfect, so I'll see how not wearing my night elastics will affect my progress next time I see him.
The swelling in my knee has been very slowly going down. You have to look past the fact that I have very skinny legs to see the swelling. Doctors still don't know what is wrong with my knee. It has been a month now that I have been swollen. One of the possibilities before was that it was a rheumatoid arthritis attack. I have had a history of rheumatoid related problems and was very lucky to get an appointment (tomorrow) with a rheumatologist to see what he thinks. I am very interested to see what he says, but for now I am walking fine and mobile enough to not sulk.
I still weigh about 120lbs and need to really start making a real good effort to gain weight back. At this weight I look about 16 years old!
