Unbanded but Cheeks Are Stiff

[Guest guest]

My surgeon told me I could have the bands

off during the day and to use them at night.

That's good news, but my cheeks and mouth

are still so stiff and feel weird, like my cheeks

are full of cotton. I can't talk properly yet...

the area where my stitches were feel tight

and stiff and my cheek muscles aren't as

flexible as normal.

Any other post oppers experiencing this?

I'm 22 days post-op.

Thanks,

Gil

[Guest guest]

Hi Gil,

At 22 days post-op, I too have the " cheeks full of cotton " feeling

and can't talk properly either.

Lucky you getting your bands off by day! I still have to wear mine.

Only they aren't up and down but triangle shaped so they pull teeth

sideways on the bottom and are joined to the top wire like a pyramid.

Most painful part of this whole experience actually. The first night

he banded me like that I cried and switched the bands to normal

position after not being able to sleep from the pain (pain meds not

helpful.) Still hurts like heck but tolerable. I just figure all this

soreness and numbness and weirdness too shall pass...

Happy Healing!

Lorna

> My surgeon told me I could have the bands

> off during the day and to use them at night.

> That's good news, but my cheeks and mouth

> are still so stiff and feel weird, like my cheeks

> are full of cotton. I can't talk properly yet...

> the area where my stitches were feel tight

> and stiff and my cheek muscles aren't as

> flexible as normal.

>

> Any other post oppers experiencing this?

> I'm 22 days post-op.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Gil

[Guest guest]

Hi!

I'm 22 days post-op too and I have 2 bands that I can remove to eat

and do exercices... My cheeks feel stiff too. I use my " jaw bra "

with warm water in the little bags before I eat or try to open my

mouth and it feels better... My bands are on all the time, except

when I eat! My teeth are really sensitive from them though..

so sometimes I take them off for longer...

I guess the stiffness is normal, the muscles are not working too

hard right now..! The area where the stiches were is still stiff

too... The OS told me last week that the incisions are not

completely healed yet so it's normal to have some discomfort there

too.. ha well, we must hang in there! The worst is definitly over

for us!!

Happy healing to you!

Caro

> My surgeon told me I could have the bands

> off during the day and to use them at night.

> That's good news, but my cheeks and mouth

> are still so stiff and feel weird, like my cheeks

> are full of cotton. I can't talk properly yet...

> the area where my stitches were feel tight

> and stiff and my cheek muscles aren't as

> flexible as normal.

>

> Any other post oppers experiencing this?

> I'm 22 days post-op.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Gil

[Guest guest]

Thanks Lorna... sorry to hear of your aches and

pains when banded.

The aches will lessen as the teeth move in the

direction, just like when they're braced. Teeth

move, aches lessen, and then pass!

Happy healing to you too.

Gil

------------

> Hi Gil,

>

> At 22 days post-op, I too have the " cheeks full of cotton " feeling

> and can't talk properly either.

>

> Lucky you getting your bands off by day! I still have to wear mine.

> Only they aren't up and down but triangle shaped so they pull teeth

> sideways on the bottom and are joined to the top wire like a pyramid.

> Most painful part of this whole experience actually. The first night

> he banded me like that I cried and switched the bands to normal

> position after not being able to sleep from the pain (pain meds not

> helpful.) Still hurts like heck but tolerable. I just figure all this

> soreness and numbness and weirdness too shall pass...

>

> Happy Healing!

> Lorna

[Guest guest]

Hi Caro: Seems there a few 22-day post-oppers here

beside me with stiff cheeks!

Thanks for the tip about the 'jaw-bra " --haha,

I'll try using the Cool Jaw Wrap from the Zip-n-Squeeze

folks, and place the gel packs in some hot water to

warm them instead.

My incision areas as stiff as well... guess it makes

sense that they're not healed yet, at only 22 days.

I'm taking high potency Vitamin E and C, which

helps the body heal.

Happy healing to all!!

Gil

--------

> > My surgeon told me I could have the bands

> > off during the day and to use them at night.

> > That's good news, but my cheeks and mouth

> > are still so stiff and feel weird, like my cheeks

> > are full of cotton. I can't talk properly yet...

> > the area where my stitches were feel tight

> > and stiff and my cheek muscles aren't as

> > flexible as normal.

> >

> > Any other post oppers experiencing this?

> > I'm 22 days post-op.

