Hello all! I know it has been too long since my last post. But for the most I have a good excuse.
I'm a grad student. For teaching. I student teach during the day, and go to grad school at night. And then I read. and read. and read. And I personally think that excuse is valid.

But I felt that I HAD to update, and you all deserve it. SO even if this is brief, I hope it's helpful.

I have felt so lucky throughout this entire process.

Since my last update, I have continued to progress as normal, began eating solid food (that pesky popping DID go away), all of the swelling went down, the soreness went away, and lo and behold...

I GOT MY BRACES OFF.







Can you believe it? This picture was taken at a friend's wedding that I was in; it was one of the first times where everyone I knew saw me without my mouth of metal and "duck lips" ( a lovely nickname from my brother).

I have had no problems with receding, soreness, or anything else that have made me think "Should I really have done that?"

I am so beyond happy with my results, and other than the weight gain I experienced- I'm pretty sure I'm the only patient EVER to GAIN weight after having the jaw broken and rubberbanded together- I feel so confident!

So, to close: I highly recommend that everyone who needs the surgery (and the braces) JUST DO IT!!! I had the support of loving friends and family, and a doctor I trusted with (literally) my life, and the mentality of success. I suggest that these three things are the most important factors that will get you through the surgery. And really, you need only the support of one other person who can help take care of you those first few days :)

I will be continuing this blog with my life stories, so if you choose to continue following, by all means do. Mostly I will be continuing it because I no longer have, and refuse to create, a facebook account. So although the title will change, if anyone wants to hear my story of metal and magic, please feel free to stalk my blog, and comment if desired.

Thank you for all of your support and love you have all provided throughout this year, and I hope that those of you who have gone or have to go through this experience have the same success and positive results as I have!

Sincerely,

Amanda

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago, a few days after classes started. Everything has been going really, really great! I still am not on my my regular diet yet, but this really just involves not biting into anything and not eating hard foods. I am almost limitless, really, as I can have chicken, macaroni salads, pasta meals, which are perfect for this time of year anyway.

Last Monday I went to the Orthodontist to get my first adjustment since surgery, and it didn't feel any different then any other time, although I did notice that I couldn't open my mouth as much I used to, but it didn't cause any problems. I am so excited to finally be in the last long haul of my treatment! I can already feel my spaces closing, and I hope they close quickly at that! Michelle told me that typically spaces close at about 1 mm per month, and she could tell just by looking that my spaces were about 3 to 4 mm, so that's about 3 or 4 months to get the spaces closed! While doing that, Dr. Sbuttoni is shifting my teeth a little to the left, so that midlines match up. At the moment their slightly off, but thankfully this is just a "teeth" problem, not a jaw problem. I also still have to wear my elastics, but luckily am using the one's from their office, which are much thinner and "lighter," although they break more often ( I always ask for an extra bag!)

Anyway, this all I really have time to update today. I have lots of projects to work on, and I don't want my blogging to be my reason for falling behind! Enjoy the day :)

Hello there, all! I have not updated in awhile, but everything has been going well. I updated last Monday about having to wear my bands, and was happy to find that the achiness went away after a few days. All I have to do is take an advil every once in awhile if it gets achy at all, and that does the trick- I haven't touched my hyrocodone in weeks!

<---- not me anymore!





I have still been taking my vitamins, which to post again are

• Bromelain
• Turmeric
• Quercitin

I bought my vitamins for a total of about $35 from Vitamin World (vitaminworld.com), although I would definitely like to note that according to one my followers/commentators, you CAN buy these vitamins in an all-in-one supplement! Some of them run for about 15-25 dollars, depending on the amount in them- and you'll probably be taking them twice a day in the all in one. At the moment, I take two quercitin, four Bromelain, and 3-4 Turmeric supplements a day, especially in the morning and at night. The morning is when I am most swollen and at night I take them as a soft of preventative measure for the morning!

All in all, if you buy anything, I would suggest it be these vitamins. They have worked absolute wonders for swelling and muscle soreness, and the Quercitin also has vitamin C which I am sure has helped ward off some winter sickness!

