<p>D was able to drink a very weak milkshake through a straw. Big victory. Also the nausea has subsided (most have been from the anesthesia and the IV meds). OTOH her head is the size of a women’s basketball (28.5). She’s not happy with her new look. I just keep softly kissing her forehead, the only non-swollen part, and telling her that it WILL go down. Heck, I’d be happy if it would just stop going up. BUT, her law is working well, within the range of motion allowed, and her teeth look just plain amazing. She has a bite!! A proper bite. I’m so excited, and hope she can focus on the positives. The National Geographic lip IS starting to recede the tiniest bit.</p>
<p>Sorry folks, I’m bored playing nurse and somehow that has hurt my proofreading, insert “must” for “most”, “jaw” for “law”. I’ll take a break now. Sheesh.</p>
<p>I’m such a bad proofreader that I didn’t even notice the mistakes. I read it just how you meant to write it!</p>
<p>Healing thoughts coming your way.</p>
<p>So happy to hear D’s surgery went well, curmudgeon. I thought of her and wish her a speedy recovery. I’ve been out of town (and without internet) for several days. Did Carolyn’s D have surgery already or is it scheduled for the near future? BHG, I hope your S’s surgery goes well. A speedy recovery to all!</p>
<p>Splashmom, I haven’t heard from carolyn. She must be out of pocket. Her D’s surgery is coming up in the next couple of weeks , I believe. D’s looks wonderful, but we are struggling mightily with the whole being “compromised” situation (chipmunk cheeks the size of Aunt Bertha’s butt). She ain’t fond of it at all. Soon, when she chomps on that bit at least the teeth will be lined up!</p>
<p>According to Carolyn’s blog, she’ll be out of pocket until the 4th. She’s taking kids to colleges for summer programs (and doing a few tours along the way).</p>
<p>Curmudgeon, I’m sending swelling-reduction happy thoughts to your daughter.</p>
<p>Hi,
I just checked C.C. after being away for awhile. My daughter had jaw surgery May 26th and it sounds like what several of you have been describing. Her upper jaw was moved forward and spread and her lower jaw was “tweaked” to line up. We really dealt with the nausea and vomiting for first couple of days. That was the worst. She’s doing well now but wants a hambuger. Swelling has gone down a lot which is a blessing. For those of you who have dealt with this did your S/D have skin problems on their face? My daughter has been getting really bad acne which she hasn’t had before. Any advice? Thanks</p>
<p>I have a question too for all of the parents whose kids had jaw surgery. I think an ex-orthodontist recommended this type of surgery for my younger D. Is this the surgery where the jaw is repositioned? If it is, what made you decide to go forward w/ the surgery? I’m curious because although one orthodontist really pushed for the surgery, another said that he felt that while it would help w/ jaw alignment, it wasn’t an absolute necessity. Now D is wearing a removal appliance, but I’m not sure if it will really make a difference. I would really appreciate your input if you have the time.
Good luck with the surgery.</p>
<p>When my husband was 19 he had surgery to push back his lower jaw to correct an underbite. Our daughter inherited the same condition. We consulted several orthos and they all agreed surgery would be the best way to correct the problem. Her upper jaw was too narrow. I now know why in most of her baby pictures she was sticking out her tongue. She also needed speech therapy during elementary school. She just did not have enough room in her mouth for her tongue. Even with her jaw banded shut after her surgery. (they don’t wire it shut now, rubberbands are used) her speech is clearer. Though we would have done anything to avoid her going through this it has been for the best. It is expensive and our insurance is not covering it but in the long run it will help her avoid future problems with her joints in her jaw.</p>
<p>Our health insurance is covering it and with us it wasn’t if it would happen but when and what type. Through heroic ortho we went from palate splitting, upper and lower, to non-palate splitting lower only but the lower was really extensive.Lots of jawbone removed. D’s underbite was over 1/2 inch, maybe more and her lower jaw was catty-wampus. She had constant jaw aches,several other symptoms, couldn’t eat but on one side of her mouth. Bad stuff. </p>
<p>Her resulting bite is gorgeous. I mean her face, once long is now beautifully normal. Her protruding lip, is no longer protruding (it had to cover that big jaw). I couldn’t be happier with the hard parts.Her chin is probably resting 3/4 of an inch closer to her upper jaw. Remarkable, remember she couldn’t fully close her mouth. </p>
<p>Now this swelling crap is getting old already. D is ready to have somebody’s hair on a stick. I would not hesitate to recommend the procedure even with what we are going through. It is truly a remarkable difference and she will have this for a lifetime, and the swelling for a month. Easy trade. There are those who say that the pain is less than wisdom teeth extraction. D would disagree,vehemently. But this is NOT a mixed review. I am 100% in favor of the procedure. The benefits are better than anything on extreme makeover and D was pretty to start with.</p>
<p>I’m so glad for these kids lucky enogh to have surgery and correct life long problems. That said with a former oral surgeon in family. I think jaw surgery still far more painful than wisdom teeth extraction is these days. One Vicodin, and my S played poker the eve of surgery (not sure how well he did, but…) No matter what, hard to see your child suffer thru physical or emotional pain</p>
<p>Curmudgeon, thank you for taking the time for updates. It’s incredibly generous of you to share your time and insights with all of us; it really does underscore what I like best about CC…the sense of virtual family that exists here (even the occasional bickering we experience here fits in with that description!)</p>
<p>Momrath, thank you for your inquiry. My daughter heads to the doctor tomorrow, and we’re likely to make a decision about the surgery before we leave his office. We still need to go over the last round of tests to make sure there are no other underlying problems, but since my daughter’s return from Disney World (and her multiple calls to home about the level of pain she was in), my husband and I are in agreement that if surgery is what the doctor recommends, surgery it will be. </p>
<p>She leaves for Interlochen next week and won’t be home until July 9th; we have a quick college visit scheduled on July 11th, but then the door is wide open. Thanks again for asking…</p>
<p>Back again. The reason S opted for the surgery was because the othodontists felt this would be the only truly successful way to correct the problem. There was no doubt it had to be done. Son could no longer put his front teeth together and only two teeth touching in the back. It was sad watching him eat a sandwich. He had been in braces 6 yrs. too.We know what he will look like after the surgery!, what he looked like after the braces came off at 13! We have beautiful photos of him then- then slowly, everything started to change again. Funny thing, I had perceived this problem when he was little. I knew something wasn’t right about his bite. So he started with othodontic work at 7. Wish the othodontist had been up front about what was going on at 13 when the braces came off. But who could know, I guess. The change has been dramatic the past several years.<br>
Curmudgeon please continue to post often and update. Thank you.How old is your daughter?
