I had to be at the hospital by 6 am. I was scheduled for 7:30 surgery time. They took me back for surgery right on time. First was the typical pre-op stuff, met the surgery team to talk to, placing the iv, etc . It was nice that my mom could sit with me and keep me distracted. I had this weird gown to wear that they hooked up to a warm air pump- it was nice!
The nurse doing the iv stuck me three times and still didn't get it. She was probing around in there. I have two really nice bruises from that. The anesthesiologist resident got an iv in first try. Then they gave me the "happy juice" and took me back. I remember changing to the surgery table, they start hooking things to me, then put the oxygen mask on and it was lights out! I woke up in my room when I needed to transfer to the regular bed. That's so hard to do right after surgery. I don't think I remember anything from the recovery room.
They actually started the surgery at 8:15 after everything was prepped. Waking up was tough. My bottom lip was the size of a small continent. It was just dangling in the air. I had ice on. I remember being aware that my mom took a picture. (My lip was shocking when I saw the pic days later.) I had lots of bleeding going on. The nurses actually called the drs back sooner to check me, but they said everything was ok. I had lost a lot of blood during the surgery, I needed 2 units of blood. That's not really supposed to be a problem with this procedure. So glad it happened to me- not!! So since losing so much blood-guess what happens? Yes, you throw it up-repeatedly. I think I threw up 5 times that night. The pain meds do that to me too. I had so much swelling. They left the catheter in place till 6 am which also meant I had the leg compression stockings on-til 6 am (annoying) also when I was awake I got to stare at the clock at the end of my bed. Minutes dragged on for hours!!
By the morning, I was desperate for the docs to come and take the compression bandage off. I felt like I was going to suffocate and was trying hard to focus on breathing but I was shaking and couldn't stop. Finally the nurse loosened it a bit and I got some relief from that. Holy cow-it was a horrible night.
I'll post the next day starting with seeing the doctors....
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Tomorrow is the day!
Tomorrow is the day-7:30 am! I need to be at the hospital by 6 am. Thankfully the hotel is only about 20 minutes away instead of the 1 1/2 hours it normally takes from my house. It was actually longer today due to road construction, but we had lots of time-nothing scheduled today.
The nurse called this morning to give me instructions such as arrival time, no food or drink after midnight, etc. and to get some more medical history before I arrive.
I need to remember to tell the intern "happy birthday" :) it was discussed at my pre-op that it's his birthday because he was asking what day my surgery was and said "oh, that should be easy to remember, it's my birthday!" He then asked when the other interns' birthdays were, another was in July also (my son's is July 29th) then the other one said his was March 7th, I flipped out-that's MY birthday (and also my daughter's!) so I said we have some good birthday vibes going on for my surgery:)
I am now just trying to relax and not be completely freaked out about what is happening tomorrow!
I still don't know how to do pictures. That's so lame!! Until next time...
The nurse called this morning to give me instructions such as arrival time, no food or drink after midnight, etc. and to get some more medical history before I arrive.
I need to remember to tell the intern "happy birthday" :) it was discussed at my pre-op that it's his birthday because he was asking what day my surgery was and said "oh, that should be easy to remember, it's my birthday!" He then asked when the other interns' birthdays were, another was in July also (my son's is July 29th) then the other one said his was March 7th, I flipped out-that's MY birthday (and also my daughter's!) so I said we have some good birthday vibes going on for my surgery:)
I am now just trying to relax and not be completely freaked out about what is happening tomorrow!
I still don't know how to do pictures. That's so lame!! Until next time...
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Surgical hooks are in!!
The name of this post pretty much says it all-my surgical hooks were put in today. I miscounted at first-it turns out that I have 9 on the bottom and 7 on the top. I had to make a second trip to the ortho after lunch when I noticed that one of the top hooks was loose and moving around on the wire. So back I went to get that tightened. I also had them poke some wires away from my lower lip since it was snagging me. Ouch. My ortho put wire ties on my bottom front teeth to place a hook there, but it wouldn't fit. My bottom teeth are too small and there wasn't enough room between the brackets so that resulted in the poking wires. She left them longer so the surgeon could straighten them and use them as hooks during surgery if needed. I had asked to get the elastic ties back on since the hook didn't fit and the wires were poking me but she then explained why she left the wire ties longer. I went ahead and grabbed more wax to save my lip. Not looking forward to swelling and pushing on more wires and things. Hopefully that won't be as bad as I fear. 4 days, 9 hours til surgery-not that I'm counting;)
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Phone call about the 23rd!!
