Another Picture

Here is another picture where you can see my jawline a little bit better. Before, I avoided cameras so much! Now, I don't really care if I see one.

Almost 7 months post-op

Ok, so I am almost 7 months out. I get my braces off June 15th. Shoulda, coulda, woulda been in May, but one of the Orthos in the practice went on maternity leave. It's all good though. I still have some noise, and I do have stiffness on the left which is limiting my mobility and hurts a bit when I chew. I should be doing the exercises to loosen it up, but really, I am not even going to worry about that until after these things are off. I have had rubberbands for the last month, and though they are not too obtrusive, I'm not a huge fan of their presence. I am planning on getting a crazy looking retainer with glitter if I have my way. Here is a picture of me taken today. It's just a picture. I feel like I look normal, or I should say, my new look is now my normal look, and I don't think about my "before" too much anymore.

As you can see, I have "bulging eyes", which is a separate issue due to thyroid eye disease. I hope to have surgery to correct that in June or July.

I feel so much more confident now, and I am so glad that I did this!

Another Surgery

So, now that I have my jaw fixed I am heading down the road to another surgery. You may have noticed that in the photos I have protruding eyes. This is caused by Graves Disease which is an autoimmune disorder. My Doctors are now doing all of the preoperative work for Orbital Decompression, a surgery that will increase the size of my eye sockets and let my eyes sit back in my head where they go. Luckily, I think the healing time for this surgery is 2 days. I'll be glad to be DONE with procedures for a while.

Three Months

So, they don't really have any adjustments left to make on my teeth, but I have to keep the braces on for 6 months post op. They should come off in April or May! I CAN"T WAIT!

I don't know how I ever wore braces so easily the first time around. Braces as an adult sucks. You get used to it because you have to, but once the count down is on the waiting just eats you alive.

Vera Wang Pajamas!!!

Because I have an eye disease I get very self conscious in pictures. As you can see, my eyes bulge out. Having a chin now helps with that feeling of "don't look at me". Anyway, I like this angle because it hides the bags under my eyes and makes my eyes look a little less protrusive.

I am constantly looking a new pictures of myself just to get used to what I look like. How should I smile now? Does my lip still look a little wonky? (I still have some lingering numbness which is not a bother at all, but can make for a funky smile.)

I don't know if anyone else thinks about these things. I know a lot of people get the surgery for medical reasons. My was to prevent some future medical issues, but also because I WANTED it. I wanted to have a chin and get rid of my huge overbite. Oh, and I am wearing my Vera Wang PJs in this pic. LOVE THEM!

It is weird to have to relearn what you look like.

Anyway, here is another picture. Getting sick of these things yet?

What I have learned...

From the front I don't look like I thought I would post-surgery, but I like it just the same.

From the side I am thrilled that I don't think about it anymore. People seeing my profile does not even cross my mind.

I can't stop touching my chin. 4 months out and I can't stop touching my chin. I just can't believe it is where it is.

Eating might never be the same. I chewed one way for 31 years and now I have to chew like a person whose molars line up. I thought it would be easier, and become second nature in no time flat. That has not happened yet. Also, I can't move my jaw forward at all so grasping things between my front teeth to open them or something is not possible.

Thankfully, scissors were invented a long time ago.

Shredded Lettuce

I love salad, and I can chew shredded lettuce, but the regular kind is a huge pain the ass! Lettuce is for chumps!