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Soberpotamus's Oral Surgery Recovery Support & Journal

Old 01-08-2016, 09:11 AM
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good luck SP - you got this...

Perhaps you should give yourself one last Hurricane Hippo Holler before you go in. It'll be a month before you will be ready for another
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Old 01-08-2016, 09:17 AM
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Count me in, as someone who gets panicky over molds too

I've had a few generals this past year. My pain concern prior to surgery, is to tell the anesthesiologist to effectively manage any nausea. Things have really come a long way!

I too wanted my lip balm immediately! I drank lots of water, after surgery to flush the anesthesia from my system, and it keeps you hydrated.
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Old 01-08-2016, 02:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Behan View Post
Best of luck SP!! You are super prepared, like a Navy Seal, or a Pacifist Navy Potamus. You got this.


There's a Navy Seal in the family! Well, he's now a judge, but he was a Seal. Guess it runs in the fam.
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Old 01-08-2016, 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by LBrain View Post
good luck SP - you got this...

Perhaps you should give yourself one last Hurricane Hippo Holler before you go in. It'll be a month before you will be ready for another
Definitely! Will have to let out a loud holler before.

I was thinking ... I hum all the time. I'm a singer. I'm always singing or humming, even in public. I realized a few days ago that I probably won't be able to hum for a while. It's a bit sad.
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Old 01-08-2016, 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Pondlady View Post
Count me in, as someone who gets panicky over molds too

I've had a few generals this past year. My pain concern prior to surgery, is to tell the anesthesiologist to effectively manage any nausea. Things have really come a long way!

I too wanted my lip balm immediately! I drank lots of water, after surgery to flush the anesthesia from my system, and it keeps you hydrated.
I mentioned nausea to them. I'll probably mention it again. I'm sure they're going to try and prevent me from vomiting. It sure can't be good for a mouth surgery patient to vomit.

I hope they will keep my nausea under control.
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Old 01-08-2016, 03:01 PM
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wishing you all the very best SP
D
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Old 01-08-2016, 03:14 PM
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I've had a lot of surgeries and the stress/fear ahead of time is always worse than dealing with the reality. I fainted in the waiting area before one surgery so they had to put me out early. I've learned to start begging for valium sooner rather than later.

Afterwards, just remember to talk all your medications as prescribed. Do not try to tough it out when it comes to pain, nausea, etc.
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Old 01-08-2016, 03:25 PM
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Don't you worry, GroundhogDay, I am such a baby when it comes to pain -- I will gladly take any and all medication they want to give me! Lol! I honestly just want to be knocked out asap and get this all over with. Yes, the anticipation is the worst!! I'm dealing with some massive anxiety and nerves.
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Old 01-08-2016, 03:42 PM
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They've given me this booklet, and inside there's a piece of paper with a pain scale from 1-10, complete with smiley faces, frowny faces, and miserable looking faces at the top end. It's for when I'm out of surgery, and can't talk, and will be my sole means of communication with the nurses to increase or decrease my pain meds. Yikes!! I will be circling numbers and/or faces!
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Old 01-08-2016, 03:45 PM
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Good luck Soberpotamus!
I will be thinking of you.
Hugs and prayers.
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Old 01-08-2016, 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Soberpotamus View Post
They've given me this booklet, and inside there's a piece of paper with a pain scale from 1-10, complete with smiley faces, frowny faces, and miserable looking faces at the top end. It's for when I'm out of surgery, and can't talk, and will be my sole means of communication with the nurses to increase or decrease my pain meds. Yikes!! I will be circling numbers and/or faces!
I'm cackling like an old crone at the moment. Your post made me remember an old Bill Cosby routine about his wife in childbirth:

"She stood up in the stirrups and screamed "give me morphine""

Or something to that effect.
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Old 01-08-2016, 04:01 PM
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I have to admit, it was pretty intimidating and frightening to be given that piece of paper.

What's strange is that I'm getting so many differing and conflicting reviews of this surgery. Some people are saying it was zero pain, just some swelling and discomfort. Others are saying it was so bad they were wanting to die! I just have no idea what I'm actually going to experience, you know? Each person is different, pain tolerances are subjective, and the surgery itself varies so much -- the amount of advancement of the jaw, and whether both jaws are being altered or just one. Thankfully, mine is only the lower jaw, and it's only being advanced 4 millimeters. That's minimal compared to some.

I am hoping for pain that tops out no higher than a 5-6.
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Old 01-08-2016, 04:04 PM
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Congratulations, Soberp!

(No, I'm not being premature. You've already made it through most of the hard part, which is making the decision, waiting, dealing with fear and conflict. Good job!)
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Old 01-08-2016, 04:07 PM
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Originally Posted by courage2 View Post
Congratulations, Soberp!

(No, I'm not being premature. You've already made it through most of the hard part, which is making the decision, waiting, dealing with fear and conflict. Good job!)
This is exactly what my mom always said to me. She always used to tell me that the hardest part is right before you make a decision, when you're still in that grey area of indecision, weighing pros and cons. I think she's right.

Thanks, Courage.
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Old 01-08-2016, 04:10 PM
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SoberPotamus, you do know that we will ALL be with you as you are waking up from the surgery. The room might feel a bit crowded, but we'll make sure you're okay.
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Old 01-08-2016, 04:55 PM
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That is sweet, Anna.

I do know you and everyone will be there with me.

I am scared, but I am hopeful.

I am glad you all have been with me through all this.

I guess there are a couple of regrets I have in life at this point, and they are 1) not traveling more, and 2) not writing more, and not seeking publication.

When I wake up, and when I recover, I do think I'll be ready to move on to the next phase of my life. I'm working on switching gears from writing blogs (for realtors) to proofreading (for court reporters). That's my next step -- to say goodbye to my clients, and to seek new ones. Once I've successfully made that transition, I'll have more time to write creatively. My day is packed. I had to free up some time. It's just no good to be working so much that I don't feel like writing.

It will probably take me a year or two to pay off some accumulated debt, and to sell our house, and then at that point, we'll be building our cabin. The goal is to pay for our land in cash (we have equity), and to build our cabin, paying as we go. No mortgage!

The ultimate goal is to travel three or four months out of the year, and to live in the cabin, writing, the rest of the year.

I'm going to make it happen. I know that if I can come this far, there's no reason to stop here. I want to accomplish these other lifelong goals too.

SR has been such a huge part of my recovery. Thank you all for that.

xoxo
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Old 01-08-2016, 05:28 PM
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Good luck SP
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Old 01-10-2016, 06:58 AM
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Wow, those sound like such amazing plans! I think you guys have a lot to look forward to and it's great that you are using this surgery as a kind of jumping off spot to move up to the next level in your life.
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Old 01-12-2016, 02:16 AM
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We're leaving in fifteen minutes for the hospital.

Things are getting pretty surreal now.

I'm still fairly calm this early in the morning, but I'm sure my anxiety will build.

Can't believe it, but I slept most of the night. I don't think it was the best sleep, but it was sleep, and I'll take it.

I will try to post before I go in for surgery.
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Old 01-12-2016, 02:25 AM
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best wishes - it'll be ok

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