Son has no idea about what he will go through. He genuinely thinks it will be a breeze and he will be going back to work soon. I know better. Thing is, Son is 18, HE signed all the forms and okays. He is very gunho about it,‘let’s get it don, over.’ I’M the worrier. I’ve been encouraging him to bulk up to no avail. Thank you for all the hints.I think we will put some potatoe chips in the blender with the milkshake! Yeah, I’m worried.
MomZ; Is your daughter on solid food yet? I hope!</p>
<p>bhg, my latest thought after looking at a bunch of canadian dental sites (that’s what googled up) that during the first twenty four hours ,it’s ice ,ice , and more ice. For some reason our Doc didn’t order ice. He had her in a wrap to control the swelling and then after twenty four hours, heat to stimulate blood flow. The Canadian sites agree with the heat after 24 but really stress the ice, don’t mention a wrap. Now, with the wrap on , ice would have no effect so I guess if the wrap is a necessary evil, like a fixation device, then the swelling is inevitable. Maybe you should check it out more fully.</p>
<p>Backhandgrip,
No my daughter is not on solid food. We’ve been told that at aproximately 6 weeks she will be on soft foods, scrambled eggs, well cooked pasta etc. She will be on a regular diet after 16 weeks. The first 2 weeks she was on strained/non-particle liquids. In the first week week she lost 12 pounds. She is now down about 18 pounds after 3 1/2 weeks. Now she is on anything blended. She can now remove her rubberbands to brush her teeth but must put them right back on. Her swelling is greatly reduced but still there. We’ve been told it can take up to a year for it all to be gone. Her greatest problem is her skin. It is now peeling on her face. Bothers her but really isn’t too bad.</p>
<p>I don’t know, sounds to me the acne may have something to do with the stress.Or the result of the the entire process or resulting diet. What did your doctor say? I’m really worried about the losing weight thing. Son is thin now! And Doctors, husband, son- no one concerned about anything, lkke this is all a walk in the park.I feel like it’s all on my shoulders so to speak- I’m going to keep a daily calorie log and REALLY try to stick to it. Get that into him somehow- and how about vitamins? Are you crushing vitamins into her milkshakes.<br>
And what’s this about ice and no wrap? Doctor says wrap is necessary, like the wrap replaces wiring the jaw shut. And now yesterday there is talk Son will have his chin worked on - tweaked- plates, removed pieces of bone. I can’t handle this.
The thing is son has become super social this past year. He has loads of friends (about 12 graduation parties), s, and with all this he is not so easy to deal with at home. No place for mom and rarely a kind word- add to this being his primary caregiver . Holy cow.
Where is Carolyn? I 'll have to email her.</p>
<p>MomZ- Can you tell me more? How many incisions did she have? How old is your daughter? Now I know why doctor wanted this done soon as there is a long recover. How am I going to handle this? How did you handle this? What’s your daughters emotional state like now 4 wks later? And what did you do about school? -Was she out when she had the operation?</p>
<p>bhg -
remember when kids were young and cried and cried with earaches (or whatever) and you didn’t know how you were going to handle it? Well, you did so that now you can take care of all this. </p>
<p>And the first rule for the primary caregiver - take care of yourself. Your son won’t be * much * more miserable if you go out for dinner and a drink, but it might help you a lot!</p>
<p>LOL Thanks a lot Ohio mom! You are so right. And I know, as soon as it is humanly possible son, Wonderboy, will be out with his friends !<br>
Sometimes I think all this worry comes about by being the only female in this house caring for all these males. (actaully Mother is now living here but she’s 85 and doesn’t count. Just another person I must care for here!!</p>
<p><em>Pop</em> <em>gurgle, gurgle</em> Here is a lovely glass of (your favorite) virtual wine (or beer) for you … best I can do!</p>