Beyond that, today was the first day I was able to truly enjoy my winter break because of the fiasco yesterday. I still have to work on my thesis, but I have been studying for a test for grad school for weeks, and was finally ready to schedule it for a few days later. Well they were booked, but the woman I spoke to said I could do a walk in- and she had a spot in a few HOURS. Well, I took it and rushed to get there because I didn't want to take the chance of not getting to take the test before it was too late! Anywho, I know my scores for half the test, I'll receive a total score report in the mail if a few weeks- and I will not post them until then :)

Back to the Jaw- I went to the gym for the first time since signing up and I feel as I waited just enough time-I had not problems with my jaw 'bouncing' around or what not- and just made sure that if I was lifting something heavy to NOT clench my teeth (that = badness).

The next thing on my jaw itinerary is to put together a small scrapbook of my jaw surgery. I'm thinking of asking my Orthodontist about leaving it at their office for
people who are going to go through the same thing. What do you guys think? If so, I'm going to add tips and other advice, including some of my favorite recipes, and put it all in one thing.

Well, I must be going now, I have been sitting on my bum for two hours and I believe it's time to clean my house or I'll be stressed when I go back to school! Hope all is well!

Pictures of what the vitamin bottles look like (just in case? ha ha )

vitaminworld.com (all pictures taken from their site)
(oh-and these say chewables- mine don't even though they look like they are- I just swallow them!)



(sometimes if I couldn't take my bands off or didn't feel like it I would just break open the pill and put the contents in my food-stir it well!..and it adds a bit of spice)



(They have one without Vitamin C-but you might want to just get this one because recovering from surgery includes keeping your immune system healthy!)


and if you type in "quercetin plus bromelain plus turmeric" into google you can find a ton of different supplements that are all in one, such as this brand's:

http://www.nutrasanus.com/quercetin-product.html

Day 14


Day 15



So, as you may have noticed, I only update every few days now. No worries again, all is well, just not too much is happening, so I don't feel the need to have to post 5 words!

However, yesterday I went to the Doc's and the Ortho, so lots of things happened. From the Doc's, I learned that the spasms I have been having in my jaw are completely normal. My jaw, as I assumed, is just getting used to being in its new place and trying to heal. He also said that I can stop sleeping elevated, which I did last night-and lord have mercy I slept like baby!! (Soo happy)! He also said I can start working out again, and only have to wear my bands for twelve hours a day, which made me completely happy because i hate wearing them! The biggest complement I got however is that he said that we're at two weeks, but I look like I'm at six. That put a big smile on my face!



Then, flash forward to the Ortho. More compliments: "You look great!" "You're taking wonderful care of everything" and

"We're going to have you wear your bands for 24 hours for the next four weeks."

Oh it was... wait, what? TWENTY FOUR HOURS?! Oh my goodness I was not happy about that! The Doc told me that this was because my bite is trying to shift, so during healing time it's the best time to do this and keep everything in place. And of course, I do what they tell me, because I know it will be 10000% worth it in the end. BUT that does not mean that I have to be all smiles while doing it! Ha ha, I'm hoping my mouth will just get used to it. But for now, I am constantly achy :(. No worries though, I also know it will go by super fast, and before you know on picture day 3898238482749822983 I might just have my braces off :D.

SO, beyond being a bit achy, I did have a wonderful sleep last night which made me
feel much better about everything. Although, I am already planning my revenge on Michelle (my Ortho adjuster person) muah hahaha! I'm also still taking my vitamins, and happily no longer have to take my prescriptions!

Off to study and get ready for grad school apps:) Enjoy the day!

Side note- Over the holiday's, my Ortho office sent me a get well soon card plus 2 gift certificates that I can use at a variety of places in the area! I can't wait to use them (Burger at Fudruckers= amazing) and if they see this THANK YOU!

