TMJ Day 10

I went to see Dr. Franco on Wed. He removed my stitches and said everything looks good and that I did a good job cleaning the wounds. He wants me to move my mouth a lot and eat all that I can because I have to stretch the muscles. He said, "Either you have to do it or I will." If scar tissue forms on the muscles he has to rip it to stretch it. I don't want that so I've been trying to eat tough things and it's really exhausting and painful. He said that the yellow bruising was ok and that after the Orthognathic surgery I'll have that kind of bruising all the way down to my breasts! Eating gives me a headache and it's painful but I keep trying. I ate some toast and I tried to eat a small salad with cucumber but the salad leaves were impossible to chew and the cucumbers were just too hard. I couldn't do it. But I made the effort! I'm supposed to go see him again on Tues. but I'm not sure what for. My mom was with me and she asked him why the teeth don't die when he detaches them and he said the teeth never become detached at any point in the surgery, there is just a break in the jaw bones and shifting. I'm not taking hydrocodone in the daytime anymore but I still feel like I need it to get to sleep. When I'm laying back and the blood starts pooling it's very uncomfortable. Franco told me to keep putting moist heat on my neck, cheeks and temples so sooth the swelling. When I have my coffee in the morning I put the hot cup against my face and it feels good. I also use a hot,wet rag on my cheeks before bed. I left my apt in Dallas and came to my Mom & Dad's house for the rest of the week. Their home is much more comfortable than mine and there is a wooded path with a stream in the back where I can walk, tons of food and my brother's are all coming into town for the week! I have already laughed a lot which is super painful but a good way to recover. Here are some photos I took today. As you can see my ears look much better without the stitches and the swelling has gone down a lot. My bite is still crooked which Franco said was fine and it's because one side is more swollen than the other. He said it would straighten up in about 2 weeks, but not to worry anyway because he is fixing it all in the jaw surgery. I'm sorry my skin is terribly gross and you can see my pores and I got this weird red rash on my chin. But, who cares, right?