First of all, I wanted to list out the things that have been helpful to have.
At the hospital-
*LOTS of really nice, soft tissues. I didn't bring any, and went through 5 boxes of gauze, at least, before anyone could bring me any. After that, I still went through 3 big boxes of tissues. I hope that my nosebleeds were a little out of control, because I haven't heard of other people having quite that issue. Still, it never hurts- all that does hurt is having to use hospital tissues! Very rough.
*Button-up PJ's- Because when you finally get your ticket out of there, of course you don't want to be pulling a shirt on over your face
At home-
*It's a little pricey, but I would really recomend a VitaMix blender. I got it from my parents for a combination birthday/Christmas present. It is amazing. You can make anything in it. Of course, you probably aren't interested in salsa or peanut butter (but you will be!) but you can just toss in some veggies and make raw vegetable soup that is wonderful and good for you. It makes incredible smoothies, too. I know I was told no smoothies with berries because the seeds will get stuck in the splint, but this blender actually gets rid of all those as well. Pretty much everything I've eaten since surgery has been made from this thing.
*Okay, it sounds weird, but cloth diapers work really well for keeping you from drooling all over yourself. I have one tucked into my shirt all the time, and hold one underneath my mouth when I'm trying to drink something. It's weird, yes, but much better than sitting in your own spit!
Well, on to day 6. Things are going better. I was absolutely unable to take any liquid/ground up meds last night. My surgeon had told me that I was not only allowed, but encouraged to stretch my jaw as far as it will go within the rubber bands. It's just far enough to squeeze a skinny Advil tablet in there. It's really tough to swallow, but a lot better than what I had been taking. So I'm taking a lot of Advil every 6 hours, and it pretty much takes care of the pain.
The swelling is about the same since yesterday, and the bruising is starting to really come in, coming upwards from my chest, which is the opposite of what I thought would happen. My lips have almost completely peeled, and the places they split in the hospital are pretty much healed. They're still huge and not even close to closing- I really hope I can do that again before the splint comes out in 6 weeks! All in all, I feel like I'm looking a lot less terrifying, but I've still got a ways to go before I want to go out in public!
The hunger is not bad yet, maybe because I'm pretty sure I'm required to drink twice as much water as I normally do and that's keeping me full. Whatever, it works for me, because drinking is so messy and it's much worse when it's something other than water.
Hope everyone is doing well!
At the hospital-
*LOTS of really nice, soft tissues. I didn't bring any, and went through 5 boxes of gauze, at least, before anyone could bring me any. After that, I still went through 3 big boxes of tissues. I hope that my nosebleeds were a little out of control, because I haven't heard of other people having quite that issue. Still, it never hurts- all that does hurt is having to use hospital tissues! Very rough.
*Button-up PJ's- Because when you finally get your ticket out of there, of course you don't want to be pulling a shirt on over your face
At home-
*It's a little pricey, but I would really recomend a VitaMix blender. I got it from my parents for a combination birthday/Christmas present. It is amazing. You can make anything in it. Of course, you probably aren't interested in salsa or peanut butter (but you will be!) but you can just toss in some veggies and make raw vegetable soup that is wonderful and good for you. It makes incredible smoothies, too. I know I was told no smoothies with berries because the seeds will get stuck in the splint, but this blender actually gets rid of all those as well. Pretty much everything I've eaten since surgery has been made from this thing.
*Okay, it sounds weird, but cloth diapers work really well for keeping you from drooling all over yourself. I have one tucked into my shirt all the time, and hold one underneath my mouth when I'm trying to drink something. It's weird, yes, but much better than sitting in your own spit!
Well, on to day 6. Things are going better. I was absolutely unable to take any liquid/ground up meds last night. My surgeon had told me that I was not only allowed, but encouraged to stretch my jaw as far as it will go within the rubber bands. It's just far enough to squeeze a skinny Advil tablet in there. It's really tough to swallow, but a lot better than what I had been taking. So I'm taking a lot of Advil every 6 hours, and it pretty much takes care of the pain.
The swelling is about the same since yesterday, and the bruising is starting to really come in, coming upwards from my chest, which is the opposite of what I thought would happen. My lips have almost completely peeled, and the places they split in the hospital are pretty much healed. They're still huge and not even close to closing- I really hope I can do that again before the splint comes out in 6 weeks! All in all, I feel like I'm looking a lot less terrifying, but I've still got a ways to go before I want to go out in public!
The hunger is not bad yet, maybe because I'm pretty sure I'm required to drink twice as much water as I normally do and that's keeping me full. Whatever, it works for me, because drinking is so messy and it's much worse when it's something other than water.
Hope everyone is doing well!
I am so glad you are feeling better. These first few weeks will pass and you will be so happy that it is all behind you. You hang in there girl, you are going to make it!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, you gave some very good ideas for the new jaw bloggers. Glad you are finding things that work. Be blessed! : )
Thanks so much for the tips. I will keep those in mind for when my day comes! (Still not for a while yet, but I've been writing things down here and there from the wonderful ortho bloggers out there)!
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