Re: What could you eat right after being unwired?

[Guest guest]

These are questions that you could take to your consultation with

your surgeon. From Fiddlesticks' site

www.geocities.com/orthognathicinfo

1. What is the nature of your problem?

2. How will they attempt to repair it?

3. What are specific types of surgical procedures they will use?

4. What are the associated risks?

5. If you will be wired/splinted, how long? Will you have to wear

elastics afterwards?

6. What is their recommended time off for recovery?

7. Who actually will perform your surgery (primary doc, assistant,

nurses, etc.)?

8. How long will your prep time be?

9. What is projected recovery time after surgery?

10. How many of these surgical procedures do you perform per year?

11. How long overall have you performed this typed of surgery (how

many total years of experience)?

12. Tell your docs your medical history if you have any specific

concerns and ask them how they will work with your condition, etc.

(example: high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.)

13. Will you be able to speak to former and current patients they

have worked with for references?

14. What medications are they likely to prescribe for the recovery

period.

15. Will you need a special diet (high protein, high calorie, etc.)

after surgery? Will you be given special recipes and instructions on

how to eat (with straw, syringe, etc.)?

16. Ask your surgeon to give you an example of one of his/her cases

that either experienced a relapse or some serious complication and

how he/she resolved it?

17. Can you call him/her if you have questions or concerns after

surgery, even after hours if you feel the concern is serious?

18. What is the single most important advice your doc can give you to

help you have a good recovery?

19. Will you need to donate your own blood for your surgery?

20. How soon after surgery will you need to visit your surgeon?

ortho?

21. What hospital will your surgery be performed in and how equipped

is the staff to handle this kind of surgical recovery? Will they know

how to take care of my special needs after surgery?

22. Will you be in intensive care or on a surgical recovery floor?

23. How soon after surgery will your doctor visit you and how often?

[Guest guest]

Hi, I was wired shut for 9 weeks after my surgery, I can give you my

version of how it is after being unwired. This was actually my second

time being wired shut, the first being a few years ago when I broke

my jaw, and both instances had the same side effects afterwards.

Okay, first, you won't be able to open much more than a few mms since

your facial muscles tend to atrophy into the shape of your jaw being

closed, so opening and closing are sort of painful and slow at first.

I was able to get a straw into my mouth and a baby spoon, that was

about the first 3-4 days. I got my jaw used to moving again basically

by letting it hang open carefully, the muscles will get used to

moving around again. I was eating mostly soft foods the first few

weeks, but I think I was able to do baked potatoes and cut up chicken

and stuff about 3 weeks into it. Nothing you have to bite into,

nothing that puts your jaw under a lot of pressure. When I asked my

surgeon what I could eat after I got unwired, she said, " I'll leave

that to your discretion, you'll know immediately when you put

something in your mouth that you can't chew it. " She was absolutely

right. It's not a matter of trying to force your jaw to chew on

something, it just won't. The muscles aren't strong enough to force

you to chew something.

I was unwired in mid-October, by Thanksgiving I was eating most of

what I wanted to: salads, etc. Not yet biting into stuff. I'm now 7

months post op and I can eat whatever I want: sub sandwiches, nuts,

gum, hard candies, etc, and I can bite into and through anything I

want. Hope this helps,

J.

> WEll its been 4 weeks post-op now, and i am looking forward to

gettin

> snipped in a few weeks. I was wondering what to wxpect as far as

> eating when i get snipped?

[Guest guest]

I got unwired Monday last week after being wired shut for 4 weeks. I

tried eating some mashed potatos the first day, and gave it up after

5 minutes. I stuck with the liquid diet for about 4 days post-wires,

and then was finally able to work small amounts of said potatos in.

Pretty messy and painful, and hardly worth the effort.

Today at 9 days post-wires I was able to eat the mashed potatos

(actually a yellow sweet potato mashed with milk, parmesano reggiano,

butter, and gravy, yum yum), salmon, and avocado. I smashed and mixed

everything with my fork and mushed it up more with my tongue.

