The moment I’ve been waiting for since I got my double jaw surgery and frantically stalked other jaw surgery blogs for advice- my three month mark is finally here. This is the month we all aim to get to, and hopefully survive. I survived, and I can say that everything I’ve read about the “jaw surgery timeline” is true (if all goes according to plan) and I feel so great.
Healing / Eating
So by this point, the jaw bones and muscles should be completely healed. My oral surgeon told me after my 2 month mark that my bones were 95% healed, so I took that as a good sign to be optimistic for my 3 month mark. That means I can eat WHATEVER I WANT. Like, I thought I was eating whatever I wanted a month ago, but boy was I wrong. I only still could open my mouth the width of two fingers, so a lot of things were still a struggle- like eating sandwiches and sushi. But now, even though jaw surgery seems like it was so long ago, I still notice minor changes every day. I know that at this point, the improvement should begin to slow, but really the only major thing I need to work on now is exercising my jaw muscles and making sure I can open all the way before the 6 month mark.
Numbness
Alas, I am still numb. That first month, I noticed such a difference with numbness, so I hoped that it would actually go away completely by two months, but I was wrong. It’s not unbearable at ALL, but my chin is still a little bit numb as well as my top palette. Nothing to be worried about hopefully, but I do notice it.
Pain
NO PAIN. That generally went away after the first month. Between months 1-2, sometimes I would have some pain in my back molars when I was eating, but that’s gone away as well.
Miscellaneous Improvements
Now that I’m done talking about the things that people who have this surgery actually care about, I want to talk about how this surgery has changed my life enormously during these past three months.
I’m smiling a lot more because it’s easier, but I’m also very self conscious. It’s weird..I thought I would feel a lot more confident after this surgery, but now I’m just insecure about my braces. I’m single now and it just feels so much harder to meet people all the time worrying about what they’re thinking. I still act the same, but it kills me inside. Hopefully two more months left!
I’ve gotten so much support from my friends, family, and even strangers about this surgery. It’s been so amazing feeling that love from so many people who helped me through this and I’m eternally grateful.
I will never take eating for granted again.
I declared a second major in business economics, along with my music industry major. I already love my classes even though they’re hard, and I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to complete two majors in 4 years time. I’m really optimistic about my second half of college!
So one of my biggest concerns with getting this surgery was how it would affect my ability to play saxophone, something that I do every single day and is my absolute passion. I’ve been so worried about this every day since my surgery, worried about how playing could interfere with my healing process and how long it would take for me to get back the sound I had before. I just picked up my saxophone for the first time post op about two weeks ago and by some incredible miracle, I CAN ACTUALLY PLAY. Granted, I’m very rusty because of the time that’s passed and the fact that my face is still quite numb, but God is definitely watching over me. I’m so excited and determined to get back on the saddle.
I’ve already improved so much with my playing and singing, and I think that whole summer not being able to play was exactly the break that I needed to clear my mind and rest. I performed for a whole night last week and somehow was able to get through it, and it was easily the most fun I’ve ever had on stage. I had so much crowd support and loved every second of it. Not to mention, I got paid and offered three more gigs, so it makes me feel like my talent is actually valued and can take me somewhere in the future.
Do I regret this surgery? No. Not at all. For a while, I thought I might. But now, I’m just so happy. I can see that my life is really going somewhere special, and though it has a lot to do with other things, such as the internship I had this summer, my new major, my musical goals, and my new apartment, the surgery was the biggest thing. I feel refreshed, renewed, and ready to take on the rest of my life. It’s crazy that this is the way my jaw is going to be from now on and I will never have to worry about it ever again (hopefully). I just feel so blessed that it went so smoothly for an operation of this caliber. My will power and strength was certainly tested every second of the way, but I feel so much stronger because of it, and I thank God for everything He got me through.
Will update soon!
xoxoxo
