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One month MMA update

Posted by grumpygirl on August 09, 2007 at 17:31:51:


Today Dana saw Dr. KL in Palo Alto. It will be one month tomorrow since her MMA surgery. He took off the rubber bands, thus freeing her to begin eating soft foods. He recommended pasta, fish, and sushi, but the first things she wanted were hummus and mashed potatoes (not at the same time). He was pleased with the recovery, noting that her teeth hadn't shifted at all since the surgery. He did suggest that she put the rubber bands back on at night for the extra support while she sleeps.
She noticed right away after the bands were off that her jaw ached more than usual. It's because she has to support the lower jaw on her own now, and it has a tendency to open up wider than she's used to.
These last two days have been the best so far. It seems the 4 week mark really is a watershed.
She has been up and about more and not really remarking on the pain.
Dr. L thinks that it will be hard for her to do much chewing because the teeth don't meet very well in back. She's suppposed to have her braces on for another year--time to tweak those teeth so the bite is perfect. He suggested that she go in to see her orthodontist, Dr. Q sooner rather than later to fix the loose brackets, but Dana will have to wait until early September because the doc is pretty booked up.
She'll probably be out of work one more week--she needs to get used to the non-liquid diet and to regain some strength. A month of lying around in pain not eating a lot tends to cause a certain amount of weakness. But her mood is better and she is beginning to seem more like her pre-surgical self.
We still don't know how improved her sleep is because she wakes up several times a night when she shifts position. She still has some swelling in her lower cheeks and along the jawline so rolling onto her side causes enough discomfort to wake her up.
It's been an up and down process--the worst was the pain (both in her face and stomach) and nausea, and the slowness of the recovery. But things are speeding up now, and already, the past weeks are starting to fade and blur.
Good luck to all of you who will be undergoing this surgery and thanks to all who have posted their experiences. By demystfying the process and educating us, you've helped enormously!!

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