Day 12





Day 13






Once again, SORRY MOM! It's been 2 days since my last update. Oh, the horror! Well, on the plus side, it wasn't because I was feeling ill, I've actually been feeling pretty great! Day 12 was New Years Day, and Day 13 was Saturday, one being filled with with visits from my parents and taking the tree down, the other Steve had off which means I'm not allowed to touch the computer because I take too long and updating does not include him.

So, whether good or bad, this blog also won't be that long because not much has happened in the jaw department! I have been taking my vitamins, which I believe have really been helping with swelling and soreness, even though it's pretty gradual at this point. Although, I will still be taking pictures every day for a long while.

The bands have not been causing me much pain, except at night when I have to wear four of them. But even then it's mostly just an annoyance and takes me longer to
fall asleep. I usually taken them off 9-11, 1-3, and then 5-9 or 6-10 depending on how long I'll think I will be up!

I've also been eating a few more 'solid soft' foods-but still no chewing. I pulsed
up some Chili a few days ago for dinner, and it felt so great to have some more substance! And last night I had a delicious chicken salad, and I enjoyed every single bite despite Steve's jealousy! (or maybe because of it!)






The only thing that has been really bothering me are the spasms my jaw has
every so often when I talk. Most of them are just little "hiccups," but
a few of them have
been really strong that usually involves an expletive that follows.
I'm going to make sure I talk to my doctor about them, but I think they
are normal. And there's no cracking or popping going on, thank goodness!



In all, things have been going well the past few days. The 'downness' i was feeling seems to be completely gone, and I'm enjoying my winter break, despite the loom of grad school applications. Oh- AND i joined a gym! SO EXCITED. I joined Planet
Fitness yesterday, but not for a new years resolution (I don't believe in those-anything I can 'change' about myself on Jan. 1 I could have changed any other month or day). I can do some exercise at home, like my pilates and I have a barbell or two. But I really wanted to be able to use a variety of different equipment and be able to work out with my the distractions at home (my cats think it's funny to lay down on top of me while I do some core work on the mat-jerks!).

Plus, I looked at the site the day before new years, and the start up fee was about $70, but it's always 10 dollars a month (cannot beat that). So, I decided to wait until After new years to see if they had any new deals going on-and they did. I joined yesterday for ONE dollar. Yep, a buck vs. $70. I'd say that's a deal! Have a good day everyone! And yes, mom, I'll make sure to come on later and update for today!

Happy New Years Eve everyone! I felt much better today, despite the fact that I didn't get to do everything I wanted to. But being in a good mood was enough for me :). Instead of waiting for the afternoon to come up, I decided to take Boe on walk this morning, which was of course the same time it decided to snow.

But the walk kept me feeling good and healthy and I was glad to be out of the house. I made sure to take my vitamins again today, and am trying to keep a good track of them so that they're in my system doing their thing. One thing I can definitely say that's helping is the Bromelain, out of all the vitamins this one is supposed to be good at helping sore muscles as well as being an anti inflammatory (which is prob. why it helps said muscles), and by the time I went to bed last night my left cheek was so much less tense that I could almost smile normally! I happily noted the difference.

I also pre-made some food tonight for dinner because we are heading over to my best friend's house, Brianne, for a New Years Eve get together and I need to bring it with me considering they don't have the endless supply of liquid diet materials like I do. The recipe I made is called Corny Chicken Soup- I don't know why I hate the name, but I LOVE the soup! It's even Steve's favorite. I'll make sure to post the recipe for those who would like to give it a whirl.

Any who, life's been going well, I'm so glad that today was not met with such a down feeling like the previous few. Hopefully whatever was causing it is out of my system and I can look forward to enjoying the rest of my recovery. Was that an ironic statement? Oh well. Goodnight, all and enjoy the New Year!

Today will be a fairly short blog. I'm feeling okay, swelling's gradually going down and I ran to the 'local' Vitamin World and got those supplements I wanted! I'll make sure to post how they're working for me and how my body responds to them (hopefully well).

When I got home, I took my antibiotic and then had to call my peeps at Rite Aid who told me that the prescriptions would be ready by tomorrow evening... um... almost done today! Luckily, they must have gotten shipment early because they said they were ready!

