Not for the faint of heart

Wow. I'm not saying I'm brave or anything. In fact, I'm one of the biggest babies I know when it comes to pain or suffering. Maybe that's why I'm complaining in this post.

To anyone who is considering jaw surgery but doesn't suffer from sleep apnea or other medical/dental issues, don't do it!

I had sleep apnea, so I could somewhat justify what I've been through over the past week to myself.

In short, jaw surgery isn't too bad in terms of pain. But it's everything else that makes it really, really tough. Everything was going great as I checked into the hospital. They put one IV in my hand, and it didn't hurt much.

When I awoke after surgery groggily, I wasn't in much pain. But now I had 3 IVs, plus, was peeing out of a tube. The IVs were really annoying. The one on my right hand was really sensitive, and it hurt every time something was initially injected into it.

I was also nauseous and puked up blood a few times before I finally learned to ask for the anti-nausea medication consistently. It's really unpleasant to puke up blood when your teeth are tightly banded together. In fact, the blood will probably end up pouring out of your mouth and nose, and will end up covering half your face.

I feel bad for anyone who saw me like that. It must have looked terrifying.

In terms of pain, I would say I usually averaged a 3 or 4 on a scale of 10, and I'd usually ask for a shot of morphine by the time I'd hit 4. Most of the lower half of my face was numb, so that's most likely why I didn't feel too much pain. There was probably twice the pain shot up to a 6. Once right after I puked up blood, and the force tugged on the inside of my left cheek. Another when the doctor was wiping up dried blood from my chin.


Here are some tips for those of you who haven't been totally scared off of jaw surgery by my account:

• Ask for anti-nausea medicine as soon as you start feeling a bit nauseous -- don't wait until after you've puked a few times
• Don't cry! I cried out of frustration and pain when my doctor was wiping my chin the day after surgery. Unfortunately, once I started, it was hard to stop myself. So I ended up clogging up my swollen sinuses. Don't do this!
• Moisturize your lips well with Vaseline. It'll prevent bruising as you frequently wipe your lips of blood and drool.
• Moisturize the skin around your mouth and on your chin. I didn't really start doing this until I came home. But I just use a light hand cream a few times a day to protect my parched skin. I use Vaseline Intensive Care Total Moisture Aloe Fresh Light Feeling Lotion. It's moisturizing enough yet light enough to not clog pores. Plus cheap enough to dap on and wipe off multiple times a day.
• If possible, try to get a close family member or friend to stay with you in the hospital. With multiple IVs in both hands, you might not be able to do much for yourself. And you won't be able to explain much, if you're able to speak at all. Eventually, you'll have to feed yourself lots of liquids, which is a challenge on its own so soon after surgery, but it's especially hard when you have IVs in your hands.
• The sinus congestion was one of the worst symptoms of the surgery. It's not just due to swelling, but also increased mucus production. There were times I was panicked that I would suffocate because I couldn't breathe through my nose and couldn't open my mouth. This isn't a huge deal in the hospital, since they're monitoring your oxygen levels, but once you're home, you're kind of on your own. A humidifier is immensely helpful. I got a Crane Drop Shape Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier, which is as stylish as it is useful.
• In addition to having a humidifier, I cheated and blew my nose gently several days (about 4-5) after surgery. There, I admitted it. This isn't something I would recommend, especially immediately after surgery, but I figured I'd rather risk blowing my nose than passing out from lack of oxygen. Some other blogger apparently also did so with no ill effects. I gently blew my nose without using a tissue or holding down my nostrils. I also had a large box of cue tips ready to assist with the cleaning process.

Aftermath:

• My surgeon did a great job, and thankfully I suffered no complications. (Everything I complained about above is just what's to be expected.) I pray that I won't develop any as I continue to heal.
• I'm starving. Absolutely starving. It's really hard to consume enough calories when you're just eating liquids, even if you drink multiple Ensure drinks a day.
• My nose looks a little wider and flatter. The nostrils themselves look wider too. But it doesn't look bad somehow. It kind of turns up a bit at the end now and looks like it fits my face better from the profile.
• When your body is in recovery mode, it's crucial to get good nutrition and good rest. Unfortunately, both of those will elude you right after surgery. That's part of what makes jaw surgery so challenging and hard on the body.

Now I'm probably going to call it a night unless I decide to open another Ensure.

In conclusion, jaw surgery is major surgery, nothing like getting your wisdom teeth out. Don't expect you'll be one of those people on YouTube, cheerfully putting up videos a day or two after surgery. Or looking like your old self a week or two afterwards and chattering happily.

In the end, this was one of the hardest experiences I've ever gone through. In a way, I'm thankful that I've never experienced anything worse. However, it's not an experience I would wish on anyone.


Disclaimers:

• I realize that most people get this surgery for a multitude of reasons, with health and function being the primary one. However, I know this surgery is being advertised in countries like Korea for cosmetic enhancements. To which I say: IT'S NOT WORTH THE SUFFERING/RISK!
• Apparently the other blogger who blew her nose didn't get her sinuses operated on. So proceed carefully if you're going to go this route.