May 2

I am going to try to take front and profile pictures on May 2nd. That marks the 7 month mark for me. I hope some of you find the photos helpful. I really wrote this blog to be mostly informative on what I am going through in the first year of healing. That was all I wanted to know about prior to my surgery. I have tried to keep most of the pics on the homepage so they are easy to find. Maybe that is because I was most concerned about the physical changes for my surgery, as my other issues were so minimal. I have experienced some great side effects though. I no longer clench, I have fewer headaches, and while on a soft diet I discovered Greek yogurt with honey...my new favorite food!

Jaw Rant that Barely Pertains to Me

I still think it is wild how many blogs there are out there dedicated to jaw surgery. I am now going to rant.

The insurance companies piss me off in that they don't cover these procedures, which for most people are medically necessary. To add insult to injury, my insurance covered my surgery 100% and I had minimal medical issues relating to my massive overbite.

It seems the Canadian bloggers have to wait longer for their procedures, but don't stress about the out of pocket expense as much. Go Canada!! :) I grew up on the border and have always had a soft spot for our neighbors to the north. The American bloggers on the other hand, many of whom are in considerable pain, have to fight for their right to a surgery that cures a condition and should be classified as a birth defect, all because it changes the appearance of the patient.

If you needed knee surgery because your knee was in pain, every time you took a step, all you would need is an MRI and a referral, but to get your jaw fixed you have to be ready to go into battle. It just really pisses me off.

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?