I went on another walk today, and thank goodness it wasn't as cold as yesterday, I almost enjoy walking in the winter weather! Of course, Boe decided to make a new friend with what looked like a mini version of a Husky who had escaped from his home. Eventually his owners came out and scrambled to catch him, of which Bow was very upset by because once he sees something he assumes that it's his.

After I got home I finally did some work on the paper I've been working on, which felt really good. But after I realized I was in some pain so I took the liquid motrin my doc recommended. I'm not sure if it worked because I was also tired so I hopped into bed with Boe and took a nap.

Everything with my jaw has been going smoothly. I didn't see too much of a change today, but of course I still had to post a picture but I would hate too miss a beat! Plus I know there's at leastsome difference, even if it's small. The thing that I don't like that I know is surgery relates is the 'downess' I have been feeling. From what I have been told, this is because of sterioids you receive at the hospital, which make you feel good for about a week, and then right about this time you go through a type of withdrawal. Which is, of course, a-w-e-s-o-m-e. I noticed it starting to his yesterday, and today it's been a bit more of a struggle.

Hopefully the new vitamins will help give me a boost and help with the swelling, which will make feel happier :) Till then, I'm off to pick up those prescriptions some Chinese food for the hubby.

I decided to try and post the infamous "attempted smile" post surgery picture. Still no side shots yet though, I really want to wait until the swelling goes down almost all the way before I do that. My bite is still feeling great, can't wait to put it to good use! Earlier today I talked with my friend Candice about how much I want a burger....with cheese and ranch dressing and onions... ugh! only weeks to go! ha ha, oh how cruel, i shouldn't tease myself. But I can't help it when Steve sits next to me and I enjoy soup after soup after soup, while he enjoys meatball subs and hot dogs. *Sigh* soon enough.

This morning I was in pain again, the same pain I had when I went to bed last night. I think I just over did it with talking because I was so excited. But it was also because I'm getting more feeling back in my face, so it's tingly, as well as the fact that my teeth do not like being clenched together! The only thing other thing that annoys me is that my left side of my face hurts more than my right, but there's not clicking or anything and nothing to worry about, so I won't stress either.

Based on some advice I got from a website from a fellow blogger, I decided to take a walk today to help with the swelling. The
pictures I took above are right after I got back home, and I think it did make a difference. If anything, it helped to get me moving and feeling good, as well as get me out of the house, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Beyond that, I still have school work that I haven't started, and today was supposed to be the day, but I'll admit to some procrastination on my part, but I also blame the pain I was in this morning! I woke up at 6:30 and took some of my pain meds, then headed straight for bed till 10 am. Happily though, I did go on that walk and am feeling better since I got to sleep in, so I'll be happy with that.

Well, that's really all I have for today, not much excitement, and hopefully not much more pain. And lets hope the left side of my jaw relaxes a bit more, too. Good night all!

oh- and I just (literally) got a call from my surgeon, who I had just (literally) left a message for about anti-inflammatory vitamins I wanted to take! He said they certainly wouldn't hurt, just to take them on a full stomach (which it always is ;) ). The vitamins are:

• Bromelain
• Tumeric
• Quercetin

Now i want to run to the store and get them! Anything to help with swelling that is also good for you is a win win!

Can you believe it has already been EIGHT days since I had surgery?! I remember looking at so many people's blogs and on their accounts of "day nine," etc, I always thought, wow can't wait to be there, it seems they're been recovering for awhile now! Oh, but it wasn't so, it's been only a measly 8 days for me! And what a wonderful day 8 it was.

This morning I went back to Doctor Busino's office bright and early for another check up. I was so excited because they took out the bite plate that was holding everything tight and now I only have to wear the bands! AND i can take the bands out three times a day for a few hours each time! What's even better is that even though I have to wear the bands, i can still communicate! and I mean people KNOW what I'm saying! I was so excited I forgot how many bands I was supposed to wear and had to go ask him again!

The rest of the day involved me doing... not much of anything to be honest! I feel so great, and I wanted to be able to relax on a day that wasn't a result of not being able to move anyway. So, tomorrow's another day to get movin with the school stuff. But I won't stress about that here.

