Day 42: 6 weeks

Things are still going well and I now have permission to eat just about anything that I can fit into my mouth and feel comfortable chewing! I don't think I'll be tackling a burger anytime soon but it's nice to know that I won't hurt my jaw if I try it. I'm still not allowed to eat hard or crunchy foods like raw veggies, pizza crusts, and pretzles, and my surgeon said that I should avoid these foods for a year! Technically I'm not supposed to eat these foods with braces anyway, so at least I won't have to worry about breaking any brackets. ;) In total I lost 9 pounds after surgery and I've finally started to gain some of the weight back this past week. I'm assuming this trend will continue as I experiment with new solid foods, but hopefully not too quickly!

I can now open my mouth about 2 finger widths and can brush with a regular toothbrush rather than a baby toothbrush. I can also floss all my teeth now too, though it's still a little painful to reach the molars. Last week I suddenly got most of the feeling back in my lower teeth as well, so it doesn't feel so strange to chew things anymore. Thank goodness, because chewing on numb teeth was getting extremely irritating! Most of my upper teeth are still numb, along with my gums, but I really only notice this when I'm brushing. The feeling continues to return to my lips and chin, and now I get an uncomfortable intense tingle when I touch the right side of my chin. It's almost like the feeling you get when you hit your funny bone, though it doesn't last as long. I prefer this to numbness though because at least I know there's progress!

There's a small bump on the tongue side of my gums near my bottom right molars. I had visions of it being the pointy end of a screw, so I asked my surgeon about it yesterday during my appointment and he didn't seem too concerned. He said the screws aren't long enough to reach all the way through the jaw bone, though some people complain of small bumps along the gums after surgery for some reason (maybe swelling near the screws?). He examined it and said he didn't think it warranted an x-ray just yet, though if it's still bothering me at my next appointment (in 1 month) then he'll take an x-ray and make sure everything is still where it's supposed to be. I noticed it right away after surgery and it doesn't seem to be getting any bigger, it's just more noticeable now because the swelling has decreased and I keep rubbing it with my tongue while eating. It's not painful so hopefully it's nothing and I don't need to have any plates or screws removed!

I went back to work full time last week (day 33) and all I can say is that I'm so glad I took the whole month off! I was exhausted after my first day back, even though my work is computer based and doesn't require very much talking or physical activity. I felt much better during my second day back, but I found I needed to take more Advil for sore jaw joints and muscles at the end of the day. My jaw seems to be doing much better this week so that's a good sign.

My face hasn't changed a whole lot in the last 2 weeks. Some days I feel more swollen than others, but at least the bruising is completely gone now!