Get well soon Beemer

[u4ea]

well i guess you;ve had that op on ya face???so hope your feeling better and can get that helmet on soon 35166

[Beemer]

Thanks u4ea, yes, on the road to recovery now but it's a slow one.

The operation went well (June 14) but they apparently had a bit of a job waking me up again and I basically slept on and off for the rest of the day. I wish Andy had brought the camera along as I looked like an Asian teletubby! I was certain I had a couple of shiners pending (didn't come to anything) and my face was incredibly swollen. Darling husband said it got rid of all my wrinkles...

The following day the swelling had gone down heaps although I still had a face more like Pauline Quirke's than my own! I was allowed to go home but on the way I noticed my face and chest had turned scarlet - back to see the surgeon and he said I'd obviously had an allergic reaction to something they'd given me in hospital. So I had to stop off and get some liquid medication to fix that, as well as some liquid painkillers as I wasn't able to swallow pills easily.

I was told I would need to eat soft foods for a week, but it's been a week and a half now and I'm still stuck with slop! I can't open my mouth very wide (just enough to brush my teeth - carefully) and it still hurts my jaw to chew, so it's porridge, soup, jelly, yoghurt, mashed potatoes, and other soft foods like macaroni cheese, etc. I tried mince the other day - the mince wasn't so bad but the mixed veges were still too much to cope with so I had to puree the leftovers! I can eat cake though, so it's not all bad!

I finish my contract at Massey next week and they are having a wrap-up lunch on Tuesday. I'm not going as I'd be wasting my time and money going to a restaurant. Yes, they do serve soup, but knowing my luck it will be pumpkin (which I hate) or something thick and chunky that I couldn't eat!

Funnily enough I'm not craving steak, but fruit and vegetables! I yearn for something that has some texture to it!

I doubt if I will be trying the helmet for some time - the area above my ears is still quite tender, and the jawline from the ears down is also very sore. Hardly any signs of the operation though - three stitches on the right and two on the left - got the stitches out last week and you can only see the tiniest evidence of the little cuts.

I have some great photos of what he found inside the jaw joints (microsurgery) but my scanner is crap so I can't post them here.

At least the weather hasn't been the sort to entice me onto the bike - until today, that is, it's gorgeous outside.

[Edbear]

Good to hear you're on the mend! I have to be careful of general anaesthetics, too. They can be deadly, but modern drugs and monitoring greatly reduce the risks. The first op I ever had was when I had my tonsils out at 6 years old. They were removed in the local Doctor's surgery using the old Ether mask anaesthetic! Horrible! I vomited for a week after that!

Hope you get to eat steak again, soon!:sunny:

[sAsLEX]

I have some great photos of what he found inside the jaw joints (microsurgery) but my scanner is crap so I can't post them here.


I had major jaw surgery and the guy did it all from the inside so no stiches at all!
How long till you can chew?? I wasnt allowed for 7 weeks!

[Beemer]

I'm not sure what you had done sAsLEX but I had a bilateral arthroscopy - basically the jaw hinges had bits of broken cartilidge and stuff in them so they go in from just in front of your ears and use a trimmer to clean out all the gunk, then they wash it out and bob's your uncle - hopefully!

In one thing they gave me it said one week on soft food but the other thing said six weeks. I have to see the surgeon again this week but the one who took out my stitches last week said one week was the perfect recovery but it usually took longer than that. I can't open my mouth very wide - which is probably why the shouting match I got into tonight when I couldn't figure out how to open the case on my computer to install an Ethernet card was a BAD idea! Hurts like hell now... and I still haven't installed the card... how the hell do you open a computer hard drive case?

I am sick of soft food, it's not so much the taste as the texture. I had risotto for tea and even that was a bit hard to eat. I can eat bread without the crusts but I think that could be contributing to the pain in my jaw. I am so sick of it and don't really relish the thought of another four or five weeks!

[merv]

So did your condition before the op just develop or was it an injury thing?

As for your computer case what sort of computer you talking? Normally tower cases open by taking the screws off the back and pulling the case back or some the top stays in place and you just pull the side covers back and off. They have like little dog leg lugs holding them in place.

Get well soon. As for how long, I've been in hospital 3 times over my life and every time the specialists comments on how long to heal has been bullshit. My last op was getting a deviated septum in my nose trimmed back on a Friday and the surgeon acted like sweet as you'll be back at work Monday. In the end I stayed home the whole of the following week I was so buggered. I figure if you scratch a finger even, it takes at least a week to properly heal, scab over and the like, so how do these guys think they can cut you to bits and you'll heal in a few days like magic I don't know, so, simple these days I'd never believe them.

[u4ea]

:gob: oh mate!!!!doesnt sound nice for you at all,but just give it time and mc donalds have nice sundays aye!!!!!hope you dont have too many more screamin matches..................save them up :innocent: for when ya feel better and let 'm have it when its least xpected...........hehe.................at least it is a winter operation and you wont be phining to ride in this cold weather.:ride: :cold: :)

[Beemer]

Hi Merv, I had a constant ache along my jaw on both sides and also recurrent earaches and really bad headaches. I just assumed it was from wisdom teeth or something as ear drops didn't make any difference. I only found out I had a problem with the jaw when I went to the dentist for a checkup back in January that he said my teeth were fine but I had TMJ (Temporo-Mandibular Joint) syndrome. I'd had it once before about 10 years ago - after doing a restaurant review at the Bucket Tree in Tawa - the steak was so tough I injured my jaw! I had a mouth splint made by an oral surgeon and that seemed to fix it at the time. I was told a splint wouldn't correct it again, so surgery was the only option. I must confess that although there is pain in the jaw still, the earache has gone and I haven't had a headache since the surgery so I'd say it was the right course of action.

As for the computer, I posted on Press F1 and someone told me the PC Company towers had a removable front that gave you access to the screws to undo the sides! Voila, one installed Ethernet card - although it didn't seem to slot down as far as the card next to it - every time I screwed the plate in position, it lifted slightly. Didn't think of bending that part of it a little to make it sit flat, but hopefully all is okay when I go to install broadband tonight!

In addition to our lunch tomorrow, Massey is having another lunch on Thursday - yay, something else I can't attend!