The only pain that I'm really having is that my teeth (mostly the bottom) are getting used to being where they are, so I'm just taking so medicine to help "them" get used to it a little easier :) And that's still one of the best feelings in the world! I'm sure I'll say it again when I get my braces off, but I can't believe what a difference there is! My bite feels so good, and I can't help but look in the mirror and just see how great it looks (ego?) to see my bottom teeth right behind my front-where they're supposed to be!

Other than that, today was pretty mellow. I made a couple of videos for my youtube channel, and have been spending time working editing them, and then I hope to be making some delicious soup for dinner!








Side note- a big thank you to Kathy, who is originally from my Ortho's office and now also a 'visitor' at my job (she's a customer, but too fun to be called one), whocalled me today to see how I was doing! It made my whole day, so if she reads this, kudos:) and I'll see you at the next funday sunday ;) Goodnight, all!

I'm writing this in yesterday mode because I ran out of time to update! (SORRY MOM!) But luckily yesterday was very productive, despite a baaaddd sleep. We lost power THREE times, which would mean much but I'm one of those people who have to listen to the fan every night, so I woke up six times in order to turn it on each time, and every time the power went out. Plus, even though Steve doesn't usually snore (at least not too bad ;) ) He decided to use that particular night to let out the mother of all snores. I was so frustrated, let alone that I was already upset because my back was in pain from sleeping elevated and my heat packs felt like they weighed a million pounds! Basically, it was a lousy night.

That morning, I got up, made some breakfast and took my medicine as usual, and although I was planning on going back to sleep, it was Steve's last day off before going back to work, so we decided (i.e. I told him we were) to clean the house so
that I wouldn't have to worry about it during the week. We finished all of the dishes (team effort!) and picked up some of the mess around the house, and then I gathered some laundry to send down to my mom at the laundramat (once again-SORRY MOM!)

During that fiasco, I took off my bands for a few hours and began trying to stretch my muscles as we cleaned up. Not a lot, just opening and closing the jaw, moving my lips around a bit. I was achy all day, unfortunately, but I think it was because I'm getting more feeling back in my face, so I can deal with that. IT feels so good to take my bands off, and for anyone who wonders, it does not feel like your jaw is going to fall off!

Like I finally convinced Steve, since we finished all of the cleaning, we were able to relax the rest of the evening and watch some movies on Netflix, although I was so exhausted I took another nap. Since the surgery, I've taken about one 2 hour nap per day (don't tell my father!). I'm assuming this is because of how tired your body gets from surgery, and I can't wait for that to pass! Although, I think that by the time I go back to school, I'll finally be one rested woman! I sometimes just get annoyed that picking up a few things makes me want to crash!

I tried to update my blog the rest of the evening, but Steve was very content with "just ONE more episode" or "just let me finish this movie," and I couldn't be mad. After this week, he deserved one last evening of relaxing. I ended up doing some spa like treatments for myself, a hair mask and face mask (except over the suture stitch things), which hopefully will help. I mention this because I've noticed some extra hair fall out the past week, which I'm assuming is from not enough nutrients. I have been trying to get as much as I can, but I'm sure the stress from the surgery doesn't help either.

My skin has also been dealing with some new issues since surgery. I have always had acne prone skin, and use proactive, but I knew after surgery that it would be way too rough on my skin. I've heard that a side effect of surgery your skin can break out, and so far I haven't had much acne, but the level of oilyness has gone through the roof! I have been washing my face every day, twice a day as usual, but I have been using a product that is easier (gentler) than the proactive (although I will switch back once I can), and for those of you who are still worried about skin care I absolutely recommend them! I have been using Olay facial cloths, the ones that already have the cleanser in them, and you just add water. What I do is

1) wet the cloth and later it up, but make sure it's not dripping, because you can't bend over to rinse it off
2) apply the cleanser (with cloth, obviously) on your face, avoiding the sutures on either side of your face
3) rinse the cloth of the soap
4) use the cloth to gently wipe the cleanser off of your face

This method works really well for those of you who still want to keep your face clean and fresh, but can't scrub, have to avoid certain areas, and can't bend over to rinse soap off your face.