I almost didn't answer the phone this morning because the caller id said unknown name/unknown number. I usually let those go to voicemail because most of the time they are telemarketers that I don't want to talk to anyway. But I'm really glad that I answered since it was the intern from the surgeon's office calling to go over the surgery one more time and to see if I had any questions, etc.
I had to tell him right away that I have been dreaming that my teeth are loose and I will have problems getting the surgery done. He said that is totally normal with this procedure-they hear that a lot. I have also been afraid that they will call and cancel after what happened last time. I figured they would look at all the recent models, etc. and say "NOPE, still not ready"!! He said everything is ready, they "crossed all the T's and dotted the I's".
He said that they worked up the models and did the surgery on them and all the measurements and predictions were done on the computer. He said after doing all that and considering everything, they think that doing the genioplasty would be detrimental after all that and from the predictions and measurements they would only be moving it a .5 mm anyway, which he said they don't even make a plate that size. It would be like cutting the chin and putting it back in the same place. Kind of pointless!! It would save recovery from that procedure and would take about an hour off the total surgery time. Which I've been told can range from 6-8 hours. That's along time. At my pre-op appointment, he also talked about taking all the measurements so that they can look at all the esthetics of it and get a balanced result, they don't just worry about function. That was reassuring as I want things fixed but I want to look better too:)
He said they would be widening the top 3-4 mm and leveling the bite to close the open bite that I have in the front, which would then allow them to move the bottom jaw forward 9mm, which would also take care of needing the genioplasty. We talked about how if you just look at me now, it appears that I would really benefit from the genio, but actually doing the model surgery and looking at the tracings, etc. that's when they decided it would not really be needed. He said they move the jaw 10 mm in their sleep apnea cases, so it is very close to that and I should notice a great improvement in my airway-if I had any sleep apnea symptoms (never been tested, but it should be helpful anyway to get more air!)
He said that I won't be happy with them for the first week and a half but after that I should really be pleased with the results (once the swelling goes down he said) We discussed the diet a bit more. They have been saying a "no chew" diet from the start since I'm not supposed to be banded shut, but from all the other blogs and videos that I've seen, I am guessing that due to swelling I will only be able to manage liquids the first few days at least, and he agreed with that statement, so when I go shopping on Friday, I will be stocking up on things to drink.
I have to remind him on Tuesday that I want to see the predictive tracings, etc. that we talked about today. They generated all that after my workup appointment and I haven't been back for any kind of followup since it's 1 1/2 hours away. He confirmed that I am scheduled for 7:30 Tuesday, the 23rd. Of course I need to be there 2 hours early, I will be staying closeby the night before. I am not driving 1 1/2 hours on the morning of surgery!!
It's not long now, I am nervous and excited!! I guess I will tell my friends that it's back on, I was waiting to make sure. Tomorrow I go for the surgical hooks. I need to figure out how to get some pics on here too:) I'll post soon, maybe some pics of the hooks??
I had to tell him right away that I have been dreaming that my teeth are loose and I will have problems getting the surgery done. He said that is totally normal with this procedure-they hear that a lot. I have also been afraid that they will call and cancel after what happened last time. I figured they would look at all the recent models, etc. and say "NOPE, still not ready"!! He said everything is ready, they "crossed all the T's and dotted the I's".
