Surgery Date Set

So it has been a long time but I have my date for the Lefort 1, Feb 22. It has been a long journey to get to this point. I started this journey in the USA and am finishing in Canada. I actually had a chance to have the surgery today Jan 26 now I wish I had taken it but I did not. So I am waiting and counting down the days.

Thanks for your patients for me to tell my story.

Hopes shattered

So I saw my orthodontist and I still have the expander in. My orthodontist added a power chain but did not change my upper wire. it has been on for 5 days and my teeth did not hurt at all. As we all know if your teeth are moving you will been some pain. I do not have another appointment until Feb 27 when the expander is to be replaced with a wire that will keep the shape of my arch but will allow my gap to be closed. I was so disappointed when I left the orthodontist office, I started to tear up. I can't believe shed a single tear over this. When I go my braces in June of 2009 I new this would be a time consuming process and that I would feel pain but I did not think I would have such a large gap for such a long time. I have had this gap for 4 months and my OMS told me it would take another 3 months to close.

Well I think that is enough for today.

Here's hoping!

It has been a while since my last post but there has been nothing to write about, until now. I saw my OMS surgeon last week and he was very please with the bone growth which is resulting in my 4 weeks early visit to the orthodontist. I am getting my expander out and they are going to start closing that 10mm gap in the front of my mouth. I am so excited.

more to come tomorrow after I get home.

Nothing really

Its been a while since I posted. Nothing has really been going on. My surgeon was very please with the almost 10mm space in the front of my mouth. I can't wait until January when my orthodontist starts to close my gap. I hope my teeth move quickly. I know that this takes time but I really miss being able to speak to clients, co-workers, vendors, friends and family members without repeating myself 2 or 3 times. I have meetings all week and I feel really self conscience in most meetings. I am a project manager/engineer and can't sit quietly through most of my meetings. I am getting better each day at communicating.

For those who had SARPE how long did it take your teeth to move in and close your gap? How big was your gap?

Thanks

17 days Post Op, 18 activations and 1st OMS and Ortho visit Post Op

So I had my first follow up with my surgeon on Sept 22. According to him everything went well and looks good. Now it was time for me to activate my expander. The desired gap is about 7mm. To achieve this spacing I need to turn/activate the expander twice a day. I like to do one in the morning and the other in the evening. I really am not experiencing any pain, no bruising and very little swelling. I have been lucky enough to loss 8lbs and I am down a dress size! :)

I had my first Ortho visit today which I was not looking forward too. They did not change my wire, I was happy not to have to top ones changed but I thought the bottom wire should have been changed; but what do I know?? The Orthodontist and my surgeon don't really speak that often. At my last Ortho appointment they asked me if the OMS told me how many activations of the expander I would do per day. Sad to say I didn't know until my visit on Sept 22. This time the Orthodontist asked when I would stop the expansion of my pallet. I let him know that the OMS said I should continue 2 turns per day until my visit on Oct 22. I don't think he liked this reply because immediately after I said Oct 22 he said I needed to come back in 2 weeks.

I have a question - how many turns or activations of the expander is required to achieve 7 to 8 mm?

So my tongue is finding its way into my new found gap. I have a tongue thrust and am on the edge of starting therapy / treatment for it. At this point i think the only reason I have not started is because the sessions are costly $150/hour. I would be looking at 2 hours per session, 2 sessions per week for an unknown duration. I looked into the number of sessions I would need and the answer that I was give was "it depends on how sever my case was and how well I responded to therapy. But I should expect 3 months minimum."


That is all for this week. I will leave you with a photos of my gap.

36 Hours Post Op w/Photos

So It has been 36 hours since surgery and I feel a lot better. I have full feeling on the left side of my mouth and lips. The right side still feels numb and tingly. I do not have nay bruising which is nice. I am going to venture into the world today. I think it would be the best time since my husband goes back to work tomorrow and I am still on vicidin and will not be able to drive tomorrow. I am a little swollen but I am sure that very few people will even notice it.
The first photo was taken 2 hour Pre OP.


The second is 18 hours Post OP. This photo is to show how my teeth have already moved. In the past the 3rd and 4th teeth use to be behind the 1st and 2nd teeth. I can't believe how much they moved already.


The 3rd is 36 hours Post OP. I do have swelling and don't look that good at 10 am but I could look alot worse.

18 hours Post Op

It has been 18 hours since my surgery. Everything went well. I have am not groggy but I am very sleepy. My surgery was scheduled for 1:00pm but it was 3 hours late which meant that I did not eat or drink from 11:40 pm Sept 13 until 6:00 pm Sept 14. I am now on a liquids only diet for the next week.
Last night sucked. My husband is really trying but he wanted to wait 6 hours instead of 4 to give me my first dose of drugs at home; that hurt. I don't have to take then every 4 hours but my body wakes me out of my sleep promptly when it is time. I have some swelling and can't close my mouth all the way. I feel a lot of pressure in my sinuses when I swallow or have my eye glasses on as I do to write this blog. I should be able to go back to work in 5 days which is really fast. I booked 2 weeks off but am thinking of returning on Monday to work. I like having my vacations 1 week at a time and since I don't get sick leave this is cutting into my vacation.

I can't wait to be able to sleep on my side. I was so tired from sleeping on my back that I chose to sleep on the couch for a couple of hours.

well my head is starting to hurt so I will go.

Good night.