I've also been using a homemade face scrub that I have used every other day since day 2 to combat and remove a lot of the oilyness, and it works WONDERS! I'm just going to add the link from the person on youtube I got the recipe from. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e--d_n073pc) It also helps to protect break outs, which for those who are acne prone like me know is important. This a time where you already may feel less self confident because your face is swollen and you can't talk well, and just basically a downer. So, any way to keep your skin as clear and healthy as possible will keep you feeling great. Oh, and as a side note, when removing the scrub after the ten minutes, once again, you can't rinse, so just take a warm, wet cloth, and wipe it away :)

Hope all is well in everyone else world, I'll be back in a few hours to update for today's excitement!!

oh, and another note. I was very disappointed in myself eating wise. I realize I ate only TWICE today (very, very bad), which I think was just because I was busy running around. Actually, I'll correct that and say I ate three times because after i realized that i made something before i went to bed. However, that's not so much better considering I normally eat six times a day (so friends who are reading this, please don't stress!) I was writing down how much I ate in the beginning, but then I gave up because, well I'm not really sure why I just kept forgetting most likely. But I think I'm going to keep it up again, at least writing down the calories if not the meal, so I know what I'm taking in a day. If it makes anyone feel better, the meal I made before I went to bed had 660 calories, which is about half of a typical daily intake! But for me, and for anyone else going through this, it is very important that no matter how busy your are you make sure you are taking in as many calories and nutrients as possible, to keep your body (and tummy!) happy and healthy. SO with that, I will go enjoy a mid morning snack!

I'm feeling much more clear headed today, despite the somewhat awkward sleep. I woke up at 3:30 because my brain forgot that I had major jaw surgery and decided to try and cough-not so much fun. So I got up and re filled my heat packs (twice-first time they were barely warm ) and took some medicine because I was pretty achy from the previous day's excursions. But after that I slept wonderfully with my new heated blanket (that thing is amazing!) and even slept in later than Steve. Of course, I woke up with a puppy in my face begging for love, but how could I resist? So up and went and made my own breakfast- a peach pillow.

I have that recipe listed below on another post- you all should really check it out, it's great! And I'm happy I've been trying to make my own foods now, it feels good doing a bit more now. Steve and I then had to go to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription, which I of course knew would be fun! I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the liquid antibiotic expires, so for those of you about to go through this make sure you get the bottle a couple of days before surgery. I was going to pick up two (the third bottle from the first fill and new bottle from a refill) but the pharmacist said it would best to do this later, so I went home with one bottle instead. Another note, I wanted to do this because the medicine only lasts about 3 or 4 days, and I didn't want to have to go out all the time. But still, at least now it won't expire on me :)

Today I also received a visit from my best friend Brianne, who came by when I took my bands off so that we could chat for a little while! I made a new recipe while she was here as well, Broccoli soup, and it turned out pretty successful, but next time I need to strain it.

That's probably one of the other difficult things. After blending five million times and adding cup and cup of milk, a lot of items need to be strained in order to eat well. There are only a few spaces where the foods can go in, and if you have "solids" stuck in there you'll never get anything else in there! So, invest in a good, small, strainer, you'll be glad you did!

Luckily for me, Brianne works at facility that deals with a lot of patients who have tracheotomies, so when I put my bands on she actually understood everything I was saying! It was a miracle! Steve's been doing a great job, but I must say it was great having someone to talk to without have to repeat and then give up and write it down. I'm sure Steve will be a pro by the time this is all over!

Brianne commented that I almost look normal now, and I'd say from my pictures that is true. Although it doesn't look like a huge difference, it is for the person whose face is going back to a more proportionate size! Neither of us can wait to see how the surgery has/will effect my facial features. I just can't wait for the bands to be gone for good!

So, that's all for now, I'll post again tomorrow on how things are going in the world of swollen faces like mine!