He said that they worked up the models and did the surgery on them and all the measurements and predictions were done on the computer. He said after doing all that and considering everything, they think that doing the genioplasty would be detrimental after all that and from the predictions and measurements they would only be moving it a .5 mm anyway, which he said they don't even make a plate that size. It would be like cutting the chin and putting it back in the same place. Kind of pointless!! It would save recovery from that procedure and would take about an hour off the total surgery time. Which I've been told can range from 6-8 hours. That's along time. At my pre-op appointment, he also talked about taking all the measurements so that they can look at all the esthetics of it and get a balanced result, they don't just worry about function. That was reassuring as I want things fixed but I want to look better too:)
He said they would be widening the top 3-4 mm and leveling the bite to close the open bite that I have in the front, which would then allow them to move the bottom jaw forward 9mm, which would also take care of needing the genioplasty. We talked about how if you just look at me now, it appears that I would really benefit from the genio, but actually doing the model surgery and looking at the tracings, etc. that's when they decided it would not really be needed. He said they move the jaw 10 mm in their sleep apnea cases, so it is very close to that and I should notice a great improvement in my airway-if I had any sleep apnea symptoms (never been tested, but it should be helpful anyway to get more air!)
He said that I won't be happy with them for the first week and a half but after that I should really be pleased with the results (once the swelling goes down he said) We discussed the diet a bit more. They have been saying a "no chew" diet from the start since I'm not supposed to be banded shut, but from all the other blogs and videos that I've seen, I am guessing that due to swelling I will only be able to manage liquids the first few days at least, and he agreed with that statement, so when I go shopping on Friday, I will be stocking up on things to drink.
I have to remind him on Tuesday that I want to see the predictive tracings, etc. that we talked about today. They generated all that after my workup appointment and I haven't been back for any kind of followup since it's 1 1/2 hours away. He confirmed that I am scheduled for 7:30 Tuesday, the 23rd. Of course I need to be there 2 hours early, I will be staying closeby the night before. I am not driving 1 1/2 hours on the morning of surgery!!
It's not long now, I am nervous and excited!! I guess I will tell my friends that it's back on, I was waiting to make sure. Tomorrow I go for the surgical hooks. I need to figure out how to get some pics on here too:) I'll post soon, maybe some pics of the hooks??
Sunday, July 14, 2013
So much going on...
As the title of my last post states, these past few weeks have definitely been a roller coaster ride, and not a fun one either. I spoke to the surgeon's office on July 1st but I was told that they were going to workup the models that my ortho sent them the week before to see if I was ready and they would try to get me back on the schedule for July, but I also let my ortho know that I didn't have a firm date yet, because I think she thought I was rescheduled already. Anyway...I was told by the surgeon's office not to expect any word from them till July 12th. If I didn't hear from them by then, she told me to call the afternoon of the 12th.
My surgery was originally scheduled for July 2nd, so as that date came and went, I was having a really emotional day trying to get through it and angry and upset that it wasn't happening, all due to a miscommunication and no chance to clarify things that would have kept it on track.
I was busy cleaning the basement on the 2nd, trying to distract myself and keep busy during the day. I already had one phone call from the periodontist saying that they recommend I get a deep cleaning before my surgery. It only costs 1,200. She mentioned that insurance would cover 80%, then actually checked my insurance coverage and said it would only cover 50%, but (lucky for me) they can stretch out the payments to make it easier for me. I did not need that call, on the day I was supposed to be having surgery!! It pushed me over the edge (again!) I went back to work, but when I needed a break, I realized that I had a voicemail. Imagine my surprise when I heard that it was from the surgeon's office saying that she had good news for me and to call her back. I couldn't dial fast enough! Luckily she answered the phone right away and said that since my first date was canceled due to a miscommunication, they were putting me on the schedule for July 23!!!! She also scheduled me (again) for the work up for July 11th. I told her I would be there for sure!! See what I mean about a roller coaster?!
My husband had just returned from China after a month long business trip and then he was only home for 5 days before traveling to see his critically ill mother. I stayed home with the kids. He called early on July 4th to say that his mom had passed away, only about 12 hours after he arrived to see her. I then packed and left two days later to be there for the services and to help his dad organize things around the house. Her service couldn't be scheduled until Wednesday. That meant we had to leave immediately after to make the 8 hour drive home (through tornado warnings and torrential rain) I was so stressed out and emotionally and physically exhausted after that trip.
