Day 42/ My first birthday with a new face!!!

It was my birthdayyyyy !!! Saturday 24th August

I'm now 22 years young ;) and I was very excited to show off my new, less swollen face. 

The previous week was my parents 25th wedding anniversary, and as it was silver, they threw a party - the only day free was my birthday so I shared it with them :)

Here's a few pics from the night

Aiden, Bojo and my face :)

I'm still so nervous when photos are taken

Bojo and my boyfriend Tom :)

 Friends and family 

My dad and Mom 

 The previous Saturday was a goodbye party as me and my cousin, Olivia, leave for uni, she's off to Bangor, and I'm off to Stoke-on-Trent

I had a great time, and so did Tom - it was his first time meeting all my relatives - I think he made a good impression ;) 

Now then, back to all this face business!

I do actually have a complaint, I'm starting to get some sensation back in my chin which is getting me down as it's so horrible. It twitches and twinges, and feels like electric shocks, or someone flicking my in the face.
my gums are still completely numb on the bottom which makes me not know how hard I'm brushing my teeth.

I only have to wear my one set of elastics at night now, which leave my teeth free in the day.

I have an OFFICIAL de-brace date!

Tuesday 17th September! 9.30am to have my braces removed, and impressions taken, then back at 4.30pm to get my retainer fitted - I'm excited!

ALSO, I move out in 5 days! Moving to a shared house with 3 other class mates, and Tom :) I can't wait!

But for now, I'm off to bed as I've just got back from the night shift, and I'm back at work at 11am tomorrow :(

Night guys, I'll catch up with you all soon x

One Month been and gone! Day 32 Before and Afters Photos!

Well well well, one whole month

I can't beleive how fast this has all gone! 

This time one month ago, I had been home for 4 hours and was sitting comfortably on the seate with a bag of frozen peas on my face trying to fit a yogurt frube between my swollen lips! 

So much has happened since then, I've had ups and downs in recovery, thankfully mostly ups, I've learnt to eat with a babyspoon and drink cups of tea through a straw, I've had my teeth pulled about with elastics and the best of all I've been told a date for de-bracing!

Pain, chewing, numbness, swelling and smiling to date

Right, I've actually had a little pain recently! I think it has something to do with being back at work and having to take orders for 8 hours straight which strained my jaw before surgery let alone now. I think I over did it on the chewing too so I'm stepping back to softer things - i don't mind really at all.

I'm starting to get feeling back in the right side of my chin and lip which has been the most numb so far - it's very annoying as it's tingly and itchy - but when it itches and i go to scratch where my brain thinks the itch is..it's not there! So I have to go hunting for my itch, and scratch all of my face. But it's good -it means its healing.

Learnt something interesting about my swelling!

As has been clear from day 1 post op, I have has significantly more swelling on my left than my right. My left side is quite hard and still swollen in comparison to my right which feels thin and sort of lumpy (where the metal/ plates are)

My surgeon told me that my left is larger right now because it's all the muscle which was left over - they shortened my jaw but obviously can not remove muscle! So right now it's sitting there like a bunched-up rug on the floor, waiting to be smoothed out - or, settle down as he put it. So in time, my left side will lose muscle mass and hopefully my right will gain it as it works in rhythm with my left. Neat huh! :)

I feel comfortable to smile again - I do it all the time and to everyone. I forget when I'm out now that I ever had surgery, because I feel normal, not vulnerable  and even with this little muscle/swelling I know that no one can notice.

So I thought it's time for some before and afters - I haven't really looked at any of these since last year, and I can really tell the difference - 4 mm makes a heck of a difference! I have no teeth photos from pre-brace era so I've started from about a year with braces- as that's when my teeth changed the most. Enjoy!

BEFORE

2012-01-26 - braces for about a year

2012-05 about - underbite just developing

2012- 09-13 - starting my new university as a braceface :(

AFTER

2013-08-15 - one month post op!!!! swelling is still present, but I can completely feel and see the difference

I'm still so happy with my results, even if some people can't tell (I've been told I don't look any different by some people) And I'm so happy that the majoriety of my brace bloggers' surgerys are moving forward! I can't wait to hear your experiences. 