Amazingly satisfying, and 100x better than a can of Ensure. Almost

more importantly, I was able to sort of brush the inside of my teeth

last night!

I got the go-ahead today to chew on whatever I'm comfortable with,

but that sounds better in theory than practice. The inside of my

cheeks are so numb that I can't tell if I'm chewing on food or my

cheek, so I don't think I'll do much chewing for another month or two

until I get more feeling back.

--Neil

> WEll its been 4 weeks post-op now, and i am looking forward to

gettin

> snipped in a few weeks. I was wondering what to wxpect as far as

> eating when i get snipped?

[Guest guest]

Hey there - I was wired shut for 6 weeks. I got my self pumped up

while thinking of all the things I would eat after being unwired.

However, the first day I could only drink chicken noodle soup with

rice. I was really limited very soft foods that I could mash with my

tongue on the roof of my mouth. Each day got better and better.

Congratulations on your surgery! You will be unwired soon!!

Take care,

Randy

> WEll its been 4 weeks post-op now, and i am looking forward to

gettin

> snipped in a few weeks. I was wondering what to wxpect as far as

> eating when i get snipped?

[Guest guest]

Hi Playboy,

Remember not so long ago when you were threatening to cut them

yourself? Congratulations on making it through what I think must be

the toughest of post-op challenges!

I would expect that your muscles will complain a bit, they'll

probably be weak at first, so don't go out and order steak just yet,

unless it's hamburger. Gradually over time, you should be able to do

more and more.

> WEll its been 4 weeks post-op now, and i am looking forward to

gettin

> snipped in a few weeks. I was wondering what to wxpect as far as

> eating when i get snipped?

[Guest guest]

Whooo 0 hoo, Chief Neil. Sounds like to me you're doing some pretty

fine eating! Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, avocado and salmon, with

P. reggiano!!! Who could complain about that!!!

Great.. So glad for you.

Cammie

> > WEll its been 4 weeks post-op now, and i am looking forward to

> gettin

> > snipped in a few weeks. I was wondering what to wxpect as far as

> > eating when i get snipped?

[Guest guest]

---

hey,

congrats on being so close to getting your wires off. i was wired

with a splint for 6 wks and in the last 2 food was all i could think

about.

I was wired with a splint that propped my jaws open about a half inch

so i could open more that a few mm and could use a small teaspoon. I

got my wires cut on march 11. the first thing i ate was the cheese

topping of my boyfriends pizza. i definetaly could not chew. my jaw

felt like it was not my own. its just so different in there now. i

ate lots of pasta cut up really small, rice, cereal,and just about

anything that i could cut up really tiny. i sorta learned to use my

tongue to smush thing up a bit. one thing i lived on for a week was

hashbrowns and eggs. yummy

2 days after getting my wires cut i had bands put on to realign my

jaw a bit and had my wires adjsuted so my teeth were really sore to

even try and chew.

now i am 2 wks of being wireless. i still cant open too wide but its

gradually coming along. i have just started being able to chew some

things. i had a ham diner with roast potatos and all the fixings on

sunday. today i discover i could bite a bite too.well i sort of have

to bite and tear to actually do it . but it works. Ive being eating

my sons pb & j sandwiches and tonight i succesfully if not daintily ate

a thin tuna melt.

i dont have much pain at all really, only if i try to open to wide it

hurts but chewing gently does not.

it will take a bit of time to get used to it but just take it slow

one day at a time.

here are some suggested things to eat

cereal(like rice crispies)

yogurt(which im so sick of)

mashed potatoes and gravy

rice or risotto

hashbrowns

scrambled eggs,

chicken noodle soup etc

small pasta

flaked fish

little bits of brownies and muffins and just about any thing you can

tear into little little peices and swallow ok(as long as its not hard)

hope this helps and let me know how things go for you.

angie

In orthognathicsurgerysupport , " playboy_143_69 "

<zman29@c...> wrote:

> WEll its been 4 weeks post-op now, and i am looking forward to

gettin

> snipped in a few weeks. I was wondering what to wxpect as far as

> eating when i get snipped?