I made it to my pre-op appointment, and had 2 to 3 interns doing things for me throughout the appointment. The office was really supposed to be shut down at the time, but they were trying to make it up to me for canceling the first one. The one intern said that after what they did, I deserve to have them bend over backwards for me:) especially since they put me out into a horrible thunderstorm that day ( and I got lost trying to get home) I appreciated the extra attention:) The appointment lasted for three hours! They did more molds(they started that last time), wax bite, face bow and measurements and lots of talking about the procedure,etc. I signed the consent for the surgeon (with the specifics for my procedures) and a general consent for the hospital. I am excited and anxious to get this done, but I still am afraid that they are going to call and cancel the whole thing. I haven't updated my friends from work, they know it's been postponed but not rescheduled. I think I will wait a few days just to make sure things are still on. Wish me luck!! Thanks for reading this book!:)
My surgery was originally scheduled for July 2nd, so as that date came and went, I was having a really emotional day trying to get through it and angry and upset that it wasn't happening, all due to a miscommunication and no chance to clarify things that would have kept it on track.
I was busy cleaning the basement on the 2nd, trying to distract myself and keep busy during the day. I already had one phone call from the periodontist saying that they recommend I get a deep cleaning before my surgery. It only costs 1,200. She mentioned that insurance would cover 80%, then actually checked my insurance coverage and said it would only cover 50%, but (lucky for me) they can stretch out the payments to make it easier for me. I did not need that call, on the day I was supposed to be having surgery!! It pushed me over the edge (again!) I went back to work, but when I needed a break, I realized that I had a voicemail. Imagine my surprise when I heard that it was from the surgeon's office saying that she had good news for me and to call her back. I couldn't dial fast enough! Luckily she answered the phone right away and said that since my first date was canceled due to a miscommunication, they were putting me on the schedule for July 23!!!! She also scheduled me (again) for the work up for July 11th. I told her I would be there for sure!! See what I mean about a roller coaster?!
My husband had just returned from China after a month long business trip and then he was only home for 5 days before traveling to see his critically ill mother. I stayed home with the kids. He called early on July 4th to say that his mom had passed away, only about 12 hours after he arrived to see her. I then packed and left two days later to be there for the services and to help his dad organize things around the house. Her service couldn't be scheduled until Wednesday. That meant we had to leave immediately after to make the 8 hour drive home (through tornado warnings and torrential rain) I was so stressed out and emotionally and physically exhausted after that trip.
I made it to my pre-op appointment, and had 2 to 3 interns doing things for me throughout the appointment. The office was really supposed to be shut down at the time, but they were trying to make it up to me for canceling the first one. The one intern said that after what they did, I deserve to have them bend over backwards for me:) especially since they put me out into a horrible thunderstorm that day ( and I got lost trying to get home) I appreciated the extra attention:) The appointment lasted for three hours! They did more molds(they started that last time), wax bite, face bow and measurements and lots of talking about the procedure,etc. I signed the consent for the surgeon (with the specifics for my procedures) and a general consent for the hospital. I am excited and anxious to get this done, but I still am afraid that they are going to call and cancel the whole thing. I haven't updated my friends from work, they know it's been postponed but not rescheduled. I think I will wait a few days just to make sure things are still on. Wish me luck!! Thanks for reading this book!:)
Friday, June 28, 2013
Roller coaster ride
I had my otho appointment on Thursday, June 27th. My ortho said that she was just as confused, maybe more confused than me as to why my surgery was canceled for July 2nd. Once I suggested she call the surgeon to see what was going on, she left and placed two calls in the time that I was there, even asking if one of the interns could call to speak with her. Of course, no one was available at the time. I was keeping my fingers crossed that I would hear something from someone yesterday, but that did not happen. The next hope was that I would hear from my ortho today, but that did not happen either...so frustrating!! I did call the ortho, she wasn't even in the office today. I also called the scheduler person at the surgeon's office. She is aware that the original surgery date was canceled, and she said that she would talk to the one intern to see what was going on. He said that it is definitely something that needs to be worked out between the ortho and the surgeon. I waited till the afternoon, but I called back with a different question and at that point as we were talking, I said that this is just due to a miscommunication. If they would have been able to reach my regular ortho on Friday (she was teaching a seminar and they couldn't reach her) this whole thing could have been avoided!!! The scheduler did say that the dr is booked all of July now because I was asking if they could pencil me in on a date while the two doctors figure it out. (The ortho said they would try to get me back on the schedule and get it done this month.) At this point, I told her that I am panicking that it won't get done and be delayed for 6 months, but she said for me not to panic, she will talk to the doctor and maybe the doctor could get me in when she normally isn't scheduled for the O.R. I really hope that's the case. I want as much recovery time as I can get, and the summer time is it for me. Keeping fingers crossed. I will post again as soon as I get an idea of what's happening, you better believe that I will be calling them next week!!
