WHY Oh WHY Would I Have Jaw Surgery?

So after I tell people about my surgery they ask me "WHY?" Believe me I asked myself, why should I do this surgery? It really was the last thing I wanted, but after doing research and praying, I decided it was worth it. I better do it now while I am young enough. For me it wasn't for cosmetic purposes, I love my smile and I often get complements about it. My smile can be "gummy" at times but you know that isn't a big deal. Deciding to do the surgery was to help my sleep and overall health. Here is a list of problems I have and signs of needing corrective jaw surgery:

• difficulty chewing, or biting food (food falls out of my mouth often)
• difficulty swallowing
• chronic jaw or jaw joint (TMJ) pain and headache
• excessive wear of the teeth
• open bite ( I could fit 2 fingers easily between my upper and lower teeth)
• unbalanced facial appearance from the side
• receding chin
• protruding jaw
• inability to make the lips meet without straining
• chronic mouth breathing and dry mouth
• sleep apnea (breathing problems when sleeping, never feeling rested and bad snoring. Yes I tried the c-pap machine and it made my sleep worse)

 Orthodontics alone would not help all these problems. Orthognathic double jaw surgery can help open up the airways thus improving breathing, jaw pain and sleep apnea.  Corrective jaw surgery moves your teeth and jaws into positions that are more balanced, functional and healthy. If the surgery can eliminate some of the jaw pain and help me sleep a little better it will be well worth it. Also I would get the benefits of closing my mouth and my lips meeting with out strain and food not following out of my mouth because there is a huge gap! So here's to a better health and well being!

It is a strain to close my mouth and I rarely do it!

Weight Prep and More (1 Month)

One month before surgery...

I have a crazy fast metabolism and I have always been skinny. During my back surgery, I lost over 25 lbs making my weight in the 80s. For the jaw surgery, I will have to be "wired" shut for several weeks and on an all liquid diet. Most people lose 10-15 pounds after the jaw surgery. The weight loss factor was the part of the surgery that made me most nervous. So as a precaution, starting 5 months before the surgery, I began to try and gain weight. It took 2 and 1/2 months to gain 2lbs. I started just eating more and adding more calories to my diet. On month three, I started drinking meal replacement shakes ( like ensure but I used the Costco brand) once a day as a snack on top of my 3 big meals a day and lots of sweets. I started to gain weight faster and was up to 8 lbs. This week I am just up by 5lbs. I am going to try drink two of the meal replacement drinks on top of all the other food I eat (I really dislike drinking them but it is helping).


You know gaining weight has taken a lot of work. I know I know most of you reading this can't relate and are like really lady that sounds like a hard problem. You know I don't want to make anyone feel bad, but this is a big part of my journey. Here is a glimpse of my crazy metabolism, I didn't really get that feeling of being "full" until I was in college. When I was little, I would eat dinner before I would go over to friends houses and they would still comment on how much I ate. I would often eat more than most of my friends. Despite how much I ate, I was really skinny. When I was in high school, several people asked me if I was anorexic (seriously). I know it is a blessing having a fast metabolism but this is a second time in my life that it has been a bad thing. I am surprised I have gained this much. After my back surgery, I had to gain weight and It was quite a task. I hope to continue to gain weight as I approach my jaw surgery.


On another note, I am starting to get together all the supplies I need for the jaw surgery. I have read several blogs and articles about the surgery to be ready. We live in the "country" where the nearest stores are about 30 minutes away. So, therefore we are trying to get items ahead of time. I will post another blog about list of items to have bought before the surgery.