Day 12: Sleeping breakthrough

Since coming home from the hospital I've been sleeping in an electric reclining chair that I borrowed from my aunt and uncle. It's actually pretty comfortable, especially if I use a stiff pillow to lean my head against while reclining, and I think it's really helped with the swelling. However, I've had some insomnia since surgery. It takes me a really long time to fall asleep, and once I do fall asleep I tend to wake up again 45 minutes later. This happens all night every night and it's getting so frustrating! It's probably lingering effects from anesthetic and medication, but a few days ago I tried sleeping propped up in bed with about 6 pillows to see if that helped... and it didn't. All I got was a stuffy, swollen nose which made it difficult to breathe, and my arm fell asleep.

Last night I tried sleeping in bed again, this time with only 3 pillows under my head because I have less swelling, and it helped! It still took me quite a while to fall asleep but I slept 4 hours before waking up again! At first I was really scared to squish my face, but I used a soft pillow and sleeping on my side wasn't a problem. I had asked my surgeon about how long I should sleep upright and he said that it was more important for recovery to get a good night's sleep, whether that's in a recliner or in bed, rather than force myself to sleep upright. He said that after the first week the swelling is less critical and I can sleep laying down if it's comfortable. I did notice that my face was more swollen when I woke up this morning and there was more pressure in my sinuses, but I'll take a little swelling over exhaustion any day.

My teeth have felt really itchy today, more so on the right side of my face than on the left. It's very similar to the itchy feeling that you get in your teeth once the pain subsides after an ortho adjustment. There's also a throbbing tingling pain through the right side of my chin which extends up into my lip and lower teeth, and I feel like I'm constantly drooling on that side even though there's nothing there. This part of my lip and chin have the least feeling so I'm assuming it's all part of the healing process and the beginning of nerve repair.

I've also made it 24 hours now without pain medication! I was taking liquid Tylenol or Advil primarily to relieve muscle tension and pain, but my jaw muscles have finally relaxed and I haven't needed to take any today. Yay! I'm sure my liver is very happy about that.

Here is a picture of my splint and elastics. No wonder I can't open my mouth! The front elastic was originally double wrapped around the front hooks but it broke 1 day after coming home. I was given extras so I replaced it, but I didn't have the heart to twist it like the surgeon did so I just put two on instead. They've started to turn yellow and brittle from food or air or sunlight so I think I'll replace them again before my first post-op ortho appointment tomorrow.