it's been 21 days already, and ohhh man my face is driving me CRAZY!!! it itches so much and scratching doesn't help. it actually feels like i'm scratching someone else's nose, which is weird. my entire nose, upper lip area, and under my eyes constantly itch. and not a dull kind of itch either, but the stabbing, insistent kind. i've tried ice, i've tried heat, and i keep trying hydrocortisone cream...but nothing helps. it always seems to be the worst at night when i'm getting ready to go to bed. also, my chin is still tingly and annoying, sometimes spreading up into my lower front teeth.
i guess i'm lucky, though, that this is honestly the first few days i've been in any super significant discomfort since the first day or so. not only am i really impressed with my doctor and his staff, i'm fascinated by how the body handles trauma like this. i was really worried about the first week post-op. dr. jackrit told me that the first week is awful and i will be very emotional and such, and i was expecting to be crying and regretting my decision to have the surgery. however, i really don't think it was that bad. my entire face was completely numb. imagine if your body didn't do that for you! the numbness combined with the pain meds and a positive attitude (the most important thing is to laugh at yourself, especially when eating and dripping food all over your chin) has made this seem like a pretty smooth process for me. i've only had a few days so far of real pain, and until the itching started this past weekend, i was doing quite fine.
i still feel kind of crappy when i first wake up. i can't help but sleep on my side, and my jaw joints hurt mildly when i get up. luckily, some cherry flavored liquid tylenol knocks that right out! what i can't wait for now is to see how well i sleep after everything is healed up. i can already tell a difference, but when school starts back up in fall, i'll find out the final results. my equine behavior and training class starts at 8am and is almost 45 minutes away! last quarter, i had a horrible time getting up at 10 or 11am, no matter if i had slept 6 hours or 12. i missed a lot of class and was having trouble concentrating and retaining information. i just want to feel better and be able to concentrate and learn more, and finish my last two quarters of undergrad just as strongly as i began.
i can't believe i ended up with sleep apnea at 22 years old (and not overweight or any of the other risk factors). a cpap machine is not practical for my age or lifestyle. this is why i decided to have the surgery, and it WILL be worth all the maddening itching and nerve pains. it still blows my mind that it's even possible to perform a surgery that involved literally breaking my face in five places...modern science is fascinating.
i will toughen up and overcome the urge to fruitlessly claw at my face for the rest of the night. wish me luck!
Hilary,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that things are looking up for you. Being able to breath normally is something most people take for granted, because they have the luxury of not really thinking about it. Since you are over the initial first week "hump"of recovery, you can definitely look forward to good days ahead. Your post-op pics look really good. Hopefully, your college days will be be smooth sailing ahead, and you will enjoy a normal healthy life, as a young woman should. Best wishes!