I am in the middle of reorganizing my photo journal section above and I will upload more before and after pictures once it is completed, hopefully this evening.
Today was a long day! For the most part, if you have been reading this blog, you will know that my recovery is going, as my Oral Surgeon likes to say, according to plan.
Whenever someone says according to plan, I imagine that there is a tangible, substantive, actual plan in a four ring binder that contains all the questions that a patient could possibly ask, pictures of recovery, a detailed, chronological description of what to expect every single day where recovery is concerned, etc., etc.
If such a plan does exist, I would surely like to have it right now, just so I could read about what is going on with my jaws, jaw joints, cheeks, swelling, and everything else that seems to be bothering me presently.
Due to the fact that my bands are off eight hours a day presently, my jaws start to feel aches and pains by the time evening hits. It is actually a strange sensation but when my bands are on I don't feel the tingling sensation so much in my chin and around my mouth but within five or so minutes of my bands being taken off, my mouth (especially my lips) really feel like I was just given a numbing injection by my dentist! The bands obviously do something! :)
I am quite a pro at putting the bands on and taking them off nowadays; I have six bands that need to be put on and it probably only takes me a minute or two to weave them around and hook them around the surgical hooks or braces. Nobody tells you however that you will end up cleaning the mirror everyday because of all the mess that occurs when you are taking them off! :) Things to think about.
When the bands are off, I explained it yesterday as that it feels like I have weights attached to my jaws, pulling them down and my jaw joints feel as if they are getting quite a workout. Perhaps it has something to do with the gauze pad that I put in my mouth to help with the scar tissue? Who knows. All I know is that come evening time, I feel like I have worked out!
My mouth seems like I can open it significantly more today, again no doubt because my bands are off so much and I am talking which results (assuming) that I have greater flexibility and mobility in my jaws. Kinda' cool to see how wide it is beginning to open :) I would take a picture but really, who wants to see a picture of an open mouth :)
When I meet with Dr. Egbert this week, I need to make sure I understand the plan where chewing is concerned; I wonder how you know when you can eat something (meats, pastas, breads, etc)? Do they give you some kind of chart providing a time frame or is it simply a question of experiment and try-and-see? It is going to be interesting. I should list the top 10 foods that I am going to eat when I am able to eat and more importantly, chew, anything that I want!
I had a huge iceberg milkshake this evening! Definitely reached my caloric goals today! :) MY diet is presently consisting of Weetabix in the morning, pudding for lunch and then beans, or mashed potatoes, or some other soft food for dinner. The milkshake was for supper!
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