My posting has slowed down, but I'm still reading all of your stories, and I'll letcha know if anything important happens! 

Those of you who aren't working, enjoy the weekend! And if you are, I feel for you!

x

Day 25 - BRACES ARE COMING OFF IN 27 DAYS!?!

Just a quick post - I start back at work tomorrow morning and I'm stressing like crazy at how I'm gonna manage to afford to move in to my house in 3 weeks for uni as I've been denied sick pay! I know it's ridiculous after they told me weeks ago I was eligable. Now I gotta try and claim it from the Job Center. Effort.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

I got a phone call from the hospital as a reminder about my appointment. ''I said, yeah the 13th? I know''. They said ''No no, on the 5th of September in the Dental department!!!''

So I think this is it! I will (not to tempt fate) be brace free in 27 days!!!

I hope everything goes to plan, I need to start wearing my elastics better - I've been leaving them off for hours at a time after I've eaten...tut tut!

It's so great to see bloggers finally having a surgery count down - I'm so excited for all of you!

Right, time for bed, my next post will be my first before and after pics, as I feel I'm looking alright with the swelling! 

Night Night x

Day 19...I missed like, 7 whole days!

Woahhh it seems I've missed a few days huh!

Well, I went to Peterborough For a few days for Toms Birthday, and didn't have my laptop so I couldn't blog and it's useless using the app on my phone. But I'm here now! with a bunch of pictures and some awesome news!

I'm getting my braces off in less than a month!!!

I had my appointment yesterday, to see how my teeth are coming along with using the elastics. They're so annoying - they snap when I'm eating and fly off in all directions so I started just taking them off to eat and clean my teeth, otherwise the two are very difficult tasks.

I honestly thought I wouldn't have done a very good job with them, considering how many I broke and how many hours I spent with out them in! But it's good all round really, he says there's just one small gap on my right back teeth that needs closing so I can bite better, but they all keep saying they can't believe how well I've recovered, and that they'd have never guessed I'd had surgery 18 days ago. He says he told me originally I'd have my braces off in 9 months minimum cause he honestly thought it would take that long, but he says they're ready so it's the best news ever - I'll be moving to my new shared house, and starting my 1st year of uni with no metal in my face besides my piercings!

All my bruising has gone, and I have next to no tenderness to touch, and no pain at all in the mornings - I've been off pain killers for a week now, just took a few when I first started wearing my elastics as they hurt so bad - like when we first start braces treatment and have to wear spacers, that kind of claustrophobic pain. But that's gone now, and I only have to wear my elastics a little longer as I have an appointment on the 13th August with my ortho and my surgeon - probably to discuss getting my braces off and to make plans for a retainer and such. I also had some Xrays taken but I'm assuming all is fine and nothing has moved or broken in my face as I feel fine and they hadn't contacted me.

I still have some swelling as you'll see in the photos, but I feel great and have started being able to chew other foods - still no luck with vegetables as they don't seem to grind up lol but its going well! And I've tried to be good and stick to my diet as I'd lost over a stone in the first few weeks, which has managed to stay off - I'm gonna start exercising as soon as I can.

Numbness is still there - feeling is coming back very gradually. I can feel all of one side of my bottom lip, and next to nothing of the other, and my chin is still pretty numb - not numb enough that my spots don't hurt though!

My stitches were driving me crazy as they were really long and got in the way when I ate, so I trimmed them down, and now they're falling out anyway which means I'm almost healed inside. My gums at the back feel pretty gross and lumpy but hey, I'm not complaining as they're not hurting me!

All in all, I'll still say it - It's been no where near as bad as I thought it would be!

But I know that everyone is different, and everyone recovers at different rates, and I also know that only having one jaw done as opposed to the double jaw surgery I was originally going to have makes a huge difference in terms of swelling and bruising etc.

So there you go, not a lot has happened - unlike Natasha! with your new house! That's brilliant! xxx

Keep blogging - I love reading about how you're all getting on! 

Swelling on my left is still very annoying as it doesn't help my face look symmetrical! But I know that it is now cause I can feel it :)

Still so so happy, and still believe it's all been worth it!