Friday, June 21, 2013
change of plans...
I had my pre-op work up appointment with my surgeon today and as you can tell from the heading of this post, it did not go according to plan! I had a nervous feeling for the past few days that something was up and I was a little worried about the appointment. Well, the feeling got verified today when my surgeon said that I am NOT READY for surgery, which was scheduled for JULY 2! Did not want that news.
The problem seems to be some lack of communication between the surgeon and the orthodontist and my ortho just put a new wire on me at the last visit with the springs and my teeth are still changing too much to even do the molds, etc for them to make surgical splints since my teeth would keep changing in the meantime! I only had to drive an hour and a half each way, and in a monsoon on the way home! I was stressed, to say the least!!
The surgeon said that I need to be in a straight wire to maintain things steady for at least a month before they could do the molds, etc. Well, there goes my summer timeline to get this done and heal up a bit before returning to work in August. But, the surgeon did say that she thought the best result would be to do the top too, (in three parts), the bottom and the chin. I asked about how much time off they would recommend and was told three weeks. I also asked about diet at that point of recovery and the intern said that I would not be wired or banded(the splint is just attached to the top) and that I would be on a soft diet-anything mushy that I don't have to chew. At that point, I would just be worried more about energy level to go back to work and deal with kids all day long and do lots of talking. I do reading groups with kids in K-4th grade, and it can be alot of discussion. I guess I will have to prompt them and let them do all the talking! :)
So, given my work schedule, I set a tentative surgery date for December 17th, I would still have to take a few days off, but then would have two weeks for winter break from school and that would give me about 3 weeks off. That should also give the ortho and surgeon enough time to make sure things are absolutely ready for surgery!!!!!!
I'm just trying to look at the positive side of things, even though I am so frustrated with the situation right now. But if reading all the other blogs has done anything for me, they've shown me that this happens alot and I really need to be prepared for anything! I am reminding myself that this is not something that I want to rush and I want the best results possible so if it takes a few more months, then I'll roll with it. I have an ortho appointment next week, (which was supposed to be for surgical hooks) so I will see what goes on then and try to update after that.
The problem seems to be some lack of communication between the surgeon and the orthodontist and my ortho just put a new wire on me at the last visit with the springs and my teeth are still changing too much to even do the molds, etc for them to make surgical splints since my teeth would keep changing in the meantime! I only had to drive an hour and a half each way, and in a monsoon on the way home! I was stressed, to say the least!!
The surgeon said that I need to be in a straight wire to maintain things steady for at least a month before they could do the molds, etc. Well, there goes my summer timeline to get this done and heal up a bit before returning to work in August. But, the surgeon did say that she thought the best result would be to do the top too, (in three parts), the bottom and the chin. I asked about how much time off they would recommend and was told three weeks. I also asked about diet at that point of recovery and the intern said that I would not be wired or banded(the splint is just attached to the top) and that I would be on a soft diet-anything mushy that I don't have to chew. At that point, I would just be worried more about energy level to go back to work and deal with kids all day long and do lots of talking. I do reading groups with kids in K-4th grade, and it can be alot of discussion. I guess I will have to prompt them and let them do all the talking! :)
So, given my work schedule, I set a tentative surgery date for December 17th, I would still have to take a few days off, but then would have two weeks for winter break from school and that would give me about 3 weeks off. That should also give the ortho and surgeon enough time to make sure things are absolutely ready for surgery!!!!!!
I'm just trying to look at the positive side of things, even though I am so frustrated with the situation right now. But if reading all the other blogs has done anything for me, they've shown me that this happens alot and I really need to be prepared for anything! I am reminding myself that this is not something that I want to rush and I want the best results possible so if it takes a few more months, then I'll roll with it. I have an ortho appointment next week, (which was supposed to be for surgical hooks) so I will see what goes on then and try to update after that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)