> >

> > Thanks,

> >

> > Gil

[Guest guest]

Hi I'm 1 month out today (had upper and lower on 9/23/03) and find

that I too am still very stiff in places. It gets better and better

though. I am mainly still really stiff right around my mouth,

especially the upper lip to nose area. My cheeks feel better now

than even a week ago. I still have bands also and my splint for

another 2 weeks. I try to move my lips/smile etc whenever I think

about it (and there's no one around to see) to try to keep something

going on there, it seems to help as I am stiffer in the am and when

I move my lips around they seem to loosen up. Maybe someone a

little further out can shed some more light on the situation.

Suzy

> > My surgeon told me I could have the bands

> > off during the day and to use them at night.

> > That's good news, but my cheeks and mouth

> > are still so stiff and feel weird, like my cheeks

> > are full of cotton. I can't talk properly yet...

> > the area where my stitches were feel tight

> > and stiff and my cheek muscles aren't as

> > flexible as normal.

> >

> > Any other post oppers experiencing this?

> > I'm 22 days post-op.

> >

> > Thanks,

> >

> > Gil

[Guest guest]

Gil, you were right! It did get better (more sore than painful but

what the heck).

Thank you for the encouragement,

Lorna

> > Hi Gil,

> >

> > At 22 days post-op, I too have the " cheeks full of cotton "

feeling

> > and can't talk properly either.

> >

> > Lucky you getting your bands off by day! I still have to wear

mine.

> > Only they aren't up and down but triangle shaped so they pull

teeth

> > sideways on the bottom and are joined to the top wire like a

pyramid.

> > Most painful part of this whole experience actually. The first

night

> > he banded me like that I cried and switched the bands to normal

> > position after not being able to sleep from the pain (pain meds

not

> > helpful.) Still hurts like heck but tolerable. I just figure all

this

> > soreness and numbness and weirdness too shall pass...

> >

> > Happy Healing!

> > Lorna

[Guest guest]

lorna-- its laurie..... i am 15 days postop...wondering how you were

feeling.. i too have cheeks that are swollen-- very frustraing.. what does your

md say

aout the cheek swelling..mine says will go down " soon " well what does that

mean! anyway hope you are well..be in touch...let me know how you are doing..

i have been eating with bands also.

[Guest guest]

For anyone experience stiffness and " cotton mouth " sensation,

remember it's all part of the healing process. Try doing smiling

exercises and neck exercises to relieve stiffness. It also helps to

do mild facial massages with tips of your fingers in small circles.

Don't put too much pressure or else it hurts as you may already know.

[Guest guest]

Sorry, Laurie -- but " soon " means " as soon as your body lets it

happen. "

It's unpredictable. But the swelling is not forever. Some of us have

found that it hit back (with me, particularly invisibly and inside

the mouth) when we overdid it with talking, which is why my surgeon

most sweetly kept telling me, in a more polite way, to " shut up " !

which I tried hard to do, but as he put it: " You like to talk. A lot.

Don't. "

Cammie

> lorna-- its laurie..... i am 15 days postop...wondering how you

were

> feeling.. i too have cheeks that are swollen-- very frustraing..

what does your md say

> aout the cheek swelling..mine says will go down " soon " well what

does that

> mean! anyway hope you are well..be in touch...let me know how you

are doing..

> i have been eating with bands also.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Laurie,

Well, maybe soon means as soon as you are able, be it 6 weeks from

now or six months (compared to a lifetime I suppose 6 months isn't

so much ).

I'm feeling great, thank you for asking. My face is tingly all the

time, and stiff, but I've been doing some smiling exercises and

rubbing my jaw joints a lot. I also play with my chin a lot, does

anyone else find themselves rubbing their chin? I feel like the

absent-minded professor, lol. But you are right, it does get

frustrating. I have noticed that by night-time I actually have to

take a pain medicine (like motrin) because it gets old. I don't

notice it much during the day at all, so I'm wondering if it's

because I'm tired. Maybe a short afternoon nap would help?

I'm very lucky I guess because my swelling is way way down. I

actually like the way I look and my kids tell me all the time they

do too. I never thought I'd look this nice and so it is a real nice

surprise for me (I was fine with my looks before pretty much.)

You are eating with bands? Does that mean you are eating food or do

you mean blending everything? I have noticed I can eat thick blends

now off of a spoon, sort of sucking it down, don't know how better

to explain that. I haven't had the courage to eat out (My hats off

to you who have) but yesterday I did suck on my five-year-old's

fries at Carl's Jr ).

Well, just taking this one day at a time and being thankful for the

ride...

Take care,

Lorna

> lorna-- its laurie..... i am 15 days postop...wondering how you

were

> feeling.. i too have cheeks that are swollen-- very frustraing..

what does your md say

> aout the cheek swelling..mine says will go down " soon " well what

does that

> mean! anyway hope you are well..be in touch...let me know how you

are doing..

> i have been eating with bands also.

>

>

>